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In celebration of my recent graduation from stranger to newbie, and in sympathy with all strangers out there, I thought I'd post an explanation of the acronym YART.
Having come across the term in a post some weeks ago, I went looking on the Web. Tried a couple of acronym sites without success, then my usual search engine. I waded through the list of hundreds of references to some sort of 3D graphics program called YART, pages for the "Y-ART Gallery" and links to community organizations' Young Adult Round Tables,.....
Then I found the answer much closer to home..... It was coined by tsuwm on this very bulletin board - see "British v American" thread in Wordplay and Fun - on Wed 30 Aug 2000. And I quote:
>the structure of this board makes moving
from thread to thread a little awkward
Yet Another Rehashed Topic! (time to coin an acronym: YART)
I'm sure that tsuwm or some other kind correspondent will give this thread a shake from time to time, in order to bring it to the attention of strangers we haven't yet met, he said tautologically.
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Then I found the answer much closer to home..... It was coined by tsuwm on this very bulletin board - see "British v American" thread in Wordplay and Fun - on Wed 30 Aug 2000. And I quote:
>the structure of this board makes moving
from thread to thread a little awkward
Yet Another Rehashed Topic! (time to coin an acronym: YART)As the inspiration behind tsuwm's coining the phrase (or, perhaps, the grit in his oyster responsible for that pearl), I feel that it is probably the most significant contribution I've made to this board! 
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there was an old yonner from oz
who went searching for YART becoz
he wanted to help out
those strangers that yelp out
"this tsuwm behaves like a quoz"
well spotted, Marty
you newbie, you YARTy (yet another rehashed topic yonner)
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There was an old newbie called Mart
Who dared to decode tsuwm's YART
tsuwm called him a yonner
He thought "I'm a goner...
...tsuwm hates those that fart at his art."
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old hand
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Marty, if you find something on this board that you don't quite understand, it's probably best to ask one of us first because chances are we made it up (especially if I wrote it).
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Marty, not only have you used interior rhyme to good effect, but you have suggested a real, live Stinky-Pinky®, to wit:
clue: creative wind-breaking
s-p: fart art
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creative wind-breaking
In pursuit of a sweet yawping YART,
Marty parted his cheeks for a fart.
The interior rhyme
Hid the scene of the crime -
tsuwm’s storing the fart art apart!
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Pooh-Bah
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mmmmm .... You just turn your back for a few moments, leave those boys to themselves and it's back to toilet humour ...
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Jo, my admiration for artful interior rhyme notwithstanding, I think you, Jackie, Bridget and I need to post watch here in 6-hour shifts.... it's probably doable given the time differences (swatch, schmatch).
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leave those boys to themselves Sorry girls - I've already been upbraided by Jax! But I just had to get that word 'yawp' onto the board somehow, didn't I tsuwm  Now where does that expression upbraid come from...
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The girls prefer delicate prose
To bad language that gets up their nose.
I can never resist a
Bad pun, but (dear sister)
For Jo I'll remain in repose!
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Jax Jax? Jax?? (I shudder to think what her pet name for you might be )
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her pet name for you...HAH - you should see our substantial off-board correspondence - suffice it to say she addresses me as uncle Beside, Jax & Max go together like... However, despite the attractions of this board I am suffering an attack of pandiculation, so fear I must go home before dusk falls. Have a great weekend, peeps :)
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Beside, Jax & Max go together like...
Wait! Don't tell me... fishes and bicycles?
(wondering if there's room for two Maxes in this here town...)
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>I think you, Jackie, Bridget and I need to post watch here in 6-hour shifts
Yes, I think you are right, do we have to do it 365(6) days a year or do we get bank holidays?
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>you should see our substantial off-board correspondence
You two timer - I'm shocked!
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>You two timer - I'm shocked!
it's okay, jo; jackie corresponds with *everybody. ; )
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Thank-you Marty. You have unwittingly taken a load off my mind. I went into your profile and noticed that you became a Newbie after some thirty posts. You know I'll be typing away to make my way out of 'stranger'. I feel like a peeping Tom with 'stranger' title. Not exactly in the game but loving it anyway . Be catching up to you soon!!
