You're so American!

[GammaGlobulin]

On 1/14/2023 at 7:55 AM, macahoom said:

 

Being unable to differentiate between the words then and than.

 

 

Crematoria vs Crematorium 

 

[Hummin]

1 hour ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Elon Musk. 

 

My fellow grad from the University of Pennsylvania. 

 

Vote MUSK in 2024! 

 

 

Crazy impulsive scientists, entrepreneurs and creators should stay exactly where they are, and do what they are best at, not leading a country with warheads.

[GammaGlobulin]

Well, IF you are SO American....then...

 

Please explain to us the difference between....

 

Upton Sinclair, and..

Sinclair Lewis.

 

[Walker88]

The OP posted a benign article that merely suggests certain tells.

 

Responses drifted---as one might expect---into criticisms and malign generalizations, often based on an N of 1. The confidence interval on an N of 1 in a universe of 330,000,000 is.......low.

 

Do Americans behave in an entitled manner? Some probably do. Some Germans and Brits and Aussies and others probably do, too., especially in a country where the foreigner feels some sort of superiority, as many foreigners do in Thailand.

 

Are Americans loud? Some probably are. Some Germans and Brits and Aussies and Japanese Yakuza probably are, too.

 

Americans have no monopoly on entitlement, loudness, obesity, cultural ignorance, etc.

 

Some folks like to project, so they will ascribe to Americans what they know full well are present in themselves or their own countrymen. Other people might be reacting to the ubiquitous nature of American 'culture'.

 

While much of American culture doesn't make me swell with pride, I can see much of it has been exported and absorbed, largely because no other nation or culture is creating any culture that resonates across borders, except maybe South Korea.  Baseball caps, rap, R&B, KFC/Macs & fast food, 7-11, Hollywood movies...these things have travel, say what you might. (Personally I hate superhero movies, most sci-fi after Star War #1, and most of what Hollywood produces nowadays.) It isn't unusual to see a Thai band donned in NYC or South Central LA fashion, spewing out rap. Many Thai women cannot be kept out of 7-11, where they purchase really bad food, or sharing a bucket of spicy wings from KFC with their sisters. Thai women are not lining up for a 'proper English breakfast' or blood pudding. Those things appeal to one nationality only.

 

We happen to live in an Era when America is dominant, good or bad. It's economy is still around 30% of World GDP, and its military power is unrivaled.  The US continues to secure the majority of Nobel Prizes, and its technology is adopted everywhere. This won't be forever, though most people over the age of forty will be pushing daisies by the time America slips from its top spot. Certainly the US is doing its damn-dest to fall, with clowns like 45 embracing and trying to export fascism rather than democracy, as well as practicing willful ignorance, but the next few decades still look to be US-centered.

 

I'm a professional expatriate who has largely lost touch with his home nation, but there are some things about America that give me pride. While men like Jefferson and Madison borrowed from Locke and Rousseau, and many of the US' founders were faulty by today's standards, the idea of human equality is something the US promoted more than any nation ever. The US specifically rebelled against monarchies and those granted respect and authority merely by birth, having achieved nothing but been whelped. Every human everywhere has benefited from that belief in equality. Though far from perfect, the US does try to promote human rights for all, no matter the circumstances of birth. Admittedly, the US remains a work in progress, but the goal is noble. Hopefully a day will come when a born royal is given nothing more than a female born in rural Bangladesh, as one is not inherently better than the other.

 

If there is a bottom line to this thread, it should be that each and every person should be judged on his or her individual merits, and not thrown into some category simply by virtue of the passport they carry.

[save the frogs]

6 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

If there is a bottom line to this thread, it should be that each and every person should be judged on his or her individual merits, and not thrown into some category simply by virtue of the passport they carry.

amen to that.

also, if you didn't actually write the songs for the beach boys, maybe you shouldn't try to take credit it for it on this forum.

