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Getting to Know Americans

nyu.edu

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Re: Getting to Know Americans

#121

Post by yequalsx »

grammaton wrote: post #110
yequalsx wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> He was in the Wehrmacht Wait, what?

Yeah, he's a WW II vet. My dad passed away in December and he was a WW II vet. My dad fought the Germans and he never said a bad word about Germans or Germany. None that I ever heard. My girlfriend's dad? I've heard plenty from him about Americans (in a negative sense).

My girlfriend's dad fought on the Eastern front and he tells stories about how uncivilized the Soviets were. He doesn't say the word but it sort of hangs in the air unspoken; untermensch. He was also in the Auschwitz area for a while as a guard. It's tough being around him and I avoid it as much as I can. It's very uncomfortable.

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#122

Post by burgerbrain »

grammaton wrote: post #110
yequalsx wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> He was in the Wehrmacht Wait, what?

Wehrmacht: german armed forces in the 30s/40s.

You run across WWII vets all the time in america, is it so stunning that there might be vets in Germany as well?

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#123

Post by Alex3917 »

yummyfajitas wrote: post #117
Alex3917 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More accurately, Americans mostly adhere to the notion that "all men are equal" when it serves the interests of the top 1%. Voting, the military, taxes, college admissions, etc.

Americans mostly adhere to the notion that "all men are equal" when it serves the interests of the top 1%....taxes... Really bad example. The US has the most progressive tax system of the entire OECD. The only countries that come close are Australia, Ireland and the Netherlands. http://www.taxfoundation.org/blog/show/27134.html Here is data on the top 1%. Specifically, they earn 20% of income in the US, but pay 38% o…

"I'm not sure why you believe the military gives preferences to the top 1%. As far as I'm aware, the military is strictly egalitarian..."

And that egalitarianism is partly used to hide the fact that the people dying, losing limbs, suffering traumatic brain injuries, etc., aren't the ones who are making billions of dollars from the war.

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#124

Post by geebee »

microtonal wrote: post #44
arethuza wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Indeed, but Britain is probably the other extreme. I believe there is only one country that could've produced magnificent material such as Monty Python or Fawlty Towers ;).

But what country could have produced "Airplane!", or "O Brother Where Art Thou?"

You could say that something like "Seinfeld" (and "Curb Your Enthusiasm") is more the product of a very unusual subculture (in fact, this is the basis for much of the humor, how poorly new yorkers fit in the rest of US culture), but keep in mind Seinfeld had the highest ratings of any sitcom in US history, so the appeal is obviously very broad.

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#125

Post by lionheart »

noonespecial wrote: post #74
TillE wrote: post #10

It's hard to tell what perspective this article is written from. There are many subjective qualifiers. For example: > Americans place considerable value on punctuality. From a German perspective, this is wildly untrue.

Germany is the only place I've ever lived where a couple will sit in their car outside their friends house for 10 minutes (having arrived 10 minutes early, of course) in order to be precisely on time. As I recall, we'd consistently horrify them with our American-ness by walking out to their car to invite them in early.

As a member of a Russian family I have done this many a time. Maybe its just my parents though.

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#126

Post by notJim »

jarin wrote: post #62

One thing I've heard from several Europeans I've met (who are currently living in the US, either for work or school) is that Americans have a reputation for being very friendly but making a lot of empty social promises. One European I met at my local watering hole was a programmer and a very cool guy, so we made plans to get together for beers and nerd talk. He mentioned the whole thing about social promises and said…

My Singaporean roommate complains about this very thing. He thinks it's a politeness thing, as in, Americans will say "Let's do this again sometime," to sound polite, even when they have no intention of doing so.

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#127

Post by notJim »

yequalsx wrote: post #121
grammaton wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> He was in the Wehrmacht Wait, what?

Yeah, he's a WW II vet. My dad passed away in December and he was a WW II vet. My dad fought the Germans and he never said a bad word about Germans or Germany. None that I ever heard. My girlfriend's dad? I've heard plenty from him about Americans (in a negative sense). My girlfriend's dad fought on the Eastern front and he tells stories about how uncivilized the Soviets were. He doesn't say the word but it sort of h…

Please don't portray your girlfriend's dad's attitude as the attitude of the entire German population! No offense, but the way you're talking paints a very negative picture of some 80 million people. I realize this is obvious to everyone reading this, but it still leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#128

Post by ido »

bwanab wrote: post #119
ido wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Austria, Switzerland, all or most of Scandinavia...Probably most or all central/north/north western European societies. IIRC Australia is also the same.

All of your examples are Germanic cultures. Notably, I think this is true in the German speaking part of Switzerland, but not nearly as much in Suisse Romande.

Most of Central Europe is Slavic.

I'll bet it's the same in Russia and many other Slavic countries.

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#129

Post by grammaton »

burgerbrain wrote: post #122
grammaton wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> He was in the Wehrmacht Wait, what?

Wehrmacht: german armed forces in the 30s/40s. You run across WWII vets all the time in america, is it so stunning that there might be vets in Germany as well?

Yes, thank you, I know who the Wehrmacht were. I paid attention in history class.

More so I'm just surprised when I run across any veteran of WWII. FYI, no you don't run across WWII vets "all the time." Most of them are in their eighties or nineties at this point, and there aren't too many people of that age, let alone specifically WWII vets.

Mainly I was just surprised by a very random piece of information. You certainly don't hear about the German veterans of WWII in America all that much. I hope you're bright enough to figure out why.

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#130

Post by nebaneba »

bioh42_2 wrote: post #102
microtonal wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, but Britain is probably the other extreme. I believe there is only one country that could've produced magnificent material such as Monty Python or Fawlty Towers ;).

You know, unlike English some languages have a sarcastic tense.

Fascinating. Sarcasm is inherent in the grammar? Can you give some examples?

update: searched a bit, cannot find any supporting evidence for bioh42_2's statement.

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