On May 05 2013 06:09 semantics wrote: The only difference between the US and most other nations is physical size and diversity of the geographical locations. After all the US as a country that has continental weather. Scope is everything few countries share that kind of scope.
Well another thing to consider is that many nations have had a large amount of racial homogeneity for hundreds if not thousands of years, whereas the USA is a 'melting pot' of many different cultures to begin with. This is another reason (besides physical size/population) for large internal variations that most countries can't compare to. Of course some countries that have historically been homogeneous are shifting away from that recently.
Quick question for people: Is it just me, or does it seem like people downplay the regions in which other languages are the primary (and sometimes only) language in the US?
Like the Hispanic areas in some cities, where they only speak spanish. Or some asian/vietnamese/japanese areas in other parts of the nation?
If it was another, smaller, country this would be regarded as a significant cultural difference... but here it is just some offshoot thing that is frequently ignored as if it isnt even American. I mean, there are a LOT of places all around the country where people just retained their heritage from their mother country... yet this isnt considered a different culture.
One only has to point to the discrepancies between California and Texas to prove states have their own culture, lol.
By the same token, however, there are culture differences within states as well. I'm going to use Cali. as an example. California is renowned for being a very left-leaning, progressive state, but could not stop Proposition 8 from passing back in '08. Debate on the validity of the Proposition notwithstanding, it should be noted that even Cali.'s voters were conservative enough to push the bill through. And while certain coastal metropolises of the state are incredibly left-leaning in their worldviews, there are many millions in the center and rural areas that are quite the opposite in their positions, and these political differences are very similar to the culture of the locales that people hail from.
Putting the political topic aside, I can say that in my own state there is a defined "culture" about it. We speak a certain way, and there's an intangible aspect to the accent that no one can seem to lay a finger on, but never fail to recognize. Our sports teams have some of the most crazed fans in the nation. Of course we have our own style of pizza too, lol.
All in all, I'd say there's cultural differences not only between states but also locales of different environments and social backgrounds that transcend state lines. Some attributes you can easily point to the state and say, "Yep, that's Texan." Or whatever. But some you have to look elsewhere, as those attributes are present in multiple states and cities across the country.
On May 05 2013 05:28 Gnaix wrote: Do U.S. states have their own culture or identity? Yes Are they extremely significant as most in the thread claims? No As someone who has lived in the Texas for ten years, New York for four, I would say the culture is different but not at all as significant as most claim. Yes, people identify themselves as New Yorkers, or Texans, but there's not that much state pride except when it comes to sports really. If one were to ask most people in the US, they would place their culture and identity as an American first rather than their state. However, in China it's almost the direct opposite, as there is almost ubiquitous provincial pride that it borderlines prejudice and discrimination. In fact, if you so much as speak a slightly different accent in China from the one the majority speak in the province, people will treat you differently, usually in the negative way. In fact, one of the first things asked in most conversations between Chinese is what province one's from. In the US, however, this is much less the case.
So you're willing to judge cultural diversity across all 50 states based on having lived in 2?
Right, because obviously I haven't spoken with anyone from states other than those 2 (sarcasm if you can't tell). In all seriousness, I merely mention the two simply because the previous poster said "Try living in one place in the USA, then move to a different place that is considered to be somehow culturally opposite (New York vs Texas for example)," and I happened to have lived in the two in the example, although I have lived in other states for much shorter lengths.
On May 05 2013 05:39 ShatterZer0 wrote:
On May 05 2013 05:28 Gnaix wrote: Do U.S. states have their own culture or identity? Yes Are they extremely significant as most in the thread claims? No As someone who has lived in the Texas for ten years, New York for four, I would say the culture is different but not at all as significant as most claim. Yes, people identify themselves as New Yorkers, or Texans, but there's not that much state pride except when it comes to sports really. If one were to ask most people in the US, they would place their culture and identity as an American first rather than their state. However, in China it's almost the direct opposite, as there is almost ubiquitous provincial pride that it borderlines prejudice and discrimination. In fact, if you so much as speak a slightly different accent in China from the one the majority speak in the province, people will treat you differently, usually in the negative way. In fact, one of the first things asked in most conversations between Chinese is what province one's from. In the US, however, this is much less the case.