 

[Walker88]

3 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

amen to that.

also, if you didn't actually write the songs for the beach boys, maybe you shouldn't try to take credit it for it on this forum.

 

Who did that?

[GammaGlobulin]

Charlie Don't Surf!

[save the frogs]

baseball caps have come up a few times.

the actual sport of baseball was exported to japan, taiwan, south korea, and cambodia. but somehow never to thailand. 

 

[save the frogs]

4 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

Who did that?

i don't know ... gamma is posting all these music videos ... it almost seems like associating yourself to the songwriters. 

music is in all countries as it is low-cost. 

 

but the film industry is different. the US definitely has the most impressive film industry in the world. it basically boils down to $$. 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

On 1/15/2023 at 5:55 AM, Keep Right said:

In England, you would have to wait several months before a doctor would see you.

More likely to see a nurse at A and E unless critical.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 1/15/2023 at 11:07 AM, Walker88 said:

We're now learning it was even worse.

 

Former Chief of Staff Gen Kelly had to head 45 off. 45 wanted to nuke North Korea. The General explained to him that 30,000 cannons were aimed at Seoul, the DPRK had missiles that could hit every city in Japan as well as the western US, and millions of South Koreans would likely die. 45 didn't care and still wanted to use the nukes.

 

Kelly used psychology, told 45 he could be the great dealmaker and try to build a relationship with Kim. That appealed to 45's ego, so no nukes. Kim subsequently hosed 45, playing nice, all the while speeding up U235 enrichment, improving his Hwasong ICBMs, and miniaturizing nukes.

 

Another revelation from Gen Kelly was that when 45 was in the EU and scheduled to visit a WWI graveyard and memorial, not only did 45 know who was on who's side in WWI, but because it was raining 45 thought it would mess up his hair. He also said he didn't want to visit a graveyard, because all were 'losers'. 45 said he likes 'winners' who survive, not losers who die in battle. Gen Kelly was still mourning his own son who had been killed in Afghanistan, and also knew 45 had lied to avoid the draft decades earlier.

Tell us how you really feel about the Donald then, LOL

 

It's pretty obvious you really like talking about him, given he's not what the topic is about.

[KhunLA]

5 hours ago, Felix the Cat said:

USAnians* are tourists. The rest of us are travelers.

 

*So arrogant for seppos to steal the name of an entire continent for they'reselves.

That depends on who's asking.   When I first got here, if asked, I'd say "United States' ... and get a blank stare.  They'd look at the wife or whoever Thai I was with, and she'd say 'America' ...  then the 'ah, dee mak' and smile would follow.  Showing the same ignorance as the thread title.  

 

If a foreigner asked me, I'd say 'Philadelphia, USA', and still got blank stares.  Follow up with, 'between NYC & DC' ... 'ah, OK, got it'.

 

Now, when asked ... 'Prachuap' 

[KhunLA]

5 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Elon Musk. 

 

My fellow grad from the University of Pennsylvania. 

 

Vote MUSK in 2024! 

 

 

I like him even more now.  Aside from shaking up the ICE auto industry ... "EVs ... it can't be ???? done"

 

He's joining Trump, Snowden, Assange, Manning in exposing the Deep State with his Twitter files releases.  Paying a heavy price for it, but he doesn't care ????  Seems all those 3 letter acronyms are corrupt as ever.

 

Exposing the criminals is always the correct thing to do.

Edited January 16, 2023 by KhunLA

[metisdead]

A number of pointless videos have been reported and removed.

[GammaGlobulin]

2 hours ago, Walker88 said:

The OP posted a benign article that merely suggests certain tells.

 

Responses drifted---as one might expect---into criticisms and malign generalizations, often based on an N of 1. The confidence interval on an N of 1 in a universe of 330,000,000 is.......low.

 

Do Americans behave in an entitled manner? Some probably do. Some Germans and Brits and Aussies and others probably do, too., especially in a country where the foreigner feels some sort of superiority, as many foreigners do in Thailand.

