AAA: Ask America Anything

[Utisz]

You said you have a lot of questions but only asked three. What else?

Oh, so many.

Like ads. Your TV is full of ads all the time. Like even sports have ads all the time (compared to football/soccer or most European sports where you get at least a half hour of action at a time). Do you all mind or notice? Do you turn down the ads? Do you watch the ads like as if they were part of the show? How do y'all tolerate all those ads?

Also passports. And travel. Do y'all really not have interest in getting a passport or travelling outside the US? Is the culture so insular? Do lots of people not really know all that much of other countries?

Also how integrated is the US? Do people tend to hang out with folks of the same Dulux swatch? Are things (restaurants, TV shows, etc.) targeted to different demographics? Are schools mostly integrated?

[SomeInternetBloke]

1. Television was a nuisance to sit through growing up, that's for sure. American's are uncreative.
2. Would you travel if you lived in the "best" country on earth? Besides, if Americans leave we'll interrupt the vaunted equilibrium of perpetual happiness and being well-adjusted above the rest.
3. There's an international pandemic of hostility, seeking revenge, and demanding restitution instead of offering forgiveness. Funny thing, you can't really reason through the unmerited-favor-process with such a mental state because then it's all about measuring the transgression and proportionate recourse. The limbic system and all of that.

[starla]

Oh, so many.

Like ads. Your TV is full of ads all the time. Like even sports have ads all the time (compared to football/soccer or most European sports where you get at least a half hour of action at a time). Do you all mind or notice? Do you turn down the ads? Do you watch the ads like as if they were part of the show? How do y'all tolerate all those ads?

Also passports. And travel. Do y'all really not have interest in getting a passport or travelling outside the US? Is the culture so insular? Do lots of people not really know all that much of other countries?

Also how integrated is the US? Do people tend to hang out with folks of the same Dulux swatch? Are things (restaurants, TV shows, etc.) targeted to different demographics? Are schools mostly integrated?

Ads are annoying and probably the main reason why cable existed, and ads on cable is why streaming is a thing now. Ads have gotten worse over time; the amount of a half hour TV show that is actually the show has shrunk over time to reduce costs for the studios and make more room for ads. The only time we watch ads as part of the show is during the superbowl, where for a lot of people watching they are the main event. Football is an incredibly slow, boring sport which has a lot of stops and starts and lends itself to ads. This probably helped it's popularity; the frequency of commercial breaks made it lucrative for networks to air, the ubiquity of football on TV on Sundays is what made it so popular.

Passports aren't needed to travel within the US, and you can find pretty much whatever kind of vacation you want within the US. Keep in mind that it's a big country with very diverse landscape. Culture varies across the country, though not as much as within the EU because our population is very mobile, in keeping with our history as an immigrant nation, so things that are popular in one region do tend to spread over time, leading to a fairly homogenous cultural experience considering our landmass and how far-flung some of our territory is. It's very expensive to fly internationally. I could book a ticket to Mexico for $600 or I could book one to San Diego for maybe $100. Europe is going to run me around $1200. A lot of people just drive on vacation because gas is so cheap. Also keep in mind that for a lot of people, vacation = no pay and even for those of us privileged enough to have high paying jobs with paid time off, a month long summer break isn't in the cards. Usually, a week is the best we can do and two weeks is a once every few years big anniversary trip. So we have to take into account how long it takes to get places when we choose where to go. This makes much of the world out of reach for vacation. Plus, we can probably get a similar experience much more conveniently somewhere in the US.

The US is fairly segregated still. People tend to prefer their own race, but they tend to prefer their own socioeconomic stratum more I think. So rich black folks are more likely to hang out with rich white folks than they are with poor black folks. There are plenty of poors so those people will usually stick with their own kind. However, in areas that are overwhelmingly one race, minorities are basically forced to integrate with the local majority. I grew up in an overwhelmingly white area and most of the dozen or so black kids were friends with each other, but they were also friends with a lot of white kids and dated interracially almost 100% of the time. There were a couple black kids who weren't part of the black clique. There was no asian clique because there were only maybe five of us at any given time at our high school. There was surprisingly little racism and I have various theories of why but I think for the most part one or two colored folks aren't a threat. In large cities, minorities tend to cluster in certain areas with the exception again of the wealthy, who tend to just settle in wealthy enclaves regardless of race. Things are targeted to different demographics but not explicitly, and they aren't always adopted by the target demographic. Schools are technically integrated but in practice schools are assigned geographically so socioeconomic and racial sorting determines a school's demographics. There are also things like private schools, charter schools, and some places will allow you to send your kids to other schools within your district but these are all minor effects overall. Workplaces are much more integrated but geographic sorting still applies at lower income levels.

