- #36
Pengwuino
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honestrosewater said:In fact, http://www.answers.com/soccer+mom&r=67 are one counterexample.
Oh man, we're trying to give him reasons not to hate Americans
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honestrosewater said:In fact, http://www.answers.com/soccer+mom&r=67 are one counterexample.
For instance, polygamy, animal sacrifice, dowries, arranged marriages, living your whole life with your parents and extended family, and so on might seem strange, unnatural, or even plainly wrong to someone who didn't grow up where these were common and accepted practices.
No, I was using it as a generic example. In fact, they all happen in the US, they just aren't common. In fact, there was a case in FL a while ago... there are laws against animal sacrifice in FL, and one group was trying to stop another from sacrificing animals. But the sacrifices were a main part of the group's religion, so the Supreme Court ruled that FL's law was unconstitutional (First Amendment) and FL had to make an exception. So animal sacrifice as a religious practice is actually legal in FL (if nothing has changed since then) and presumably would be in every state since it was the US Supreme Court and the First Amendment.klusener said:Was this aimed towards India, because if it is, it is nothing more than the same sort of material that chound has put out.
Those weren't stereotypes; They're things I have seen and seen studies of. Some people do live with their families their whole lives. And some do sacrifice animals. And some people walk around completely naked and sleep in hammocks all in the same half-open shelter. And in some places marriages are arranged, or were within the last couple of decades, I think that particular lesson was from the 80s. I watch the anthropology telecourses from a local college. And pick up some anthropology books. I think it's much better to be able to actually watch and listen. I'm not making this stuff up.Pengwuino said:I doubt that was aimed at India. Being in hte US, the 'living with family forever' sterotype is associated muuuuuch more often with people in Mexico or south american countries.
Remember, i said stereotype, so its not necessarily true
goldi said:US has progressed on base of itself...it has its own traditions and qualities...
Just to say this all is not good is pointless...
and the way u are trying to find fault with US is indirect way to say they are gr8...
Because love to find fault with gr8 ppls
but on one hand if u will start to find problems in India and take its ratio with US it will be infinite...
India progress,,
u guys haven't been able to win any nobles,oscars,olympics,whatever and give lessons for free...
Grow up
We learned more about slavery. The treatment was definitely critical, but there was also a focus on progress and, again, fighting for freedom. I'm just talking about K-12.Pengwuino said:And an even greatest testament to American freedom in relation to what honestrosewater said, is that in elementary school, we spent about half a semester bad-mouthing the US in textbooks in regards to the Native Americans. We can say and do and study seemingly whatever we want. Some choose to focus on the good of America, some choose to focus on the bad but in the end, its allllll about choice.
Yes, historically, marriage in the world has usually been more about economics, security, and social status than happiness and large extended families equals security in numbers. Marriages were arranged for the overall families' benefit, not the couple getting married.honestrosewater said:Those weren't stereotypes; They're things I have seen and seen studies of. Some people do live with their families their whole lives. And some do sacrifice animals. And some people walk around completely naked and sleep in hammocks all in the same half-open shelter. And in some places marriages are arranged, or were within the last couple of decades, I think that particular lesson was from the 80s. I watch the anthropology telecourses from a local college. And pick up some anthropology books. I think it's much better to be able to actually watch and listen. I'm not making this stuff up.
Dr.Brain said:Seriously , US is like some master and slaves respect US just because of the fear within the people . Belonging to the biggest democracy on Earth , I can certainly assert that US will soon see the dusk.
The world knows UN is nothing but a slave of USA .
I know ;)klusener said:lol, this may come as a surprise to you, but the media has already been putting down India or stereotyping it for a half a century now.
I'd say that's a no.According to the Federal Reserve, in 1990 the richest 1 percent of America owned 40 percent of its wealth -- the greatest level of inequality among all rich nations, and the worst in U.S. history since the Roaring Twenties. Furthermore, the richest 20 percent owned 80 percent of America -- meaning, of course, that the bottom four-fifths of all Americans owned only one fifth of its wealth.
