How different are Americans and Europeans?

[Pappa]

I am American born but not happy about it.

Some people are never satisfied!

[Tero]

I never made the decision to come here, and it was the Vietnam mess while I was draft age. Then I got US Citizenship in the Jimmy Carter era. I was in college, jobs were an issue, and some were easier to get as full citizen. Little did I know what would follow...

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I've been a few places that were as nice as the US, and whole lot that were worse.

[Clinton Huxley]

We will get rid of the royals eventually, we just dont like to rush into things. Give us a couple more centuries to think about it

[Gawdzilla Sama]

We will get rid of the royals eventually, we just dont like to rush into things. Give us a couple more centuries to think about it

3066 or there abouts?

[Coito ergo sum]

I see, you're a racist, I was hoping for a more positive note.

Your post, in point of fact, was also racist, in that you stereotyped black Americans. You weren't overtly negative about it, but racism doesn't require a negative opinion. Like, saying that Jews are productive and successful. It's racist/ethnocentric, but a positive statement.

We had a commercial in the 70s and 80s about prejudice. It featured an elderly grandfather and his grandson in a boat. The grandson asks, "grandpa, am I prejudiced?" And the grandfather asks him why. And, the kids says, "because my friend Jimmy said I was prejudiced..." Grandpa says, "who is Jimmy?" Kid says, "Jimmy is my Jewish friend." And, grandpa says, "well, then you are prejudiced..." Kids asks, "why?" Grandpa answers, "because you consider Jimmy your "Jewish friend" and not just your friend...."

So, even though someone thinks of a "kinship" between "black Americans" and himself or Europeans, it's still racial prejudice. They're "black kin" and not just "kin."

[DRSB]

Zilla:

Massive sample he's working from. One city in a country where you can drive 2,000 miles without hitting a border? A country that could swallow most of Europe?

Well, at least he had a first-hand experience, which most of us lack, which does not hinder us from forming and spreading opinions, so if you could set the record straight and tell us how Americans are, all the better.

As for me, I cannot quite connect the fact of America being the world's most glorious democracy to the fact that at least one third of the population adheres to radical religion, this makes 100 mln fundamentalists, most of them Christian, enough for one at every corner.

[DRSB]

CES:

Deersbee wrote:
I see, you're a racist, I was hoping for a more positive note.


Your post, in point of fact, was also racist, in that you stereotyped black Americans. You weren't overtly negative about it, but racism doesn't require a negative opinion. Like, saying that Jews are productive and successful. It's racist/ethnocentric, but a positive statement.

Yeah, we were all stereotyping the Germans and the Latvians, etc. This is the pub, after all.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Zilla:

Massive sample he's working from. One city in a country where you can drive 2,000 miles without hitting a border? A country that could swallow most of Europe?

Well, at least he had a first-hand experience, which most of us lack, which does not hinder us from forming and spreading opinions, so if you could set the record straight and tell us how Americans are, all the better.

As for me, I cannot quite connect the fact of America being the world's most glorious democracy to the fact that at least one third of the population adheres to radical religion, this makes 100 mln fundamentalists, most of them Christian, enough for one at every corner.

My sample was taken between 1970 and 1989, and includes several dozen countries. I learned not to make sweeping generalizations along the way. I also learned not to take them to heart as they are seldom correct.

[Kristie]

In my area of America, TMH is accurate about how the black popluation live. I'm sure it's different all over the country though. And, from my experience with talking to Europeans here and having a lifetime of interacting with black people, I would definitely say my European friends have more in commen with me than the black people I know.

[Trolldor]

Racist... that's a good one.
Unfortunately for you, those are the conditions of the majority of blacks in the United States. You stated:

Interesting, huh, the black Americans have a European mentality.

Well, "the blacks" is a fairly blanket term, so we have no choice but to refer to the conditions that most blacks find themselves in.

Those attitudes, conditions and behaviors are more prevalent among African Americans than whites, but it most certainly is NOT the majority.

Oh, well, here I was thinking that most blacks in the United States were confronted by those conditions. I guess the majority of them are completely ignorant of the conditions then.

It would be good if you could connect your line of argument back to the intended premise of the thread topic.

My original objection was to the phrase 'blacks have a European mindset', when blacks in the United states are more likely to fall in to one of the conditions as listed above. A sweeping generalisation deserves a sweepingly generalised response.

And secondly
The majority of blacks are affected by these conditions.
When you are over-represented in crime, do you mean to tell me that the majority are not affected? That there is no influence on public perception, on judicial bias or on media coverage? That these conditions don't, in some way, have secondary or tertiary effects?

[DRSB]

My friend's point was more along the lines of who he felt understood and accepted by, who he made friends with, who he felt he had a common language with, all of which appeared to him easier with the African Americans. He was on a Fullbright scholarship at the university of Chicago, so the persons he interacted with were likely not of the kind affected by the conditions TMH described. Anyway, my rendition of what his impressions were may be an inaccurate translation, I chose the word "kinship" because it appeared to me closest to my perception of what he said.

Anyway, this is all beside the point. I am curious: do Americans "feel" Europeans to be different?

[Robert_S]

Over-representation just means that, per capita, more blacks end up in jail that whites. It does not mean that more than 50% of blacks are criminals.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

My friend's point was more along the lines of who he felt understood and accepted by, who he made friends with, who he felt he had a common language with, all of which appeared to him easier with the African Americans. He was on a Fullbright scholarship at the university of Chicago, so the persons he interacted with were likely not of the kind affected by the conditions TMH described. Anyway, my rendition of what his impressions were may be an inaccurate translation, I chose the word "kinship" because it appeared to me closest to my perception of what he said.

Anyway, this is all beside the point. I am curious: do Americans "feel" Europeans to be different?

From my perspective they are just people. I lived in Italy for three years, and traveled around Europe on the taxpayers' nickel. I didn't see anything in Europe that I couldn't see in some city in the US, except the heritage stuff, like the Victor Emmanuel Monument or that box-girder thing in Paris. Africa was far more alien than Europe for me. South Africa not so much, and Asia some yes, some no.

[Woodbutcher]