Best of the Week
of Sept. 3, 2000
Best of Week
Archives
Here are the most intriguing cross-cultural exchanges
either begun or advanced during the week of Sept. 3, 2000, as
selected by Y? These postings, as well as "Best of the
Week" entries from previous weeks, also can be found by accessing
Y?'s new database using the search form,
or, in the case of answers posted before April 24, 1999, in
the Original Archives (all
questions from the Original Archives have been entered into
the new database as well). In the Original Archives and the new
database, you will find questions that have received answers, as well
as questions still awaiting responses. You are encouraged to answer
any questions relevant to your demographic background, as well as to
ask any provocative question you desire. Answers posted are not
necessarily meant to represent the views of an entire demographic
group, but can provide a window into the insights of an individual
from that group.
First-time users should first make a quick stop at Y?'s
guidelines pages for asking and
answering questions.
The book
on Y? is here!
"Why Do White People Smell Like Wet
Dogs
When They Come Out Of The Rain?"
Order it today!
Delivery in 2-3 days via Priority Mail
Read the
Associated Press story on "Wet Dogs"
Question:
Are there any elderly women going back to college to take
undergraduate courses? If so, why? Is it to fill a hole in your life
by the loss of a loved one? Is it just for the heck of it?
POSTED 9/8/2000
Jim, Bowling Green, OH, United States, 22, Male, Catholic,
White/Caucasian, Straight, Graduate Student, Over 4 Years of College
, Middle class, Mesg ID 97200075139
To
respond
BACK TO TOP
Question:
Does anyone else think the whole 'in-your-face' BS notion that many
rappers project is going to the head of suburban white youth? Why are
they so attracted to it? I grew up in a dangerous housing project
(unlike most of them), and I can see through the bad boy cloud for
the sham it really is.
POSTED 9/5/00
Seamus, Charlestown, MA, United States, 21, Male, Carpenter, Lower
class, Mesg ID 940072722
Responses:
Contemplate this scenario: I'm a suburban white boy. I'm
pampered. Protected. Bored. Feeling neutered. Been told all my life
that showing emotions isn't good. Here's these guys on TV acting
'bad-ass,' very macho and masculine, 'expressing themselves,'
certainly not like Dad or the guy Mom's been seeing since the
divorce. They don't know themselves and they don't know me. I think
that they just want everything calm and 'normal.' These rap guys are
cool. I'm all over it. I'd understand Ginsberg's writing of 'dragging
themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry
fix' if anyone bothered to teach us that poem at my lame,
conservative school. But, thanks to MTV, I can drag myself through
those streets with this music. Maybe I can express myself, my pain,
my confusion. Maybe I can learn something. Maybe I won't end up like
my parents. Plus the beats are diggety-dope. I used to live in an
inner-city. I went to a suburban high school. I observed kids there
who felt they had no outlet for the nasty, confusing emotions of
adolescence except drugs, sex and types of music - all to piss
off/differentiate themselves from their parents. They're kids, and
it's no different than actual inner-city kids who feel a bit more
powerful with rap - which pisses off their parents. It speaks to
them, too. It's happened before (Ragtime, Jazz, Elvis, Jimi) and
it'll happen again. Seamus, they have no clue, plain and simple.
They're so wrapped up in themselves at this stage that they don't
care. Plus, as in the cases of Eminem, DMX, Biggie and Tupac, it's
not all a sham. Some people lived what they rap about.
POSTED 9/5/2000
Miranda, New York, NY, United States, 31, Female, Unitarian,
Straight, Production Coordinator, 4 Years of College , Middle class,
Mesg ID 950070904
To
respond
BACK TO TOP
Question:
Since when, and why, do female office employees in the United States
often wear sneakers at work? To a European like me it seems very
unusual, because in Europe sneakers are rarely worn in an office
setting, especially not by women.
POSTED 9/5/00
M.K., San Francisco, CA, United States, Male, Mesg ID 950022243
Responses:
I started wearing sneakers to work when I started taking public
transportation. My office is seven blocks uphill from my bus stop.
Walking in heels was not only bad on my shoes, but also bad on my
feet. I keep three pair of pumps in my office and change into my
'work' shoes when I arrive in the morning and out of them when I go
home.
