What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?
#376
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Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?
Leader of the Free World never bothered me too much - I'd agree with you gradboy that it makes a general sort of sense, or did until the 1990s as you said.
#377
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Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?
Reminds me of the story (true I think.)
The film The Madness of King George was based on Alan Bennett's The Madness of George III. Why the title change for the film? Because Americans would think that the film was a sequel, and they'd somehow missed The Madness of George I and The Madness of George II.
The film The Madness of King George was based on Alan Bennett's The Madness of George III. Why the title change for the film? Because Americans would think that the film was a sequel, and they'd somehow missed The Madness of George I and The Madness of George II.
#378
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Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?
Reminds me of the story (true I think.)
The film The Madness of King George was based on Alan Bennett's The Madness of George III. Why the title change for the film? Because Americans would think that the film was a sequel, and they'd somehow missed The Madness of George I and The Madness of George II.
The film The Madness of King George was based on Alan Bennett's The Madness of George III. Why the title change for the film? Because Americans would think that the film was a sequel, and they'd somehow missed The Madness of George I and The Madness of George II.
#379
Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?
I suppose one thing that slightly gets on my tits is the extent to which people overlook the fact that the US is, by most standards, an empire. I'm not talking about overseas colonies, but the American west.
Between Kansas and Nevada, up to Oregon, what do you have? A vast, sparsely populated land, ruled from afar, where the native population has been killed, moved, or subjugated, and a new population moved in. It's really no different than the British in Australia, or the Russians in Siberia.
Between Kansas and Nevada, up to Oregon, what do you have? A vast, sparsely populated land, ruled from afar, where the native population has been killed, moved, or subjugated, and a new population moved in. It's really no different than the British in Australia, or the Russians in Siberia.
#380
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Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?
#382
Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?
Tibet is an interesting one, should a hand full of million people live on lands half the size of Han Chinese China, with 1.2 billion. I intrinsically think it wrong for the Han to move in to Tibetan lands, but 1.2 billion do need living space.
#383
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Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?
Aha. Thanks for the update.
#384
Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?
Can't even buy pencils in America without finding they have their own funny system. I just found this out with the school supply list. So a#2 is a HB, and a #4 is a 2H
#385
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Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?
The bit in bold is the key here and reminds me of my main grumble with the US (as in you reminded me, not that I'm directing this moan at you) - the way so much gets brushed under the carpet so the sanitized story remains intact, and the way it's regurgitated so frequently; the colonists fled religious persecution, George III was a terrible man, The War of 1812 was both a British invasion and a US victory, etc. At every turn the 'Americans' are the victims, which in a story that includes genocide and slavery is quite a stretch of the imagination.
The most annoying bit is how often an entire world view is then extrapolated from this one mythologized event; if America = free then Britain must then have been tyranny. No mention American slavery. No mention (or knowledge) of the English Bill of Rights. Everything is so binary and it's everywhere to be seen - document greeting new permanent residents, questions to gain your citizenship. It's why anytime the British government talks about new tests for new British citizens I dread to think what they'll add, what 'facts' become the official history.
The most annoying bit is how often an entire world view is then extrapolated from this one mythologized event; if America = free then Britain must then have been tyranny. No mention American slavery. No mention (or knowledge) of the English Bill of Rights. Everything is so binary and it's everywhere to be seen - document greeting new permanent residents, questions to gain your citizenship. It's why anytime the British government talks about new tests for new British citizens I dread to think what they'll add, what 'facts' become the official history.
I grew up thinking the amendments were New American Ideas. I was in my 30s before I knew that under King George people were given a jury trial and were innocent until proven guilty. We were taught that the monarchs have absolute power and the king could say off with their head and that was it. They were New Ideas in response to British policies.
To their credit some make sense that they would be a response, like not allowing soldiers to live in the homes of citizens, the British did do that. The founding fathers coming up with new justice theory that in reality took centuries to develop is a bit of a stretch though.
Law students study British law but children do not learn that American law is based on British law.
#386
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Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?
2) My husband was making me laugh saying there are some people who have an extremely long wash and hawk in the sinks at work - I think it is a cultural thing.
