I've never lived in another country, but my wife and I recently got back from Mexico, and the one thing I noticed is how much of a police state the US has become. From the moment we exited the plane there were tons of armed personel, as well as retna scans . I dont know. It struck me as very Orwellian. Where as in Mexico, customs is an issue( as it should be), but not to the point where you felt tense and surveiled as soon as you hit the door.

unkemptpueblo said:

don't they only give you the retinal scan if you're not a US citizen?

JasmineFire said:

yeah, but it was still creepy as hell just seeing the technology in use. It just felt wrong.

In Mexico you push a button in customs and if the light flashes green you can pass, if it's red you need to be inspected.

We couldn't figure out this system, we kept over-thinking it. It took us a while to realize that the button was a completely random way of selecting people to inspect.

unkemptpueblo said:

Can you really blame the U.S. for making their airports a semi-police state?

sextonseven said:

i know, actually I think a lot of it is actually to make people more comfortable

NDRU said:

"And it seems to me perfectly in the cards that there will be within the next generation or so a pharmacological method of making people love their servitude, and producing … a kind of painless concentration camp for entire societies, so that people will in fact have their liberties taken away from them but will rather enjoy it, because they will be distracted from any desire to rebel by propaganda, brainwashing, or brainwashing enhanced by pharmacological methods." - Aldous Huxley

he was half right,
it seems that no pharamacological substance is needed,
people just give their freedoms in return for security...

U sure wouldnt like it here in NY

DanceWme said:

I remember an old standup routine by Emo Phillips where he was talking about going the the library and trying to check out a book...


"I went to the library and tried to check out a book. I needed to apply for a library card. The Librarian said, 'you have to prove you're a citizen of New York'. So I stabbed him. "

AsianBomb777 said:

DanceWme said:

oh yah its fuckin horrible here
i had to get rid of black van i bought
this was back when i shaved my head,
they won't let you park anywhere near the empire state building
thought i was a terrorist

I wonder what Retina's thoughts are on Japan after staying there some time. I wonder if they're similar to yours.

I've never been to Japan, but I do know that when I return to the UK from Thailand I feel all out of sorts for a while. It'd be easy to see all the differences as better or worse for one country or the other, but I think a lot of it has to do with just adjusting again. Compared to walking down a quiet street in glorious sunshine to get some breakfast at a local restaurant, suddenly finding myself dodging people in the rain walking up Cheltenham high street is a bit of a disappointment, but when living in England I was happy enough.

There are certainly some pretty major cultural and behavioural differences between Asian and western countries though.

EmbattledWarrior said:

damn thats bad

Granted I've only been in Toronto for 2 months, but I think y'all whine too much. You don't appreciate how good you have it...

I have found people here are generally more rude than I thought they were capable of -- probably as function of a big city. But when you establish some rapport with people here, even a very incidental one, I’ve found that Torontonians will go all-out to be helpful and welcoming. The teens here I’ve found to be pretty darned tame by U.S. standards. They can be loud and obnoxious on buses, but I don’t as often see their drawers or bare asses beneath sagging pants, nor do I hear the same barrage of expletives as in the U.S. (And when I do, they’re usually in multiple languages, which is pretty damned cosmopolitan if you ask me!) …And generally I don’t have to worry about getting accidentally shot in most parts of town.

I have also noticed a strange ethnic angst. Toronto is CRAZY multicultural. And despite a weird apprehension about it I’m hearing from some longtime natives, it works very well up here. Undesirables come in all shades, and certainly there were social woes up here when Canada was whiter and more singly Protestant. Montreal, a far more angsty city, has dealt with heterogeneity for decades (their Francophone obsession notwithstanding) and they've thrived -- so relax! Moreover, while heavy immigration is bound to bring in some unsavory elements (If they weren’t disenfranchised back home, why the hell would they have moved?), I hardly think the few more bad incidents per year Toronto has seen constitutes cultural crisis – especially in proportion to the good, hard work undertaken by most transplants.

And people engage me in an unnecessarily weird way… especially when they realize I’m a black American – and I’m talking about Whites, Hispanics, aboriginal folk and even other Blacks up here! I've become some strange specimen. People are amazed that my clothes fit, my English sentences are complete and without some unintelligible accent, that I am educated, that I take care of my wife and kid and that I have halfway thoughtful insights. It’s like they’ve heard throughout their liberal upbringings that Blacks like me exist, but they’re still somewhat shocked to actually come across one. Yet while I've never been there, I'd bet my ears I'd get this WORSE in Japan.

I think this all is from certain expectations -- good and bad -- we (myself included) have of people and things "other." Good and bad abound everywhere, I'd wager.
[Edited 11/8/06 21:36pm]

So concludes my daily sermon.

AsianBomb777 said:

Brilliant!

CarrieMpls said:

exactamundo. i don't live in america anymore, but when i did, i'd say it was only slightly ruder and in your face than everywhere else.

Lammastide said:

Many black people do quite well there. Japanese women love them because it's the ultimate taboo for them.

My brother and I have some black friends over there who are thriving.

PurpleKnight said:

i wouldn't exactly call that a good thing.

I think it depends on where you are here in America though. But overall, I would imagine other countries being more polite.

When I was in NYC and Philadelphia people were very friendly and helpful, in fact a whole lot more than here in Europe . When I came back it took me some days to get used to our mentality here .

sextonseven said:

well, yes I can, actually.

NDRU said:

storm troopers and anal probes dont make me comfortable.

Lammastide said:

i love Toronto, too. i thought about moving there LONG before that purple dude.

I LOVED the Japanese people when I was there - they were so polite and friendly and welcoming. I can understand coming back being a real culture shock.

unkemptpueblo said:

I guess you can but you'd be wrong to do so.

sextonseven said:

why is that?

unkemptpueblo said:

Some people like to hijack U.S. planes.

sextonseven said:

true. But a lot of these security measures, IMO, are meant to keep us controlled and intimidated. Also, If US policies and actions were less aggressive, we would have a lot less to worry about in terms of security. We do shit that potentially makes us targets.

unkemptpueblo said: