[OT] National Pride?
- Thread starter cthuluftaghn
- Start date
Ravellion
serves Gnome Master
Dr. Strangemonkey, do you actually think that Europe is closer to the West than the East coast? That seems odd. Or were you raised West Coast USA style, adapted to some European countries, then were advised against the east coast?
It just seems hard to believe to me. I suffered massive culture shock in the US. Everyone was just too... nice. Store Clerks weren't reading their newspaper and sighing, reluctantly getting up, when you wanted them to help you. *shivers* I just thought people were taken over by aliens or something
Also, it felt really odd seeing short 16 year old girls drive cars legally. Someone showing me guns wasn't too bad, until they freaked out when I held my finger to close to the trigger, yelling "You do NOT want to dry fire that gun!". Oh, yeah, I am from a country where guns are illegal, and I would know how to hold an unloaded gun. Oh well...
For all the people refuting my arguments - think about the meager distance I have to travel to get completely culture shocked. (edit) within (/edit) 1 hour of flying and I can expose myself to 12 vastly different cultures.
One more point I'd like to make is work ethic. In the US that seems to be universal, but in Europe... Industrious, Organized Swiss livin next to... well, I am not going to discriminate here, but I have heard several people from that country admit it themselves that work ethic is not that important.
Rav
It just seems hard to believe to me. I suffered massive culture shock in the US. Everyone was just too... nice. Store Clerks weren't reading their newspaper and sighing, reluctantly getting up, when you wanted them to help you. *shivers* I just thought people were taken over by aliens or something
Also, it felt really odd seeing short 16 year old girls drive cars legally. Someone showing me guns wasn't too bad, until they freaked out when I held my finger to close to the trigger, yelling "You do NOT want to dry fire that gun!". Oh, yeah, I am from a country where guns are illegal, and I would know how to hold an unloaded gun. Oh well...
For all the people refuting my arguments - think about the meager distance I have to travel to get completely culture shocked. (edit) within (/edit) 1 hour of flying and I can expose myself to 12 vastly different cultures.
One more point I'd like to make is work ethic. In the US that seems to be universal, but in Europe... Industrious, Organized Swiss livin next to... well, I am not going to discriminate here, but I have heard several people from that country admit it themselves that work ethic is not that important.
Rav
Last edited:
Sixchan
First Post
Rav said:It just seems hard to believe to me. I suffered massive culture shock in the US. Everyone was just too... nice. Store Clerks weren't reading their newspaper and sighing, reluctantly getting up, when you wanted them to help you. *shivers* I just thought people were taken over by aliens or something
Oh god, yeah. That was kinda spooky. Happy people don't seem human to Europeans. People who say "Have a Nice Day" are terrifying.
Every body has their quirks.Diversity in the USA
Just my 2 cents....
America is vastly different from state to state and city to city.
Example: Chicago has some of the best pizza on the planet, new york is a close second depending on how you prefer your pie.
Now if you go to say California, you wont be finding anything even close to resmbling the pizza in Chicago. In fact if you go 45 minutes away just over the border into wisconsin you find the same thing, and wisconsin is where we get most of our cheese. The difference can be something as simple as the water thats used in the dough, or the yeast or flour used. The tomatoes make a huge differance as well as whats added to the suace as far as spices, some places add fenel to the suasage some dont.
I can go downtown to Chicago and get just about anything food wise that I may desire, Milwaukee has alot of different foods but not anywhere near what Chicago has. Also Denver has a view no matter where you are in the city, Chicago is a little more cramped in spots and the traffic differences are major. Live in the suburbs of Chicago for 2 years then move to say the suburbs of Mephis for a couple years , try 2 years in the suburbs of Milwaukee. The differences in culture and the way people express themselves and live thier lives is vastly different.
And thats just the major cities, suburb to suburb is also vastly different even for the ones that border each other. From where I live it's a 20 minute ride to another culture, and if you live in the city it's a block walk.
Ok so it was really my buck fifty.........
Ejja
Just my 2 cents....
America is vastly different from state to state and city to city.
Example: Chicago has some of the best pizza on the planet, new york is a close second depending on how you prefer your pie.
Now if you go to say California, you wont be finding anything even close to resmbling the pizza in Chicago. In fact if you go 45 minutes away just over the border into wisconsin you find the same thing, and wisconsin is where we get most of our cheese. The difference can be something as simple as the water thats used in the dough, or the yeast or flour used. The tomatoes make a huge differance as well as whats added to the suace as far as spices, some places add fenel to the suasage some dont.