 

Are Americans loud? Some probably are. Some Germans and Brits and Aussies and Japanese Yakuza probably are, too.

 

Americans have no monopoly on entitlement, loudness, obesity, cultural ignorance, etc.

 

Some folks like to project, so they will ascribe to Americans what they know full well are present in themselves or their own countrymen. Other people might be reacting to the ubiquitous nature of American 'culture'.

 

While much of American culture doesn't make me swell with pride, I can see much of it has been exported and absorbed, largely because no other nation or culture is creating any culture that resonates across borders, except maybe South Korea.  Baseball caps, rap, R&B, KFC/Macs & fast food, 7-11, Hollywood movies...these things have travel, say what you might. (Personally I hate superhero movies, most sci-fi after Star War #1, and most of what Hollywood produces nowadays.) It isn't unusual to see a Thai band donned in NYC or South Central LA fashion, spewing out rap. Many Thai women cannot be kept out of 7-11, where they purchase really bad food, or sharing a bucket of spicy wings from KFC with their sisters. Thai women are not lining up for a 'proper English breakfast' or blood pudding. Those things appeal to one nationality only.

 

We happen to live in an Era when America is dominant, good or bad. It's economy is still around 30% of World GDP, and its military power is unrivaled.  The US continues to secure the majority of Nobel Prizes, and its technology is adopted everywhere. This won't be forever, though most people over the age of forty will be pushing daisies by the time America slips from its top spot. Certainly the US is doing its damn-dest to fall, with clowns like 45 embracing and trying to export fascism rather than democracy, as well as practicing willful ignorance, but the next few decades still look to be US-centered.

 

I'm a professional expatriate who has largely lost touch with his home nation, but there are some things about America that give me pride. While men like Jefferson and Madison borrowed from Locke and Rousseau, and many of the US' founders were faulty by today's standards, the idea of human equality is something the US promoted more than any nation ever. The US specifically rebelled against monarchies and those granted respect and authority merely by birth, having achieved nothing but been whelped. Every human everywhere has benefited from that belief in equality. Though far from perfect, the US does try to promote human rights for all, no matter the circumstances of birth. Admittedly, the US remains a work in progress, but the goal is noble. Hopefully a day will come when a born royal is given nothing more than a female born in rural Bangladesh, as one is not inherently better than the other.

 

If there is a bottom line to this thread, it should be that each and every person should be judged on his or her individual merits, and not thrown into some category simply by virtue of the passport they carry.

The "bottom line", as you mention, is, if you are an American:

 

The taste of Cherry Chapstick. 

 

(Maybe, Americans should begin to get serious about our world?) 

 

Dr. Carl Sagan, in 1985, clearly spelled out the consequences which we face if we pursue our business-as-usual trajectory. 

 

40 years hence, still, nobody listens. 

 

Instead, we listen to tunes about Cherry Chapstick. 

 

Bye, Bye Birdie. 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2023 by GammaGlobulin

[KannikaP]

On 1/14/2023 at 4:05 PM, ozimoron said:

There's another thing about The US. One of the most God fearing western nation on the planet, right up there with Spain, Portugal and Greece and far more so than its peers. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Importance_of_religion_by_country

And look where Thailand is....98% say it is important. ????

[ozimoron]

2 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

And look where Thailand is....98% say it is important. ????

That's kinda not relevant to the US is it? I would also suggest the way that Thais manifest that religiosity isn't similar to the way the religious in the US do. 'nuff said.

[Hummin]

3 hours ago, Walker88 said:

The OP posted a benign article that merely suggests certain tells.

 

Responses drifted---as one might expect---into criticisms and malign generalizations, often based on an N of 1. The confidence interval on an N of 1 in a universe of 330,000,000 is.......low.

 

Do Americans behave in an entitled manner? Some probably do. Some Germans and Brits and Aussies and others probably do, too., especially in a country where the foreigner feels some sort of superiority, as many foreigners do in Thailand.

