Important notice from the GRAMMAR POLICE. Plz read. This means you.
Audrey:
Quote from: CheritaChen on 2009 July 19, 16:10:19
Here's something you obviously missed in your vaunted education:
Quote from: Audrey on 2009 July 19, 12:11:49
Hey 'dumbass' yourself, Rufio. I have never insulted you 'personally' <snip>
Wrapping something in single quotes is not a proper way to emphasize. Quotes are for quotation of exact speech or text, or to imply that the chosen word is dubious in its usage.
Cut that shit out, or I'll have to beat you over the head with Fowler. Watch out, because even my paperback copy weighs a good two pounds.
CC, if you read Rufio's original post, you will see that he starts it with 'Personally', so I was quoting him, not emphasizing. I am aware with my 'vaunted education' that if I wanted to emphasize something, I would bold it. ;)
And I would have to counter beat you over the head with my hardcopy Oxford Dictionary which surely beats your Fowler. ;D
Roflganger, generalisations are odious and I don't usually indulge in them. I totally agree about the average South African who is equally at fault when it comes to knowledge about people and places in other countries.
TSC, you make me laugh. ;D
Roflganger:
Quote from: tngrspacecadet on 2009 July 19, 15:48:40
I South Africa and there are wild animals roaming in the streets AS I WRITE. Don't believe anyone who tells you otherwise.
However, sweeping generalizations FTL. Trolls, the lot of you. Pah.
I've got bush babies in my yard as I write - does that count as wildlife?
Again, I was NOT making sweeping generalizations about South Africans in general based on the experiences I've had with some. That was my whole point. My experiences are just down to where I live and the people I happen to have to deal with. I have never said, and will never say "Fuck, South Africans are an insular lot. They don't even know the difference between the US and Canada!"
I don't assume that the whole country matches the descriptions I gave just because most of the people I come into contact with happen to. Hell, I live here entirely voluntarily; if I felt that way about this country's people, I would have left a long time ago. I was just pointing out that the few experiences Audrey had in America exist everywhere, even in South Africa.
I just wish other people would use the same filter when judging Americans. A person's experiences with a limited few Americans do not accurately describe the mindset, outlook or attitudes of all Americans.
Audrey:
Quote from: Roflganger on 2009 July 19, 18:04:36
Quote from: tngrspacecadet on 2009 July 19, 15:48:40
I South Africa and there are wild animals roaming in the streets AS I WRITE. Don't believe anyone who tells you otherwise.
However, sweeping generalizations FTL. Trolls, the lot of you. Pah.
I've got bush babies in my yard as I write - does that count as wildlife?
Again, I was NOT making sweeping generalizations about South Africans in general based on the experiences I've had with some. That was my whole point. My experiences are just down to where I live and the people I happen to have to deal with. I have never said, and will never say "Fuck, South Africans are an insular lot. They don't even know the difference between the US and Canada!"
I don't assume that the whole country matches the descriptions I gave just because most of the people I come into contact with happen to. Hell, I live here entirely voluntarily; if I felt that way about this country's people, I would have left a long time ago. I was just pointing out that the few experiences Audrey had in America exist everywhere, even in South Africa.
I just wish other people would use the same filter when judging Americans. A person's experiences with a limited few Americans do not accurately describe the mindset, outlook or attitudes of all Americans.
The trouble is that Americans are more under the spotlight than people from other countries due to the amount of TV that comes from there. Therefore, one does build up a picture, which could be classed as a generalisation, that is based on the perceptions which are gleaned from TV. For example, people would be forgiven if they assumed that a lot of Americans were weight-challenged, based on what is portrayed on TV. There are many, many other generalisations that could be made based on the 'facts' as portrayed by that medium.
As the second-largest English-speaking exporter, one would be forgiven for thinking that England has a bunch of yobbos who have bad teeth and only wash once a week. Television is a powerful medium which leads to an outsider making generalisations about a particular population group.
Roflganger:
So, one can be forgiven for buying into the image of rotten-teethed Brits because they saw it on TV, but not for thinking "Africa" is filled with wild, street-roaming animals because they saw it on TV? Making snap judgments about people = acceptable; having a misconception about a country's features = abhorrent.
Go figure.
And from where I stand, one can NOT be forgiven for buying into the stereotypes portrayed in the media once one is beyond the age of about 8 6 and presumably has developed enough of an independent mind to realize that TV does not even attempt to accurately reflect reality, and that stereotypes suck.
ETA: By the way, the idea that the concept of Americans as loudmouthed fat slobs comes FROM American TV seems a bit absurd. If anything, people basing their opinions of America solely on the basis of what they see in American-made TV shows would likely come away with the opinion that all Americans are thin, beautiful and rich.
Audrey:
But, you don't see wild animals roaming the streets in South Africa, so no, I really can't forgive that bit of ignorance.
I think that what one sees on TV can distort but can also give a true reflection of what a society is like. Let's face it, there are a lot of Brits who don't put such store by having a perfect set of pearly whites. By the same token, around 40% (I could be off by a few percent) of Americans are overweight. Now, I have not had personal experience of this, but from what is portrayed, I think these perceptions hold true. I think there is such a diversity of people portrayed on TV, that the stereotype of the loud, aggressive American has fallen by the wayside.
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