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

That was quite a nice posting by Neesey, spoiled somewhat by "The south shall rise again" at the end.

Isn't this the rallying call of the KKK? Wasn't 'the south's' downfall its inability to deal with life after slavery?

To prove that I haven't been suffering from déja vu all this time - here's a conversation on the same subject:

http://www.h2g2.com/F19585

It also goes more into the inevitable generalisations about America.

OK you can get back to your civil war now.

Glad you think Canadians are civilized, anyway! Sometimes I wonder! We just had a murder in Selkirk (a very small city) the other day - the second that I can remember. A woman was found murdered in the back seat of her car at a gas station under construction near the edge of town. It wasn't a hand gun, or any gun - she was bashed over the head and her skull crushed. The whole place is in shock! It happened across the road from the steel mill where I used to work.

You are all the same. Arrogant little spits who think you know everything. You always try to outsmart each other. You embarrass and belittle each other. Then when someone tries to have a little fun you get all worked up and throw a fit. You are all up-tight, and can not take a joke. You take everything seriously and get angry at everyone. My advice to you all,
LIGHTEN UP.
Or get a life.

Ho Hum! Master Chaos has posted this same message in 4 conversations already today.I think he is feeling grumpy.

Ignore him. I don't think anyone embarasses or belittles anyone around here. That's the beauty of forums. You have time to think about a point before answering. Not that I always do, such as right now.

But everybody gets their say equally - which is much better than in real life, where I with my little female voice often just get ignored or "not heard" and five minutes later some loud-mouthed male says exactly what I've been saying all the time and gets all the recognition for it.

So let him grump, he won't get noticed any more or less than the rest of us - and .... sticks and stones...

I hope we get as much of your input at the meeting, then, as we do here. I am glad I have gone through six years of "Männergruppe", so I shoooould be able to let your "little female voice" speak up.

I have been thinking about exactly this. I have had discussions with Fragilis about the anonymity on h2g2 and the internet in general. Isn´t it interesting, that the knowledge you have of the other person you are talking to seems to automaticaly change the way you are comunitcating. I used to barge out with the fact, that I am english here in Germany, so everybody would go " OHHH, you are from England, and how do you like it here" If you are turkish, you only get " Du nix wolle hier schaffe" (You no want here work)and funny looks, but noone would ask a turk if he LIKED to be here as the first question.

It is a beauty of forums that you can think about what you say before you reply, you can also end up thinking to much and writing something akin to an essay! (which I have been *guilty* of myself)

Some Americans I like, some annoy me a little, but only those that complain of nothing being big enough. Like, you've got a HUGE country! Of course you're gonna do things bigger! My immediate thought response to those "gee, they've got much better things at home" is "WELL GO BACK HOME AND BUY THEM THEN!!!" But I'm too polite to say that, cos I think rudeness never got anybody anywhere.


Queegle - missed bus home after the pub cos he slowed down then drove straight by me (I'm not looking scary!), and now at work waiting for a friendly lift home. Maybe the bus driver was running late, maybe he was just being a bit of a git! Personally I think it's the latter

That could be another forum - What's wrong with bus drivers?!! But then they get to deal with snotty schoolkids and all sorts of awful ungrateful people all day so I guess I've answered my own question!

Canadians - luuuuurve the accent! Can't think of anything bad about any of them I've met

Courtney,

You are absolutely right. Given the serious turn of this thread I should not have made the crack about Dixie. I'm sorry I didn't mean anything bad about y'all living in the Frozen Nawth

Furthermore, I agree with you that there are many problems that are more important than the annoying traits being discussed here (for the most part). And I, too, think that one of the greatest things about this planet is the diversity.

Just think, if there were no cultural interactions I would now be married to my brother/cousin, and for Sunday dinner we'd feast on dirt and chittlins. What great mercy I enjoy everyday.

Neesey
--------------------
I have taken a vow of poverty. To annoy me, send money.

P.S.-- Do I have anything stuck between my teeth?

Most of the Americans I've known haven't been annoying at all, however things I've read by Americans, and interviews with Americans on TV give a very different picture, this is the picture of Americans which I suspect most of us Brits have. Maybe this is because people on TV are all annoying, maybe it's because the Americans that come to England (not as tourists) are a bit more cultured, who knows? The most annoying aspects of Americans that I find (not in any of the Americans I have known, but in many that I have seen or read) is their excessive love of America, and the fact that they're so right wing! My god! You'd think that communism was the work of the devil to hear an American talking, rather than a perfectly reasonable alternative political system promoting equality ahead of liberty. And why is the word "liberal" seen as in insult in America?