4) Same here except they are just 'Mexicans'. If they all left one day, the scenes of Americans wandering around helplessly unable to perform any menial tasks would be priceless.
4) Same here except they are just 'Mexicans'. If they all left one day, the scenes of Americans wandering around helplessly unable to perform any menial tasks would be priceless.
4- I agree. I'd pay good money to see that. Perhaps we have the beginnings of a new reality tv show. Let's do the first series from one of the southern states that has been really unamerican about the whole race/immigration thing...
#387
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Joined: Jul 2007
Location: North Norfolk and northern New York State
Posts: 14,540
Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?
The bit in bold is the key here and reminds me of my main grumble with the US (as in you reminded me, not that I'm directing this moan at you) - the way so much gets brushed under the carpet so the sanitized story remains intact, and the way it's regurgitated so frequently; the colonists fled religious persecution, George III was a terrible man, The War of 1812 was both a British invasion and a US victory, etc. At every turn the 'Americans' are the victims, which in a story that includes genocide and slavery is quite a stretch of the imagination.
The most annoying bit is how often an entire world view is then extrapolated from this one mythologized event; if America = free then Britain must then have been tyranny. No mention American slavery. No mention (or knowledge) of the English Bill of Rights. Everything is so binary and it's everywhere to be seen - document greeting new permanent residents, questions to gain your citizenship. It's why anytime the British government talks about new tests for new British citizens I dread to think what they'll add, what 'facts' become the official history.
The most annoying bit is how often an entire world view is then extrapolated from this one mythologized event; if America = free then Britain must then have been tyranny. No mention American slavery. No mention (or knowledge) of the English Bill of Rights. Everything is so binary and it's everywhere to be seen - document greeting new permanent residents, questions to gain your citizenship. It's why anytime the British government talks about new tests for new British citizens I dread to think what they'll add, what 'facts' become the official history.
I grew up thinking the amendments were New American Ideas. I was in my 30s before I knew that under King George people were given a jury trial and were innocent until proven guilty. We were taught that the monarchs have absolute power and the king could say off with their head and that was it. They were New Ideas in response to British policies.
To their credit some make sense that they would be a response, like not allowing soldiers to live in the homes of citizens, the British did do that. The founding fathers coming up with new justice theory that in reality took centuries to develop is a bit of a stretch though.
Law students study British law but children do not learn that American law is based on British law.
To their credit some make sense that they would be a response, like not allowing soldiers to live in the homes of citizens, the British did do that. The founding fathers coming up with new justice theory that in reality took centuries to develop is a bit of a stretch though.
Law students study British law but children do not learn that American law is based on British law.
#388
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Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?
On a final note, I think the comparison with certain quarter of the UK is fair - I'd hate to be a German in England when a Germany-England World Cup game is on with all the inevitable WWII rhetoric. (That said, being English when a Germany-England game isn't much fun either when getting knocked out on penalties is your best hope.)
Actually, I grew up in the West Country from age 5, carry a Brit passport, struggle to speak German and served in the British air force. So I usually deal with the football question by claiming football is wank and is just about team A's east European/African imports playing team B's east European/African imports and real men play rugby anyway...
#389
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Joined: Jun 2010
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Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?
I suppose one thing that slightly gets on my tits is the extent to which people overlook the fact that the US is, by most standards, an empire. I'm not talking about overseas colonies, but the American west.
Between Kansas and Nevada, up to Oregon, what do you have? A vast, sparsely populated land, ruled from afar, where the native population has been killed, moved, or subjugated, and a new population moved in. It's really no different than the British in Australia, or the Russians in Siberia.
Between Kansas and Nevada, up to Oregon, what do you have? A vast, sparsely populated land, ruled from afar, where the native population has been killed, moved, or subjugated, and a new population moved in. It's really no different than the British in Australia, or the Russians in Siberia.
#390
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Joined: Jun 2010
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Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?
China is big.
And 1.2 billion people is actually not so big.
Give each person on the planet standing room and you fit the entire population of the planet on to the Isle of Wight.
Besides, china is doing its best to keep the population down by building lots of really shoddy rail and bridge projects that collapse as soon as a small rat skitters across them, crushing the dense housing below...