USA social commentary - a visiting European view
POSTED BY: kpo
UPDATED: Wednesday, December 9, 2009 23:23
VIEWED: 4974
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I think that the image that most people (outside the US) have of your country is that it is very, very wealthy and that people live in large houses and have lots of stuff. Most films that depict poverty as something that can be overcome - if you work hard and believe, you can do anything.
The Wire was actually quite confronting because that image was completely shattered. Not just the ghettos, but the lives of the police themselves, the dockworkers.
I've only been to the US briefly, so can't really comment. My only thought was about how many really obese people I saw - but then I had been living in Europe and Europeans are a lot smaller. Aussies are a pack of fatties as well. 
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Lol
And what we hear about Britain is that you guys live in peace and happiness under your monarchy.
That your state leaders know whats best.
And you wonder why people here are comparing the current situation to the American Revolution? Tea Parties ect?
We are our own people.
Leave us alone.
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Quote:
We are our own people.
Leave us alone.
Where have I heard that before?
Oh yeah - Iraq!
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Yes, leave us alone. We love our isolation, absent any reality checks. It's what makes us so freakin' crazy.
***************************************************************
Silence is consent.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Wulfenstar:
Lol
And what we hear about Britain is that you guys live in peace and happiness under your monarchy.
That your state leaders know whats best.
And you wonder why people here are comparing the current situation to the American Revolution? Tea Parties ect?
We are our own people.
Leave us alone.
Was that a reply to me? I'm not from Britain.
You sound quite defensive about your country - people are entitled to their opinion if they are visiting, although admittedly no-one loves hearing criticism of their country, it happens. No where is perfect.
Doesn't sound like anyone was advocating you do anything - the person was expressing some surprise at the poverty that they saw \as being unexpected. Given the image depicted in films I can understand that.
It might surprise you that not all people with British accents are criminal masterminds
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The running gag is "Welcome to Europe, your robber will be with you shortly."
What part of Europe are you familiar with DT? I hope you're not comparing America to Albania or something like that.
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Worst of Europe: Sanitation
??
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I'm surprised he was surprised. The people I know in England and Europe wouldn't be, and Europe certainly has its own share. Strange comment.
As a European I can understand it. The crime and poverty in the US is represented in film etc. but only in certain types - by the time you are old enough to view something like The Wire you may have already grown up with a very different image of America.
I can remember as a kid hearing my older brother make an offhand comment about the serious criminality in New York, and I protested saying New York was not at all like that...
So it's definitely possible to develop a naive, outside view of america as the 'pinnacle of human civilisation'. In my view there are two Americas, and at first they are hard to reconcile with each other (to outside, European eyes at least).
Heads should roll
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Go to Amsterdam sometime when the canals are low. Aside from the smell, what you'll find on the bottom are piles upon PILES of stolen bicycles. In Italy, if you stay in a hotel, housekeeping is notorious for theft.
Every city in Europe has it's bad parts of town. I've been to London slightly more often than I've been to other European cities, definitely true there. I don't see so much sanitation problem in London (maybe I'm not going to the right places?) but elsewhere, yes.
I don't think European cities are worse than American cities, I think this just illustrates that these problems are universal.
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Quote:
KPO
What part of Europe are you familiar with DT? I hope you're not comparing America to Albania or something like that.
Ahh, the prejudices arise..
Most of it, actually. I tend to get robbed in *western* europe. It's a pretty common experience for americans.
There are many Americas, and there are two New Yorks. The one I'm from has about 10 million people who live in settlements ranging from a few hundred to a few hundred thousand. Then there's a city of around 7 million, which is like an alien planet to me. I've been there several times, it doesn't begin to feel normal.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:
Go to Amsterdam sometime when the canals are low. Aside from the smell, what you'll find on the bottom are piles upon PILES of stolen bicycles. In Italy, if you stay in a hotel, housekeeping is notorious for theft.
Every city in Europe has it's bad parts of town. I've been to London slightly more often than I've been to other European cities, definitely true there. I don't see so much sanitation problem in London (maybe I'm not going to the right places?) but elsewhere, yes.
I don't think European cities are worse than American cities, I think this just illustrates that these problems are universal.
A lot of these posts sound highly defensive - "your country is just as crappy as ours" or something to that effect.
My understanding is the original poster was commenting on the difference between America as depicted in the media, and America in reality. Not whether Europe is better than the US or vice versa.
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Re: The Wire.
You think watchin it is hard - try living it.
I was THERE, for most of the events that show is based around, and a bit player in one or two of em.
I'm still slightly of the mind that the kindest reform you could bring to that city would be nuking it.
-F
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