What's Your Country Like?

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MilesKingford

Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by MilesKingford »

Haru Totetsu wrote:I live in the United Kingdom, England, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Stalybridge.

The United Kingdom is far from united, we are greatly devided by many things though when we agree on things we stand by them with a deep faith in what we say. My general area is full of racism, and mild sexism though I am one of the exceptions that is becoming more common. Well I say racism but we aren't really, its just that our own laws make it seem like that. The laws need reviewing, alot. We have a very silly class system that judges you for your job rather than your wage or how hard you work. A teacher that beats children and viciuosly acuses them is classified as a better rolemodle than a fireman/women who saves a million lives out of the goodness of her heart, even when off duty because their career is seen as more civilized. thankfully its dying but still has some hold over our way of thinking, not many parents what their children to become a builder or a plumber because of the negative stigma attached.

Politically we have good ideas, just not any good politicians. Most are eager to imprees countries like the USA not because they could be seen as better but because of their connections in trade. Alot of things we see appear in an American format so the leading parties believe we idolize them...because everyone in London does. We founded most of the legally recognized sports we see on the planet. We concoured most of the world for a time, with only the USA and India rebelling because of our king's politics and because we tried to force our religion upon them. The rest we released because we didn't want to make to many enemies though I'm sure small rebellious parties had already formed, plus we soon beheaded our king so a shift in ideas was expected. We were one of the first countries to remove the slave trade and allow everyone to live as equality, more given as time went on. We used Australia as a prison...yes the entire country was where we sent our convicts, though I'm not sure what happened to cahnge that if anyone knows please do tell me. England is both the rudest and the politest country, we can be very civil and decent but we can be very...open about what we have to say even when we know were wrong. We have the highest underaged preganancy rate in Europe, they haven't finnished working out if were the highest in the world yet.

In a more basic outline, wer posh idiots with a tendency to change how active we are every few generations. Our next uproar should be by 2133, or sooner if we get pushed enough. Please note that this is my general view of my country with some facts attached, with it possibly appearing different in your eyes.
I think that Britain is better than that, although all your statements are correct (to a degree) I believe that the old fashioned opinions and ideas of intolerance, ignorance, and racism are dying out. But I guess your experience would be different to mine.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by Karl »

zeekgenateer wrote:Well I did my civic duty to get tourism dollars for Chicago ;) . Though I hate our sales tax, 10% is a real big purchase killer. I buy all my computer parts out of county.

I really haven't just walked around Chicago as much as I should. There are some good parks I have visited though, Millennium Park with its silver bean is pretty awesome to take pictures of. Sears Tower (its spelled Willis, but pronounced Sears), has an epic view on a clear day, and Ed Debevic's is one of the most hilarious eating experiences ever (though they probably have other locations other than Chicago). I'd name some of the smaller two person burger and dog joints I frequent, but they're not downtown.
As I know, Chicago is also known of one of the most famous NBA teams, Chicago Bulls. Too bad that it's not as good as in old days. I'm not personally a fan of basketball, but they were playing good in my opinion.

Also I know that in Chicago is a famous skyscrapper that was the tallest building on the world some years ago.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by Sketcherofstuff »

Ebly wrote:
Haru Totetsu wrote:We used Australia as a prison...yes the entire country was where we sent our convicts, though I'm not sure what happened to change that if anyone knows please do tell me.
Inaccurate and dated. Here's why.

1. The entire country was not where you sent your convicts. The majority of the colonies were convict colonies, but by no means entirely. As an example, Adelaide's land was surveyed and sold by the government at a high cost rather than just handing out land grants to all emigrants, using the money earned to then bring in workers. Definitely no convicts.
2. The very final boat was in 1868, to Western Australia. The other colonies were all closed a decade or two prior. Brisbane stopped in '42. That's given us 142 years at minimum to dilute our blood with migrants, not to mention that not everyone grows up to be exactly what their parents were.
3. More than 165,000 convicts were transported to Australia, yes. By the end of the gold rush, though? We had more than 1.7 million people. Ultimately, 'ordinary' emigrants far outnumbered convicts by more than 10 to 1. Now add that to the '142 years' thing.
4. Penal transportation was reserved for much pettier crimes than people seem to think. Murderers and the like were considered too dangerous to transport. Theft, inspiring political unrest, vandalism - those were more the types of crimes that got you transported. Example of my point.

You say you have some things you're strong on? This is one of mine. I despise the 'convict' thing, it just leaves us open for ignorant, racist implications.

So there, that's how it's not a bloody prison anymore.
Not to get in the middle of this but I don't think that he meant it in a hostile way...

