I'm curious to understand more about the hate.
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I'm curious to understand more about the hate.
Government.
Oh and country music.
An American girl broke my heart.
Fuckin Sarah Palin, everything she stands for and all who stand behind her.
Disliking an entire nation of people is the same as racism. There are many, many diverse groups of people within the U.S. Unfortunately, the overly patriotic yet uninformed ones often have the loudest voices, and this tends to piss of people from other countries. Basically the equivalent of some dude yelling about how great he is. No one likes that.
Unfortunately this represents far too many Americans:
http://yoyoel.com/wp-content/uploads...ryspringer.jpghttp://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/...0_1708768c.jpghttp://www.accesshollywood.com/conte...-situation.jpghttp://www.tshirtwatch.com/blog/wp-c...-thats-hot.jpghttp://media.trb.com/media/photo/2010-07/55055700.jpghttp://cdn.pimpmyspace.org/media/pms...5/51/geant.jpg
What dislike I have centers around how the media is used to divide people, and promote content that may prove more destructive than beneficial. The latter is up to interpretation, but television programs like "My Sweet 16" and "Jersey Shore" aren't exactly what most of us would consider enriching (or even neutral) shows. I've seen more negative, spiteful comments come out of these than positive. Why create hostility...
(I already know the answer: it makes money)
Well, the foreign stereotypes include arrogantly parochial, ignorant, xenophobic, nationalistic, zealous, backwardly religious, socially illiberal, aggressive, paranoid, materialistic, superficial, uncultured, unintelligent, and fat. I'll add more if any come to mind.
We apparently don't give a shit about other countries. A lot of Americans (if asked) may be able to name all the Kardashians, but then when asked who the President of Mexico is, they'll most likely get stumped. Stuff like that. We're ignorant but still pretend to be superior.
I'm basically just repeating what I've heard. I don't mind living in America.
"Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious."
- Oscar Wilde
No need to get it twisted.
I love living in America. ... Being called an American, on the otherhand, is a huge love-hate ordeal, because there are SO MANY THINGS about this country that put shame to the name, and in the end, while privileged to be raised in a nation founded upon and thus publicizes principles of good intentions, it's also a nation that has rode the political and economic 'shit-roller-coaster', ending up far down the tubes since its inception.
Three points:
1) Media brainwash
Fact of the matter is, what once was true about America is only half true today. Some would say none of it is true. America is not truly a free country. It has come FAR from that! ... Aside from that, our ability to defend freedoms and make real progress in the sight of the people (of whom the nation was founded) is diluted, because of how desensitized and dehumanized by the media we are. We're so used to seeing the Caucasian heroic story play out over television shows, and products being sold to us constantly, and ideas being oversaturated, that our moral and practical judgement regarding world events and our own well-being as a nation is one huge fog of 'I wonder who's going to win American Idol tonight! etc etc etc', making it so easy to be misled by media figures, like faulty politicians. There is a famous scene from Network that perfectly explains this point. ... "Network" 1976 -- Turn off your TV! [combined with today's news] - YouTube
2) Capitalist overindulgence
Truth be told, I'm not a purist. There is nothing purely wrong with Capitalism, but America is the perfect example of capitalism gone horribly wrong, and completely unregulated. A good number of people over here believe that the big baddie is government regulation,... and big government in general, and while it is at the center of most things gone wrong, big business is just as wicked a deamon. While the 'Free Market' is intended to level itself out, the amount of greed that has been allowed to manifest has even tampered with the Free Markets functioning, to the point where the idea of a 'Boom and Bust' system (huge economic expansion followed by huge economic recession/depression, generation after generation) has somehow become normal, and when things go really bad, what do we learn? "Burn the house down with taxpayer money, walk away rich as hell, and let the rest of the nation/world collapse. HELL! We can just buy up their shit, find a new market, and start the cycle over again!" ... I don't know about you, but I feel that setting the bull loose was a truly fucked up idea.
