Geography-related
Questions 21-30
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THE
QUESTION:
G30: It's my impression that many Americans buy handguns, and
I feel that this contributes to the problem of crime on the streets
and in homes in the United States. Is this an accurate perception, or
do gun owners feel that drug addicts and poor people who need money
are the main source of handgun crimes in the States?
POSTED SEPT. 22, 1998
M. Chubak
<blast@twics.com>, Tokyo,
Japan
ANSWER 1:
This is a misconception I believe is perpetrated by
organizations such as the National Rifle Association, which would
have you believe every red-blooded American owns a handgun. Many
people, myself included, feel handguns are meant for one thing,
killing people, and would never have one in their home. Every night
on the news there are stories of children accidentally shooting
themselves with handguns, and my own opinion is that if we didn't
have so many guns around, criminals wouldn't be able to get their
hands on them. The gun control laws in the United States are woefully
inadequate; it is harder to get a driver's license or register your
automobile than it is to purchase a weapon. Very scary.
POSTED SEPT. 29, 1998
Laura, 37, white female, Baltimore, MD
FURTHER NOTICE:
First, let me stress that I am by no means a "gun nut" or
a supporter of the NRA. With that out of the way, I admit that I own
a handgun. The only purpose of owning it is to protect my wife and
myself in the event (however unlikely) that an armed intruder were to
enter my home. I have no children and children never visit. I also am
skilled at handling one properly. I did read an interesting statistic
one time: In the Old West the violent crime rate (despite what
Hollywood would have you believe) was lower than at any other time in
our history. This is, of course, taking into account the population
differences. This low crime rate was directly attributed to the fact
that everyone had a gun, and that those who wanted to do harm had
better have been prepared to deal with the inevitable armed
confrontaion. Whether this study was sponsored by the NRA I honestly
do not know.
POSTED OCT. 26, 1998
D.S., 29
<dash@netside.com>,
Columbia, SC
FURTHER NOTICE 2:
I own three handguns, and I like to target shoot as a
hobby. I haven't killed anybody with them. Gun possession no more
makes one a violent criminal than having children makes one a child
molester. I support the Second Amendment strongly, but I'm not an
absolutist. I agree there are proper and improper uses of guns, but
banning them will not stop crime. Crime existed long before guns were
invented. I was a victim of an armed robbery just this May. The
criminals used a Buick as a getaway car. I suppose I should blame
General Motors for contributing to crime, since cars "only have one
purpose, to move people," but that would be ridiculous, wouldn't it?
I wonder if Laura could tell me how forbidding me from owning guns
would solve the crime problem. I believe the best way is by long,
harsh jail terms for convicted criminals. In my case, one robber got
11 years (no parole), the getaway driver got five years (no parole)
and the last robber is coming up for trial.
POSTED NOV. 3, 1998
Michael, 30
<edit15@aol.com>, Stone
Mountain, GA
To respond
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THE QUESTION:
G29: Why do so many people come to the United States not
knowing how to speak English? I would never move to a country without
first learning the native language.
POSTED SEPT. 5, 1998
20, American
<dawn0621@hotmail.com>,
Chicago, IL
ANSWER 1:
Please tell me what the native language of America is
first. Many Americans (born in the United States) speak Spanish as
their first language. Among Native Americans, there are many
languages to select from. English is not the official language of the
United States. In fact, the only language to come close to that honor
has been German! There are many people here who believe that anyone
entering the United States should speak English, but until I see
people in this country properly speak the language, I cannot take
that stance.
POSTED SEPT. 28, 1998
F. Gonzalez, 30 , White Anglo-Spanish Pagan (WASP) male
<gonzalez1@hauns.com>,
Alamogordo, N.M.
FURTHER NOTICE:
I live in a city that was built by each ethnic group as
they appeared on the scene, starting with the English, then the
Irish, Polish, German, etc., right up to and including the latest
influx of Hispanics (mostly Puerto Rican) and Koreans and Vietnamese.
All these ethnic groups have learned English, even though, as you
say, it has never been made the official language of the United
States. We are still an English-speaking country. You may not like
it, but it is a fact. My ancestors had to learn the language to get
ahead here. They did very well, I might add. Today, for some reason,
we feel that Hispanics shouldn't have to learn English. No one
expects them to give up their native tongue. I wish I could still
speak German, but I feel they (Hispanics) ought to keep it among
themselves, as did all the other groups that came here. There were
clubs where you went to stay in touch with your roots. I find it odd
that no one expects us to include Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese or any
other Asian language as the "official" language of the United
States.
