Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have to admit, I've never traveled out of the U.S. any further than to Rosarita Beach, Mexico. I don't even have a passport. I am working on that and the older I get, the more I really want to explore other countries and cultures. I totally loved this article. He hit so many nails right on the head.
Would this thread have 38 pages of comments if Americans weren't hyper-sensitive over some criticism?
You know what I think is totally awesome? Irish accents.
I've never noticed the smiling thing but I've also been told my whole life that I look like I'm pissed off all the time.
I think tipping is totally ridiculous and feeling an obligation to tip even sub-standard servers is annoying. I'd loved to see the taxed price for everything so I could better keep track of what I'm spending. I hate TV commercials and I tend to either mute commercials or watch shows via Netflix or Hulu where there are none.
Wasteful consumerism is a big one. It is all about what keeping up with the Joneses. I'll never understand the line of people waiting outside the Apple store to get the latest product. My husband had to spend extra money to upgrade to the iPhone 5. The one time I watched him attempt to brag about it to someone with an iPhone 4, the person shrugged their shoulders and told him they could care less. I wish everyone would just respond to the one-uppers like that.
The i.d. checking thing is totally annoying but again, another knee-jerk reaction to the times when i.d. wasn't checked, liquor was sold to a minor who then managed to kill themselves somehow which became the fault of the liquor seller vs. the liquor consumer. Nobody likes to assume responsibility for themselves anymore. Which is why obsesity runs rampant in the U.S. I am responsible for what I put in my body, how much I exercise, etc. I cannot blame McDonalds for making me fat. But because we are so PC in America, I don't dare talk to my two best girlfriends, both of whom are dangerously obese with related health complications as a result, about their weights. It is just something we all ignore and I feel like I watch them kill themselves more and more each day. Very sad.
I love America. I love being an American. I think this country is truly beautiful. But I think we are just failing on many different levels which I won't go into because I've said enough.
I think he is oversensitive and the only valid complaints are #11 Religious americans #12 corporations win, #13 a country designed for cars #16 Unhealthy portions and #17 "thinking America they are the best" can be a problem with some Americans. The rest are absurd and reflects he is a very negative close minded person.
Numbers 1, 3, 5, 9, 10, and 15 are true too.
I guess he got tired or bored after a while walking around Chicago looking up at the tall buildings all day, every day, day after day. Not that Chicago isn't a good or impressive city. But Vegas is a great city too for what it does. For what it specializes in. Kind of like New York in the arts and financial sector. But if you want to be a cowboy you might be better off going to some part of Texas that has a ranch. For what this guy was looking for he was probably going to find something closer to it on the Near South Side of Milwaukee rather than in downtown Chicago or Las Vegas. But maybe even the Near South Side of Milwaukee sucks for what he's looking for and for what he's used to in Brazil, Ireland, UK, and the rest of Europe? I dunno.
Just because Americans have something drilled into their head as dogma (thanks Hollywood) does not make it so.
Brazil and Europe sound better than the United States in some ways. To me at least. I doubt suburban Americans feel the same way. I was particularly inspired by his comment that he feels safer at night in Brazil than he does in Chicago. And knowing how desolate downtown Milwaukee can be at night--and some North Side neighborhoods in Milwaukee--I will roll a guess that he'd feel the same about Milwaukee and pick a "third world" city in Latin America as superior to Milwaukee. And kudos to him for being a heretic of American dogmas.
Its become more and more common with the foodie revolution. Most supermarkets offer organic produce and there are the upper scale supermarkets that are pretty common in suburban America.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EnricoV
Then I guess you live in the wrong place. Good produce is fairly common where I live. And my family in the suburbs do a great job of providing me with fresh goodies from their gardens. As I live my downtown, carless life.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katiana
Exactly! here in CO we have "ABC-Always Buy Colorado", also "Colorado Proud". I think the dairy products are local year-round, and during the growing season much produce is local. Almost every city here has a Farmer's Market; a few of them are quite large.
