Plan for Peace - Page 3

cashman · 28-09-2005, 13:07

i know first hand that the american people have a special regard for the british,what surprised me was most of the people i came across had never left america cos its so vast i suppose everything and climate is in the continent ! but i think you are mistaken saying (the amount of critisism aimed at them) john- remember like owt in life, union meetings is one example! the active members and also the bigots always turn up- but the majority of genuine fair minded people can't be bothered to appear ! its a sad indictment of society but thats the way it is.

SPUGGIE J · 28-09-2005, 13:13

An unfortunate and damning enditement of the world today cashy and it wont change in a hurry either which is very sad.

Georgie Saint · 28-09-2005, 13:21

I agree with a lot of the things you say John. I know that a lot of Americans treasure the relationship with the Brits and it is something that we should all hold on to.
I still think critisism, when its due, is a healthy thing. Colonialism was a terrible thing, as was Japans and Germany's past. But all has been put right and all those countries are now the ones saying enough is enough. America is thought of as narrow minded, and although I am sure you are right that we shouldn't tar all Americans with the Bush brush, they must not think that the rest of the world is wrong and they are right.
I like your web site. I find peoples background amazing sometimes.

Georgie Saint · 28-09-2005, 13:28

Further to an earlier mail, it is indeed true that not many Americans travel abroad. The ones that do are lovely people. I was entertaining a guy from California not long ago, and over a meal he told me he had travelled extensively over the last 4 years. I asked where he had been and he just listed about 10 US states! He really thought he had seen the world. Lovely guy, but completely ignorant of the world at large.

Bazf · 28-09-2005, 14:07

[QUOTE=JohnW]I asked this question of the immigration people when I was going through my application for a green card. The answer was that there is already a large British population here. I know that to be true although, I didn't consider it was a fully satisfactory answer to my question as I also know there is a large Irish population here.

John I also asked the question while going through the naturalization process and the guy told me that it is based on numbers and the US is proud to be country of immigrants. However, far more people are coming to the USA from certain countries than from others. Just those immigrating from Mexico, China and the Philippines are by far outnumbering those from most of the other countries accumulated. In order to maintain a diversity in the population, US laws regulate immigration from particular regions of the world. For this reason the USA do annually distribute 55,000 GreenCards randomly since 1994. The only prerequisite apart from the eligible native country is a certain level of education. You can find detailed information under „conditions for participation“ here. .
Excluded are only those countries with a rate of immigrants to the USA far above average over the last five years. But it is possible that these excluded countries can participate again in coming years.

JohnW · 28-09-2005, 14:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Georgie Saint

I agree with a lot of the things you say John. I know that a lot of Americans treasure the relationship with the Brits and it is something that we should all hold on to.
I still think critisism, when its due, is a healthy thing. Colonialism was a terrible thing, as was Japans and Germany's past. But all has been put right and all those countries are now the ones saying enough is enough. America is thought of as narrow minded, and although I am sure you are right that we shouldn't tar all Americans with the Bush brush, they must not think that the rest of the world is wrong and they are right.
I like your web site. I find peoples background amazing sometimes.

I also agree that constructive critisism is a good thing. I just feel that America comes in for an inordinate amount of it. We all have our opinions and we all generally think that opinion is right, even though we do consider other peoples views.

As you have probably gathered, I have a great love of both, my country of origin and my adopted country. I don't really like too much critisism going either way and I am inclined to get a little defensive. Because I have a foot in both camps, so to speak, it is of special interest to me that the relationship flourishes. I know that Americans have a name for being loud and brash and maybe sometimes they are. But, I have found them to be a most generous and sincere people since living amongst them and consider that they are sometimes misunderstood and unfairly condemned.

I'm glad you enjoyed the web site. It is designed and maintained by my eldest son who lives in Hesketh Bank. He is about to start another one for the band I am now rehearsing with here in America. I will let you know the site address when it gets underway if you are interested

garinda · 28-09-2005, 19:48

America- it's just like that 70's advert for coke with the sound track of 'I'd like to teach the world to sing.'

Good luck. If you can't get a green card just run the border fron Mexico to L.A.