POSTED SEPT. 30, 1998
Kevin H., 41, American (German-Irish)
<kevin@javanet.com>,
Holyoke, MA
FURTHER NOTICE 2:
This country is still a land of opportunity for people
from countries without the vigorous economies of the United States. I
married into an immigrant family. My wife knew some English when we
met, and my in-laws knew less. My wife learned to speak excellent
English but my inlaws never quite learned to cope with it. They came
here not knowing English because my father-in-law saw good employment
opportunities here in a field in which there was an extreme shortage
of employees. He was able to work without speaking much English
because his employer spoke a language both of them knew. That is
probably true of the folks the questioner has been observing.
POSTED SEPT. 30, 1998
Jerry T. <gmt@GTE.net>, Tampa,
FL
FURTHER NOTICE 3:
To Gonzalez: English is the official language of the
United States. This issue has been raised on ballots across the
country and has consistently been unanimous. Imagine the chaos that
would and does exist in America because of the variety of languages.
No other country in the world tolerates and caters to people who do
not speak the official or dominant language of that country. The
expense of providing things such as voting ballots in multiple
languages is staggering, and still all languages are not covered. The
past election was clear evidence that Americans want English to be
the official language. They voted in the proposition to teach English
in public schools, rather than providing bilingual classes where
non-English languages are taught. English is not the official
language of the world, only the United States, and rightly so.
POSTED SEPT. 30, 1998
39, female of German/Irish descent, Roseville, CA
FURTHER NOTICE 4:
While there is no "official" act to proclaim American
English as the U.S. language, it is clearly used as a first language
by 96 percent of the nation. (Reference Time Magazine and Compton's
Encyclopedia.) All of our national documents, laws, recordings, etc.,
are in American English. Really, who is to say that we do not speak
English "correctly"? And I'm not sure where you are coming from as
far as German being the closest to being the official language. I
believe Dawn may not have meant "Native language" when describing our
nation's "official" language. I do agree with her that to go to a
foreign country with such a language barrier causes much frustration
for both parties trying to understand each other. To come to this
nation with no American English, or just English for that matter, and
believing that any other language will get you around the country
well enough is foolish. By the way, why the cut on WASP?
POSTED SEPT. 30, 1998
T.B. , 41, American white male, Denver, CO
FURTHER NOTICE 5:
To the female from Roseville, Calif.: There is not a
single correct fact in your post. English is not the official
language of the United States, and it has not been voted on
nationwide or statewide in a single state. And there are many
countries that cater to multiple languages, including Canada,
Nigeria, South Africa, Israel and numerous others.
And to the director of Y?: If someone is going to make up
"facts,'' please make them cite sources or don't post their
ridiculous, false claims. What's the point of having a moderated
forum if you're going to allow obvious falsehoods to be submitted as
"fact?''
POSTED OCT. 6, 1998
Andrew, 34, white descendant of non-English speakers
<ziptron@xoommail.com>,
Huntington, NY
(Director's Note: It should be noted that the objective of Y? is
not necessarily to post only correct factual information about
people's differences or subjects related to diversity - though
accuracy certainly is the preference. Our goal is to try to
accurately document the level and content of the current public
dialogue on these issues in the United States and elsewhere.
Additionally, while there is merit to filtering out incorrect data -
and we do - we also feel that letting our users point out and correct
such errors directly on the site can at times have a greater
educational impact than leaving out the incorrect facts
altogether.)
FURTHER NOTICE 6:
The Founding Fathers voted on what the official language
of the United States should be early on. English came in third, after
German and Dutch. But there was no language in the majority, so
wisely none was ever adopted as the "official" one. Thomas Paine
pointed out that only a third of the whites at that time were Anglo
and argued that England should thus not be considered the "mother"
country. Still, Anglos dominated the economy and culture, as they
continue to do so today. Anglo-conformity - the belief that all
others must and should Anglicize themselves to become "true"
Americans - continues to be a dominant belief even among groups who
have lost or abandoned their culture, including its language. The
idea that all others nations have only one language is nonsense. Ever
heard of Switzerland? How about Mexico, Canada, Belgium, the
Phillipines (with 162 languages) and yes, even Great Britain, which
is making great effort to preserve the Welsh language. In America we
have a lot of language discrimination as a thin cover for racial
hatred. Think of this: People object to Spanish and Asian languages,
but never to French or German.
