Peeve of the day

[Faust]

The Irish channels are the ones that get the HBO shows and breaking bad so everyone watches those.

It's a very sneaky but effective system.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

The Irish channels are the ones that get the HBO shows and breaking bad so everyone watches those.

It's a very sneaky but effective system.

I think I noticed that I was watching it a bit more than usual last time I was over.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

So, one could have a ceremony that was in every identical to another culture's, and have the same intent behind the ceremony, and it's not cultural appropriation if the simply call it something else?

"No, it's not a sweat lodge, it's a Swermaflerma."

Not sure where you're getting  that from.

[LMNO]

Odd.  I don't think this is the thread that was meant for.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Odd.  I don't think this is the thread that was meant for.

Yeah, I realized after I posted that it was probably intended for Alty's authenticity thread.

[LMNO]

Most likely.  It's also a dumb question, based on semantics.  So consider it withdrawn.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Just using Americans for the US instead of the continent is enough to bother most people people I know. Couple that with your peeve and White citizens of the USA are suddenly representatives of a huge population and landmass that they are a small part of.

I've put some thought into this:

We are United States of Americans. There are Canadians to the North, and Mexicans to the South. I know we all live in North America, but think of something else to call us that doesn't sound dumb. Seriously.

Staters? Stateys? United Statsians? USers?

See?

I THINK THAT WAS THE FUCKING POINT OF NIGEL'S POST.

GODDAMMIT.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Purpleris and I had an interesting discussion about this yesterday. We're going to a Halloween party and she mentioned it was a Christian holiday. I pointed out that it wasn't Christian and many Christians actually are against it. It's a Western European/American holiday... but from the perspective of Turks, "Western" and "Christian" and "American" seem synonymous, particularly when it comes to cultural things like Halloween. The same from my perspective when I was there. One of their bayram (holidays) is the Candy Bayram which I assumed was Muslim, but its cultural. The same for New Years, where Turks celebrate with Turkey Dinners, a dude that looks like Santa, holiday lights, holiday trees, etc. Yet, its not Mulsim at all, its just Turkish... and some muslims hate it, because they see it as appropriation of Christian symbols.

THREAD IS NOW ABOUT TURKEY.

TURKEY TURKEY TURKEY

[hooplala]

Its also worth noting that up until the printing press or thereabouts, most people did not particularly consider themselves to be part of a country at all. They were concerned about their local communities, but the means to build a national identity as such didn't really exist for the common folk.

The formation of countries as identities is one of the areas I found really fascinating at university. I personally think that the internet and easy travel are really starting to erode it as a prime factor in identity now, too. In ways trhat just weren't possible before, our geographical location is becoming less and less important to who we are and how we think of ourselves.

At least, to those places where these luxuries apply of course. There's still vast parts of the world where these conditions aren't relevant.

This is good news got me, since I've never felt much cultural identity... When you're raised by a television in south western Ontario, surrounded by largely American TV stations, it's hard to feel "Canadian". Maybe if I'd been into sports it would have been different.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Its also worth noting that up until the printing press or thereabouts, most people did not particularly consider themselves to be part of a country at all. They were concerned about their local communities, but the means to build a national identity as such didn't really exist for the common folk.

The formation of countries as identities is one of the areas I found really fascinating at university. I personally think that the internet and easy travel are really starting to erode it as a prime factor in identity now, too. In ways trhat just weren't possible before, our geographical location is becoming less and less important to who we are and how we think of ourselves.

At least, to those places where these luxuries apply of course. There's still vast parts of the world where these conditions aren't relevant.

This is good news got me, since I've never felt much cultural identity... When you're raised by a television in south western Ontario, surrounded by largely American TV stations, it's hard to feel "Canadian". Maybe if I'd been into sports it would have been different.

It's hard for me to feel "American."

Aside from the fact that I have strong identification from my father's homeland and my mother shares his ethnicity, American can mean practically anything. As far as America goes, I identify as Bostonian and New Englander. The United States only comes into play when I leave or reenter the United States. I have some things in common with someone from South Dakota, and more not in common. Seems to me the only thing that Americans have in common with other Americans is citizenship, and, as Nigel pointed out, somewhat of an assumption that an American is white. It's making me think of all of those qualifiers. I'm a (ethnic) American. Ask a white mutt what they are, and they'll say American. Me? I'm an Irish American, since my ancestry is overwhelmingly Irish. Nigel is an American. Multiracial. White people are mutts. She's multiracial on grounds of Scottish, Native, and Black, but never a mutt. Mutt is a joke that white people say to each other to basically say "indistinct American of recent European descent." Hell, we don't even let actual Americans call themselves Americans. They have to be Native Americans, and they were here first.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I'm a dead man in Tucson.  Nationality is meaningless to me.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

I'm a dead man in Tucson.  Nationality is meaningless to me.

Tucson is the great equalizer.