SPUGGIE J · 28-09-2005, 19:55

You could always come in via Canada.

garinda · 28-09-2005, 20:05

Most of my customers were American, ableit rich ones, who travelled widely between their many homes, and who were very nice people. However most Americans would be hard pressed to point to the UK on a world map, Hardly conclusive to the idea of any special relationship. Lets not forget that the city in the world with the largest black population isn't in Africa, it's New York, they're hardly going to have any strong ties to Britain.

JohnW · 28-09-2005, 20:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

Most Americans would be hard pressed to point to the UK on a world map.

Can you point us in the direction of the study that provided you with this world shattering information please?

garinda · 28-09-2005, 20:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnW

Can you point us in the direction of the study that provided you with this world shattering information please?

Oh come on, that's common knowledge, and yes tests have been done asking highschool students to point to various countries on a world map, most were unable to correctly point to states they don't live in.

It was pointed out that most ordinary Americans never travel abroad, and have a very insular approach to 'their' world. That's just a fact not a criticism.

I suppose thats one of the advantages of being in the UK, is that in the time you could fly from NY to Dallas we could fly to a dozen different countries and cultures, although I wouldn't be so rude as to say this makes us more cultural.

Bazf · 29-09-2005, 02:56

Not actually wanting to get in to whos better at educating and what the end product is, after traveling extensively around the globe I have to say the Americans do more, put more money in and are better at educating then the British.
I am currently coaching Football (soccer in America) at a high school, all the girls on the team are heading to University and are being encouraged by there parents, teachers and coaches, remembering my days at Rhyddings you were lucky to leave with a couple of GCSE's if they haden't tried to get you to leave early. If I haden't meet my wife and come to America I doubt I would have got my degree as adult ed is under funded and under advertised in the UK.

Having worked in the USA for two months of the year for a decade I really struggle ordering coffee in America.
"Gee, can you say that again you just sound like the Queen."

Shoudn't that be King?

JohnW · 29-09-2005, 13:05

Ah, good old common knowledge. I am aware that many Americans have never felt the need to leave the shores of their own country. Of the ones who have travelled abroad, a goodly proportion would, probably, have only visited either Mexico, Canada or the Islands. I agree that this is inclined to make them somewhat insular and less knowledgeable of other world cultures than the well-travelled, average Brit who has multi-cultural continental Europe on his doorstep. But to say "Most Americans would be hard pressed to point to the UK on a world map" is total bull****. It is that kind of sweeping, unfounded and derogatory statement that really gets up my nose. If you are going to criticise, at least make it constructive and factual.

Neil · 29-09-2005, 13:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazf

Not actually wanting to get in to whos better at educating and what the end product is, after traveling extensively around the globe I have to say the Americans do more, put more money in and are better at educating then the British.

I think that depends on who you talk too. When I worked for Michelin, some of the project engineers went over to one of the American factories in Greenville, South Carolina. I can remember them telling me how they were amazed how many of the production workers were illiterate. I don't mean poor at reading, I mean totally unable to read or write.

garinda · 29-09-2005, 16:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnW

Ah, good old common knowledge. I am aware that many Americans have never felt the need to leave the shores of their own country. Of the ones who have travelled abroad, a goodly proportion would, probably, have only visited either Mexico, Canada or the Islands. I agree that this is inclined to make them somewhat insular and less knowledgeable of other world cultures than the well-travelled, average Brit who has multi-cultural continental Europe on his doorstep. But to say "Most Americans would be hard pressed to point to the UK on a world map" is total bull****. It is that kind of sweeping, unfounded and derogatory statement that really gets up my nose. If you are going to criticise, at least make it constructive and factual.

www.greenteacher.com/articles/70kisbell.pdf -

Just one example of the acknowledged examples of the poor geographical knowledge of the world of American students, compared with their European counterparts. There was also a really funny article in the Times at the start of invasion of Iraq, asking Americans to point in the general area of the middle East. The results weren't not very encouraging.

Like I said I'm not being critical, just pointing out that the vast majority Americans don't have the luxury of foreign travel, and this seems to be backed up by their insularism.