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Thread: Cultural differences

  1. #61
    Senior Member VertOlive's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Quote Originally Posted by titrisol View Post
    "There maybe a 1,000 things wrong in Texas, brisket ain't one of them"
    H. Beam Piper didn't call it the "Lone Star Planet" for nothing....
    "Nolo esse salus sine vobis ...” —St. Augustine

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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Quote Originally Posted by VertOlive View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by adhoc View Post
    I think you misread; I wrote non-homogeneous.
    Right, but when you said you were surprised at the hierarchies I assumed...Anyway, come on and visit, we have lots of places we can put up a guest in a funeral home!
    Hah, it wouldn’t be the first time I was resting in a coffin. I worked at a funeral home / cemetery for a couple of years. I don’t know how it’s done in the US, but here funeral home and cemetery is really one place and one company, owned by the state.

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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    I've skimmed this thread, so my apologies if I'm repeating what might already have been said.
    It's become a bit of a cliché, but it's nevertheless true that we in England and Britain as a whole have a definite north/south divide. Culturally as well as economically.
    As an EastEnder (a native of East London) I can tell you that making eye contact with a fellow human being in London is a definite no-no. And speaking uninvited to your fellow man in a public place in the south of England will render you liable to committal to Bedlam!
    Conversely, the natives of Scotland, the island of Ireland and the north of England, retain the friendliness and hospitality for which East London was once renowned.
    It is also worth saying, as someone who travels extensively throughout Europe, that I have been warmly welcomed in every country I have visited.

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    Senior Member Voiren's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Quote Originally Posted by ethernautrix View Post
    Huh. Insight coming through, but I still have a problem with changing, in English, they into a singular personal pronoun. It isn't against anyone; no disrespect intended; it's the language. I would love to use another singular personal pronoun to address those who are non-binary. It's just that the word "they" already fills a role.
    Heh, singular "they" is an old, old thing though - it only became ungrammatical in the eighteenth century, and has probably hung on a bit more in British English.

    ETA: As an aside, I found an amusing thing from the OED saying "In 1660, George Fox, the founder of Quakerism, wrote a whole book labeling anyone who used singular you an idiot or a fool."
    Last edited by Voiren; June 4th, 2019 at 11:21 AM.

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    Member Bzzer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Quote Originally Posted by titrisol View Post
    Not surprised about people in TX paying in cash, they have disdain for banks and government... as it should
    TX is an amazing state, with a incredible variety of landscape and climate, people and cultures, lifestyles and food
    BBQ is really good, and is different in different places.... like a friend says "There maybe a 1,000 things wrong in Texas, brisket ain't one of them"





    Quote Originally Posted by adhoc View Post
    I think you misread; I wrote non-homogeneous. I think I’d like to visit Texas one day, it sounds like such an alien culture to me. Who the hell pays thousands of dollars in cash...when I try to visualize Texas in my mind all I can think of is guns, bbq and trucks

    The BBC were covering the American elections and attended the Texan Primaries. The reporter tried to explain to the world why all the TV companies were in attendance, he explained that Texans were like the Yorkshiremen of America, they never underestimated their own importance and tales of their successes were untainted by reticence.

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    Senior Member SIR's Avatar
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    Question Re: Cultural differences

    Texas - the state most likely secede from the union; am i right?

  9. #67
    Senior Member calamus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    IIRC, six different flags have flown over Texas. I can think of five -- the flags of Spain, Mexico, the Texas Republic, the Confederated States of America and the United States of America (twice -- both before and then after the Civil War). Would the sixth be the French flag? I believe a small chunk of East Texas was part of the Louisiana Purchase, which the US bought from France.

    Anyway, lots of people in Texas want to see the flag of the Texas Republic flying there again.

    As for cash, the dam gummint cain't track it as easy as digitized assets, making it harder for them to steal it from you.

    I love Texas.
    Quid rides? Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur. — Horace
    (What are you laughing at? Just change the name and the joke’s on you.)

