h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

whoops this thread went too fast, anyway whatever

I thiink he said the sister came on and said....the likelihood of that??? PAH! Sorry but if my brother committed then I wouldn't even consider the internet things he had!

k have fun!
cheers
ford

Ictoan: "Thing that gets me, on the whole insular thing and merkins never travelling, what about Mexico? I mean, I know that Canada is often seen as basically the odd relative you meet at parties and stuff, but I never understood how the US sees Mexico?"

Don't use the word "merkins." It's offensive. You don't see anyone throwing around "limey," and that's a pretty mild, meaningless term. "Merkin," on the other hand, is just gross, and it makes me wonder what kind of culture needs a word like that.

And if I were an insular American, I wouldn't know enough to take offense.

Back to the subject... I think we basically see it as the dirty, disfunctional neighbor that we like to party with. American tourism to there is huge, but we'd really like them to get their house in order.

Driving to South America isn't worth contemplating. It's like driving from Spain to Russia.

woops! damn tread is goin really fast!!
cheers
ford

yeah really fast!!

ReddyFreddy: If they never left the base, how did you meet them?

*whispers*

Can someone tell me why the word "merkin" is offensive?

Mugwump: I worked on the base.

RF

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_232.html

>>But they are all busy buying ipods and gaming computers<< Well?

Look, you wanted to know about people's travelling experiences. The first time I went travelling in Europe as in travelling all over Europe rather than just going to the one place, was soon after the end of the Cold War and I was very struck by the number of people I met from the former Eastern Bloc who were riding around on trains, having spent all their money on the ticket, just because they could, because it was exercising a form of freedom they'd never had before. That plays a big part in what irritates people about American insularity, I suspect - in a number of countries, still, freedom of movement is restricted to the point that you *can't* go anywhere. Which is why the affluence argument is flawed: it's not a question of being a multi-billionaire - it's a question of being better placed than virtually all other cultures to go out and see the world but just not being bothered enough to do it. If you can't afford it, then fair enough - but I've met people in the US who earn *vastly* more than I do who've hardly ever been out of their state.

LeoAlpha - You want to see the world: good on yer! Hope you make it and hope you have a great time!

This is going fast, isn't it?

i think ill go back into my little shell...
cheers
ford

Fair enough.

Of course, it's worth noting that soldiers stationed in Belgium may not be there because they want to be. Involuntary travelers aren't going to be terribly openminded.

And let's not forget that, while you get an awful lot of bright people in the military who just need another route to a higher education, or are motivated by a desire to serve the public, you're more likely to encounter a soldier who is a blooming idiot.

>> Of course, it's worth noting that soldiers stationed in Belgium may not be there because they want to be. Involuntary travelers aren't going to be terribly openminded. <<

At the time, the US was heavily involved in stationing troops in Europe at the height of the Cold War. Anyone joining the army would expect to be stationed in Europe. That's where the war was at the time.

>> Involuntary travelers aren't going to be terribly openminded. <<

This is a volunteer army, remember?

Mugwump, your arguments are becoming increasingly specious. Is that *really* the best you can offer?

RF

My arguments are specious?

"At the time, the US was heavily involved in stationing troops in Europe at the height of the Cold War. Anyone joining the army would expect to be stationed in Europe. That's where the war was at the time."

"This is a volunteer army, remember?"

Just because someone volunteers to join the army doesn't mean they volunteered to go to Belgium. Travel is pretty far down the list of motivations for someone to enlist.

"Mugwump, your arguments are becoming increasingly specious. Is that *really* the best you can offer?" - I'm sorry. Were you interested in making this personal? I wasn't aware that was your desire. I can certainly accomodate you, but you'd better really, really want to.

>>Just because someone volunteers to join the army doesn't mean they volunteered to go to Belgium<<

You expect to go wherever they send you, no?

>>Travel is pretty far down the list of motivations for someone to enlist<<

Really? The slogan "Join the Army and See the World" is a fairly ancient one in Britain. I'd always thought seeing a bit of the world was pretty near the top as a reason for joining the armed forces.

LeoAlpha: <>



*sigh* Have you been here? Have you travelled around this country? There's a lot more to the country than desert. I'm afraid your opinion is ill-informed, dismissive and arrogant. It's worrying that the US treats its allies with such contempt. (It does, you know - your ambassador here has been interfering in Australian politics, in public - if this is how the US treats its allies, it's no wonder it doesn't have many friends.)

>> Just because someone volunteers to join the army doesn't mean they volunteered to go to Belgium. Travel is pretty far down the list of motivations for someone to enlist. <<

Actually, it was one of the major selling points at the time. No-one joined the US Army and didn't expect a tour in Europe.

Yeah, I'll call your arguments specious, when they are. In what way is that personal? Unless *all* your arguments are specious, of course, and calling an argument "specious" characterises it as one of yours.

RF

All that says is how little you know about the military. As someone who has been, my experience is that the reasons go like this:

1) Money for college
2) Me likem da guns!!
3) Daddy was a soldier, and his daddy was a soldier...
4) The judge said it was this or prison
5) It was this or stay in the ghetto, deal drugs, and get shot
6) Lunch Money Syndrome... people who got beat up every day in grade school and want revenge
7) Path to a political career
8) Get away from Mom & Dad
9) Sick of working at McDonald's
10) Civic duty... "Oh beautiful, for spacious skies..."

Travel was always a secondary consideration. If someone really wanted to travel, they'd just backpack across Europe.