The World vs America

Yeah, I liked Tim Hortons coffee when I lived there. In fact my ex worked at one for a while.

 

But yeah, the only other countries we think primarily good stuff about are England and Canada, and we make fun of Canada.

 

But Canada gave us Harland Williams and Tom Green.

 

And don't forget Terence and Philip!

Just taking the piss out of the Canadians right now. From what I know it's pretty damn awesome. Cold weather and a more progressive bent will always earn points from me.

 

They also gave us Justin Bieber. They can slink back into the ocean if they take him with them.

 

Isn't Mike Myers from Canada too?

 

Idunnoooo... I like Obama in the regards of him having a HUGE open mind compared to anyone who's ever ran so far, but there is still a lot of shit he could improve on that makes me angry.

As for the US vs. the world? Also speaking from experience traveling around the world? The world is ten times better than the US, especially Europe. If I could move to Europe without a hassle, I totally would. :c The US needs too much work, and the rich are just... 'Oh ja we recognize de problems but we don't have de time for problems. Plus our money is p. important."

 

Ahem... 'Murica!!! That is all.

 

Good to have the thread revived xD

 

The only other countries besides America I've been in are Germany and Mongolia. I was only in Germany for about 10 hours, but I've spent a few months in Mongolia all together. The people were awesome and the culture intriguing. That being said, Mongolia is like purgatory.

 

Any time I or anyone I'm with have to do something ballsy, like drive a little aggressively, I shout "Murrica!" I also shout "Science!" any time I'm trying to do something that requires me to think about the problem and I actually succeed. But that's unrelated hehe

 

Yeah, Mongolia is actually a pretty decent country, but.you have to pass through either Russia or China to get to it. Crappy neighbors much?

 

the biggest american stereotype is this:


yes there ARE Americans like that. people call us stupid, fat, lazy, and obsessed with guns. yes, there are people like that, unfortunately.

but there are the truly good souls. people who do try. and in a nutshell, its called the working class. people that work for their living AND have taxes taken, money from them, used to foot the bill of the people who don't/can't care for themselves. no, im not calling out everyone on disability and such. some people truly need the aid, that truly cannot work for a valid reason. then there are the people i usually call 'leeches' that will not get off their afts and work. they just ride on Social Security and foodstamps, having kids and playing the lottery (i saw this when i worked at a gas station. one woman, pregnant and on foodstamps, bought cigarettes and proceeded to get $30 of lotto. this is in only one visit, she came multiple times over when i worked) while working people have hardly any time for families. my one aunt is a leech. i dont mind the money from my taxes paying for, say, a retired military wo/man and their family, or someone that was permanently disabled after, say, having a drunk get them into a crash. but i dont like my money go towards paying people that sit back, drink, have 3-4 kids and play the lottery. and that mostly is where it goes.

then there is media pressure. ill use myself as example. i am almost 19, ~30 pounds overweight, wears real glasses, problematic pimples, scarred from picking habit, artistic, and virgin. media would depict me as the last person you would want to frag because i am overweight, very emotional due to my being creative (generally a person that cries at anything), that i dont have a perfect face/hair, and wouldnt know what the heck an orgasm is because ive never had sex with another person. in truth, i have a hard time crying. but when i do, then something is really, really wrong. and to this day, i cannot get myself to say 'i like the body im in' or think of myself as beautiful or even fair because media has warped my views on myself. i sometimes think 'i guess im not bad looking...' but a look at my stretch marks breaks it like a hammer to glass. and for the sex part? well i have two toys, thinking of upgrading, and i am on this forum.

and the guns. i did this as a debate topic in school (which i shouldnt have, because i partnered with a more unstable friend and was versed by a few guys that were popular in class. needless to say she had a tantrum and later asked why i wasnt upset about them talking down to me. me: eh.). i was for gun control. no, i did not say 'take away all guns'. i said 'impose stricter rules. make it so that people with severe mental issues cannot get one,' so on so fourth. i have several guns in my house. i havent shot one in years, if ever, but it feels a lot better when you live in an area where a bullet or two can mean life and death- from an armed robber to a rabid/wild animal. if i hear a tapping noise outside my room, you can be sure that the knife i have at bedside is readily available.

stupid? well, let me remind you of this:

American Grading Scale:
A - 100-93
B - 92-85
C - 84-78
D - 77-70
F (called a U- 'unsatisfactory') - 69 and below

UK Grading Scale
100-70: A
69-60: B
59-50: C
49-40: D
Below 40: F

today, kids cheat because grades are more valued than actually learning. why? because they teach us useless things in school. they dont teach you how to buy a house,how to do taxes, how to balance a checkbook or open/keep bank accounts unless you sign up for a specialized class. they teach you things that probably won't use again. i sure don't remember a lick of my Statistics. and there are parents that ground their kids when they get a C. hence, kids cheat for that A or B to avoid being punished.

i want to travel some, go to Canada, Bahamas, maybe France or Japan. mostly its Canada due to close proximity and Japan because... have you seen sakura trees? beautiful~!

so in a nutshell:
A. as an American, i believe we are fragged as a country.
B. stereotypes, while there are people that validate it, does not apply to whole countries.
C. media makes us think we look bad, to everyone (makes them disappointed) and to our own selves.
D. how can we be stupid when your lowest A (70) would be passing by the skin of the teeth for us?
E. i made a wall of text. i hope i addressed good points without coming across too brazen.

 

“I've been making a list of the things they don't teach you at school. They don't teach you how to love somebody. They don't teach you how to be famous. They don't teach you how to be rich or how to be poor. They don't teach you how to walk away from someone you don't love any longer. They don't teach you how to know what's going on in someone else's mind. They don't teach you what to say to someone who's dying. They don't teach you anything worth knowing.”
― Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones

 

America has its flaws just like every country.

 

Shit, don't even get me started on the education system.

 

they recently changed the grading curve for high school and it's almost the same in college. It's bullshit. When I lived in Illinois, the grading scale was normal (A's: 100-81, B's: 80-71, C's: 70-61, D's: 60-51, F's:50-lower).

 

Really? When I was in school it was
A, 93 - 100.
B, 85 - 92.
C, 75 - 84.
D, 70 - 74.
F, 69 or Below

 

In Ontario we just give out numbers because random arbitrary letters don't actually help anyone as much as a precise grade point does. Don't even get me started on GPA....

 

Well this is better than any kind of grades IMO. Here in Poland we use points and then alongside that normal number grades that are equivalent of America's letters. Scale is 1-6, with 1 being lowest. There are some percentages to meet, but I'm not really sure how they are exactly. I just know that in high school you'll need 50% of points to pass, which gives you a 2. Oh, and highest grade - 6 - isn't reachable normally, you'd either need to show superb knowledge, exceeding teaching program's boundaries excessively, or be teacher's son/daughter to get that on normal exam.