Ask The Staff 'Anything'

Tsuyu · 02-06-2008

The problem with immigrants, at least in Sweden, is that while we accept them with open arms we don't give a crap about what happens to them.

A doctor for example, a famous case, got offered nothing better than a janitor's job at a local hospital despite his education and diplomas.

Is there really a big surprise a lot of them isolate themselves, and turn to crime and stuff? No, it isn't, and that is what in turns fuels the hatred for immigrants.

Walker · 02-06-2008

Well, I've never met any criminal immigrants. Maybe because I've lived in suburbia my whole life, but everyone I've known was upstanding middle/lower-middle class citizens. And this includes the handful of mostly African immigrants at my middle and elementary school with the handful of Asian immigrants at my high school and the assorted other immigrants I've met outside of school

I don't know much about their parents and qualifications, though, so for all I know the guy stereotypically cutting my neighbor's lawn could have a Ph.D, or the woman serving my soda could be a fighter pilot.

Angel · 02-06-2008

Having lived amongst immigrants most of my life, I have no issue with them as people. But I do see why others are getting het up about it and it's not really crime, it's the economy crashing that they are afraid of. Sure, we gots cheap labour from Poland and Romania - but we're losing jobs, money and housing in order to accommodate them. There's honestly nothing more frustrating than being homeless with a young family and watching all the available government housing being taken by someone who has just landed at the airport this morning whilst you've been waiting for months for an available place to live in...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walker

Well, are you talking about the UK or about Britain or about England? Britain, after all, includes Scotland and Wales-- it just refers to the island, from what I know. The UK includes Northern Ireland. England would refer to just England. And I really don't see what anyone could come up for their own national dish. Whatever you eat always seems to just be what you eat-- nothing distinctive or unique there. And what do you mean by national dress?.

Sorry - I know I keep mish-mashing the UK and then England...

National dish..well, for many countries there is one discernible dish or maybe a couple which is used to define that culture. Ask your average bloke on the street over here what the French eat, for example, and he will instantly rattle off something along the lines of snails and frogs legs. A stereotype, perhaps, but easily defined. Italy it will be pasta or pizza. Portugal, it is Piri-piri chicken. Maybe they are stereotypes, but you get the gist of what I mean. Then you look at England and draw a blank. Maybe fish and chips perhaps? I dunno.

As for national dress - well, America may not have one I don't know - but if you watch opening ceremonies for things like the Olympics or something of that scale, you will often see countries like Austria, China, Japan, Russia, Holland etc sporting clothing which is particular to their history or society in some way. It's not something worn on a bay-to-day basis but when a country is representing themselves internationally, they will often dress up in whatever attire is representative or definitive of their country.

Am I making sense or just making a mess?

Walker · 02-06-2008

Avoiding the immigrant subject--

About the food, maybe. But for America's food I would have said apple pie, hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, BBQ chicken, fried chicken, and/or "Chinese" food. So, [shrugs]. And most of the ones you listed did seem to be stereotypes of outsiders, but I wouldn't know.

And if I had to come up with something for the UK in general it would be the fish and chips. Though our fries are better. And I couldn't come up with anything for the component Kingdoms of the UK.

About the national dress I see what you mean, but there are any number of countries that lack associated attire. Or at least as far as I know. For instance-- Tsuyu, does Sweden have some traditional dress?

Does France? How about Germany?

blue crow · 02-06-2008

Am i the only human being that hates death metal? I mean jesus chirst i cant understand a word there singing more like screaming cause thats all they do. For example of death metal cannibal corpse"s I will kill you i can understand little of it cause of the fricken screaming.

Angel · 02-06-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walker

Avoiding the immigrant subject--

About the food, maybe. But for America's food I would have said apple pie, hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, BBQ chicken, fried chicken, and/or "Chinese" food. So, [shrugs]. And most of the ones you listed did seem to be stereotypes of outsiders, but I wouldn't know.

And if I had to come up with something for the UK in general it would be the fish and chips. Though our fries are better. And I couldn't come up with anything for the component Kingdoms of the UK.

About the national dress I see what you mean, but there are any number of countries that lack associated attire. Or at least as far as I know. For instance-- Tsuyu, does Sweden have some traditional dress?

Does France? How about Germany?