3) Ultra-conservative
I am not against conservatives, or Republicans. There are plenty of ideals and policies on the right end I don't think are all that bad. Some of them make up for what deficiencies on the left, and vice versa (you can tell I am a moderate). ... but for God's sake, the number of people here that believe that America is number 1, and that patriotism is almost higher than the will of God (or an even more dangerous a notion, ... it IS the will of God!) just makes me want to punch a baby! The ones screaming loudest into the microphone at Tea Party conventions, and those more radical clowns on Fox News who like riling up angry people and frightening them into hating other countries like China, ... people who are usually riddled in negative traits despite all the 'piousness', like racism, extreme fundamentalism, and advocating of political and religious fears... like we're still living in the Quaker/Victorian-era America... are the people I can't stand. ... I mean, I'd feel bad about calling any one type of people out, but... kinda hard to feel bad when the hate is already placed against you for not following along with it. ... Not to suggest that America has tons of them, like they are a majority or anything,... but... the loudest, most annoying ones always get heard I guess.
... Those are my three points.
Fairly rough, but ... you get the point now.
I dislike America's constant meddling and coercion in the internal affairs of foreign nations most of all.
Obnoxious seems to be the most common description for the average American. Many Americans still display an innate sense of superiority regardless of their personal accomplishments and even though their country is quickly tumbling to the bottom rung of the developed world. Just like the big loud bully in high school, you can't help but feel like putting them in their place.
On a more personal note I feel like a large part of American culture seems fake and manufactured, which is extremely unappealing to me. Capitalism's ugly consequences ran amok.
Hollywood pisses me off to the highest degree. Sure, it does come out with some good movies, but it is all so Americanized. Give the rest of the world a chance to make movies, Let every culture bring out some uniqueness.
For example, American teenage movies do not apply to anywhere but America (if that). We can not identify with them at all. Things such as school cafeterias (we don't have them), elementary, middle, sophomore, freshmen, junior and senior (we have a completely different education system), Christmas in winter (we don't have that), no school uniform (we don't have that either), the list gos on. Yet the only teenage movies come out from America, where is our films?
Sci-fi and actions are also heavily American Cliched, it just gets so annoying seeing the typical evil CIA, talking to the president, going around Manhattan, new York, where ever, Let's see something new and something Non-American. Harry Potter did well because it was British, Lord of the rings did well because it was New Zealand (thank god Hollywood didn't steal the right to film the hobbit in America) etc etc
Just stop being so greedy in the movie making industry!
I agree with all the post above, though I hate how people from other countries start to stereotype all Americans, people have to know that all people are different.
Edit: Oh, and Australia sounds like a nice place to live.
Oh the irony of being called arrogant by Xei... :shadewink:
I think people did a good job to sum up what I think. I have American friends and I don't doubt it is a great place to live. Like many others. Still.. this is kind of hard to explain without offending anyone, but I guess I am glad I did not born American. I just.. could not feel any national pride with country that has done such actions in the past, in the present and most probably in the future if nothing is changed. I understand patriotism is a great word for Americans ( for most of them I guess ), but somehow it differs what people here call patriotism. Also, being a vast country there is a great chance that I would have been raised to one of those individuals that represent the USA how we others see it.
Let me explain a bit further. It is completely fine to feel national pride of your heritage and of your land. But by doing so you cannot be picky. That pride must last even when you take account all the "bad" things that has been done because of it. Compared to America that is vast, populated and full of different states, cultures, races and such, our tiny country is a lot more tightly knit together. As a rule of thumb, the smaller the community is the more likely they will have stronger bonds to each other. Somehow the sense of absolute superiority and arrogance some Americans represent is far from pride in my book.
Also, I hate it when American influences turn our youth into something awful. Our language is changing rapidly, filled with slang words from English ( most American english naturally ). Politeness is gone, the generation is pretty much corrupted and I don't know what will happen in the timeline of 10 years. Pretty much is blamed on American influences, I am afraid.
Spoiler for More to the issue. Spoiled for rambling:
Very well said Unelias!!
I've come to hate the word patriotism... I guess because of the way most Americans use it. The pride they talk about is the kind that comes before a fall.