The data are sketchy, but by all accounts Americans are far more generous in terms of charitable contributions than the citizens of any other country. A 1991 study found the United Kingdom to have the second largest percentage of private charitable giving. But in 2003, charitable giving amounted to 8.6 billion pounds or 0.8 percent of GDP in the U.K., according to the Charities Aid Foundation, compared to $241 billion or 2.2 percent of GDP in the U.S., according to the American Association of Fundraising Counsel.
But even this estimate of charitable giving by Americans is low because it counts only cash contributions and omits volunteer work.
According to Independent Sector, in 2003, they contributed an additional $266 billion worth of their time to charitable enterprises. This is based on a value of $17.12 per hour of time. But even if one assigns a value equal to the minimum wage, this noncash contribution still comes to about $100 billion.
honestrosewater said:Those weren't stereotypes; They're things I have seen and seen studies of. Some people do live with their families their whole lives. And some do sacrifice animals. And some people walk around completely naked and sleep in hammocks all in the same half-open shelter. And in some places marriages are arranged,
Artman said:We are not perfect, but basically US citizens are generous, brave, kind, hard working, honest, moral people, much like you will find anywhere.
America has about a 50% divorce rate. My guess would be most of these would be within the first 5 years.chound said:You marry someone on Monday divroce the person on Friday.
It is common among teenagers, but adults are not as immature. Ass refers to the butt, where poop comes out of.chound said:Americans use lots of unnecessary words like "****" "kick your ass" (I want to know what the real meaning of ass is" It is donkey right?) etc
Its not just americans, but a 13 year old who has sex is definitely not a good thing in other peoples eyes. It is illegal to get married before you are 18. It is actually illegal to have sex before you are 18 also, but there isn't really any way to enforce this. People tend to begin having sex at 16.chound said:Americans have sex as early as 13 years and child marriage is allowed by law.
You don't work in India? This one is just dumb.chound said:Parents go to work and generally tend to forget their children.
A date for someone younger than $18 years is probably no more than $50, which is about eight hours of work at a little over minimum wage. ($5 something)chound said:People are willing to blow lots of money on things like tatooes, dates etc.
The people on Ripley's are retarded. Don't watch that show. What a waste of time.chound said:Most Americans are crazy (I got this idea after seeing Ripley' Believe it or Not)
Who wouldn't do anything for money? Ofcourse social standards here and in India are different.chound said:They would do anything for money( I got this idea after seeing in a program where u could take anything in the store for free if u came naked and Fear Factor)
Very true.chound said:Most Americans don't have a good idea about the outside world.
Not really, again, different social standards. Things that are 'normal' here are not 'normal' there.chound said:They are generally bad mannered.
Generally true. Winning is a different matter though.chound said:You can sue anayone for anything.(Like this guy who sued the parents of a teenager he killed)
American politics is dumber than watching Ripleys.chound said:The americans don't know that they are under a Republic government (I don't mean the four parties) i.e. they elect the head of the state directly.
Different standards (from a different culture). They are immodest to your standards, yes.chound said:Women are mostly immodest.
Really? Show me where.chound said:The women "gladly" set up kissing booths and act in porn movies.
Only if you are over 18.chound said:Porn is legally allowed in the US
I would give them 50 years tops.chound said:USA is probably going to lose its superpower status within a century.
Very very true, not only politics, but business.chound said:USA is the best example of the maxim "There are no friends in politics only interests"
I wouldn't know.chound said:US AID is like **** (this is becoz the grains that US sent to India a long time ago were full of worms and what not and the entire thing was thrown into the sea)
I wouldn't call China a poor country. Theyre on their way up really quick. I don't think this statement is true though, the US economy is impressive.chound said:US survives primarily on the money it borrowes from poor countries like Russia, China, India.
Free Trade is one of the pillars of the economy. It is still allowed.chound said:Though US supported Free Trade it does not do so now that the chineese textiles are flooeding its markets.