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(wondering if there's room for two Maxes in this here townNo, I think one Max is probably the max. we can handle.
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THANK YOU, ANNA!! At LAST, at LAST, I have something I can hold over the mav's head, should he have the nerve to try and orientate me again! Hee, hee! >evil grin<!
To my own surprise, I don't mind Jax, though I hate the
singular. As I have said before, I are not a male, and don't ever expect to be.
Another weirdness is that there are many "bad" words that I
don't mind at all, and only a few that I do. Go figure.
I just don't think they need to be part of ordinary speech.
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Have a great weekend, peeps :)
ATTENTION, ladies!! Do any of you agree that this sounds
suspiciously like mav is calling us "chicks"???
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jackie corresponds with *everybody
Making rather an assumption there, weren't you, Bub?
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just extrapolatin' here, boss. <g>
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just extrapolatin' here
It's not polite to extrapolate in front of people, son.
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(typing this as I chortle at the Jackie/tsuwm quid-pro-quo)
belM, check out the 'graduation' thread @ Miscellany. That should sort of clear up how this all works, hierarchy-wise.
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>as I chortle at the Jackie/tsuwm quid-pro-quo<
...long may this sort of quip-pro-quo continue!
But seriously, am I to extrapolate from earlier posts that Jo, Jackie, Anna and I are the only females on this board? I'm shocked! I'd never thought about gender (im)balance on AWAD before.
..can't we just be people?
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Bridget, there are several others, but so far they have
tended to post with periods of inactivity in between.
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I guess that RhubarbCommando (Hilary) and Emmanuela would count themselves as female too.
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>>I guess that RhubarbCommando (Hilary) and Emmanuela would count themselves as female too.
Yes, I do. But don't let me feel guilty for "lack of posting" .
Ciao
Emanuela
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>But don't let me feel guilty for "lack of posting"
No we won't, it probably means that you have a life!
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Speaking of imbalances around here. . .is there anyone else here under the age of 18?, 20?, 25?, 30!!?
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>Speaking of imbalances around here. . .is there anyone else here under the age of 18?, 20?, 25?, 30!!?Quite a few, I think, Jazzo, if you let people include their grandchildren in the count.
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..can't we just be people? I'm quite happy being a female alien, thankyouverymuch (aside to Jo: I'm under the impression Hilary, of the Lancaster Rhubarb Commandos, is a ... how you say in your language... "bloke")
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>I'm under the impression Hilary, of the Lancaster Rhubarb Commandos, is a ... how you say in your language... "bloke"
We'll just have to ask her/him then, won't we?
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it probably means that you have a life!Not kidding - I leave the board for only about 60 hours (to crawl around in the Welsh mud digging some foundations for a new 'withdrawing room') and get back to find there are more postings than I'll ever catch up with! By the way, peeps was intended as a ref to the catchphrase of a character created by the UK comedian Harry Enfield, whose wonderful Greek referred to everyone collectively as <peeps>, being short for the asexual 'people' - which of course is why I used that one being careful to try to not upset anyone. After all, it's no fun (no fair?) upsetting someone without meaning to...
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I'm under the impression Hilary, of the Lancaster Rhubarb Commandos, is a ... how you say in your language... "bloke"
We'll just have to ask her/him then, won't we?As I have, for much of my life, staunchly defended the principle that in almost all activities the gender of participants is totally irrelevant, I will cite the Fifth Amendment.  For those who find it necessary to know such things, there are, in any case, plenty of clues in my postings from which you might deduce my gender. BTW, I am not "of the" Rhubarb Commandos, I "am the" RhubarbCommando - isn't "commando" one of those words whose singular and plural forms are the same, like sheep. (Like that of sheep, I should say: sheep are not the same as each other, before any smart-arse makes a thing of it)
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in regards to the sex/age questions, i am fem and <25, stranger tho i am
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Glad you joined us xara. Hope you have fun with all these old codgers!
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(I see my attempt at non-toilet humor has utterly failed... oh, well, Excelsior and all that!)
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xará, welcome. Are you Brazilian, by any chance? (hoping it's OK to ask this question)
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>more postings than I'll ever catch up with!
I have a trick to deal with this problem.
(i) In your profile, subscribe to the daily summaries of Misc, Q&A and W&F and any other bits you read also set it up to e-mail you any replies to your postings.
(ii) Set up your e-mail programme (eg Outlook) to put all messages from AWAD in its own directory, so as not to clog up your mailbox.
(iii) If you pay for your phone calls, open up your e-mail summaries, when they arrive, minimise all the ones you want to read, then disconnect. Then read them "off line". This is very useful for threads that end up so far down the list that you can never find them. It can be a bit hard to follow but its not so bad.
(iii) If you want to reply to anything, check it out on-line before you do, there may be lots more things since the e-mail summary was sent, especially from people in a different time zone. Again, once you have opened all the relevant pages, you can go off line to read them.
(iv) If you want to write a long reply and are paying for calls. Jeff suggested a long time ago that you write it in your word processing programme and paste it in. This may avoid the pleasures of the enigma machine (spellchecker) but you can't win everything.
(v) If you go away for a long time, decide if you want to unsubscribe to the e-mail summaries and miss things or tay subscribed and face your e-mail when you come back.
Any other tips from anyone?
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Just to note that, when you are on the Main Index, or the
opening page of a category, the number beside the "New" note doesn't mean that there actually are that many that you haven't read. For ex., just now when I clicked on
Q&A, it showed the New note beside the number 40 in this
thread, but there was only one I had not seen.
I think confusion over this may have been cause for panic.
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tipsThanks, both. That should definitely keep the addiction fed within manageable bounds! And shame! -Brazil indeed (YCLIU). Xara's another southern gal - and welcome from me too
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anna no i'm american. er, united statesian, not to be confused with other 'american' countries like brazil or canada...
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united statesianStates of mind? I loved your company website, by the way - as apparently not everyone has yet LIU I here reproduce a good handy phrase: Dealing directly with over three million customers annually has given us the opportunity to learn first hand what you want in a timepiece
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All right, already. Xara could be a Brazilian studying or working in North Carolina! (and I did LIU, just didn't click on the web page). I asked because xara is a Brazilian Portuguese word of address to someone who has the same name as one doing the addressing (which is pretty common in a country full of Josés and Marias). Whence comes your name, xara? (or can I LIU on your web page  )
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ok, first things first.
what is LIU?
as for the etymologies of xara:
when i was in highschool i played d&d with friends. when i needed a name for a new character i would simply roll dice and use what i got. (if it was pronouncable.) doing that i got xar. to make it feminine, i added the 'a' to the end. later i found out from a greek friend that it meant happiness in greek, which i've never verified myself, so i only assume this is correct. hence xara
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Wow, someone has seen my webpage!  i don't know for sure that anyone who isn't family has ever looked at it before. i feel prominent !
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ok, first things first.
what is LIU?
xara, xara, xara.
I could tell you the answer, but you'll learn more if you Look It Up for yourself.
You'll find yourself slipping into the same lingo soon enough.
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Just doing a bit of post-vacation post catch-up... Welcome xara. It's always nice to see (read) new people on board. It's interesting to note that you do consider other countries as American. Generally, I have found United Statsians (I love that name) have adopted 'American' as their own and that they do not readily share it with others. Mind you, any Canadian will staunchly defend his being 'not an American' (no insult intended) so I guess the title is yours . It seems odd because I do not see the same thing when talking to Europeans.