I can go downtown to Chicago and get just about anything food wise that I may desire, Milwaukee has alot of different foods but not anywhere near what Chicago has. Also Denver has a view no matter where you are in the city, Chicago is a little more cramped in spots and the traffic differences are major. Live in the suburbs of Chicago for 2 years then move to say the suburbs of Mephis for a couple years , try 2 years in the suburbs of Milwaukee. The differences in culture and the way people express themselves and live thier lives is vastly different.
And thats just the major cities, suburb to suburb is also vastly different even for the ones that border each other. From where I live it's a 20 minute ride to another culture, and if you live in the city it's a block walk.
Ok so it was really my buck fifty.........
Ejja
Storminator
First Post
Rav said:
I never said the US has a greater cultural diversity than Europe, I merely said it was greater than you think. Do you have any idea how bad each and every one of your points were? They are so easily and decisively refuted that I won't go point by point.
And while you latched onto my Mass/California example, you completely missed the Mass/ New Hampshire one. Massachusetts is proud to be a Commonwealth, 86% Democrat, nearly communistic in outlook, and widely known as Taxachusetts. New Hampshire is the "Live Free or Die" state, where they don't even plow the roads or pick up your garbage. Do it yourself, damn it! But there is no income tax, no sales tax, and many businesses don't even have to admit they exist.
I can be in New Hampshire in 15 minutes (well, I could if there weren't 6 inches of snow in the last 3 hours). An hour in the other direction, and I can be in Conneticut, which is practically a suburb of New York City. Vermont, our socialist state (with an Independent Governer and Independent Senator) might take 2 hours to drive to. Then there's Maine, which is the rugged frontier, one of the least developed places on the Eastern Seaboard.
If we go back and forth and list every example of variety, Europe will come out ahead. You lot have been at it a long time.
But if you think the post you put up earlier is indicative of American diversity, you are sadly mistaken.PS
Ravellion
serves Gnome Master
I couldn't get into all of my examples properly. Of course I was generalizing and overstating. If I had to relativate all of my examples my post would have been huge. It would also have been wrong on some counts... the US is not my native country afterall.Storminator said:If we go back and forth and list every example of variety, Europe will come out ahead. You lot have been at it a long time.
PS
Rav
Dr. Strangemonkey
First Post
Well, given enough wine and the right audience I might indeed argue that Europe has more in common with the west coast than the west coast has with the east coast, but...
...the real issue is that the cultural adaption necessary between a move from the west to the east is, in some ways, more difficult than the adaptation from the west to a European culture.
When I'm in Italy or visiting with Italians I know I am a stranger, a guest, and a foriegner. This makes me cautious, tolerant, alert, and forgivable. The difference is also so obvious and vast that I a lot of the adaptation becomes easily apparent from both sides. We are better able to suspend our sense of judgement. I also know that Italy and the western United States share a lot of culture and history that I can look for amidst the differences.
When living in the east or with people from the east, the differences are more subtle and the status of my counterpart harder to discern. This tends to create frustration, fear, and fanaticism - to bring in a little alliteration - and most importantly the tendency is for the sense of judgement to be applied more frequently than for it to be suspended. The fact that I know the differences are often imposed on each other through our shared laws and environment can sometimes make this even harder. The differences between similar individuals are also often harder to articulate and explain.
This may not be a universal experience of these differences but I've felt them and I know that others who have too.
...the real issue is that the cultural adaption necessary between a move from the west to the east is, in some ways, more difficult than the adaptation from the west to a European culture.
When I'm in Italy or visiting with Italians I know I am a stranger, a guest, and a foriegner. This makes me cautious, tolerant, alert, and forgivable. The difference is also so obvious and vast that I a lot of the adaptation becomes easily apparent from both sides. We are better able to suspend our sense of judgement. I also know that Italy and the western United States share a lot of culture and history that I can look for amidst the differences.
When living in the east or with people from the east, the differences are more subtle and the status of my counterpart harder to discern. This tends to create frustration, fear, and fanaticism - to bring in a little alliteration - and most importantly the tendency is for the sense of judgement to be applied more frequently than for it to be suspended. The fact that I know the differences are often imposed on each other through our shared laws and environment can sometimes make this even harder. The differences between similar individuals are also often harder to articulate and explain.
This may not be a universal experience of these differences but I've felt them and I know that others who have too.
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