Oh, and the other thing that Brits don't like about America is the way they change history in their films (most annoying to Brits is that newish Mel Gibson one (The Patriot?) and the submarine / enigma code one).

However, the real reason is probably that us Brits are jealous that we're no longer king of the world.

Zephyr or what you´re called, you need to reconsider why we have punishments. Is it for revenge, or for trying to change people?

I don't think excessive love of country in Americans is necessarily a bad thing. They are flag wavers, and they do brag about their country, but is that entirely wrong? Canadians seem to always appologize - even for being Canadians! We have a beer ad (Molson's Canadian) that shows a guy standing up and yelling I AM CANADIAN. Well, all I can say, is its about time!

Queeglesproggit - glad you like our accent, though we all claim not to have one. Then you meet a Newfoundlander - and they almost have a language all their own.

re; post 32,broelan give it time.how old is h2g2?have i missed its first birthday?we all know that tourists from anywhere in anyplace are not real people,excepting hicthikers of course. got to go listen to bob dylans 115th dream now...i was rideing on the mayflower when i thought id spot some land.........

Before I start - it's very hard to generalize Americans - there are just too many cultures out there.

I'm an American. The problem I see is that most of us (who were born after 1960) are too self centered (I know I am - get it? ) to really care about anything happening around us unless we perceive that it affects us in some way. I don't believe a majority of us are altruistic in our actions.

As far a policing the world? Only when we think we will gain from it or will lose something that helps keep us fat and lazy.

"Most of the Americans I've known haven't been annoying at all, however things I've read by Americans, and interviews with Americans on TV give a very different picture, this is the picture of Americans which I suspect most of us Brits have. "

I think that's because people behave differently depending on where we are. If you're a guest in someone's nation, you're polite. When we're talking amoungst ourselves, even if it's via television, then we speak differently. Those folks on TV are probably very nice in person, even though they may have wildly differing views and culture than you do.

I was thinking of this at dinner tonight. My wife an I went to restaruant and had dinner with two friends. I am a conservative athiest, my wife is a moderate lutheran, and we were discussing religon and tolerance with a liberal diest, who I suspect is an occasional drug user, and a christian moderate. We're all freinds, and having a good time, but we also have ideas that are shocking to each other.

I don't think there's anything wrong with that disagreement (even though I'm right and they're wrong). That doesn't mean we can't be friends, and that we're not all good folks.

I don't think I wrote this very well. I guess I'm trying to say that people are cool.

Jason

BTW, communism is evil.

Jason

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I would like to point out that I have never had a problem with a single American that I have ever met personally - be it only a couple of dozen I suspect. I think the problem lies with the mass media and those who are not qualified to make their own minds up, and listen too closely to other people's opinions.

However, it does stick in the throats a bit of us Brits to find Hollywood re-writing our and everyone elses history.

For example, the film Braveheart. I thought it was a great film until one of the history buffs I worked with pointed out all the factual inacuracies in it. There was enough myth and bloodshed involved with Wallace to make a similarly enthralling film without the need for fabrication.

Here's the facts as I understand them:

Longshanks outlived William Wallace by about 2 years.

The battle of Stirling was handed to Wallace by the autocrat commander of the English army who slept in on the morning of the battle. Ordering his troops back across a small bridge so that he could give the order for them to face the enemy. They were slaughtered on crossing the bridge for the third time that morning.

The guy that was pushed out of the tower window to his death (apologies for forgetting his name) was indeed a homosexual, but was one of the hardest and most feared knights of his time.

Wallace never met Longshank's wife - let alone seduced her.


The other hot contender at the moment is the American's great discovery of the Enigma Machine. I personally boycotted the film and was pleased to see that certain cinemas were broadcasting a "Disclaimer".


The cheap quip that was made against Montgommery in Private Ryan was also most unnecessary. His advance was slowed by the only crack troops that the Germans could muster at the time. I believe that he was selected for the task ahead of the landings and achieved his goal.

Excessive love of one's country is OK unless it makes you unable to see the faults in your country and unable to appreciate how some aspects of other countries are better. The people I know are almost as critical of Britian as they are of the US, the fact that we're not quite as critical of Britain is probably because Britain is so relatively impotent in world affairs compared to the US. This is something that may well occur among people in the US, but if it does, it's not a side of the US that we see over here. BTW (just to stir up controversy, seeing as there are so many Americans here), I think Cuba is great! Long live Fidel Castro!

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