POSTED 9/8/2000
Alicia, Seattle, WA, United States, 31, Female, Attorney, Middle
class, Mesg ID 96200035312
I would have thought the health benefits were obvious. Traditional
office shoes are notoriously bad for the feet and back. I would also
like to point out that it is becoming more common in the United
Kingdom, too. Sneakers are some of the very few flat and comfortable
shoes that are fashionable to wear. And the modern styles go very
well with suit trousers. I'm not too sure about wearing them with
skirts, though!
POSTED 9/8/2000
B.B., Edinburgh, NA, United Kingdom, 26, Female, Atheist,
White/Caucasian, Straight, PhD Student, Over 4 Years of College ,
Middle class, Mesg ID 96200051540
About 20 years ago, there was a strike by New York City's mass
transit workers. Many of the millions who work in Manhattan had to
find alternate means to reach their places of employment. This
happened in the spring during a period of beautiful weather, so a
substantial number of those workers chose to walk. In many cases,
this involved walks of five to 10 miles - in some cases, no doubt,
even longer. Many women (and some men) who elected to walk wore
sneakers to the office, then changed into shoes when they arrived.
The strike lasted two or three weeks. By the time it was settled, a
new fashion was born - one that remains fairly common in New York
City today.
POSTED 9/8/2000
Charlie F., New York, NY, United States, Mesg ID 972000104934
To
respond
BACK TO TOP
Question:
The United Kingdom consists of four countries: England, Wales,
Scotland and Northern Ireland(Ulster). Why are the last three
considered Gaelic countries, but England is not? What is Gaelic,
anyway? Does it have something to do with Celtic history?
POSTED 9/4/00
Robert S., Poole, NA, United Kingdom,
<rms6859@postmaster.co.uk>, 24, Male, Christian,
White/Caucasian, Straight, Mesg ID 940052109
Responses:
Gaelic, specifically, is a group of related Indo-European
languages. The reason England is not considered a Gaelic/Celtic
country is that its language is derived from the melding of the
Anglo-Saxon, French and Latin languages. The other three languages
listed are surviving Celtic languages (Scottish and Irish being of
the Gaelic line and Welsh belonging to a more Continental line that
includes Breton).
POSTED 9/5/2000
Joshua L., Westland, MI, United States, <fadhmir@mediaone.net>,
25, Male, Agnostic, White/Caucasian, Over 4 Years of College , Middle
class, Mesg ID 950073611
'Gaelic' is a linguistic term used to describe the languages of
Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. Usually the languages involved
are called Irish Gaelic, Scots Gaelic and Manx. These belong to a
larger group, the Celtic group of languages. This group also includes
Welsh (from Wales), Cornish (from Cornwall) and Breton (from
Brittany). So Wales is a Celtic country, but not really a Gaelic
one.
POSTED 9/5/2000
Andrea K., Farmington, ME, United States, Female, Catholic,
White/Caucasian, teacher/musician, Over 4 Years of College,Mesg ID
950041550
Technically the English are a Germanic people, yet they are quite
mixed. Your basic English person is firstly derived of a combination
of the Angle and Saxon tribes, who mixed it up around northern
Germany and Denmark, hence Anglo-Saxon. During the beginning stages
of the dark ages the Anglo-Saxons made it across the channel and
began to conquer the Britonic peoples, who were fully Celt. In the
great human tradition they mixed it up and were now a further hybrid.
Then the Normans came along (who were Norsemen who had settled in
northern France), overran England yet eventually faded away because
of mixing. Then there are also strains of Norwegian from the Vikings
coming through, as well as Roman from when Britain was a Roman
province. The Welsh, Scottish and Irish either remained free of
invading armies or did not mix too much with anyone, therefore they
are considered purely Celtic. Gaelic is the language group of the
Celts (mostly the United Kingdom/Ireland these days), much like Nahua
is the language group of the Natives of Meso-America. The Celts are
considered the fathers of Europe and are derived from a mixture of
Indo-European invaders (from Eurasia/northern India) and
indigenous/original Europeans (extinct except in the case of the
Basques), who then split off into far-flung and varying tribal groups
separate from cultures such as the Greeks, Etruscans and Romans. The
French and modern Italians are also quite mixed, but are
Celtic-based, as are the English. And technically, Germanic and
Romantic peoples are Celtic derived, but they split off as distinct
groupings during the Roman Empire.