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    Senior Member Dreck's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Having lived in several different places across the USA, I think it is typical for people in larger cities to not make eye contact or talk to strangers. I moved to Seattle after having lived in a small town in the Midwest, and learned right away to look straight ahead and not engage the people on the sidewalks or riding the bus. Obversely, I think it's also typical for people in smaller towns to be friendlier and more apt to talk to strangers. I certainly found this to be the case when I lived in Carnation, WA (where the hardware store doubled as the liquor store, and the sporting goods store included the post office!). The owner of the local hardware store (the "Feed & Seed") where I live now (another small town in the Midwest; albeit getting uncomfortably larger by the day) let me borrow one of his personal tools when we discovered he didn't stock what I needed.

    Someone mentioned living in southern Arizona, and the ravages of the spring/summer heat. They weren't exaggerating. Asphalt parking lots get so soft that motorcyclists carry a piece of plywood to go under the kickstand. We used to keep a blanket in the car--to cover the steering wheel and seats when the car was parked in the sun--otherwise, you're looking forward to burned hands and thighs from the leather/vinyl!

    We pay for most things in cash, including the Chevy Blazer I drive. It has a lot less to do with mistrust of the government than it does Dave Ramsey.
    It's not uncommon to see people walking around armed. In my experience, the ones who choose to carry are generally the ones less likely to act irresponsibly or overreact to a situation. As Robert Heinlein said, "An armed society is a polite society."

    IMO, the best cultural difference was in New Orleans. It seems that everyone has "just made" a pot of gumbo or red beans, and are thoroughly insulted if you don't eat!
    Online arguments are a lot like the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
    As soon as the audience begins to participate, any actual content is lost in the resulting chaos and cacophony.
    At that point, all you can do is laugh and enjoy the descent into debasement.

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  13. #69
    Senior Member ethernautrix's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Quote Originally Posted by Voiren View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by ethernautrix View Post
    Huh. Insight coming through, but I still have a problem with changing, in English, they into a singular personal pronoun. It isn't against anyone; no disrespect intended; it's the language. I would love to use another singular personal pronoun to address those who are non-binary. It's just that the word "they" already fills a role.
    Heh, singular "they" is an old, old thing though - it only became ungrammatical in the eighteenth century, and has probably hung on a bit more in British English.

    ETA: As an aside, I found an amusing thing from the OED saying "In 1660, George Fox, the founder of Quakerism, wrote a whole book labeling anyone who used singular you an idiot or a fool."
    Yeah, I know that "they" as a singular third-person pronoun is ancient usage, but it hasn't been in common use my entire life, so... the usual egocentric rules apply, "That's how I was taught! *grouse grouse grouse*" I suppose I like the challenge of re-wording (written) sentences to avoid "they" in that capacity and the clunky "him/her" and variations thereof.

    That's funny about "you." I didn't know that. So, back in the day, "you" was plural second-person; what was singular? (I don't want to ask Google! If you know, tip of your fingers, then I'll await your answer. If not... I'll ask Google. Dammit. *grouse grouse grouse*)

    I would like a separate plural second-person word. Maybe "them?" Why not? No more "I" and "me"; we'll all be "we" and "us." "They" and "them" in third person. That won't be confusing at all!


    Slight digression: I don't remember the first time I heard "sick" and realized the speaker meant "fantastic," but "sick" as a positive superlative has hung on, to my dismay. Listen, I know. Youth! When I was a kid, my friends and I said gobbledygook, to wit: "likes the mud." Not even the grammatically correct but still nonsensical "like the mud." Utter dada nonsense. All I was sure about was that saying "likes the mud" conveyed sheer delight and groovy vibes, man.

    I believe that was popular circa... when I was in the fifth grade. So, early '90s.

    *laughing* Really early '90s, deep, deep '90s. Mid-'70s '90s.

    That was San Francisco. I have no idea if anyone else outside of SF, or even outside my school, said "likes the mud." Remembering now in more detail, can't help but smile. What idiots but what delight and joy! "Likes the mud!"