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. It seems odd because I do not see the same thing when talking to Europeans.[\green]
Perhaps it may be related to the fact that no nation-state in Europe has the name of the continent as part of the name of the state? The four-letter alternative for American seems to exclude anyone South of the Mason-Dixon line, if I recall correctly. As for "statesian", am I correct in thinking that the other North American country has the phrase "United States" in its official title? I seem to recall reading "Estados Unidos de Mexico" somewhere- perhaps those from the USA could be called "nocanamexicans". I just hope that this post doesn't trigger Echelon or Carnivore - I mean no offence!
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It's interesting to note that you do consider other countries as American. Generally, I have found United Statsians (I love that name) have adopted 'American' as their
own and that they do not readily share it with others.
I have always been extremely sensitive to the term 'Indian' when people mean 'Native American.' It frustrates me to no end that my husband works with Indians, real Indians, not Native Americans, becuase when I speak about the cultural differences to which he is constantly exposed, I find myself saying things like 'India Indians, not Native American Indians.'
I suppose United Statesians is the same thing. I don't worry so much about saying 'American' if I am speaking only to 'Americans,' but when my audience is as broad as this, there is need for clarification. There are two whole continents of 'Americans.' I just happen to live in perhaps the most egotistic nation among them. A nation who just by chance has America in its name. That certainly does not mean that this nation is the only one with claim to the term American.
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As for "statesian", am I correct in thinking that the other North American country
has the phrase "United States" in its official title? I seem to recall reading "Estados Unidos de Mexico"
I have always thought of the official title of Mexico as 'The Republic of Mexico.' but when I looked it up I was a bit confused by what I found. I looked at some English websites that refer to it as the Republic of Mexico. I also saw Spanish sites with the same. In addition to that I found some Spanish sites with 'Estados Unidos Mexicanos.' My highschool Spanish book refers to Mexico as Mexico and USA as Estados Unidos. As I recall, we always refered to USA as either EEUU or Estados Unidos in the classes.
On most of the Mexican websites, (spanish speaking) they refer to Mexico and Estados Unidos. Aparently even if the official title is Estados Unidos Mexicanos, Mexican people think of 'us' as Estados Unidos and themselves as Mexicanos.
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my audience is as broad as this
Who are you calling a broad?!
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even if the official title is Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Thanks for clearing that up, Xara. Also, it's nice to find someone else who uses a phrase like "India Indians." My Dad was born 90 kilometres north of Delhi, and lived in Quetta for most of his childhood, so like you, I'm careful to use "Native American" - at least as much for clarity as for courtesy. I have a very English friend whose grandmother happens to be Lakota Sioux, and this friend would never call her Lakota family "Indian."
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In reply to:
I'm careful to use "Native American" - at least as much for clarity as for courtesy.
Just wondering, how would you then differentiate between citizens of the US who were born there and those who were born elsewhere and later moved there without going into long involved explanations?
Bingley
Bingley
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Just wondering, how would you then differentiate between citizens of the US who were born there and those who were born elsewhere and later moved there without going into long involved explanations? [\green]
I suppose it's a atter of customary usage. As I understand it, "Native American" is, or at least can be, used for all the indigenous peoples of both Americas. For the truly pedantic , by "indigenous" I mean those who arrived on foot via the Bering Strait. Here in NZ the terms used most are "tangata whenua" - "people of the land", and "tangata tiriti", "people of the Treaty" - those who settled here after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.
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We use the term Indigenous Peoples (Peuples Indigènes in French) for what United Statesians call Native Americans. Indigenous peoples are not encompassed by the borders set up by colonists of the "New World"; the land being one big mass whether Canada, U.S.A. Mexico, or South America. When asked about his nationality, a gentleman I know simply says Mohawk – not Canadian or Indigène.
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I have found United Statsians (I love that name) have adopted 'American' as their own and that they do not readily share it with others.
We take that title because it sounds so much nicer than United Statesian and we're the only country whose name actually has the word "America" in it. It would also be somewhat absurd to call ourselves "United States of Americans". Plus, every other country in the Americas seems to have short, concise names that. The United States of America isn't really that creative of a name anyway, and since there could be a United States anywhere, we use "Americans".