So often I hear people strutting around talking about their pride and I realize it's actually arrogance and not pride at all. True pride, as you said, is based on accomplishments and abilities. But the people throwing their chest out and announcing "Nobody insults me! I'm a bad ass son of a bitch! You fuck with me and I'll fuck you up!" don't have any real pride at all. Just bloated egos. Patriotism based on that kind of "pride" is not only empty and hollow, but is just bullying, and tends to separate people and set them against each other for no real reason.
lol watQuote:
Originally Posted by AustralianFire
They're not being greedy. They're making as many movies as people want to buy. If people want to see movies from a wider base, let them buy the movies made by such people. It's not Hollywood's problem.
I wasn't calling anybody anything; I was saying what the British stereotype is.Quote:
Originally Posted by Darkmatters
I agree with AustralianFire that the movie industry has declined a lot..I mean movies these days are so cliched and predictable..I don't even get excited about movies coming out anymore except a few movies I am looking forward to.
I think people don't care about creativity anymore, what happened to new ideas and movies that have never been done before? There are some movies that still do this, but most don't. I think the whole thing is that Hollywood is just making movies to entertain people now, rather than express the writers imagination and creativity..they just make some random movie with mindless action, boring plot that will cater to the masses short attention span lol
It's not only movies though, I think it's music too. Thank god the indie scene is getting bigger...in this day and age you don't have to have tons of money to make an indie film, game, or album
They're not even really making movies to entertain people, just to rake in massive megabucks. Moviemaking is big business now. They don't care at all about artistic integrity or message or anything like that - just hand over fist profits. New ideas aren't profitable, neither is art. No corporation spending tens of millions of dollars on a single project is going to risk long shots like that - they want only the safest bets.
Also, independent moviemaking these days is massively expensive too. Most of the independent film studios are now backed by major studios. What passes for 'independent' these days is what used to be big-budget a decade or two ago. Long gone is the true spirit of independent low-budget filmmaking from the 60's and 70's.
That spirit can still exist, but unfortunately it's mostly only in basement studio productions from people who re totally amateur and can't get professional actors or cinematographers etc.
"They try to minimize the issue, but I'm keepin' it large. I love the place I live, but I hate the people in charge..." - Immortal Technique
Serious question: Do you actually know what the word "unregulated" means?Quote:
Originally Posted by MatthewOlson
It's gotten to the point where I'm starting to actually question people's understandings of the words they use when they talk about subjects like this. How can one possibly and honestly say that the U.S. has a free market when the economic history of the U.S. is steeped in obvious interventionism? You don't even have to be a free market supporter in any sense to acknowledge the fact that the U.S. does not operate in a free market system. The only way one can possibly come to the opposite conclusion is if they ignore historical facts.
I think you should learn the definitions of the words you intend to use. You cannot honestly attack the free market system, for it isn't used in the U.S. You have to attack the blatant corporatism that is at the root of the problems you pointed out.
the government
How does it feel knowing that the place you live is full of people who voted for the people in charge?Quote:
Originally Posted by Oneironaut
Initially, want to say that I die a little inside. :cry:Quote:
Originally Posted by Xei
But, I tend to think that it really doesn't matter who we vote for. Who we vote for and who we get, after they've been elected, are often two different things. Call me disillusioned, but I feel like our elections are kind of like the Pepsi Challenge; sure, they may not taste exactly the same, but Coke and Pepsi really aren't all that different.
^THIS!! I suspect a secret cadre behind the presidency who cajole and threaten and wheedle until the president is little more than a figurehead.
You have to admit though that Indie Film Makers have more creative freedom on the films that they want to write. Where as Hollywood is just focused on money like you said, and even the special effects on Indie Films are getting better ( maybe because their backed by major studios like you said also )Quote:
Originally Posted by Darkmatters
Music and video games are on a whole new level now because of the internet...gone are the days where you need a major record label to produce a album and keep creative control. Gone are the days where you need to thousand dollar studio equipment to make a quality album. GONE are the days where you need a 50 million dollar budget to produce a hit game. Indie games are now approaching mainstream quality. Take a look at this game..this is an Indie game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRd7a...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udEAEARD-Fo&feature=related
Indie is the future. The ability to be creatively free AND make money is here. I'm currently composing music for a small indie game now to be relased for xbox live and windows 7 phone. I'll Post the game here when it's done.
I must admit I haven't seen a lot of indie films in recent years, but I've heard most of them are starting to fit into formulaic categories similar to standard Hollywood fare, but different categories of course.
But I do agree on music and video games. The same is also true for animation - that's one field where true low-budget independents can produce exactly what they want with no limitations and make it look totally professional. Now if only there were a way to make money doing that... :( (with animation I mean - video games and music do have good marketing and distribution options for indies).
That would make sense if there wasn't any orange juice on the market.Quote:
Originally Posted by Oneironaut
Or tea....
The same thing goes for animation also...the Internet is the medium, I'm pretty sure if there isn't already there will be an option to submit Indie animation films to netFlix. But there's so much more than netflix..think Digital download/distribution...Itunes, Youtube, Amazon, etc. Then you have to think there are already Internet marketing companies to get your brand or company noticed and heard. Yea it'll cost money and Developers will need a budget, but it'll be way cheaper than what the majors are doing. The Internet has truly connected everything and everyone.Quote:
Originally Posted by Darkmatters
It's cool to hear all these responses thanks you guys.
Shut up and take my money!Quote:
Originally Posted by Majestic
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/335...akemymoney.png
I've been detached from current gaming for so long that I had no idea how ahead things were. :O
What I dislike the most about the US, is what I perceive as a disdain for solidarity. The complete lack of a social security net, the severely lacking healthcare, and the general mindset that if you're unlucky you somehow deserved it. Call me a socialist, but shouldn't one at least take care of one's own?
The media, for the most part. With a side of the superficial lifestyle that a lot of people seem to lead. It's tied in with the media.
But I'm not really sure whether the superficial lifestyle is any different in any other country.
Before you gather the masses to riot, perhaps you should consider that I did not accuse of the Free Market of being unregulated. That would be like calling water wet. ... I accused Capitalism in America of being unregulated.Quote:
Originally Posted by BLUELINE976
Capitalism is an economic system of production consisting of two sets of people; owner and worker, which promotes private ownership. It deals in production and profit, as compared to the Free Market, which is what determines the prices of goods and services based on supply and demand. Both Capitalism and Free Market, in historical terms, have been intertwined in their functionality, but they are NOT the same thing, and to accuse one of being unregulated (Capitalism) is not an accusation against the other (Free Market). The Free Market is supposed to be unregulated.
Capitalism, on the other hand, is very dangerous when it is unregulated, and that type of Capitalism has been eroding the middle class since the 80's. The majority of the economy's growth since the 80's has gone to help the rich get richer (specifically the top 10%, as Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor stated in a recent Wall Street Journal article, September 13th 2011 ... I know cause I read it while at work today.). The progress on the other classes has only been evident because of the trickle down from the capstone of the income pyramid, and it is the capstone belongs to Executives and CEOs of major corporations, not to mention the finance-crazy jerkoffs who push economic bubbles to the breaking point as the bust swoops down and knocks over the middle class like dominoes. ... There is nothing wrong with supply and demand as the Free Market is made for,... but there is something wrong such things as... laying off masses of people for short term profits, rewarding people who plunder natural resource benefits and beauty from the countryside for their own commercial gains, and letting corporations grow so large that they become like governments all their own, pulling strings in media and politics in their facor with no real concern for social responsibility. As you mentioned, it is blatant corporism.
While in the Free Market it is normal for inefficient firms competing against competent ones to go under, if you add in unregulated Capitalism, the larger corporations possess so many resources and so much power that it is almost impossible to compete, and since it is purely financial, it is near impossible for firms to compete unless their central and most 'bled-for' goal is to maximize profits, thus only creating more 'blatant corporism'. ... And even in the redeeming case where two or large firms of the same industry are competing, and thus their products are becoming cheaper via competition, price fixing is really not that uncommon an event in our corporate world. ... This is what I mean by unregulated Capitalism 'tampering' with the Free Market.
Free market has existed in the US, but since the early 1980's, such is no longer true due to the said interventionism of policies such as Reaganomics.
If you are willing to present some examples of prior interventionism, I am all ears.
Also,... whatever here doesn't directly apply to the subject is for further explanation of my stance on point #2 of my love-hate relationship with America.
...
Tl;dr ... 'Unregulated Capitalism' bad. ... 'Free Market' good, but non-existed recently (within the past 30 years).
This makes no sense whatsoever. Capitalism is essentially private property ownership. How can you speak of regulating capitalism? What would that even entail? Regulating who owns property? If you begin to regulate capitalism, you destroy the whole notion of capitalism itself. And if you remove private property ownership, you destroy the notion of free markets, which are predicated on private ownership and voluntary transactions. You can't half-ass capitalism. Either people can own property or they can't. If they can't, and you regulate who can own property, you end up with a quasi-socialist system where a select few a the top own everything and everybody else gets the shaft.Quote:
Originally Posted by MatthewOlson
So it wasn't until I graduated with debt did I actually think "WHY DID I GRADUATE WITH DEBT??"
I don't think it was just me, and it could be generational, but I definitely think my generation grew up believing "were supposed to be in debt". Maybe we didn't think about this consciously, but we certainly accepted subconsciously that we should be in debt for our cars, in debt for our education and in dept for our homes.
WE ACCEPTED, whether consciously or subconsciously that it should take a lifetime to pay it off.
We accepted the idea that debt = success. If the average person doesn't have debt, its assumed: they never went to school, they never bought a car, probably using some hand-me-down clunker or they take the bus, and they don't own a home. By default that places them in the LOW-INCOME bracket. Now take the successful doctor - they owe more debt then they own anything, if they actually own anything! The banks probably own everything they have.
I'm glad 2008 happened, were waking up and realizing how stupid it is to be in dept to evil corporations aka banks. Why private banks have to profit every month because I decided to go to school, whether or not my degree actually landed me a job, is beyond me.
In short, I hate that we were idiots and actually believed that debt = a better life.
^ this is also reason why I don't like taking debts, I have never took one from bank. Granted, I have to work and live poor, but unlike many people I don't see it that bad. There is no blame of "income bracket" there. Nobody is laughing at you or ridiculing you here. Everyone knows it is common at this age and time.
About movies, most of them are too predictable as previously said. I love other than American movies, also since not being American I have also watched them probably more regular basis than American. But they are big money. I can understand the reasons why the quality has sank so low. It is same with games, as mentioned. Especially with internet games. People love to pay for theme park games, they are all clones of each other ( talking about role playing games here ). Kill stuff, get more powerful, kill more stuff. Luckily there are waves of different minds that think out of the box. The best ideas make the best games. Take ADOM for example. That game is done with fucking ASCII symbols by a single man and its still ways better than most of the games big game studios do. It doesn't have those precious graphics that are so loved nowadays. I don't mind graphics, but games are made for them, not for the actual game.
This is getting pretty far off-topic, but I want to respond to this.Quote:
Originally Posted by Majestic
It's true, you can get your work seen all around the world now, no problem. Of course, by exactly the same token, so can thousands of other animators - which results in being essentially a needle in haystack. To emerge from anonymity you have to really be outstanding or have some kind of gimmick that people really like or get your work shown on a major TV show or something.
You don't make any money by posting your films on YouTube.
Yes, you can sell through Amazon or various custom DVD/CD services and they'll even deal with customer satisfaction and distribution etc, but again, unless you're a world famous animator and your work is in massive demand, you'll be lucky to sell a few DVDs the first month or two and maybe one every few months after that. It's no way to earn a living, that's for sure!! Pretty hard to even make back what you invest to make the films to begin with. Same for digital download... I know people who have tried it and just scraped together a few dollars from it.