[HighlyIrregular]

Also how integrated is the US? Do people tend to hang out with folks of the same Dulux swatch? Are things (restaurants, TV shows, etc.) targeted to different demographics? Are schools mostly integrated?

I thought I knew America based on childhood memories, when I got out more, until one day I heard they haven't made records for years. Then I started learning modern culture from YouTube videos. This channel taught me that big city Texans actually socialize interracially. I often see blacks and whites walking together. I used to think Texas was full of white people shooting up stuff.

[ashi]

Also passports. And travel. Do y'all really not have interest in getting a passport or travelling outside the US? Is the culture so insular? Do lots of people not really know all that much of other countries?

Blah blah, #NotAllAmericans, etc. but it cannot be overstated the extent to which this is true. My experience has been that though the details vary, largely in line with ones wealth, all non-America places are aggressively and narrowly stereotyped as holiday destinations, product sources, or the subject of bewilderingly selective and incoherent fragments of history from which all the wrong lessons are to be extracted. The typical American I encounter knows little of the world and cares less, because regardless of ones background or politics the US is held as the unquestionable centre of the world. Americans are also blind to how incredibly similar they are to one another regardless of how they self-describe. Which is not to say all Americans are the same.

Also how integrated is the US? Do people tend to hang out with folks of the same Dulux swatch? Are things (restaurants, TV shows, etc.) targeted to different demographics? Are schools mostly integrated?

I can't put any of this in objective terms, but it feels staggeringly segregated both in where people live, work, shop, and how products and services are marketed. It is all extremely uncomfortable and the unchecked "racism, but for the greater good" and resulting wildfire of horizontal hostility among lower class and immigrant populations cultivated by liberals only makes it worse. I can't comment on schools.

[Senseye]

Ads are super annoying. And per Starla they are getting worse. However, they have been bad since the inception of broadcast television in North America, so people are pavloved to tolerate them to a certain extent.

I have a theory that one of the primary reasons futball (soccer) never caught on in North America is due to the lack of stoppage in play not allowing for sufficient ads during broadcasts. Hence no broadcasts, no real interest, no big salaries for players so no good players.

But the popularity of streaming services and PVRs is evidence that ads certainly bother people. I don't watch anything in real time anymore except sports and even then I will channel surf away from ads. The broadcasters all try to synchronize ad times to discourage this, but at least with sports there is some randomness to the stoppages, so it is not entirely hopeless.

[Utisz]

3. There's an international pandemic of hostility, seeking revenge, and demanding restitution instead of offering forgiveness. Funny thing, you can't really reason through the unmerited-favor-process with such a mental state because then it's all about measuring the transgression and proportionate recourse. The limbic system and all of that.

I guess I would have seen integration as something more transcendental than such issues? Like you're not going to estrange friends you already have over such issues? It's like a lack of integration precedes politics.

Also keep in mind that for a lot of people, vacation = no pay and even for those of us privileged enough to have high paying jobs with paid time off, a month long summer break isn't in the cards. Usually, a week is the best we can do and two weeks is a once every few years big anniversary trip. So we have to take into account how long it takes to get places when we choose where to go.

Hadn't thought of that.

Are vacations really that shit in the U.S, like where you'd be lucky to string together two weeks of unpaid leave?

I can definitely empathise with a lot of this. When I do get holidays I have little or no interest in "travel". I guess this is because I typically travel a bit with work, but also I never really had interest in going far away for the sake of it. It seems too tiring for holidays.

Now I guess it's different since my family is 14000 km away, so the travel is shit, but when I get there I can more or less relax. Plus my parents have no internet, which is sweet, like a kind of rehab.

I guess it's similar to liking TV series versus movies. With the TV series you can slip back into something comfortable and follow the plot of the characters you already know. With movies (at least the ones that are not part of a series) there's a degree of uncertainty for what you are getting yourself in for, which might be rewarding, or it might not.

However, in areas that are overwhelmingly one race, minorities are basically forced to integrate with the local majority.

That might also explain the situation in Ireland btw, which is predominantly white but with growing numbers of minorities. I think that in general minorities integrate pretty well, or at least they are not viewed in a negative FOX-news sense (though there's definitely latent racism). Some of the discrimination (no idea how much) come from within the minority groups. Worked with a guy from Pakistan who was culturally Islamic but not practicing (he drank, he dated Irish women, etc.), and he told me how when he was at a a deli (a sandwich counter) in a supermarket, the Arabic guy asked him where he was from and refused to give him ham.