Also, If anybody has ever seen the show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, I can say as an almost resident (I'm there all the time, anyway) that the show is pretty spot on. Although I have not yet encountered any homeless priests, Italian mobsters, or people who drink and do so much drugs and huff so much glue that they should be dead already. Those parts are a but of an exaggeration.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by Ebly »

Sleet wrote:
Ebly wrote:So there, that's how it's not a bloody prison anymore.
Even if it was a prison entirely, it's obviously not one anymore.
It pains me that one of my first points was that it was never entirely a prison and that you responded with that.



Sketcher: I never took it as being hostile so much as being misinformed. Being implied to be a convict or have a convict history is not about to give anyone a warm and fuzzy feeling.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by Dissension »

I believe that to be grammatical inaccuracy on Sleet's behalf; I believe the intention was "Even if it had been...," though obviously I cannot speak for anyone but myself.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by Ebly »

Dissension wrote:I believe that to be grammatical inaccuracy on Sleet's behalf; I believe the intention was "Even if it had been...," though obviously I cannot speak for anyone but myself.
You realise 'is' and 'to be' mean the same thing, right? If you replaced Sleet's quote with your suggestion my response would make just as much sense. "Even in the case" is perhaps a better way to establish a hypothetical but the hypothetical would still make me facepalm to a degree
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by Dissension »

Actually, I just took it as hypothetical and moved on.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by Sleet »

I was being hypothetical. I was saying that even if Australia's history were hypothetically as sketchy as the urban legend suggests, it's not like the country is sketchy today. Any sketchier than other countries, anyway.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by Dubiousity »

All countries are sketchy in their own way, it's just how the world is.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by lightwolf21 »

Dubiousity wrote:All countries are sketchy in their own way, it's just how the world is.
Yes, and as a side note: sketching the countries is harder than it looks. I mean...what's with all the jagged edges? Haven't these people ever heard of straight lines? -_-;
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by Sketcherofstuff »

Dubiousity wrote:All countries are sketchy in their own way, it's just how the world is.
Exactly. Perfection does not exist anywhere or in anything. This is why I always get a little uncomfortable when people claim that one place or another is "perfect" A place can be very good, but not "perfect" because that implies that the people who claim this are refusing to deal with the very existent problems.

If I just made anybody mad because they think that I'm putting down my country again, then I give up. I mean, I'm trying to be as objective as possible...

But, forget about that. My point is that we all except that perfection does not exist and we can all be happy with each other, all flaws included :D
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by Sleet »

Perfect is familiar. Foreign countries are worse.
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MilesKingford

Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by MilesKingford »

Sleet wrote:Perfect is familiar. Foreign countries are worse.
It all depends on what kind of society you are best suited to, all countries have different societies to others were the people are alocated to certain groups and levels of importance.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by Aarden »

A quieter place in the UK
Last edited by Aarden on Fri May 13, 2011 3:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
MilesKingford

Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by MilesKingford »

Spargo wrote:Sadly I think in a few years time British people will be the minority in Britain.
I highly doubt it, the hysteria of immigration is nothing more than irrational fears, xenophobia, and media hype. I wouldn't worry about it.
In statistics from my class; 95% of the population is white British with a miniscule 5% are immigrants and ethnic minorities (a rough estimate would be 3 million immigrants and ethnic minorities and 57 million white British people in total) so there is nothing to worry about.
Last edited by MilesKingford on Fri Oct 15, 2010 6:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by Dubiousity »

Why would you think that?
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by Aarden »

I know it's probably just like hype to sequel of a new game, but even mcdonalds are using halal meat in thier chicken products now.
MilesKingford

Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by MilesKingford »

Spargo wrote:I know it's probably just like hype to sequel of a new game, but even mcdonalds are using halal meat in thier chicken products now.
Yes, Britain is a massive importing country, we consume all sorts of products from all over the world since our own products have questionable quality.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by CaptainPea »

Not to be a mini mod, but I think we're tiptoeing into politics here.

Anyways, so as to make this post relevant, here's a fun fact: Noah Webster, the man responsible for changing american English from British English by dropping U's in words like "colour" and changing words like "centre" to "center" also wanted to change "tongue" to "tung". This idea never quite made it into common use.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

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I'm glad for that... I think...
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by dalonewolf25 »

...and so, I bit my tung. ð.O *owie*
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by MilesKingford »

CaptainPea wrote:Not to be a mini mod, but I think we're tiptoeing into politics here.