Also, once your film has been released in any form, someobdy will pirate it and put it on P2P or YouTube or any number of other places. Once people have seen it for free, they're not going to pay for it. A friend of mine posted a film to YouTube once and then checked a few months later and found it posted all over the net by different people. Most of them didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with it - as if they thought they were doing him a favor or something, like free advertising - putting up crappy low-res versions with the wrong info written next to them and that often didn't mention his name at all!! In his case, he wasn't trying to make money from it, after all he did post it on YT, but it was just shocking to see how fast the pirates struck and how far they spread it.
I've spent many years on a site for animation, and we've discussed all this - many people there have tried various ways to "monetize" their films - but you just can't sell animated shorts in this day and age. Unless you happen to luck out insanely and get it included in some kind of compilation. We even tried to create compilations of films by many of us, but it takes a long time to make an animated film working alone and it's just not feasible to wait maybe a few years until you get enough people with completed films - and a lot of animators like to put their work out on the festival circuit when it's done (costs major buck$$) in hopes of winning some kind of prize - probably the best hope an indie animator has of earning anything on his hard work and investment. When a film is entered in a festival - according to the rules for MOST festivals, you're not allowed to show it online and might not be allowed to let anyone see it outside of the festival appearances for a year or so.
Ok sorry - I now return you to your regularly scheduled topic.
I think there are ways for animators to monetize their films, not just animators though, this goes for any creative artists, music artists, game developers , musicians. I think the whole thing now with the internet is you have to build a brand for yourself, and to market. NUMBER 1 thing people have to realize is that you will NOT make money or you will make little money if you don't know how to market. People don't just buy products that are good, people buy what is emotionally appealing to them. People have to be motivated to buy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Darkmatters
That's why I think the majors had the advantage over Independent people. Firstly they have a huge budget, then they have effective marketing. I mean when you see a movie trailer, it's not just the movie and story that is making you want to see the movies, it's music in the background that's building energy, that's making you excited, it's the emotional impact.
95% of buying decisions come from the subconscious.
I don't even think they teach marketing in school. But anyway, your brand is you..DarkMatters Studios, or DarkMatters Animations, your product is animation films. You can simply have your own website with your films on there available to buy. Maybe give away your first couple of films for free, put them on youtube, submit them to video sharing sites, etc. Once you get your brand out there, and people know who you are and that you make quality films, they will buy.
I'm not saying you'll be living off animation, it may be possible, but at the very lease you can get money for your creative work.
You mentioned that people pirate stuff, yea that is true....but I think once creators concentrate on creating original and creative work and not just focusing on making money, they will build a loyal fan base. A loyal fanbase won't pirate your stuff, they will support you and buy from you faithfully.
What type of animation do you do?
There's a link in my sig to my animation thread. Maybe we should move this to its own thread? I've been up all night and getting ready to crash - running out of steam, but if you don't create it then maybe I will tomorrow. If you do start it, can you put a link here or send me a PM so I can find it?
Let me see what best summarizes it. I do love living here, and most of my friends are not the typical stereotypes that xei pointed out. BUT....wait for it....more people vote for american idol than for the presidential election. Yep, theres a lot you can take from that.
By the way, I dont blame public schools for that, I am a product of public school and I feel I learned a lot, you get out of it what you put in, and sadly most kids here put in too little.
Other Americans who make the good ones bad? I feel as though I'm informed, intelligent, not fat (the opposite of fat... I'm quite unfat), not uber-religious, not uber-conservative, I don't think we should be in foreign wars, I don't think we should keep spending trillions of fucking dollars that aren't ours, I don't believe that gay marriage is bad, I don't believe marijuana should be under prohibition... And I don't think that my country is BETTER than your country. I'm patriotic in the sense that I think we need to be modest again.
That's what I assume people dislike about us. Also Fox News.
Foreign Policies. Everything else I don't care about as long as I can just go do something else.
So how many of you have been in the US?
