...then why do so many countries try to desperately clone American culture?
Firstly. I'm English. Secondly, futher references to 'American' in this thread refer to the USA.
Here are some examples of what I mean:
- American music: In the U.S music charts, only occasionally will a foreign song become a smash hit, and if it does, usually the artist is from another English speaking country, but even that is pretty rare. In Europe and beyond, American acts are everywhere! Often American tastes define the genre of the moment, as well as which artists make it and which don't. I'll never forget the time that the 'landing music' aboard an Malaysia Airlines flight was a Kanye West track.
- American TV: All over the world's screens. From the newsdesks, right down to the comedy shows. In Britain you just can't away from American comedy. People here moan about American culture, and how some of it is trashy, but our TV ratings show we just gobble it up: Seinfeld, The Simpsons, Glee, Friends, Will & Grace, Ugly Betty, Frasier, Six Feet Under, Lost, 24...etc...etc...etc.
- American money: Yankee dollar, still good from Kowloon to Kiev.
Anecdotes:
-Was offered 20,000 rupiah (admittedly thats like $2) for an NYC baseball cap when I was in Lombok, Indonesia, the world's most densely populated Islamic country, where every teenager you speak to hates the evil west and longs for its divine doom.
-Received an irate message from a young Syrian man bemoaning a pro-America post I made on a Facebook. Checked his profile, his interests include xbox, NBA and Michael Jackson and he was a fan of McDonalds' page.
- Constantly mistaken for an American when in China and especially in Thailand. Treated like a superstar. Don't know if treament would have been same if divulged I was a Brit, probably no different, but had I been an American, I didn't feel very hated - not considering what one reads about attitudes towards the US...
Originally posted by DR85You also didn't need to say USA, everyone knows EXACTLY what you mean when you say America.
...then why do so many countries try to desperately clone American culture?
Firstly. I'm English. Secondly, futher references to 'American' in this thread refer to the USA.
Here are some examples of what I mean:
- American music: In the U.S music charts, only occasionally will a foreign song become a smash hit, and if it does, usually the artist is fro ...[text shortened]... feel very hated - not considering what one reads about attitudes towards the US...
You are saying the land of the brave and true, you're talking about liberty and justice. I'm proud to be an American, at least I know I'm free!
USA USA! God bless!~
I'd also like to thank Jesus for allowing me to write this awesome post, and the bounty of thumbs ups it will yield.
Originally posted by DR851. I don't hate America
...then why do so many countries try to desperately clone American culture?
Firstly. I'm English. Secondly, futher references to 'American' in this thread refer to the USA.
Here are some examples of what I mean:
- American music: In the U.S music charts, only occasionally will a foreign song become a smash hit, and if it does, usually the artist is fro ...[text shortened]... feel very hated - not considering what one reads about attitudes towards the US...
2. I hate chart music both USAian and UKian (apart from the odd good track that creeps in. Getting rarer and rarer or amybe I am just getting older).
3. I dislike most TV other than documentaries and informative programs. Simpsons included as I think I have watched every accessible episode more than ten times. I used to watch it every day though.
4.Lost? Dire, diarrhoea. 😞
5. I don't own no dollars already.
6. Too bad already.
7. Too bad already already.
8. Really? Yah really, already.
9. Erm I just made this one up.
10. Who's counting anyways?
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Originally posted by DR85Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo bay, Gorarge W. Bush, Global warming, gang wars, ridiculous '3 strikes rule', more black males in prison than in college, said prisons working as 21st century slave labor camps, capitalism, 14 trillion dollar dept. The list goes on.
...then why do so many countries try to desperately clone American culture?
Firstly. I'm English. Secondly, futher references to 'American' in this thread refer to the USA.
Here are some examples of what I mean:
- American music: In the U.S music charts, only occasionally will a foreign song become a smash hit, and if it does, usually the artist is fro ...[text shortened]... feel very hated - not considering what one reads about attitudes towards the US...
I rest my case.
@ Trev33:
For balance, I've thrown in some European equivalents:
Iraq, Afghanistan: The Crusades, the colonisation of Africa, Asia, the Pacific. The second world war.
Guantanamo bay: Auschwitz, Dachau, Bergen-Belsen - arguably The Maze Prison.
Gorarge W. Bush: Adolph Hitler. Mussolini. Stalin. (not European, but some Warsaw pact nations within his influence were). Franco. Tito.
Global warming: I'm glad those saints in India and China are so much industrially 'cleaner' than the Americans.
Gang wars: Not unheard of. The Mafia.
Ridiculous '3 strikes rule': Elaborate?
Capitalism: You can't just pick on America. Besides, can you think of an alternative that would feasibly work? You're using a computer, probably with an Apple or Microsoft OS, running from Nuclear generated power, which you use to charge your phone and possibly heat your house. Why hate the hand that feeds you?
14 trillion dollar dept: Yeah. Good job there's no foreign debt within the Eurozone.
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Originally posted by DR85I didn't say the rest of the world was perfect. But the points you have made were all in the past, mine are either current or very recent.
@ Trev33:
For balance, I've thrown in some European equivalents:
[b]Iraq, Afghanistan: The Crusades, the colonisation of Africa, Asia, the Pacific. The second world war.
Guantanamo bay: Auschwitz, Dachau, Bergen-Belsen - arguably The Maze Prison.
Gorarge W. Bush: Adolph Hitler. Mussolini. Stalin. (not European, but some W ...[text shortened]... trillion dollar dept: [/b] Yeah. Good job there's no foreign debt within the Eurozone.[/b]
But i'll give you the mafia... and global warming.
The 3 strikes rule. In America if you're convicted on 3 separate occasions you get life in prison. Doesn't matter what the crimes are - life.
Originally posted by Trev33Yes well, we'd have trains that ran on time, a really good industrial base, good food and beer and well, erm, the rest doesn't bare thinking about if the little strange man had gotten his wicked way. It would be 'interesting' to see how things might have turned out though.
Sind Sie sicher?
Originally posted by Trev33Wrong. The laws apply to felonies only. Sentences, which vary from state to state, are usually from 25 years to life in prison.
The 3 strikes rule. In America if you're convicted on 3 separate occasions you get life in prison. Doesn't matter what the crimes are - life.
We're holding a nice little cell for you.
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Originally posted by HandyAndyDude, serious crimes are not it doesn't make the law any less ridiculous.
Wrong. The laws apply to felonies only. Sentences, which vary from state to state, are usually from 25 years to life in prison.
We're holding a nice little cell for you.
No, i'm pretty sure that cell is currently being used by 2 black and Hispanic guys in rival gangs.
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"On November 4, 1995, Leandro Andrade stole five videotapes from a K-Mart store in Ontario, California. Two weeks later, he stole four videotapes from a different K-Mart store in Montclair, California. Andrade had been in and out of state and federal prisons since 1982, and at the time of these two crimes in 1995, had been convicted of petty theft, residential burglary, transportation of marijuana, and escaping from prison. As a result of these prior convictions, the prosecution charged Andrade with two counts of petty theft with a prior conviction, which under California law can either be a felony or a misdemeanor. Under California's three strikes law, any felony can serve as the third "strike" and thereby expose the defendant to a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life in prison."
Some hardcore crimes right there 🙄