You're so American!

[happydreamer]

11 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Walmart?

 

 

Unfortunately this represents a large part of the US if you're not from one of the big 3 cities.  And LA is questionable at that.

[KhunLA]

6 minutes ago, happydreamer said:

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

Not sure about that, as 1 giant scam, IMHO, and only benefits those within it.  Only if they understand it's a scam.

[Captain Monday]

5 minutes ago, Hummin said:

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.

That is risky. I work with near 90 percent GOP right-wingers some would want to debate. They come pre-loaded with FOX news taking points,  endless whataboutisms and discredited tropes and can be relentless.  We are actually trained to not talk politics or religion. I don't want to hear about how vile and criminally guilty Trump is for 6 hours with somebody I agree with either. Very boring and accomplishes nothing!

 

This is one of those clods who just talks anyone's ear off. Accosting girls 40 years his junior in the soi who are lucky they don't understand a word of the completely irrelevant stream of consciousness near the Aspberger's spectrum level.

 

I just am always "busy, going somewhere, have plans already" Bye...

[happydreamer]

9 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.

Good write up. 

[KhunLA]

4 minutes ago, happydreamer said:

Unfortunately this represents a large part of the US if you're not from one of the big 3 cities.  And LA is questionable at that.

I used to shop at WM, (PA & TN/MS) and never saw any of that.  Maybe a few large people with tight clothes, but nothing I don't see here or anywhere.   Nothing like the vid.

[happydreamer]

3 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Not sure about that, as 1 giant scam, IMHO, and only benefits those within it.  Only if they understand it's a scam.

I retired at 40 off of investing into the scam and came to live in this lovely place.  I guess when you can't change the game you just learn to play by the games rules.

[jayboy]

9 hours ago, Walker88 said:

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.

While I have great respect for the Founding Fathers, I'm not sure how you can make these comments with a straight face.The American Revolution was not specifically about rebelling against the Monarchy.However slavery remained in the new United States for another century whereas it was effectively made illegal in England after Lord Mansfield's judgement in 1772.

 

"How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes?"

 

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

Edited January 16, 2023 by jayboy

[happydreamer]

4 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

I used to shop at WM, (PA & TN/MS) and never saw any of that.  Maybe a few large people with tight clothes, but nothing I don't see here or anywhere.   Nothing like the vid.

You need to hit up them country roads where Walmart is a destination.  TN and MS?  I'm really surprised

Edited January 16, 2023 by happydreamer

[Captain Monday]

39 minutes ago, Hummin said:

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 

I would say it is OK if you earn $200k plus per year per person. I dont know how normal people with kids now survive with housing and food costs. I went to great schools and public universities basically for free. Now thats all gone,  But even if you are rich the bad cant be avoided.

• Pay huge taxes get nothing in return. I don't want the worlds biggest military.
• You cant be safe from gun violence.
• Not White? Treated like criminal in public, shops.  Police kill you with near complete impunity
• 30-50 percent chance in a get rear ended in traffic accident the other side is uninsured. Unless you are seriously maimed or killed they won't even be fined. Insurance? You suffer pay for all damage even you are not to blame. Been there done that will never again own a car in USA. Then your rates go up.
• Health Care. Again you better have a good job with good group insurance.
• 60 -70 dollar per person  meals in New York or SF basically dreck at times. Better check Yelp reviews

[Hummin]

11 minutes ago, Captain Monday said:

I would say it is OK if you earn $200k plus per year per person. I dont know how normal people with kids now survive with housing and food costs. I went to great schools and public universities basically for free. Now thats all gone,  But even if you are rich the bad cant be avoided.

• Pay huge taxes get nothing in return. I don't want the worlds biggest military.
• You cant be safe from gun violence.
• Not White? Treated like criminal in public, shops.  Police kill you with near complete impunity
• 30-50 percent chance in a get rear ended in traffic accident the other side is uninsured. Unless you are seriously maimed or killed they won't even be fined. Insurance? You suffer pay for all damage even you are not to blame. Been there done that will never again own a car in USA. Then your rates go up.
• Health Care. Again you better have a good job with good group insurance.
• 60 -70 dollar per person  meals in New York or SF basically dreck at times. Better check Yelp reviews

And making usd 200k a year, how many leave days a year do you have in average being employed? 

[LaosLover]

1 hour ago, Trippy said:

 

 

But I will say that I'm proud to be an American,

 

Me? No. Not at all. Where I was born is just down to a roll of the karmic dice.

 

I don't relate to it anymore than I do to being a male; something that people also attach a lot of nutty baggage to. It has nothing to do with me.

 

My wife comes from Appalachia where they make a big deal about being proud of where they come from. We feel sorry for people like that.

 

If people have some story in their wacky (means: English) heads about me and loudness, cargo pants, or Diet Coke, that likewise has nothing to do with me.