Anyways, so as to make this post relevant, here's a fun fact: Noah Webster, the man responsible for changing american English from British English by dropping U's in words like "colour" and changing words like "centre" to "center" also wanted to change "tongue" to "tung". This idea never quite made it into common use.
Maybe the American's here can answer this for me; Why did you change the English language slightly from the British version to the American one? I never understood what the point was to that.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by Dubiousity »

MilesKingford wrote:
CaptainPea wrote:Not to be a mini mod, but I think we're tiptoeing into politics here.

Anyways, so as to make this post relevant, here's a fun fact: Noah Webster, the man responsible for changing american English from British English by dropping U's in words like "colour" and changing words like "centre" to "center" also wanted to change "tongue" to "tung". This idea never quite made it into common use.
Maybe the American's here can answer this for me; Why did you change the English language slightly from the British version to the American one? I never understood what the point was to that.
You're talking changes that happened over the span of 300 years...
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

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MilesKingford wrote:
CaptainPea wrote:Not to be a mini mod, but I think we're tiptoeing into politics here.

Anyways, so as to make this post relevant, here's a fun fact: Noah Webster, the man responsible for changing american English from British English by dropping U's in words like "colour" and changing words like "centre" to "center" also wanted to change "tongue" to "tung". This idea never quite made it into common use.
Maybe the American's here can answer this for me; Why did you change the English language slightly from the British version to the American one? I never understood what the point was to that.
Maybe it so that we could write more phonetically? That last name is synonymous with dictionaries, so...
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by CaptainPea »

For the most part, it's not a deliberate change. It's just that the two countries are so geographically separate that certain phrases and spellings developed.

Then there were people like Noah Webster, who thought British English was "elitist" and purposefully tried (and succeeded pretty well) in changing it.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

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I think they just simply didn't want to use exactly the same language, it'd be boring if everyone on Earth used exactly the same language.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

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Spargo wrote:I think they just simply didn't want to use exactly the same language, it'd be boring if everyone on Earth used exactly the same language.
I very much doubt that.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

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Spargo wrote:I think they just simply didn't want to use exactly the same language, it'd be boring if everyone on Earth used exactly the same language.
Plus, millions of high school foreign language teachers would be out of jobs.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

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Dubiousity wrote:
Spargo wrote:I think they just simply didn't want to use exactly the same language, it'd be boring if everyone on Earth used exactly the same language.
I very much doubt that.
Sure it'd be a lot easier to communicate but it's good to have diversity amongst different countries. And what Captain Pea said.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by Blue Braixen »

CaptainPea wrote:
Spargo wrote:I think they just simply didn't want to use exactly the same language, it'd be boring if everyone on Earth used exactly the same language.
Plus, millions of high school foreign language teachers would be out of jobs.
And then I wouldn't have had to have taken three years of Spanish.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by MilesKingford »

CaptainPea wrote:
Spargo wrote:I think they just simply didn't want to use exactly the same language, it'd be boring if everyone on Earth used exactly the same language.
Plus, millions of high school foreign language teachers would be out of jobs.
Apparently Foreign languages is declining as a subject since less students want to learn other languages except English, my teacher said: "English is the closest thing to a universal language since no one can become a true success in business without learning English because the world is becoming more western orientated".
Besides it would be easier for everyone if there was a universal language.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

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Many, if not most school systems in the US, require a certain number of credits in a foreign language.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

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Tell me about it.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by MilesKingford »

CaptainPea wrote:Many, if not most school systems in the US, require a certain number of credits in a foreign language.
Really? In Britain, you have to learn French in school but after that you do not have to do it anymore, I never did well in Foreign Languages mostly because the teachers refused to help me translate words from French to English so I knew what words meant what. My Foreign Languages teachers were terrible.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by Dubiousity »

CaptainPea wrote:Many, if not most school systems in the US, require a certain number of credits in a foreign language.
I only had to take one year.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

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MilesKingford wrote:Really? In Britain, you have to learn French in school but after that you do not have to do it anymore, I never did well in Foreign Languages mostly because the teachers refused to help me translate words from French to English so I knew what words meant what. My Foreign Languages teachers were terrible.
In the US, the most popular foreign language class is Spanish, mostly because its the most useful here. They also offer French and sometimes other languages like Japanese, but these are usually less popular because native French or Japanese speakers who don't speak English are very rare here. They usually don't require you to take one language over the other.
Dubiosity wrote:I only had to take one year.
Well, thats still a requirement, if minimal.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

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In my country, pigs can fly!
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

Post by copper »

I had to take two years of Foreign Languages, so I chose a dead one. The only reason I chose Latin was because my school did not teach german. Then again, my state is one of the lowest ranked states in education. Most of the south is, actually.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

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...Except for Texas.
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Re: What's Your Country Like?

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...and Florida. E|:P
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