In my immediate neighborhood, probably 50% of the residents grow some sort of garden. When I was a kid, probably 25% at least had full-on gardens with lots of veggies.
Right, things are getting much better and at a fairly good pace. Right now, it's still at a premium and not the standard but maybe it will be soon. There is some unevenness in terms of what parts of the country are seeing these things (the Northeast, Colorado, the West Coast, and major cities seem to be at the top of this trend).
Brazil and Europe sound better than the United States in some ways. To me at least. I doubt suburban Americans feel the same way. I was particularly inspired by his comment that he feels safer at night in Brazil than he does in Chicago. And knowing how desolate downtown Milwaukee can be at night--and some North Side neighborhoods in Milwaukee--I will roll a guess that he'd feel the same about Milwaukee and pick a "third world" city in Latin America as superior to Milwaukee. And kudos to him for being a heretic of American dogmas.
Feeling safer in Brazil can mean two things depending on the neighborhoods he visits: if he is walking in affluent neighborhoods for sure he will be safer than in a desolate US downtown. Now if he feels safe in poverty stricken neighborhood (which many tourist visit in Brazil, the infamous favela tours) then he has a false sense of security. Seeing people on the streets is not necesarily safer if you are surrounded by criminals.
There's no doubt the US is an extremely provincial country...but it's the world's largest economy & military. It's also got the most innovative economy in the world, it's tops in high tech, biotech, medical research, financial services, etc. The competitive spirit of the US and that "we're the best" attitude that turns you off is part of the reason the US has been able to stay so strong over this length of time.
I disagree that the "we're the best" attitude has a strong part in why the US has been able to become a major power. We've only really become a major power in the 20th century, especially after WW2, and the dominant power around the time of the Soviet Union's collapse to roughly the last few years where the world has become a lot more multipolar (we're arguably no longer the dominant power, but the strongest of several major powers). A good part of the US's emergence as being tops in all the categories you've listed was directly a result of a Europe crippled by war (and later decolonization) and a lot of European capital, goods, and human resources flowing into the US for refuge.
We certainly still do attract the greatest talent around the world these days, but our ability to raise our own talent could be improved a bit. Also, I think the sort of jingoistic "we're number one" crowd is generally not in large numbers or proportions in the innovative economy stuff you've mentioned.
Feeling safer in Brazil can mean two things depending on the neighborhoods he visits: if he is walking in affluent neighborhoods for sure he will be safer than in a desolate US downtown. Now if he feels safe in poverty stricken neighborhood (which many tourist visit in Brazil, the infamous favela tours) then he has a false sense of security. Seeing people on the streets is not necesarily safer if you are surrounded by criminals.
Well, I can't disagree with you on that. To an extent. But even if there are no criminal around you, walking down dark, or semi-lit areas, with no one around, can lead the mind to to have fearful thoughts. I think most people are like that.
But I did appreciate his point about supermarkets and what I assume he meant as "corner stores." We have tons of corner stores in Milwaukee but in a past thread what I was trying to tell the residents of Detroit was, those corner stores they shop at for food, usually are more expensive than supermarkets. Not to mention a lot of them (often run by Arabs if they're in black neighborhoods) have low quality products. I know someone that worked briefly, stocking beer up, cleaning up the meat room in the basement etc., at one of these corner stores. And he told me about the rats that would be running around all over the areas they would cut the meat up at.
But Americans are so sensitive about any reasonable critique that they get mad. Because Detroit was once this manufacturing and auto giant it's still better than any city on earth today. That's how a Detroit patriot would like to think. And Milwaukee might suck compared to most European cities and towns, but so what? If Milwaukee sucks compared to most of Europe than it just does. I don't see the need to get mad over it if that's the case. Who they need to get mad at are the people running their city, state, and country. If it's not the case then that's another matter. Then tell the person how they're wrong and Milwaukee is as good or better in X, Y, Z ways to Liverpool or Dublin or Munich. That's the way I see it.