 

On my end, I'll try to be light and tabula rasa towards them out of empathy and curiosity.

 

I have found a lot of peace in these 2 simple sentences:

 

People's opinions about me are none of my business.

 

So I need not intrude on them.

[happydreamer]

1 hour ago, Captain Monday said:

I would say it is OK if you earn $200k plus per year per person. I dont know how normal people with kids now survive with housing and food costs. I went to great schools and public universities basically for free. Now thats all gone,  But even if you are rich the bad cant be avoided.

• Pay huge taxes get nothing in return. I don't want the worlds biggest military.
• You cant be safe from gun violence.
• Not White? Treated like criminal in public, shops.  Police kill you with near complete impunity
• 30-50 percent chance in a get rear ended in traffic accident the other side is uninsured. Unless you are seriously maimed or killed they won't even be fined. Insurance? You suffer pay for all damage even you are not to blame. Been there done that will never again own a car in USA. Then your rates go up.
• Health Care. Again you better have a good job with good group insurance.
• 60 -70 dollar per person  meals in New York or SF basically dreck at times. Better check Yelp reviews

Pretty much true.  Visited home last year and it was the first time I ever felt 'unsafe" walking around the streets of the city I grew up in.  I had my wife with me and it was her first time in the States so I was on high alert the whole time while trying to show her what it was like living in a big US city.  Costs are prohibitively expensive for everything.  Not a lot of value for your money anymore.  The once nice neighborhoods are infiltrated with crime.  The sh!tty neighborhoods are war zones.  Public education is a joke. You'll wait a month to 6 weeks for a non critical doctors appointment and of course there's always the weather.  To be honest...I couldn't wait to get back to Thailand.  I'm happy I grew up American in a big diverse city.  It prepares you for pretty much anything that comes your way in the future.  But I'm far from being that scrappy kid walking around with no valuables and looking over their shoulder every 30 seconds.  Leaving was the best thing I ever did.  So was maintaining business ties.

[VBF]

On 1/15/2023 at 7:03 AM, norfolkandchance said:

Oregano 

Usually incorrectly pronounced by Americans as     Orig-AN-Oh

[happydreamer]

1 hour ago, Hummin said:

And making usd 200k a year, how many leave days a year do you have in average being employed? 

Depends on how long you've been with the company and if they are a decent employer.  15-20 (3 - 4 weeks vacation)

[VBF]

23 hours ago, Hummin said:

Germans talk about how much things really cost, and how much they paid ????

Huh!!  You should listen to (we) Brits talking about house prices..it never stops!!

[KannikaP]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

WM, (PA & TN/MS)

Americans use acronyms for almost everything.

[KannikaP]

3 minutes ago, VBF said:

Usually incorrectly pronounced by Americans as     Orig-AN-Oh

Don't Yanks say O -regg- anoh. It is an Erb you know!

 

Other versions are available

[VBF]

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

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

Why not. Ronald Reagan (a notoriously bad actor) made it.

And...shouldn't it be obsession WITH celebrity? ????

[KhunLA]

1 hour ago, Captain Monday said:

I would say it is OK if you earn $200k plus per year per person. I dont know how normal people with kids now survive with housing and food costs. I went to great schools and public universities basically for free. Now thats all gone,  But even if you are rich the bad cant be avoided.

• Pay huge taxes get nothing in return. I don't want the worlds biggest military.
• You cant be safe from gun violence.
• Not White? Treated like criminal in public, shops.  Police kill you with near complete impunity
• 30-50 percent chance in a get rear ended in traffic accident the other side is uninsured. Unless you are seriously maimed or killed they won't even be fined. Insurance? You suffer pay for all damage even you are not to blame. Been there done that will never again own a car in USA. Then your rates go up.
• Health Care. Again you better have a good job with good group insurance.
• 60 -70 dollar per person  meals in New York or SF basically dreck at times. Better check Yelp reviews

Where do you read this krap at...????

[LaosLover]

In the corner of Appalachia we just left, the median income for a family of four is $26K. For a single adult, $19K.

 

When I lived in England, I met many middle-aged, educated people living in furnished rooms.

[happydreamer]

13 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Americans use acronyms for almost everything.

With the exception of WM those are official abbreviations...not acronyms.

[Walker88]

2 hours ago, jayboy said:

While I have great respect for the Founding Fathers, I'm not sure how you can make these comments with a straight face.The American Revolution was not specifically about rebelling against the Monarchy.However slavery remained in the new United States for another century whereas it was effectively made illegal in England after Lord Mansfield's judgement in 1772.

 

"How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes?"

