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Getting to Know Americans

nyu.edu

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Re: Getting to Know Americans

#81

Post by capstone »

jbooth wrote: post #67
capstone wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People tend to forge their identities when they feel inadequate about their past. As an immigrant privy to no Americans present get-togethers, I see it all the time. The same people who lump all Southerners or Midwesterners into a overweight, bible thumping yokel stereotype, will froth at the mouth about Americans' ignorance of latest political discourse in their small corner of the world. People from predominantly w…

Well, I'd never claim to be so rational as to have excluded emotionally-self-serving reason entirely. I just thought the original post came across as having the same sort of stereotypes that it decried, so responded with a little snark. :)

Well, I've often liked your posts so I presumed you are a rationalist. Let me keep my delusions, please!

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#82

Post by alextp »

smanek wrote: post #34
FraaJad wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you. My own "disappointment" is not with 'regular joe' Americans, but with educated Americans. Being from a large city in India, I know from personal experience that majority of the people with college education, especially technical education are knowledgeable about things outside their own country at least in a conversational level, if not they want to know more. I cannot assume the same with Americans…

America is special. We're special for a lot of reasons, including 'soft power' (e.g., the most watched movies in the world are from America), 'hard power' (our military is more powerful and more likely to be used than any other plausible combination of nations I can think of), and economic power (our GDP is on par with the entire European Union. It is significantly larger than Brazil, Russia, India, and China's combi…

> For these reasons, most every educated person in the world knows more about America than almost any other country (excluding their own and a handful of neighbors)

At least in brazil people seem to know more about america than the rest of the country, specially in the richer and more educated regions in the south and southwest. Everyone I talk to is far more likely to know who is the president of the US or the governor of california than who is the governor of Piauí or the vice-president of brazil.

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#83

Post by psykotic »

yequalsx wrote: post #72
psykotic wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am Danish but "left" the country 7-8 years ago. The last few months I've been back to prepare for my move to the US, which will be my second time living and working there. It's remarkable how absurd the Danish world-view appears to me now after living abroad in several very different cultures. The social welfare system is more attractive than ever, but the provincialism, the we-are-the-best attitude, and the subtle…

I'm American but grew up in the Canal Zone. I've been in Germany a lot the past two years. My girlfriend is German and lives in Berlin. My impression is that Germans really do believe they are the best. They will never say so publicly but deep down they really believe it. My girlfriend's dad joked about Americans and hamburgers. I offered to make him one since he'd never had one. He emphatically said no. I'm a picky…

> It cracks me up when I hear Germans talking about American arrogance.

Oh, most Americans are definitely arrogant on their country's behalf. You're not off the hook. :)

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#84

Post by FraaJad »

smanek wrote: post #34
FraaJad wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you. My own "disappointment" is not with 'regular joe' Americans, but with educated Americans. Being from a large city in India, I know from personal experience that majority of the people with college education, especially technical education are knowledgeable about things outside their own country at least in a conversational level, if not they want to know more. I cannot assume the same with Americans…

America is special. We're special for a lot of reasons, including 'soft power' (e.g., the most watched movies in the world are from America), 'hard power' (our military is more powerful and more likely to be used than any other plausible combination of nations I can think of), and economic power (our GDP is on par with the entire European Union. It is significantly larger than Brazil, Russia, India, and China's combi…

Nothing that I can disagree with.

And that's one reason why I have become a little bit of an American myself by not giving a hoot about what Americans think about India.