Don't know about France but Germany does... other examples are here National Dress

I used national dish and dress as an example, really, of what we do not have in our country which others do and take great pride in them. Our national dish is now regarded as curry - something which is obviously not quintessentially English, however delicious it is (mmm...korma...). Maybe we never had one? I mean, we had so many odd things like potatoes and spices and what have you coming in from all over the world perhaps we never really got around to making the turnip something incredible. I don't know.

Tanro · 02-06-2008

I would still like to know the exact value of π (pi)

Angel · 02-06-2008

I always thought it was 3 point something or other. 3.14 or something? I dunno...

Walker · 02-06-2008

Well, I come from a country which, I pride myself, is BUILT on fusion and hybridization and immigration, so I don't really understand.

And on top of that the United States has never really had anything like that, at least not since the early days. Part of that is that we're so big. Any food eaten by us all isn't that distinctive. For stuff like a "national dish" you'd have to go down to a state or county or something level.

And who says curry isn't quintessentially English? You might not have all the immigration of the US, but England has always been a seafaring nation because your too damn small to be a farming one. So you've always had lots of foreign stuff passing through the culture; and lots of colonies added to the passage of foreign ideas.

So how is a food hijacked from another culture and made your own NOT a quintessentially English concept?

And I still don't really get what you mean. I'm an American-- what I am is American. What that means is me-- descendant of immigrants, hybrid of several cultures, touched by foods and words and random paraphenalia of all these different origins. My distinct culture is, well, everyone else's distinct culture slowly hijacked over the years, in little bits and pieces. So I don't understand your issues. At all.

EDIT: π is

Warning, this is a spoiler!

and onward longer

Tanro · 02-06-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angel

I always thought it was 3 point something or other. 3.14 or something? I dunno...

Yeah thats a value, but not exact. Pi is an irrational number, it goes on forever.

Tsuyu · 02-06-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walker

Well, I come from a country which, I pride myself, is BUILT on fusion and hybridization and immigration, so I don't really understand.

And I still don't really get what you mean. I'm an American-- what I am is American. What that means is me-- descendant of immigrants, hybrid of several cultures, touched by foods and words and random paraphenalia of all these different origins. My distinct culture is, well, everyone else's distinct culture slowly hijacked over the years, in little bits and pieces. So I don't understand your issues. At all.

Yup. You've got that. Sweden or the UK (at least to my knowledge) was never built on immigration.

We don't have that - you're either a born Swede or you are not. I guess we're just a tad bit more xenophobic by nature, and if you look at the history of Sweden or the Uk there has been a lot of warring with other "races" in Europe, further enforcing those feelings.

People from other countries were never really immigrants - they were either invaders or defenders.

Dark Drakan · 02-06-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by blue crow

Am i the only human being that hates death metal? I mean jesus chirst i cant understand a word there singing more like screaming cause thats all they do. For example of death metal cannibal corpse"s I will kill you i can understand little of it cause of the fricken screaming.

Thats why you read the lyrics before hand so you know, a lot of it can be annoying but some Death Metal bands have awesome drummers and Guitarists. If you dont like it... dont listen to it... its as simple as that. You wouldnt sit there listening to Britney Spears or Justin Timberlake would you so why is that any different?

Walker · 02-06-2008

Makes some sense. Even here, though, we have dumbasses (I blame it on fat white people) with issues about immigration.

I mean, after the initial invasion of Europeans it was fairly peaceable immigration. And everyone who isn't Native American is eventually descended from an immigrant-- and often really recently.

Ironically, the US is big on Swedes and Brits. LOTS of us are descended from English/Irish/Scots; and a good number are descended from Swedes and other Scandinavians (particularly in the Midwest, like around Minnesota).

Amusingly, my state, Maryland, was colonized mostly originally by English, who were later joined by bunches of Germans; and lots of others (especially in the city of Baltimore). Delaware, on the other hand, over on the Delmarva Peninsula and one of our neighbors? Their first colonists were Swedes and other Scandinavians in New Sweden.

And even though there has been conflict over immigration, it's still big and important to our existence.

Note: I typed this before I left for dinner. I don't know if anyone else has posted since I left. I'll edit more in if I have to.

Tsuyu · 02-06-2008

Yeah had a couple of harsh winters and stuff which made a lot of people seek their fortune in America.

Quite a famous series of novels about some Swedish farmers making their way to America.

The Emigrants (novels) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Walker · 02-06-2008

Those sound cool-- remind me to get them a couple weeks from now when I finish the stacks of books I already have. [grin]