 

Are Americans loud? Some probably are. Some Germans and Brits and Aussies and Japanese Yakuza probably are, too.

 

Americans have no monopoly on entitlement, loudness, obesity, cultural ignorance, etc.

 

Some folks like to project, so they will ascribe to Americans what they know full well are present in themselves or their own countrymen. Other people might be reacting to the ubiquitous nature of American 'culture'.

 

While much of American culture doesn't make me swell with pride, I can see much of it has been exported and absorbed, largely because no other nation or culture is creating any culture that resonates across borders, except maybe South Korea.  Baseball caps, rap, R&B, KFC/Macs & fast food, 7-11, Hollywood movies...these things have travel, say what you might. (Personally I hate superhero movies, most sci-fi after Star War #1, and most of what Hollywood produces nowadays.) It isn't unusual to see a Thai band donned in NYC or South Central LA fashion, spewing out rap. Many Thai women cannot be kept out of 7-11, where they purchase really bad food, or sharing a bucket of spicy wings from KFC with their sisters. Thai women are not lining up for a 'proper English breakfast' or blood pudding. Those things appeal to one nationality only.

 

We happen to live in an Era when America is dominant, good or bad. It's economy is still around 30% of World GDP, and its military power is unrivaled.  The US continues to secure the majority of Nobel Prizes, and its technology is adopted everywhere. This won't be forever, though most people over the age of forty will be pushing daisies by the time America slips from its top spot. Certainly the US is doing its damn-dest to fall, with clowns like 45 embracing and trying to export fascism rather than democracy, as well as practicing willful ignorance, but the next few decades still look to be US-centered.

 

I'm a professional expatriate who has largely lost touch with his home nation, but there are some things about America that give me pride. While men like Jefferson and Madison borrowed from Locke and Rousseau, and many of the US' founders were faulty by today's standards, the idea of human equality is something the US promoted more than any nation ever. The US specifically rebelled against monarchies and those granted respect and authority merely by birth, having achieved nothing but been whelped. Every human everywhere has benefited from that belief in equality. Though far from perfect, the US does try to promote human rights for all, no matter the circumstances of birth. Admittedly, the US remains a work in progress, but the goal is noble. Hopefully a day will come when a born royal is given nothing more than a female born in rural Bangladesh, as one is not inherently better than the other.

 

If there is a bottom line to this thread, it should be that each and every person should be judged on his or her individual merits, and not thrown into some category simply by virtue of the passport they carry.

God bless you and god bless America

 

 

Edited January 16, 2023 by Hummin

[spidermike007]

12 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Hopefully someone will be along soon to make America great again ?

With America's obsession of celebrity, perhaps someone like Mylie Cyrus, or Dwayne Johnson should run for persistent. 

[Captain Monday]

On 1/15/2023 at 8:49 AM, proton said:

 

A mixed bag. You also have people who will kill you for looking at them wrong, at least becoming aggressive to passersby at any perceived slight to them or their claimed personal space 

 

In Thailand how should I avoid a completely gormless and boring fellow American I once made the mistake of talking to without being overtly rude? 

[owl sees all]

11 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Crematoria vs Crematorium 

 

Center and centre.

[Hummin]

7 minutes ago, Captain Monday said:

In Thailand how should I avoid a completely gormless and boring fellow American I once made the mistake of talking to without being overtly rude? 

How? Somehow you find out if he is religous or a republican, and from there a walk in the park.

 

Just let a fellow quite educated american in his 50ies, and they wanted to meet us for a dinner. It took me two minutes and he looked like he never wanted to see me again ever!

 

I said I could not believe people are so idiots and believe in a complete fixed vote, and the pedophile rumors about the democrats politicians. 

 

Just a few more minutes with chit chat, and they where off.