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. It would also be somewhat absurd to call ourselves "United States of Americans".Hey, Jazz - and this unaccustomed diffidence from the country that claims a World Series in which it's the only participant?
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If I'm not mistaken (and I'm sure, if I am, tsuwm will let us know ) The "World" Series comes from a now-defunct newspaper called the New York World. Back when NYC was the center of the universe.
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>...unaccustomed diffidence from the country that claims a World Series in which it's the only participant.
hey! not only are the Canadian teams eligible for the world serious, but Toronto won the thing in the first appearance by foreign representatives in our fall spectacle, in 1992.
-joe friday
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>If I'm not mistaken (and I'm sure, if I am, tsuwm will let us know...
in another time and place (or perhaps it was a parallel universe) I used the personna of the truth squad.
just the facts, ma'am.
-joe friday
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ah, but the truth is in the telling tsuwm. "The first appearance of a FOREIGN team" !?!? Now if it was really a World series nobody would be considered foreign, would they.
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"There is hopeful symbolism in the fact that flags do not wave in a vacuum." -Arthur C. Clarke
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flags do not wave in a vacuumAn admission that baseball sucks?
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>It's interesting to note that you do consider other countries as American. Generally, I have found United Statsians (I love that name) have adopted 'American' as their own and that they do not readily share it with others.
Some years ago I was cycling in Ireland, and ran into a couple on bikes, both of them wearing helmets, as was I. I immediately called out and asked if they were American (no one else seemed to wear helmets, particularly not the German cyclists, about whom more some other time.) They replied that indeed they were Americans, but they were Canadians, not US citizens. I got the feeling they had chastised a few others for their effrontery. During the rest of the trip I was always careful to identify myself as "a US citizen."
I wonder, though, how foreigners and US of A citizens feel about the term Yank. I've been called this in several countries and have personally never been offended by it. Of course I don't live in or come from any areas in the Southern United States where the term Yankee is to say the least pejorative.
TEd
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Really. Do you get called Yank a lot? I have never heard the term used here (in Québec).
As to the Canadian couple...it was probably just a protective reaction. Please please please do not take this as an attack, just as a bit of info. Canadians get treated much better when they say they are Canadians than when they let people believe they are Americans.
Unfortunately, there are still biases in this world. One of them is the belief that ALL Canadians are these self reserved individuals, sorta dull but all-around honest good people. Americans are often viewed as loud and self-serving. I have known several friends who were treated badly because people thought they were Americans (in France 2 and Italy 1) and the situation changed markedly when they let people know they were Canadian. I also have a friend from New Jersey who says he is from Canada when he travels overseas. He has noticed the same bias.
This is such a common situation that we are often told to wear Canadian pins or badges when we travel overseas and to let people know right away that we are Canadian.
I believe judging a person without knowing him is unjust, but not everybody does.
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please, please, please do not take this as an insult; it's just a joke:
"It's hard to tell Canadians apart from really boring white
people, unless they're dressed up to go outside."
- National Lampoon: "Foreigners and How They Got There"
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just a jokeI'm shocked - quoting from this and Simple Minds lyrics - or is this a further demonstration of polymath eclecticism?
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I have to say that I'm offended by the assumption of non-Americans that Americans are such bad people. I can think of but two reasons for this animosity: our foreign policy and jealousy.
1) Yes, our foreign policy does seem rather intrusive at times. I personally believe that we should stay out of the business of other countries unless we've been asked to help. At the beginning of World War I our nation still had the mentality of isolationism. We tried desperately to stay out of the war, but our allies needed our help, so we entered the war and won. This gave us the idea that we should be a benevolent nation and help whenever it seemed someone needed our help. If we didn't fight battles in Europe and Asia, our military wouldn't have much to do: only once has war been brought to American soil since 1814. Yes, I agree that we have tried to help when we haven't been wanted, and this has definitely caused some hatred, but are good intentions punishable?