Half my family is there so I have gone down on road trips to visit them. Honestly apart from the over abundance of American flags, I didn't find the people obnoxious or anything.Quote:
So how many of you have been in the US?
I've been to New York and California, and I'm going to Florida later this year.Quote:
Originally Posted by ooflendoodle
I live here. And I totally get why people hate us so much...Quote:
Originally Posted by ooflendoodle
18 states and the District. I'm Canadian.Quote:
Originally Posted by ooflendoodle
Cool, don't go to Florida though the weather sucks.
- American Exceptionalism
- Romanticization of the Colonial Period
- An Apparent "Forgetfulness" of Imperialism
- The Government
- Some Political Parties
It's a lot
Been to San Francisco, Florida and Santa Fe and lived for one year in Minnesota.Quote:
Originally Posted by ooflendoodle
There are a couple things, but...
I'm not sure that most of the developed world isn't guilty of the same or similar crimes.
Most likely they are Savy. The deal is that whether you put them on the high horse and ride with them or try to truly abolish them.
Been to Florida several times, and would hope to go back at some point. It's been too long since I last went. I especially liked the copious amounts of all-you-can-eat buffets you can find. Thankfully I have a fast metabolism.Quote:
Originally Posted by ooflendoodle
Anyway, what I generally dislike about the US is the arrogance and meddling with the affairs of others, which is particularly poisonous when coupled with the ignorance of the general population with what goes on in the rest of the world. The arrogance and idea of "we're the greatest" is particularly silly when you consider that by many metrics (wealth, education, healthcare, general quality of life) there are plenty of others that rank far more highly. That's not to say the USA hasn't achieved some great things, but it's not worthy of the pedestal which it places itself upon.
I also dislike the media system. The kind of stuff that passes for 'news' over there simply wouldn't be allowed here.
And whilst I'm not much of a socialist and in some ways admire the fact that the US doesn't give much out through welfare, I think it goes too far in the other direction. I find it especially puzzling when this kind of attitude severely reduces the quality and effectiveness of healthcare (for instance). Shooting oneself in the foot comes to mind.
I dislike how stranger will sometimes walk up to you in the street and speak to you. I'm just not comfortable with that :cheeky:
Speaking of which, I dislike how unfriendly everyone in Norway is.Quote:
Originally Posted by khh
Actually, I dislike the feeling of isolation I get in nearly all of Northern Europe.
South America ftw
I have never get a feeling in Scandinavia or Northern Europe that you are not welcome. Or that people are unfriendly.
It is just that we are able to stand beside each other and not babble all the time. It is a culture thing, I am afraid.
It's too far away, and maybe there's too much junkfood.
But okay, Denmark isn't better.. I just don't like it.
We are a very social culture in the US, although, if I'm sitting alone on a bus or somewhere, I rarely get strangers talking to me (but that might be due to having books.) I like the amount of social interaction, but I don't like when it goes too far and people argue who don't know eachother.Quote:
Originally Posted by Unelias
Heh, the people who do talk to me on the bus are usually just the crazies, and it's hard to tell if they're really talking to me or to some imaginary friend or just to themselves. Often if I'min a really good mood and say hi to someone on the street they'll look down or away, unless they're also in a really good mood or just friendly people.
Yes, I have noticed that most Americans I have met are very social and verbal. It is quite a contrast. Although, once you give us booze then we are pretty talkative ( It is a cliche, but still it is fairly true )
But for example, it is perfectly normal around here just to sit quiet in car for long time and no one is anxious about it. It is hard to explain, but it is very different to most cultures ( very high difference ie. for Mediterraen cultures or most of those countries in the southern climates. ) I think it is the lack of small talk we miss, we usually speak if there is a real reason, if you can say that. Of course, over generalization, but it is quite cultural trait.
I see what you mean.
For one thing I guess tourists are often very outgoing people. But yeah, if you're talking about friends or people who know each other in a car together, that's a different matter. Yeah, if you're a quiet person in a car full of people they'll start poking you and saying "Wake up dumbass!". Personally depending on my mood I can definitely sit quietly with people on long trips or anywhere for that matter. Most people I know consider these "uncomfortable silences" and think they must be avoided at all costs, even though they have nothing of value to talk about. But I believe in the saying "A friend is a person you can spend time with and not need to talk". I think we'd get along well Unelias.