    I had hoped "sick" would disapper as quickly. NOPE! But I'm not going to say it. "Oo, Lamborghini!" "Yeah, that's sick." "I know! It's awful. Imagine how suffocating it must be to drive one. Terrible."
    Last edited by ethernautrix; June 15th, 2019 at 03:35 AM.
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    Senior Member ethernautrix's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    I agree with Dreck about big-city/small-town interactions.

    On bike rides through villages in the Polish countryside, I'll call out "dzień dobry!" particularly to the senior residents, whose suspicious curiosity turns into beams of smiling when they call back, "dzień dobry!" One of my friends calls out (in Polish), "God bless you!," says the older folk really appreciate that.

    When Ilived in a small town in Rhode Island, I discovered that the post office personnel knew who I was and where I lived, like, immediately. I'd come home to purchases placed inside the house (felt bad about locking the sliding-glass doors after that, but... it was too weird, being from a big city, to leave windows and doors unlocked). Walking into the post office to retrieve mail... if the clerk saw me first, he or she would already be fetching the mail to hand it to me. Neighbors left their car doors unlocked.
    [Quick side note.] One time, in SF, I walked down to the car to go to work and announced to my then-husband, "There's a man in our car!" My ex thought I was kidding. Nope. He opened the back door and said to the sleeping man, "Good morning! Time to go to work!" The man woke up and got out of the car, said, "It's just one of those things, man," as he got out. We didn't mind the man's sleeping in the car, but the stench... ugh. The stench lingered, albeit much diluted, when we got back in the car after work. So, yeah, if we didn't lock the car door, it was a rare case of forgetting.

    In another small town, I forgot my keys in the front door (which faced a main artery through town). Twice. Once overnight; once "overday."

    The bus driver on that route would stop and wait for me, as I'd rush out of the house in the usual flurry of hurry. When I left town for a week, I returned to a friendly lecture that I had to let him know if I wasn't going to need the bus, cos he'd waited--and all the other passengers waited (all half-dozen or so familiar faces; they all were looking at me with forgiving expressions -- you know, the barest hint of censure behind the forgiving smiles) and waited... and R___ had been worried. NOW, this sounds stalkerish, but it wasn't at all. He never appeared at my home, and I never encountered him off the bus. R___ was considerate about his other regular passengers, a couple of whom also expressed relief at seeing me getting on the bus after my mysterious disappearance.

    Then there was that one bus driver that one time, in San Francisco--I don't remember how it came up, but at the end of that route, I'd transfer to another bus. I think the other bus was late or something, and so this driver offered to drive me to my destination's bus stop, on his way back to the depot (it was more or less on his way). No untoward suggestions or weirdness (outside of the kind gestture, typically not expected of big-city mass-transportation drivers).

    Sometimes the big city can shrink down to a small-town bubble, if you're open to it.
    Last edited by ethernautrix; June 15th, 2019 at 04:07 AM.
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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Quote Originally Posted by MightyLlama View Post
    I've skimmed this thread, so my apologies if I'm repeating what might already have been said.
    It's become a bit of a cliché, but it's nevertheless true that we in England and Britain as a whole have a definite north/south divide. Culturally as well as economically.
    I've noted when travelling that Yorkshire is a matriarchy - if I stopped to get directions from a group of people, it would always be the women who answered!

    That doesn't happen down south. It's usually a chap.

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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Quote Originally Posted by amk View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by MightyLlama View Post
    I've skimmed this thread, so my apologies if I'm repeating what might already have been said.
    It's become a bit of a cliché, but it's nevertheless true that we in England and Britain as a whole have a definite north/south divide. Culturally as well as economically.
    I've noted when travelling that Yorkshire is a matriarchy - if I stopped to get directions from a group of people, it would always be the women who answered!

    That doesn't happen down south. It's usually a chap.
    Just thinking about why that might be.

    Being a man I would rather get lost than ask for directions of course.

    Perhaps women are more dominant in northern society, interesting. There is certainly a society division between the south east and the rest of the country, it hadnt occurred to me that this may even be down to an individual level.

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