POSTED 9/6/2000
Dan, Los Angeles area, CA, United States, 21, Male, Pentecostal,
Hispanic/Latino, Student, 2 Years of College , Lower middle class,
Mesg ID 9500113909
It's a linguistic thing: Wales, Scotland and Ireland preserved a
Gaelic language to some degree, whereas England proper is where
English was formed out of various Germanic languages (spoken by the
Angles, Saxons and Danes) and French (brought over by the Normans),
with a trace of the original Gaelic language of the Britons. Other
Gaelic languages are or were spoken in Cornwall and Brittany.
POSTED 9/7/2000
Jerry S., New Britain, CT, United States, Male, Mesg ID
97200041534
To
respond
BACK TO TOP
Question:
To people in South America: How are products advertised there? What
type of advertisement would make you want to buy a product if you
lived in Peru, Columbia, Brazil, etc.?
POSTED 9/4/00
Leann, Brighton, MI, United States, 30, Female, White/Caucasian,
Straight, 4 Years of College , Middle class, Mesg ID 940090028
Responses:
Your question is extremely general, but here goes: Here in
Venezuela, as in much of Latin America, products in general need
'Hollywoood'-style marketing (selling dreams, with flair and
beautiful people), while adding a small touch of local customs,
showing usefulness (we generally don't buy stupid novelty items), and
a good price-quality relation without saying 'cheap' bluntly. Usually
you go for the A and B, because the C and D will just follow along,
and sometimes even the E (the F only buys basic necessities, booze
and bets). Customer loyalty here is very high; once you've completely
converted your target, or even made it to their top of mind, it's
hard for them to switch. Coca-Cola spent DECADES trying to convert
people here from Pepsi (who got here first), and they only made it
after the Pepsi plants temporarily closed (a grave mistake). There
are plenty of books on marketing in Latin America. I suggest you
simply look through the net and you will find a lot of
information.
POSTED 9/6/2000
Nelson A., Caracas, NA, Venezuela, 31, Male, Catholic,
race=white/caucasian ethnicity=hispanic, lawyer/business, Over 4
Years of College , Middle class, Mesg ID 960022515
To
respond
BACK TO TOP
Question:
Why are all models like size 0 and 1? I have seen several heavy women
who are dazzling. I am an attractive teen, but I am a size 6 and no
guy will date me because of my weight. They have even told me that's
why.
POSTED 9/3/00
Sasha, Timpia, CT, United States, 18, Female, Catholic,
White/Caucasian, Straight, have hereditary rickets, student, Less
than High School Diploma , Middle class, Mesg ID 930032155
Responses:
Ugly comes in all sizes. It hurts to hear fat and ugly linked so
often; it's almost become one word. I am fat - 5'3" and 200 lbs. I am
not ugly, and I am quite happy with my size, as is my partner. Large
& in charge. People MOVE out of my way and NOTICE me when I want
something. Ugly is a state of mind; fat is a body type.
POSTED 9/6/2000
Juno R., out in the woods, OR, United States,
<gofish@presys.com>, 38, Female, Viking/Celtic mongrel,
Straight, bipolar disorder, production seamstress, High School
Diploma , Lower class, Mesg ID 960025803
To
respond
BACK TO TOP
Question:
Why has it become politically correct to refer to a black American as
an 'African-American'?
POSTED 8/30/2000
Alan J., Bishopville, SC, United States, <jkart@ftc-i.net>, 41,
Male, Agnostic, White/Caucasian, Straight, Training Manager, 4 Years
of College , Middle class, Mesg ID 8292000104930
Responses:
It boils down to African- mericans wanting to be identified by
ethnicity. With, say, German-Americans, Irish-Americans, even Native
Americans, you get a sense of where folks came from by those
nomenclatures, and an idea of their history here. Just saying 'black'
is almost this amorphous, 'Well, they're heeere' sort of
identification, which isn't good. Even if a lot of African Americans
don't know the specific country or region their ancestors came from
in Africa, it's important for everyone to know there is a context,
and not just these 'colored people' in the United States who popped
out of nowhere with no history.
POSTED 9/5/00
Miranda, New York, NY, United States, 31, Female, Unitarian,
Straight, Production Coordinator, 4 Years of College , Middle class,
Mesg ID 830200020547
It is a matter of respect. In the past and still today the word
"black" denotes evil and anything bad, so African Americans do not
want to be associated with a negative term. I am African, and I do
not like being referred to as black because my skin is brown and not
black. Nevertheless, I can tolerate the word (black), but the term I
abhor and find offensive is "colored."