The typical American I encounter knows little of the world and cares less, because regardless of ones background or politics the US is held as the unquestionable centre of the world.

Well if it's any solace, when I was in France a lot of people did not seem to realise that Ireland is an country independent of the UK. That happens a lot in Chile as well (even among educated people, like fellow professors), but that's understandable as we are far apart. But France? They also seemed not to give a shit when I politely corrected them.

It's not specifically a US phenomenon I guess, but may be aggravated by US exceptionalism.

I can't put any of this in objective terms, but it feels staggeringly segregated both in where people live, work, shop, and how products and services are marketed. It is all extremely uncomfortable and the unchecked "racism, but for the greater good" and resulting wildfire of horizontal hostility among lower class and immigrant populations cultivated by liberals only makes it worse. I can't comment on schools.

One thing that struck me in Chile, btw, is that all of the aspirational marketing involves white models, like you want a loan? Here's a picture of a young attractive white couple. You want some new clothes? Here's an image of an attractive white lady. It's very weird. It's not that they are targeting white people, but targeting everyone through the aspiration of being like white people or something (partly I guess because white people are generally much more affluent here, but also maybe referring to North America in an aspirational way).

I have a theory that one of the primary reasons futball (soccer) never caught on in North America is due to the lack of stoppage in play not allowing for sufficient ads during broadcasts. Hence no broadcasts, no real interest, no big salaries for players so no good players.

Might also work in reverse as to why American football, baseball, etc., never really took off internationally (with some exceptions).

[SomeInternetBloke]

I guess I would have seen integration as something more transcendental than such issues? Like you're not going to estrange friends you already have over such issues?.

Hmm, sorry, man. I skipped your question and accidentally answered the one in my head instead that says, "Why is it that service workers appear triggered when they don't receive tips?" - kinda thing.

***

It's like a lack of integration precedes politics.

edit: I'm me so ... would you please unpack the intended meaning of "integration"?

[Utisz]

More questions ...

The thing with ambulances. Is it true that folks will try to avoid taking ambulances to avoid the crippling (no pun intended) costs? Is this something that only affects poor or unemployed people, or is this like a general thing that might even affect the middle class? Like if you received a serious but non-life-threatening injury (say maybe broken bones, in bad pain, mostly immobile, but conscious and stable), would you consider trying to avoid taking an ambulance?

Also, is there a state or city that people tend to look down on the most? Or a state or city that is the most hated?

Also a lot of Americans that I have met abroad tend to be very very enthusiastic about things in foreign countries. Like they will talk about this sandwich place they found that has the best sandwiches with amazing dips, and they will talk about how the people are so awesome and the friendliest people they have ever seen, and the countryside they've seen is so beautiful, and the show was amazing, and everything is the best thing, and they are doing fantastic, and all will be wonderful forever. Is that sort of positivity common, like as a default setting? I saw flashes of it when I was in the US (mainly from service workers), but I swear it's a thing for Americans abroad. (Not all of course, but enough that there's a pattern.)

[starjots]

Also, is there a state or city that people tend to look down on the most? Or a state or city that is the most hated?

Click this link for some fun... I mean, one answer to your question. My favorite is that people from Florida hate Florida the most. For the record, I'm from NM and my least favorite state used to be TX (as the article states). Now it's a tie between Florida and Arkansas, Oklahoma close behind.

https://digg.com/2020/which-state-hates-which-state-map

Also a lot of Americans that I have met abroad tend to be very very enthusiastic about things in foreign countries. Like they will talk about this sandwich place they found that has the best sandwiches with amazing dips, and they will talk about how the people are so awesome and the friendliest people they have ever seen, and the countryside they've seen is so beautiful, and the show was amazing, and everything is the best thing, and they are doing fantastic, and all will be wonderful forever. Is that sort of positivity common, like as a default setting? I saw flashes of it when I was in the US (mainly from service workers), but I swear it's a thing for Americans abroad. (Not all of course, but enough that there's a pattern.)

I think this might have 3 causes: (1) people research where they are going and tend to go to places they think they will like. I loved Rome, but I also researched the hell out of visiting there, stayed in a great spot etc. I didn't find the shittiest place in Italy and stay there for a week. (2) People are paying to be there, they've bought the experience. So in rating it, just like anything you buy on Amazon, the ratings for products tend to be pretty high. I bought it, so it must be okay, that sort of thing. (3) Americans tend to judge things and do so in very good or very bad terms. Not a lot of subtlety, unfortunately. We judge people, we judge places. We like to share our judgments. And like Amazon product ratings, they are high or really low, not a lot of 3/5's out there apparently.