Americans have no problem talking bluntly about how wrecked with crime and violence Brazil is. They have no problem pontificating to other nationalities how they can improve and informing them of all their cultural and economic faults. Because we have a sense of superiority and infallibility. But boy does no one get their panties in a twist like an American when someone criticizes the USofA.
There's no doubt the US is an extremely provincial country...but it's the world's largest economy & military. It's also got the most innovative economy in the world, it's tops in high tech, biotech, medical research, financial services, etc. The competitive spirit of the US and that "we're the best" attitude that turns you off is part of the reason the US has been able to stay so strong over this length of time.
tmac9, a lot of that is driven by foreigners to the United States and not natives of the United States. We are neither as optimistic or as innovative as you think. It might be argued that United States needs the world. Otherwise we'd tank. We need Mexican immigrants to provide cheap labor to help drive our economy (I learned in a Canadian thread that the Canadians don't really on cheap labor of uneducated immigrants), to help replenish our population numbers because our birth rate is too low. We need other immigrants to either come here with college degrees or gain their degrees here to drive most our innovation.
The world is becoming more dependent on China's growing economy and consumption. The real "America" of the old days is now nations like China and Dubai. There is no more grand engineering feats creating a New Orleans out of a swamp. There is no great push Westward building great cities from out of nowhere whilst the East Coast and New York City was still the cultured monied society. Who's doing all that today are those crazy a___ Arabs and Chinese. You think those cats are asking, "Wait, we can't build island with homes in the middle of water if the New Yorkers aren't doing it?" No.
Many if not most those innovators inside the United States weren't even born in the United States.
Right, things are getting much better and at a fairly good pace. Right now, it's still at a premium and not the standard but maybe it will be soon. There is some unevenness in terms of what parts of the country are seeing these things (the Northeast, Colorado, the West Coast, and major cities seem to be at the top of this trend).
I would definitely say it's not on the same level as many other countries though...perhaps things have changed over the past two years, or perhaps Brasil is just very good in this regard, but I find that the accessibility to higher quality fruits and vegetables (at a much, much better price) is far greater here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Supine
Brazil and Europe sound better than the United States in some ways. To me at least. I doubt suburban Americans feel the same way. I was particularly inspired by his comment that he feels safer at night in Brazil than he does in Chicago. And knowing how desolate downtown Milwaukee can be at night--and some North Side neighborhoods in Milwaukee--I will roll a guess that he'd feel the same about Milwaukee and pick a "third world" city in Latin America as superior to Milwaukee. And kudos to him for being a heretic of American dogmas.
This was one area I took issue with his post. I can tell you that things definitely feel more dangerous here. To me it's not even close, and I live in the "safest" major city in Brasil. SP actually has a lower murder rate than Chicago now, but he was referring to Recife, which is one of the most violent major cities in the country. Using this data (sorry, it's in Portuguese) you'll see Recife had 1,321 murders in 2001, for a homicide rate of 85 per 100k. Comparatively, Detroit had a rate of 33.8, Baltimore 36.9 and New Orleans 63.8 (which was the most violent year in NO since 1999 at least). For comparison's sake, Chicago's rate was 18.0 and that was the most violent year of the past decade. Brasil offers tons of awesome, awesome things and I think it's a great country overall...however its safety/feeling of safety is not one of them.
I would definitely say it's not on the same level as many other countries though...perhaps things have changed over the past two years, or perhaps Brasil is just very good in this regard, but I find that the accessibility to higher quality fruits and vegetables (at a much, much better price) is far greater here.
Other places are definitely still better, I was just acknowledging that things have improved. Definitely still isn't that great compared to other places I've been.
Other places are definitely still better, I was just acknowledging that things have improved. Definitely still isn't that great compared to other places I've been.
True. Much of the food in general in the US isn't very high in quality unfortunately.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