POSTED 9/5/00
Ify, Miami, FL, United States, <ifebigh77@hotmail.com>, 23,
Female, Mesg ID 8300092124
People of other races and ethnicities identify themselves that
way. They call themselves Japanese-Americans or Chinese-Americans,
not 'yellow' Americans. They say 'I'm Cherokee' or 'I'm Meewak,' not
'I'm red.' African-American is more descriptive than just plain old
'black.' When I call myself Afro-Caribbean, you get a much better
idea of who I am than if I say I'm black.
POSTED 9/5/00
Natasha, Washington, DC, United States, 28, Female, Christian,
Afro-Caribbean, Straight, receptionist, Technical School , Middle
class, Mesg ID 950011608
In my opinion it is because they do not want to be called
American, but they do not have the courage to go back to their
homeland. Truth is, black folk are treated and tolerated better in
America than in any other country, including the continent of Africa.
They are filled with self-loathing and denial. Like it or not, they
have not reached their 'awakening,' and will not in our lifetime. I
am not degrading black folk, rather it is just the way it is, in my
opinion.
POSTED 9/5/00
Bob, Tallahassee, FL, United States, 67, Male, Atheist,
White/Caucasian, Straight, retired, 4 Years of College , Upper middle
class, Mesg ID 930041209
I have also noticed that in the media it is the politically
correct trend to classify (sometimes incorrectly) 'blacks' as
'African-Americans.' As with a former question of mine on this site,
I can't understand why people often use such terms as 'African
American' or 'people of color' (the latter which I find offensive).
If I may also lump people into a category for a moment, none of my
many 'black' friends ever refer to themselves with either term -
they, as well as most other people I choose to associate with, refer
to themselves as individuals; they don't try to align and segregate
themselves with certain segments of the population that may not (and
usually do not) at all describe or fit who they are. In fact,
'African-American' would seem to denote that the people using the
term are from Africa, which they are not. All or some of their
ancestors may very well have been from that continent, but that is
irrelevant. For instance, some of my ancestors are from the European
continent (from various countries) and some are from the American
continent (a particular aboriginal tribe). I do not parade around in
any attempt to be 'ethnically distinct' by calling myself a
'Mostly-European-American.' I am from America, and I am an American;
where some of my ancestors came from is interesting, historical and
culturally and ethnically pleasing to me, but nonetheless I am an
American, and proud of it. Why anyone would want to owe their loyalty
to a continent (not even a country or an ethnicity) where they most
likely have never been and most likely do not know a great deal about
is beyond me.
POSTED 9/5/00
Lisa, Raytown, MO, United States, <kaeori@lymax.com>, Female,
Straight, college student, Mesg ID 920043258
Because we, the whitey, changed our minds within the past decade.
Calling them black Americans would label them as full Americans.
Since we have hope that they might one day go back to Africa, calling
them 'African Americans' allows them immediate access back into that
country with no questions asked.
POSTED 9/5/00
Dave D., Norfolk, VA, United States, Male, Mesg ID 910032311
It has become politically correct to use the term 'African
American' because we are of African and American origins.
Additionally, using colors as names of an entire race (i.e. white,
black, etc.) is unacceptable in modern culture.
POSTED 9/5/00
K. Grant, Washington, DC, United States, Black/African American, Mesg
ID 910085746
To
respond
BACK TO TOP
Question:
Being of an age where one tends to glance through the obituaries from
time to time, I have come to notice that in most cases blacks
specifically make reference to having the title of Mr. or Master
proceeding their name in their death announcement. I find that this
is not the case for other races. Can anyone explain why this is?
POSTED 8/28/2000
Rick W., Flint, MI, United States, <RJW608@aol.com>, 45, Male,
White/Caucasian, Straight, 4 Years of College , Middle class, Mesg ID
827200092915
Responses:
The reason is respect. For years, black people have been called
various names due to the social climate ('Auntie' and 'Boy,' de facto
names during segregation, are examples) or due to the
lessening/degradation of manners (my father hates it when a
16-year-old clerk calls him by his first name without asking
permission first). Because respect for age isn't applied/accounted
for in life, it is applied/accounted for in death.
POSTED 9/5/00
G.E. Long, Chicago, IL, United States, 38, Female, Catholic,
Black/African American, Straight, IT Management, Over 4 Years of
College , Middle class, Mesg ID 910011943
To
respond
BACK TO TOP
Copyright
and disclaimer