POSTED OCT. 6, 1998
A.C.C., Mexican and American Indian, San Antonio, TX
FURTHER NOTICE 7:
I grew up in a town in California where many of the people
are of Hispanic descent, either immigrants, children of immigrants or
descendants of the Californios. Spanish was as common as English, and
it was not uncommon to go a day without speaking much English. Most
people were bilingual, but Spanish was the preferred language. There
were many people who did not speak English, and although this caused
some problems when dealing with the outside world, such as filing
taxes, there was always a friend or family member to help people get
the things done that they needed. I believe learning English can help
a person take advantage of the opportunities available in the United
States, but it should not be a requirement.
POSTED MARCH 26, 1999
Jennifer K. 28, female, San Jose , CA
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THE QUESTION:
G28: In Brazil, Southerners are considered rude, busy and
smart people, because this region is richer. On the other hand,
Northerners are considered slow and lazy, but friendly and warm. Why,
in the United States, is it the opposite? Are there any economical or
historical reasons?
POSTED SEPT. 4, 1998
Guillherme, 16, white male
<theguis@hotmail.com>,
Brasília, Brazil
ANSWER 1:
My opinion is that it has more to do with being nearer the
equator than North or South ... people seem to slow down considerably
in hotter climates.
POSTED SEPT. 9, 1998
Colette
<inkwolf@earthlink.net>,
Seymour, WI
FURTHER NOTICE:
As a Brazilian living in the United States I can tell that
the location and the economic aspect has nothing to do with being
polite. Like in the United States, many poor people in Brazil still
having some education and good moral standards. An example is your
city, where rich boys "burned"a native as a joke, and they where from
very good backgrounds. Of course, the more populated the area, the
more you have chances of finding different cultural levels. Many cold
states have a population that has a balanced cultural level, because
of historical and migratory factors. But the aspect of north/south is
not the main reason for politeness.
POSTED NOV. 27, 1998
Rosi, 34, Delray Beach, FL
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THE QUESTION:
G27: I am curious to know the difference in the illiteracy
rates of the general populations of the United States and Brazil.
Also, how does Brazil rate when compared to other South American
countries?
POSTED AUG. 14, 1998
Lyle, white Brazilian
<lylef@rocketmail.com>,
Sao Paulo, Brazil
ANSWER 1:
I do not know the illiteracy rate for Brazil, but I can
offer you this information from a 1985 article: 72 million Americans
can't read beyond a fifth-grade level. 27 million of these are
functionally illiterate; they can't read a street sign, write a check
or fill out a job application form. Their numbers are growing at the
rate of 2.3 million a year. The United States ranks 49th in literacy
level among 158 United Nations countries.
POSTED FEB. 15, 1999
Dru, 33, Asian, former volunteer adult literacy tutor
Honolulu , HI
To respond
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THE QUESTION:
G26: Why is it that lately many Americans are postponing or
cancelling their trips to Croatia and Slovenia, with the excuse that
war in Kosovo, which is in Yugoslavia, is too near? Why don't they
check on a map before deciding this, if only for their own
education?
POSTED AUG. 10, 1998
Natasa, Croat
<natasa_@hotmail.com>,
Zagreb, Croatia
To respond
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THE QUESTION:
G25: After living in Japan for two years, I've found that
"gaijin," or foreigners, are treated differently than Japanese
people. We're looked at, talked to and watched differently than
Japanese people. I would like to know if people of other races who
live in North America feel this same pressure or sense of
"difference."
POSTED AUG. 10, 1998
Trevor C., 17, white male
<trevorc@gol.com>, Kobe,
Japan
ANSWER 1:
I am a Japanese national who has lived in the United
States, Italy and Thailand for more than 10 years. The feelings of
"difference" vary from country to county and where you are from, in
my opinion. In the United States, the reaction was quite natural,
except for insufficient linguistical capabilities, and I didn't feel
I was treated in special ways. Americans are used to people of
different races as well as people from other counties. Is was also
true in the United Kingdom from my rather short experience there. In
Italy, the situation was a little different. All Asians are
considered "Chinese" and in some ways treated as "these poor illegal
immigrant people" regardless where they are really from. They
actually don't know much about other counties. Meanwhile, they tend
to treat other whites as equals. In Thailand, the Japanese (and
Westerners) are in some ways looked up to as "people from developed
countries." We are curiously looked at and talked about.