 

Most Americans is nice and a pleasure to be around, but when they start get going about politics and q annan tendencies Im off. Not that they are Q annan, but surprisingly many believe in smaller fraction of it.

[Trippy]

I haven't read this whole thread as American bashing doesn't interest me. 

 

But I will say that I'm proud to be an American, and after coming to Thailand for about the last 30 years, and meeting many other nationalities, I know with 100% certainty that I wouldn't want to come from anywhere else. 

[happydreamer]

On 1/14/2023 at 8:57 AM, Gsxrnz said:

The biggest giveaway is their dress sense (lack of). 

Definitely agree with this.  It carries on back home too depending on where you're from.  

[Hummin]

9 minutes ago, Trippy said:

I haven't read this whole thread as American bashing doesn't interest me. 

 

But I will say that I'm proud to be an American, and after coming to Thailand for about the last 30 years, and meeting many other nationalities, I know with 100% certainty that I wouldn't want to come from anywhere else. 

Being from Norway, I can say the same, and I have spent a few years in Usa in several states to base my opinion on it, as well 25 or so other countries visited longer than just a holiday. Both for work and sports. 

 

As long you are born at the right side in Usa, you got good chances, but in Norway (nordic countries included Iceland), It doesnt matter where you come from, or who your parents is, you have equal chances to be what you want in life, and everyone have social security no matter what you do or what you are.

 

The american way is not for everyone 

Edited January 16, 2023 by Hummin

[Jingthing]

4 minutes ago, happydreamer said:

Definitely agree with this.  It carries on back home too depending on where you're from.  

Walmart?

 

 

[Jingthing]

8 minutes ago, Trippy said:

I haven't read this whole thread as American bashing doesn't interest me. 

 

But I will say that I'm proud to be an American, and after coming to Thailand for about the last 30 years, and meeting many other nationalities, I know with 100% certainty that I wouldn't want to come from anywhere else. 

The USA makes it hard on expats. 

Needing to file taxes, FBAR, banks dumping expats, forcing foreign banks to report on us, etc.

[happydreamer]

On 1/14/2023 at 1:23 PM, KhunLA said:

2.  All movies are Americans

... target audience in USA alone, 300+ million, make sense now.

 

3.  All music is American

... British invasion, covering USA blues songwriters ... hmm

 

4.  Best schools, America

... far from it, though a few do shine, as in most 1st world countries.

 

5.  Strongest Military

... untested, thankfully

... and yet, can't seem to win a conflict, since 1783, and only with the help of the French, indirectly.  OK, Japan/WWII with a bit of help from some friends.

 

6.  Best Athletes (Top 1%, Olympics, etc......usually American).

... not even close.  Olympics don't count, as selective, and some paid professionals.

 

7.  Most expensive everything

... and yet, most things sell for less in USA, except healthcare.

 

8.   Lives in a place that's massive, can see mountains, beaches, whatever......all in America

... NO argument, it is massive, why most Yanks don't waste their time traveling out of the Americas.  Why bother

 

9.  100 million people apply to live there every year

... again true, seems top spot people want to go.  That Land of Opportunity, and can't argue that.  Very true, if apply yourself.

 

10.  The ONLY country that can save Ukraine

... defense contractors make money, don't save anyone

 

11.  The ONLY country that can solve world hunger

... that's obviously failed, and the UN should be ashamed of itself, long with every G20 country.

 

12.  The ONLY country that every other country listens to, worships, and is afraid of.

... you can't fix stupid ????

You forgot our massive stock market and how it drives the global economy

[Trippy]

9 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

The USA makes it hard on expats. 

Needing to file taxes, FBAR, banks dumping expats, forcing foreign banks to report on us, etc.

I hear ya, but really we only have ourselves to blame. Too many people try to hide money, so they make more regulations. 

[Jingthing]

Just now, Trippy said:

I hear ya, but really we only have ourselves to blame. Too many people try to hide money, so they make more regulations. 

I don’t blame myself.