Just a consequence of capitalism, however the rich people are a very very small minority.chound said:U.S. is full of rich people who have gone mad in the name of eccentricsm.
It is illegal to show breast, buttocks, or genitalia on TV except on premium (paid privately) channels. However, rap videos tend to push this.chound said:Most music videos can't be distinguished from pron videos.
Pengwuino said:How exactly did this idea that Americans don't know anything about world politics come from? Has there been studies to actually prove this? I've seen my fair share of idiots in this country but I've heard my fair share of idiots from around the world on the internet. My guess is that this is just another thing like chound says which are stereotypes associated with America that are 100% valid ( to even larger extent in many cases) in every other nation on earth.
whozum said:Just look at the amount of people who support the war, that should be evidence enough. Americans don't know **** about the outside. People sitll ask me where Sudan is. I still get "are you from iraq?"
Your average american probably couldn't draw you a decent map of the world. Actually I would be more confident in a 4th grader drawing the world than your average 30 year old. They are taught the stuff, they just are too absent-minded (as far as education goes) to care.
Pengwuino said:Oh yes, the "war". Let me guess, "War for oil!". Hilarious. Most of the world is blinded by propoganda and think the UN has some sense of dignity when they put gross human rights violaters on human rights commissions! So I think the amount of people that support the UN shows how little the "international community" knows.
Pengwuino said:hehehe :) Yet you mock the American public...
I wonder what he'd think if he saw the Jerry Springer show. The people on that show are an embarassment to humans in general, they are the dregs of society.learningphysics said:I think everyone(including myself) was a little too quick to jump down chound's throat. He was pointing out the impression that media has given him, and was asking for clarification.
The USA is a media giant (movies, music television... that's popular worldwide). It is difficult for those outside the USA not to gain a skewed impression of the country.
True enough. In my opinionPengwuino said:whoa whoa whoa... let's not insult the guy for making unfounded generalizations by making our own generalizations. The only real thing we can say are we are all humans and certain % of people are black or white or asian or stuff like that. Its difficult to put numbers to people that are "kind" or "hard working". If i had to gauge the people i know, id say they were basically not hard working and not generous... but of course i know only a few dozen or a couple hundred people. Its hardly a majority but its still something to kinda take into account. Many generalizations stem from peoples personal views being extrapolated out to an entire population.
And where did I say anything at all like that?Pengwuino said:A stereotype is something you believe a majority of hte people do/are like simply because of their background/ethnicity. The key word is SOME people. If you think of say, southern people marry their cousins, its a stereotype because I am pretty sure nowhere near a majority of them actually do or even think about it.
Those are two examples of two different cultures with different customs. I had the list of American customs in mind, so to illustrate my point, I chose a set of customs that were different. I even clarified that I wasn't talking about any place or people in particular; It was just a generic example. Monogamy, animal rights, and the nuclear family are American customs. This is not an unfounded generalization or prejudiced opinion about a group of people, which is what "stereotype" means to me and every dictionary I checked; It is a documented fact- you can just look at the laws. The other group of customs can't be stereotypes since I didn't apply them to any group of people. I don't even know that they all apply to anyone group of people. Is anything not clear about that?I think it's also difficult to judge cultures that are very different from your own. For instance, polygamy, animal sacrifice, dowries, arranged marriages, living your whole life with your parents and extended family, and so on might seem strange, unnatural, or even plainly wrong to someone who didn't grow up where these were common and accepted practices. By the same token, monogamy, animal rights, divorce, the nuclear family, and so on might seem strange, unnatural, or even plainly wrong to someone else. Just something to keep in mind. I think people actually have more in common than it seems- most people just want to live and be merry.
you're wrong. any cable channel can show whatever they want. the only restrictions (or rather suggestions) is that it's late at nightwhozum said:It is illegal to show breast, buttocks, or genitalia on TV except on premium (paid privately) channels. However, rap videos tend to push this.