In all likelihood you're a white male younger than 30 who speaks General Northern, and almost never talks politics or religion with anyone he meets.
So yeah, to you America is mostly the same everywhere you go. Go ask a native Hawaiian or someone from Tuskegee how similar all of the United States is.
If you even bothered to read my post, you'll notice that I said I've lived for ten years in Texas, so if "General Northern" = "Southern Drawl", then you might be right. Although it's true that I almost never talk politics, I do happen to have discussed religion almost weekly with people of different locations. Also if you bothered to read the post, you'll notice how I can speak with authority of Chinese provincial differences. As "a white male younger than 30" doesn't seem to make much sense unless he happened to major in Chinese Language in college and went to study abroad in China as well. However, this isn't the case, as I was actually born in China and lived in quite a few different provinces there as well. And the different cultural and identity differences between Chinese provinces are much more significant than that of any US state.
It doesn't matter how you dress it up; you are placing an inordinate amount of importance and significance on your own personal experiences, and your willingness to discount the possibility that things just might be different than your experiences have led you to believe speaks to hubris more than any sort of objective standard of cultural variation. The moral of the story is that comparing cultural variations across different nations is so problematic as to render the thing potentially useless outside decades of exhaustive research.
So, you agree with me on the pointlessness of this thread. Sure, it can function as a "post your experience of regional cultural differences between US states" thread, but it seems like it would frequently be derailed by people wanting to compare these differences to one in different countries (especially european countries since this thread was started by a brit).
On May 05 2013 05:28 Gnaix wrote: Do U.S. states have their own culture or identity? Yes Are they extremely significant as most in the thread claims? No As someone who has lived in the Texas for ten years, New York for four, I would say the culture is different but not at all as significant as most claim. Yes, people identify themselves as New Yorkers, or Texans, but there's not that much state pride except when it comes to sports really. If one were to ask most people in the US, they would place their culture and identity as an American first rather than their state. However, in China it's almost the direct opposite, as there is almost ubiquitous provincial pride that it borderlines prejudice and discrimination. In fact, if you so much as speak a slightly different accent in China from the one the majority speak in the province, people will treat you differently, usually in the negative way. In fact, one of the first things asked in most conversations between Chinese is what province one's from. In the US, however, this is much less the case.
So you're willing to judge cultural diversity across all 50 states based on having lived in 2?
Right, because obviously I haven't spoken with anyone from states other than those 2 (sarcasm if you can't tell). In all seriousness, I merely mention the two simply because the previous poster said "Try living in one place in the USA, then move to a different place that is considered to be somehow culturally opposite (New York vs Texas for example)," and I happened to have lived in the two in the example, although I have lived in other states for much shorter lengths.
On May 05 2013 05:39 ShatterZer0 wrote:
On May 05 2013 05:28 Gnaix wrote: Do U.S. states have their own culture or identity? Yes Are they extremely significant as most in the thread claims? No As someone who has lived in the Texas for ten years, New York for four, I would say the culture is different but not at all as significant as most claim. Yes, people identify themselves as New Yorkers, or Texans, but there's not that much state pride except when it comes to sports really. If one were to ask most people in the US, they would place their culture and identity as an American first rather than their state. However, in China it's almost the direct opposite, as there is almost ubiquitous provincial pride that it borderlines prejudice and discrimination. In fact, if you so much as speak a slightly different accent in China from the one the majority speak in the province, people will treat you differently, usually in the negative way. In fact, one of the first things asked in most conversations between Chinese is what province one's from. In the US, however, this is much less the case.
In all likelihood you're a white male younger than 30 who speaks General Northern, and almost never talks politics or religion with anyone he meets.
So yeah, to you America is mostly the same everywhere you go. Go ask a native Hawaiian or someone from Tuskegee how similar all of the United States is.