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#85

Post by alextp »

_delirium wrote: post #35
FraaJad wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you. My own "disappointment" is not with 'regular joe' Americans, but with educated Americans. Being from a large city in India, I know from personal experience that majority of the people with college education, especially technical education are knowledgeable about things outside their own country at least in a conversational level, if not they want to know more. I cannot assume the same with Americans…

Many time they are not even ready to acknowledge that things can and often are done better outside their own country. The sense of NIH is very strong. I agree with this, but I haven't actually been to a country that wasn't like that. Certainly here in Denmark, many Danes are quite certain that Denmark is run better than any other place. ;-)

> I agree with this, but I haven't actually been to a country that wasn't like that. Certainly here in Denmark, many Danes are quite certain that Denmark is run better than any other place. ;-)

You should visit the third world more often. At least here in Brazil many people believe everything is run by incompetent crooks and if they could just get out to foreign countries they would see what actual management and order are. (this is only partially true, specially as the country seems to be quickly decrooking in many levels)

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#86

Post by alextp »

jbooth wrote: post #15
dr_ wrote: post #4

"Be patient if Americans are ignorant of some aspect about your home country. Use the opportunity to educate and share, just do so in a polite and brief manner." Citizens of other countries always like to point out how Americans are ignorant of other nations and their cultures, oftentimes failing to realize that within their own nation poverty is rampant and the majority of the population remains illiterate (yes, alt…

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that there's noone on earth who grew up in one country, moved to another one, and managed to completely forget about salient facts like the poverty level in their original country.

It is surprisingly easy to forget about poverty if you live shielded from it. You see a lot of this in brazillian urban upper-middle class, specially in the south.

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#87

Post by crasshopper »

davidw wrote: post #48
crasshopper wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Americans" is more idiomatic. But - I bet NYU has_many Chilean, Canadian, Costa Rican grad students who would be annoyed at the implicit exclusion.

But the thing is titled "Getting to Know Americans", so why bother with an ugly sounding turn of words when you've already crossed that bridge? I didn't think that "US Americans" was even correct when I posted - it doesn't sound at all right to my ears. > Chilean, Canadian, Costa Rican grad students who would be annoyed at the implicit exclusion. Only the ones with a chip on their shoulder.

I was about to lament that English lacks a short, euphonic, idiomatic word for "US-icans" / US citizens & residents / culturally US people / estadounidenses.

But then I remembered we do have such a word.

Yanks.

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#88

Post by FraaJad »

jwhitlark wrote: post #60
FraaJad wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you. My own "disappointment" is not with 'regular joe' Americans, but with educated Americans. Being from a large city in India, I know from personal experience that majority of the people with college education, especially technical education are knowledgeable about things outside their own country at least in a conversational level, if not they want to know more. I cannot assume the same with Americans…

It might be helpful to remember that historically, most people who came to America as a chance to start over and leave the past behind. People who were doing well usually didn't migrate to the US. In my family, the men's of "We were kicked around until we came here, then we did well," is very strong. So much so, that I'm the first one to travel internationally, except for military service.

I really get what you are saying.

Most of the recent immigrants to US from India are "economic" immigrants who have no bones with their motherland. They just came to a place with more headroom.

So, a lot of Indians are not eager to get rid of their cultural identities as fast as many European immigrants.

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#89

Post by presidentender »

StudyAnimal wrote: post #53
limist wrote: post #12

A shorter version would be: Americans are generally individualist Protestant technologist capitalists. Like any other culture these defining traits bring inherent strengths, and unavoidable weaknesses. On a different note, Does anyone know the author of this essay? I've seen it around at least as far back as the early 1990's, and it's good to see it still in use.

Just curious about what weaknesses you have in mind?

Many regard the unequal distribution of wealth inherent in that system as a weakness.

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#90

Post by bdhe »

arethuza wrote: post #30
holdenc wrote: post #23

How about American irony and sarcasm? Here in Asia sarcasm is almost non-existent. Also, Americans value humor as a way of showing affection for someone. Whereas in Asia displays of servitude are a sign of affection. For example, if I engage in a humorous conversation with you, that means I like you. Even if I don't pour your tea for you!

Actually, by British standards America appears an irony and sarcasm free zone. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but it is very noticeable.

I've noticed people from the Indian subcontinent tend to be a lot more sarcastic than Americans. I wonder if it is a relic of the British colonization.
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