The Japanese treat "gaijins" in a manner similar to the latter
example. Western society and people still symbolize the Japanese
ideal in terms of culture and beauty. They are curious. They are
afraid of the unknown (most Japanese still don't have direct contact
with foreigners or think they are unable to communicate well enough
with them). I think that is why you feel treated in a different way.
However, this does not necessarily mean the Japanese are innocent
when it comes to racism. Japanese people will treat immigrants from
other counties differently than they treat Americans - again, as
"these poor illegal immigrant people."
POSTED AUG. 17, 1998
Masaki N.
<ssde@ptty.loxinfo.co.th>,
Bangkok, Thailand
FURTHER NOTICE:
I have spent a month or so in Japan during a series of
business visits. During these I became acquainted with a Korean
engineer. He was part of the third generation of his family to live
in Japan. He naturally knew the Japanese language and etiquette. Yet,
he was considered gaijin, as are many native Japanese who have lived
outside Japan. The Japanese have a special alphabet reserved for
providing a phonetic representation of foreign words. They use this
alphabet for anything a gaijin says regardless of whether they are
speaking Japanese for foreign words. Another Occidental friend
studied Japanese while living in Tokyo. He repeatedly had the
experience that when he spoke to someone who did not realize he was
gaijin, they responded naturally. As soon as they realized he was
gaijin, they claimed not to be able to understand him. After
considering these and many other examples, I have concluded that the
Japanese are among the most racist cultures in the world. However,
the Japanese people seem to be polite about it.
POSTED AUG. 31, 1998
Ralphe, white American, Cambridge , MA
To respond
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THE QUESTION:
G24: I love Canada as a great melting pot of different races,
cultures and so on. My question is: If I immigrated to another
country and tried to have laws changed to suit my Canadian ways and
beliefs, how would the people of that homeland deal with or react to
it ? I would appreciate responses from people from a variety of
different cultures.
POSTED AUG. 7, 1998
Jim, 34, Canadian
<jjewellcmm@aol.com>,
Windsor, Ontario
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THE QUESTION:
G23: I'm a Southerner and would like to know why it seems a
higher percentage of people from New Jersey are rude. I work in an
environment where my coworkers and I deal with a lot of people. Most
of us agree that those from New Jersey are the rudest people we come
across. Why is this?
POSTED AUG. 3, 1998
Kristen, Charlotte, NC
ANSWER 1:
I have lived in New Jersey 20 years (we moved here when I
was 2) and have never really found my neighbors, friends or
co-workers to be particularly rude. I think you might be mistaking
our fast-paced lifestyle and need to get things done quickly as
hostility. I was fortunate enough to view the difference between life
in the North and the South when I spent my first year of college in
Virginia. I found that although people were extremely friendly (yes,
more friendly than in New Jersey), everything (including service in
restaurants, traffic and just people in general) was horribly slow. I
think it is very important when communicating with new people to
consider their background (where he or she is coming from) before
making a generalization about that person.
POSTED FEB. 4, 1999
Nic, 22
<nicole_1976@hotmail.com>,
NJ
To respond
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THE QUESTION:
G22: I'm a Japanese student in the United States. I'd like to
know why, in many American movies, the Americans try to save the
earth by themselves. Don't Americans feel other countries can give
them help?
POSTED JULY 28, 1998
Yasu
<nyasu@hotmail.com>, San
Francisco, CA
ANSWER 1:
You know, I never really thought about it, but you're
right. Have you ever noticed that the movies usually take place in
New York, too?
POSTED NOV. 16, 1998
Michele, 14, Battle Creek , MI
To respond
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THE QUESTION:
G21: Why are so many Americans fat? Why don't they take care
of their health, especially when the supermarkets here are filled
with low-fat health foods?
POSTED JULY 28, 1998
Yoshiko
<yukofujita@hotmail.com>,
San Francisco, CA
ANSWER 1:
In my opinon, Americans are doomed by the culture of the
car and the hype of diet food. In other countries of the world,
people do not drive their cars like Amercians do. The gas is cheap
(about 25 percent of what it is in most European countries) and
driving is faster and more convenient than other modes of
transportation. So most Americans drive to work, drive to the store,
drive to the health spa and miss out on the simple exercise of riding
one's bike to work every day or walking to the store, which can make
a person reasonably fit. The fat-free craze in the United States has
probably hurt more than helped. People tend to treat "fat-free" as
"calorie-free" and overeat. When they don't exercise, the body
efficiently turns the carbohydrates into fat. So we end up with
chubby Americans driving their cars to the store to buy more
Snackwell's.