 

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

Easy to make with a straight face. Yes, I'm well aware of the vices of some of the Founders, though not all were slave owners. They set the country on a path, with wording that is flexible. Jefferson and Madison wrote most of the founding docs, and only one was a slaveowner. One can get the impression Jefferson knew a day would come when slavery would be not only frowned upon, but outlawed. Madison, perhaps, insisted that the wording be neutral enough in the founding documents that the new nation would be a work in progress toward "all [men] are created equal".

 

We often suffer from Presentism, where we project current values on to the past. We like to think we would have been better had we lived 'back then', which is delusion. Most all of us would have assumed the beliefs of the era, just as we do today.

 

Again, I fall back on the neutral wording (save for the [men] I noted), and the idea that the nation was to be an eternal work in progress. The Founders seemed to know they were fighting human nature, which is at its core tribal and racist.

 

The key point was that the Founders could have just piggybacked off the Magna Carta, where all are equal except the monarch, but they specifically left that out and took the view that power/greatness/respect/authority merely by birth was an anachronism or just nonsense. A slogan of that time---despite most Founders being atheist---was "We bow to no Earthly King". That phrase was geared toward winning over citizens who happened to hold religious beliefs, but get them on board the "no monarchs' thing.

Edited January 16, 2023 by Walker88

[KannikaP]

5 minutes ago, happydreamer said:

With the exception of WM those are official abbreviations...not acronyms.

In English, an abbreviation is a shortened version of a word eg Corp. for Corporation, which should always be followed by a full stop, or period as you call it.

An Acronym is formed by using the first letters of something eg NASA, or even USA & UK.

[Jingthing]

2 hours ago, happydreamer said:

You need to hit up them country roads where Walmart is a destination.  TN and MS?  I'm really surprised

Now that's entertainment. 

 

https://www.peopleofwalmart.com/

[owl sees all]

29 minutes ago, VBF said:

Why not. Ronald Reagan (a notoriously bad actor) made it.

And...shouldn't it be obsession WITH celebrity? ????

Boy Bush could not spell so good.

 

What was it now; buffaloe?

 

But Clinton was put through the mill for telling the truth about Monica.

Edited January 16, 2023 by owl sees all

[KhunLA]

10 minutes ago, happydreamer said:

With the exception of WM those are official abbreviations...not acronyms.

Yep, figured WM was easy enough to understand, since replying to.

 

But yes, past, recent replies of mine: 

PA ... Pennsylvania

TN .. Tennessee

MS ... Mississippi

NWA .. NorthWest Airlines

DL ... Delta Airlines

DTW ... Detroit airport (Detroit Metropolitan Airport located in Wayne County)

 

I didn't use Beckley or AeorMech codes, as few would understand that, unless worked in the industry, and still maybe not.  Thought the rest were too easy, and too common.

 

I certainly wouldn't use MDT for Harrisburg, PA airport, as few would know it's located in Middletown.   Or SDF, for Louisville airport.  Not that they would come up in conversation, or unless talking with someone in the industry.

[KhunLA]

34 minutes ago, VBF said:

Why not. Ronald Reagan (a notoriously bad actor) made it.

And...shouldn't it be obsession WITH celebrity? ????

Ronald Reagan was an activist and into politics way back in the 1940's.  Twenty years prior, being very vocal before running for Governor of one of the largest states.

 

8 years as Governor, so wasn't exactly a political slouch. 

 

FYI ... barely got a majority of the 'popular' vote, at 51%, though a landslide in the EC count.   Then again, anyone could have beaten Carter, thanks to his failed economy.

[happydreamer]

1 hour ago, KannikaP said:

In English, an abbreviation is a shortened version of a word eg Corp. for Corporation, which should always be followed by a full stop, or period as you call it.

An Acronym is formed by using the first letters of something eg NASA, or even USA & UK.

They're state abbreviations...not state acronyms.  

PA ... Pennsylvania

TN .. Tennessee

MS ... Mississippi

 

Acronyms

 

NWA .. NorthWest Airlines

DL ... Delta Airlines

DTW ... Detroit airport (Detroit Metropolitan Airport located in Wayne County)

 

You're welcome

Edited January 16, 2023 by happydreamer

[Hummin]

1 hour ago, happydreamer said:

Depends on how long you've been with the company and if they are a decent employer.  15-20 (3 - 4 weeks vacation)

Some of those I meet (younger) have like 12-18 days and add flexible days on top of that. Often works 12-16 hours a day or a flat out 48 hour week. 
 

Edit note for less money than 200k a year.

Edited January 16, 2023 by Hummin

[treetops]

12 minutes ago, happydreamer said:

Acronyms

 

NWA .. NorthWest Airlines

DL ... Delta Airlines

DTW ... Detroit airport (Detroit Metropolitan Airport located in Wayne County)

One abbreviation. One Airline IATA Code and one Airport IATA Code.

 

Acronyms are also abbreviations but can be pronounced as a word like NASA, NATO etc.

Edited January 16, 2023 by treetops