2) Many nations seem to think that we're a bunch of stuck up snobs because we created the single most industrialized world power in the would because of a yearning for individual freedom and the belief that hard work will get you somewhere in the world. Many nations are jealous of our prosperity and and angered because our ancestors made it look so easy. But the truth is that we worked through the hard times. Morality prevailed when we said that we'd had enough of slavery, workers stood up against the oppressions of big business during the Industrial Revolution and we forced ourselves through the Great Depression. Our path to industrial super power and world role model was not an easy one, and we'd appreciate it if you'd get off our backs about it.
The simple fact is that we're not all the same. Of course there are some snobbish people, some lazy people, some racist people, but the majority of the United Statesians are hard working, caring suburbanites who don't have any biases against foreigners. As a nation we want prosperity for everyone and intend to lead the world to all-encompassing peace.
(I hope I didn't offend anyone, but this is my opinion and I fail to see why anyone could have such generalized animosity toward a nation.)
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Jazz
There are three points you should consider:
The first: It is a rare circumstance indeed where the "big guy" is not looked upon with some animosity. Look in the real world. More often than not, employees in the shop (warehouse floor, production line, whatever) dislike the floor managers who in turn dislike the people in the front office who in turn dislike management and upward on to the top. Cliques happen for a reason. There is rarely out-`n-out hatred but a general uneasyness and disquietude. The States are a really big guy.
The second: The “shop” example above stems from a lack of communication. Not simply in exchanging words but in an inability to communicate in the same terms and in the same manner. The same holds true for countries and their inhabitants. I’ll give you an example of miscommunication. In your post your write Our path to industrial super power and world role model was not an easy one . You are communication as an American. I would never think of writing this type of sentence. Whether or not it is true, it can be construed as grandstanding. Who decided you were a role model? Were you trying to say that my country is not as good as yours and that we should look up to you? Miscommunication I am sure.
The third: Nationalism v.s. patriotism…see previous thread. The former puts people off.
This is where we come in. This board is a great example of how a wide assortment of people can exchange ideas and, without setting out to, get to really know people from outside their own circle. Rome wasn’t built in a day. World peace is not around the corner. But every time someone new comes on board and is welcomed by the group (as I have seen here many times over) we are building bridges and bringing down walls.
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I have to say that I'm offended by the assumption of non-Americans that Americans are such bad people.
JazzO, I must have missed something here. Where is the post implying that Americans are "bad people"? Or are you just sort of soap-boxing in general?
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An admission that baseball sucks?
Does this year, far as I'm concerned, mav. [pout]
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belMarduk--
Amen.
As a nation we want prosperity for everyone and intend to lead the world to all-encompassing peace.
Sorry, Jazz, but this is incredibly presumptuous.
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I think that self-righteous is another term that leaps to mind....
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Pooh-Bah
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As a nation we want prosperity for everyone and intend to lead the world to all-encompassing peace.Sorry, Jazz, but this is incredibly presumptuous.Certainly it is presumptious, but the sentiment behind it is admirable - I would need some convincing that your leaders shared it, incidently, but I an completely certain that the "ordinary" people of USA do. Any movement needs a leader - ask any thinking and committed anarchist - and the fittest leader tends to rise to the top in the hour of need (like King Arthur ) If the USA is consciously fitting themselves for the job, and show they can do it, I, for one, would be happy to follow - even though I would far prefer that the UK had the job (small hopes, given present government - or the alternative!) As to the USA being a role model for the world - again, the way you couched it, Jazz, was a bit overbearing, but it does mirror what has actually happened in large parts of the world - you have stated what is, practically speaking, the truth. Whether I consider it is a model that should be accepted by all is, of course, another matter So keep the aspidistra flying, Jazz - more power to your elbow.
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Many nations seem to think that we're a bunch of stuck up snobs because we created the single most industrialized world power in the would
because of a yearning for individual freedom and the belief that hard work will get you somewhere in the world.