POSTED AUG. 11, 1998
Carolyn M.
<carolyn@manis.bt.nu>,
Sweden
FURTHER NOTICE:
Americans all have one thing in common: What we do, we do
to excess. We like big cars, big houses, lots of open space, lots of
entertainment and lots of food. I have lived for short periods of
time in other nations, and I felt like I was starving. The portions
just seemed so much smaller. Our love of movies, television and now
computers has us sitting down quite a bit, too. The result is an
overweight majority.
POSTED SEPT. 4, 1998
Joshua, 20, male
<schnids@bigfoot.com>,
Pittsburgh, PA
FURTHER NOTICE 2:
I think the answer to this question stems from a few
things: A lack of education in basic nutrition and dietary health,
the socio-economic status of food consumers in North America, and the
obvious marketing tactics by food advertisers and supermarkets to
sell the pre-packaged foods to a "target" crowd (such as children,
business people who don't have "time" to cook, college students
living away from home, or men who "can't" cook and need an easy,
pre-made dining option).
In terms of the educational issue, the ratio of public education
on proper nutrition to TV advertisements for high-fat, high-sugar
snack-foods is quite substantial. Children and adults alike are
taught that fruits and vegetables are healthy, lean meat is preferred
to cuts of meat with skin or high fat content, and that high-fat,
high-sodium, high-sugar diets are the root of many serious medical
conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease and hypertension;
however, these messages are not thrown at us in the fun,
cost-effective and enticing way that selling chips, Coke, pizza and
McDonalds are. If kids and adults get one message among 10 that they
should be eating healthier than they do already, chances are they're
not going to listen as effectively as they would otherwise, when the
message is constant and intriguing to them.
My second point: Everyone is not financially endowed to be able to
choose from a varied diet. Many people who eat according to their
limited budgets choose their foods based on abundance (i.e., how much
food will feed a family of four for a month for under $300?), how the
foods will best satiate them (i.e., carbohydrates over vegetables),
ease of preparation (a busy working mother's schedule requires her to
be able to have food prepared within minutes, as opposed to elaborate
made-from-scratch meals that can take hours of preparation), and
personal taste.
Lastly, the advertisers and manufacturers of snack foods have a
huge budget with which to sell their product to the unsuspecting
public. Supermarket shelves stock the most popular snack foods, with
the brightly colored, enticing packages on the shelves at eye
level so that shoppers will see these first and be persuaded to
purchase them on impulse. Impulse shoppers are a huge market for
advertisers. They cater to those people who tend to go out without a
defined shopping list, and will buy whatever is eye-catching or
attractive to them at the time. Target audiences are chosen and led
by the growling stomach through television, print and radio ads to
believe that every snack-food item is "nutritious" and "satisfying,"
when in fact it's usually the opposite that is true. Saturday
mornings are prime times for advertisers of high-sugar cereals to
target the child population, while they're busy watching cartoons. I
remember when I was a child watching cartoons on Saturday morning,
seeing "Cookie Crisp" cereal on TV and being told this particular
case of cookies and milk was supposedly high in nutrition and perfect
for breakfast! Now, I pride my Canadian mother for choosing non-sugar
cereals and fresh fruits and vegetables over the quick, convenience
foods. See http://www.nedic.on.ca for more.
POSTED DEC. 9, 1998
Amy, 25, The National Eating Disorder Information Centre
<taneia@sprint.ca,
mbear@torhosp.toronto.on.ca>, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
FURTHER NOTICE 3:
I live in a city where it is next to impossible to survive
without a car. Also, most of us are too busy to exercise - I have
very little free time, and I spend it reading, doing needlework,
socializing - or on the net. Then, too, America has always been a
"land of plenty" - my mother may have had to save 50 cents a week to
buy us kids shoes, but almost any fruit or vegetable grew right out
the back door, and Daddy could always walk down to the creek and come
back with a string of catfish, or walk into the woods and get us a
deer or some rabbits.
POSTED FEB. 10, 1999
Molly S., 38, white immigrants' child
<stormborn@uswest.net>,
Phoenix , AZ
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