Oh, I want to add - these days most Americans can sit quietly and not talk to each other because they're all on their phones texting people all the time...
This is the main point, I guess. There is rarely any uncomfortable silence here. For example, you could say that it is a Finnish trait to go in sauna and not to talk anything there. After that you go to the terrace and open a beer and just enjoy the silence and the sunset. Naturally, it is normal to talk, but rarely no one feels uncomfortable if there isn't any. Because most of the people know how to enjoy silence. But as I said, hard to explain. You have to experience it to get full grasp, like in most of things.Quote:
Originally Posted by Darkmatters
Also, a very personal opinion is that I think most of the people listen too little nowadays. The ebb and flow of the world is worth of stopping by and be silent. So are your own thoughts. The world has just gotten too noisy and busy. Nobody has time to listen the stones to grow anymore.
I believe we would :) to quote myself : the kind of person that will most certainly not get along with me isQuote:
Originally Posted by Darkmatters
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unelias
Yeah I'm a lot like this I love to be quiet and sit and think (that's not to say I'm not social though) but when I try to do that at school it just doesn't work.
I think what I hate most about the US is the people who bitch and complain about not having enough freedom to bitch and complain.
Actually, I hate those people who think they're entitled to equal amounts of both bitch and complain, even more.
Bah not even, just compared to Northern Europe. Americans and Canadians are way more isolated than any other culture in the Americas.Quote:
Originally Posted by ThePreserver
Different parts of the US have different amounts of social interactions, though. The dialects alone are extremely diverse, and so are the social settings. Some may be isolated and isolating, but I find it easy to talk to strangers here, and they do to me as well...
The so called "justice system". The way it encourages special people to know the ins and outs of everything or they can find themselves in a lot of hot water. The way a "good lawyer" can turn five years in prison into probation. The way anyone can sue someone over nearly anything. The way 25% of the entire worlds prison population is in America.
Lends a certain irony to "land of the free", no?Quote:
Originally Posted by Auron
Especially when Americans only count for 5 percent of the worlds population.Quote:
Originally Posted by Photolysis
You can thank drug possession for about half of that 25%.
I like how America is at war with a leafy green plant.
Not to mention there are companies that make the synthetic stuff, and chemically, there really isn't a difference. Not to mention if someone gets caught with 5 grams of crack rock, they get five years in prison and people who get caught with 500 grams of cocaine get 5 years as well. How is that right?Quote:
Originally Posted by ThePreserver
Also, your justice system is pretty screwed, i mean one year in jail for this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57yi3Asgov4&feature=player_embedded
private parts.....
the people for the most part are brainwashed by media
Time to time it seems that America is at war with the whole world.Quote:
I like how America is at war with a leafy green plant.
Indeed we are. We "accidentally misplaced" 20,000 missiles in Libya and can't find them. Iran wants to bring their navy into the Gulf of Mexico since we're in the Persian Gulf (I totally understand why, and I support their right to do so with freedom of the seas.) We are in over 130 countries around the world.Quote:
Originally Posted by Unelias
On the note of a screwed justice system, I would LOVE to serve on a jury (especially on a marijuana-related case)... but I'd probably be rejected since I know what the word "nullification" means.
Click to enlarge:
Attachment 4934
The piss poor educational system that precipitates the constant shitstorm of idiotic fuckups...
Its a long list, bro.
One way to really screw up a country and make it easy to take over would be to make the education system absolutely suck so that society is infested by morons who don't know anything and don't give a damn about anything. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks it was planned.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chimpertainment
If American Education advanced from simple memorization to actual liberation of the mind, how many people would be willing to mindlessly run the industries upon which the super wealthy depend? It's not about taking over society, it's already been taken over.
**Thread closed**
Ooflendoodle can come back, but until then...
Make your own hate the US thread. ;)