I don't think that 'nationalism' is the issue here. I think that it has more to do with youthful fervor. (no age bashing here, as far as I can tell, I'm the second youngest among us.) Idealism was something which affected me until I had the opportunity to 'grow up' a little bit. After I was bitten by reality a few times I realized my views of the world were a bit too simplistic. Perhaps they still are. (I am speaking of myself here, not Jazz) My point is that I don't think self-righteousnes or nationalism is the issue here, but intense idealism. I find it to be an admirable quality that I miss in myself.
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Pooh-Bah
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This is getting a bit heated. Can I ask that this thread is laid down, please? I plead guilty to having stirred the waters myself, and find I'm getting hot under the collar again.  I also feel that some of the remarks made are not in the general spirit of the board - at least, I hope they're not.
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and find I'm getting hot under the collar again
apologies, I'm sure no one intends to offend.
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An admission that baseball sucks?
Does this year, far as I'm concerned, mav. [pout]
What could you mean? Baseball is only interesting when NY Yankees are in World series (ok, so its not really a world series, its North American-- but it only counts if the Yankees are playing!)
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Helen, Welcome to the board. It would have been PERFECT had you actually been from Troy, NY. But great name, anyway. Well, as you can see from my bio, I live in Atlanta, and it's kinda noblesse oblige to root root root for the home team. Absent the Braves, though, I'll support anyone playing against the Mets. And yes, I vote with Rhub that we lay this thread to rest, also for the reason that's it's getting a bit long.
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old hand
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Ok, let me do a little explaining, I think the way I expressed myself was a little off.
My post was mainly in response to the implication that the word American conveys vulgarity for many people. I'm trying to say that most Americans should not be seen as detestable. All across the world people have the same moral values. Just because someone lives in the United States is no reason to not like them. I do believe that the USA is the sole world power and somewhat of a role model, but I mean this in a merely political way, not personal. Our government has combined the best parts of past governments to come up with what seems to be the most successful in history, but I in no way believe that the US is superior culturally.
Frankly, I think that the US is judged too much by our foreign policy, and most people don't want us intervening politically, but this is no reason to shun Americans personally.
Hopefully this clears up my seemingly brash former post.
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Much clearer, and thanks.
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Jazz. I was not put off by your previous comments. I may not agree with all of them but I am sure you (or anyone else for that matter) will not always agree with my comments. If I am way out there in a potato field (can you say that in English?) I expect somebody will say so.
In life you have to have the courage of your convictions, and you seem to have it in spades. I'm sorry Rhu felt we were going in a negative direction. It did not seem so to me. The proof is that there are no personal attacks on this board and that everyone (you and me included) are willing to listen to other points of view.
It is always interesting to discuss a subject with someone who has great passion for the subject - as long as it is that --- a discussion.
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. If I am way out there in a potato field (can you say that in English?) I expect somebody will say so.
Since this thread veered in its current direction partly as a result of discussing the World Series, it seems appropriate that the English idiom which seems closest to the one you used is one from baseball: something or someone that surprises you, or seems strange could be "way out in left field."
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In reply to:
way out in left field
Now I have never understood this expression, at least I understand what it means but not why it means that. I know baseball is something like rounders and the players' garb looks (to me at any rate) most peculiar, but that's about as far as my knowledge of the game goes. Would somebody care to explain?
Bingley
Bingley
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Now I have never understood this expression, at least I understand what it means but not why it means that. Would somebody care to explain?How nice it is to learn that I am not the only one in the dark on this!
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I just thought of a new thread on this.
Am posting in Miscellany: phrases from baseball.
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this one really does warrant a YART flag, as some interesting conjecture was posted on the question. also see Jackie's new thread.
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addict
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I know a number of people have suggested ending this thread, and I think it's probably time to, but the following comment seems to me to belong here: I too was bemused by YART. I never tried to look it up. I just worked round it till I figured out the meaning from context. And then decided, for myself, that it stood for 'You already read this.' I was wrong! But I am nostalgic now for that simple little sentence I was so proud of myself for working out...
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