Becky Moreno
Questions for Americans

Hello italki members,

I was just wondering if anyone had any questions about Americans or American life?  The reason that I ask is that I always have so many questions for my students about things in their countries and I thought that maybe someone had questions for Americans but didn't know who to ask.

Aug 21, 2015 2:25 AM
Comments · 65
8

Andrey.  I strongly disagree with your friend from St. Louis.  The laws of the United States government in no way discriminate against blacks or anyone else.  To the extent there are incidents in which blacks are unfairly treated, it is the result of discriminatory actions taken by individuals <em>in violation </em>of the law.  There have been police shootings of blacks, but so have there been far more police shootings of non-blacks.   Most of the shootings have been lawful acts of self-defense on the part of the officers.  You should not think that every time there is a confrontation between the police and a black person that it is automatically a case of discrimination.  You have to look at the facts of each case to determine whether discrimination was a factor or not.

August 21, 2015
8

@ Андрей - Unfortunately, race relations in America are not as good as they could and should be.  Yes, the police have shot many people, both black and white, in many areas of the country.  The problem is that the media always shows inflammatory information to boost ratings, and, (I think), to distract from other issues such as what Congress or the President is doing.  There are MANY wonderful police officers who are doing a tough job with dignity and strong ethical values.  There are a few bad officers/departments who bring shame on the profession.  What the media doesn't show is the many areas of the country where there is very little racial tension.  Here in California, race is much less of an issue.  It is still a problem, but not as much as your friend is experiencing in St. Louis.  In California it is very normal to see a lot of intermarriage, and because there are many cultures in bigger cities, people usually don't think a lot about race.  Tension breeds tension, so it is easy for things to get out of control in cities with strong histories of racial violence.

 

I agree with you that, "the people who live in a free country have to have the same rights", and most Americans would say the same thing.  The problem is that in every society there are written and unwritten rules as to how people should behave, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unspoken_rule), and race relations, especially in the Southern part of the US seem to be following an unwritten rule of hatred and violence.

August 21, 2015
8

@Tweeny - I agree with you that, as a whole, America is much more liberal than many other countries, however, not everyone has an "open" lifestyle, as you put it.  Unfortunately, "sex sells", (meaning if something like a movie involves sexy/romantic scenes, than more people will go watch it).  That means that many movies/TV shows have unnecessary/unrealistic themes in order to attract viewers.  Also, Americans don't really care what anyone else thinks, so people are much less likely to be controlled by pressure from society.  Many Americans live calm, chaste lives, but unfortunately those Americans aren't as exciting so you don't see them on TV or Youtube!  America used to be more like other countries as far as "openness" goes, but when the cultural revolution took place in the 1960's, things changed greatly, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960s).

 

As for traditional family rules and position and role of women, while America has always be more liberal than many other countries, it wasn't until the 1960's, (again!), and the Women's Liberation Movement, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_liberation_movement), that things changed drastically and our culture moved more toward what you see today.  Remember that culture is an active, unstable idea, rather than a passive, static entity, and therefore change occurs constantly.  The problem is that it is hard for us to see change in "real-time" because we are caught up in it.  It is only by looking back 10 or 15 years that we can really notice that change has taken place.

August 21, 2015
8

@Thiago - I have had several students ask me why Americans ask, "How are you doing?" all the time, but really don't want to know the answer!  I have no idea why we are like that, but it might be due to the fact that we take a lot of pride in being independent and self-sufficient, (We do have a HIGH percentage of heart attacks and anxiety/depression, however, which I think is related to our lack of social connections.  Just my opinion!)  

My husband is from El Salvador, and there is a HUGE difference in how people interact there.  When I first became a "hispanic" wife, it really bothered me that, "people were always in my business,"  but I have learned over the years that it is just a cultural differnece, and neither good or bad.  When I am in his country I talk to everyone, push my way to the front of the line, and crowd into small spaces with lots of other people, (ex. buses).  These are things I would never do here, but I fit in with the culture, and I am happy when I am there.  I think that we need to see different cultures as adventures rather than "wrong".  I'm glad that italki provides a perfect forum for us!

August 21, 2015
7

I would like to answer a few things from a diffrent perspective. 

@pedro  1.This is going to get a bit political so I apologizee. America is considered the worlds richest country but only a few people get to see that wealth.The poorest half of the US owns 2.5% of the country’s wealth. The top 1% owns 35% of it. the bottom 90% of America owns 73% of the debt. As student loan debt plays a major role. I read somewhere that the number of debt for student loans is higher than even morgage loans.

2. Although we are known as the hardest working polulation in the world we only see a small margin of it. Productivity has gone up but the income has stayed stagnate or even decresed in some areas. That's because 58% of all new income goes to the top 1%

 

3. Religion is a strong widely used throughout the world than just the US. Hindu,Chrisitian, Muslim,Buddist,Judisim, even Rastafariism. Its just that Since the US is a melding pot of many diffrent cultures It just seems as if its a major factor. Its when, people want their prefered religion to reign over all others and is used as a tool for attack that makes it a problem. Many Christians have forgotten or don't know that the US was the First and still is a Secular nation. Meaning that Any religion of any nature can not have have an affect on government policies as stated by the First Amendment. 

 

 

August 27, 2015
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