If you even bothered to read my post, you'll notice that I said I've lived for ten years in Texas, so if "General Northern" = "Southern Drawl", then you might be right. Although it's true that I almost never talk politics, I do happen to have discussed religion almost weekly with people of different locations. Also if you bothered to read the post, you'll notice how I can speak with authority of Chinese provincial differences. As "a white male younger than 30" doesn't seem to make much sense unless he happened to major in Chinese Language in college and went to study abroad in China as well. However, this isn't the case, as I was actually born in China and lived in quite a few different provinces there as well. And the different cultural and identity differences between Chinese provinces are much more significant than that of any US state.
It doesn't matter how you dress it up; you are placing an inordinate amount of importance and significance on your own personal experiences, and your willingness to discount the possibility that things just might be different than your experiences have led you to believe speaks to hubris more than any sort of objective standard of cultural variation. The moral of the story is that comparing cultural variations across different nations is so problematic as to render the thing potentially useless outside decades of exhaustive research.
So, you agree with me on the pointlessness of this thread. Sure, it can function as a "post your experience of regional cultural differences between US states" thread, but it seems like it would frequently be derailed by people wanting to compare these differences to one in different countries (especially european countries since this thread was started by a brit).
I think the OP's premise is flawed, but that does not mean that nothing good can come from a thread about cultural variation across the US, so long as we, in a manner of speaking, avoid stepping in the bullshit.
The Eurozone has in many ways broken down the bonds of singular culture. Similarly in America, globalization has affected us in many ways as well.
Here is an interesting article on Mitt Romney a and culture wars in America. It starts out as your standard liberal rant on greed and whatnot, but near the end, the author really illustrates what was so odd about Mitt - he doesn't represent anything in America! He has no definable Americanism. Interesting article.
On May 05 2013 06:30 TheRabidDeer wrote: Quick question for people: Is it just me, or does it seem like people downplay the regions in which other languages are the primary (and sometimes only) language in the US?
Like the Hispanic areas in some cities, where they only speak spanish. Or some asian/vietnamese/japanese areas in other parts of the nation?
If it was another, smaller, country this would be regarded as a significant cultural difference... but here it is just some offshoot thing that is frequently ignored as if it isnt even American. I mean, there are a LOT of places all around the country where people just retained their heritage from their mother country... yet this isnt considered a different culture.
This is anecdotal but I think its pertinent. Living in Oregon (which is pretty far away from Spanish speaking countries) I often deliver to work places where 80% of the people do not speak anything but very basic English and could not get a job working with anyone but other people who speak Spanish. Its also not uncommon for families to move here from all over the world (Ukraine, Poland, Russia, China, Iran) and not teach their children English until they are about to go into school or are already in school. People will stick with their cultural roots, and find others who share the same background, they will go to church with them, only speak their native language, make friends almost exclusively from the same migrant group.
People comparing Texas and New York should also be aware that those are both "big city" states. Yes they are culturally different but they share similarities in other ways which affect how people learn to interact with other people. Oregon has a few fairly large cities but then the rest of the population is spread out and isolated. But not as isolated as say someone living in North Dakota. Like I said in my earlier post, its really many complicated things being lumped into one discussion. If you were just talking about the cultural differences between New York and Wyoming it would be a lot easier to point out why they are different.
"What would you say is the main source of culture?"
This can't be answered by giving a region. The main source of "our" culture is Star Craft. People exist in many different cultural spheres, if you'd have to point out a single "main source" shared by a majority I'd say it is TV.
Culture is a very, very, VERY complicated concept.
It seems like many americans doesn't understand how extremely segregated the european countries are from eachother. It's extremely uncommon for us to move to another country for studies or employment, especially if you live in western europe, where our own country can offer us pretty much anything we want.
How many americans here have moved to another state for work or for studies? You americans can probably answer that more accurately than me.
How many swedes do you think have moved to another country for studies or for work? And with that I mean full 3+ year studies in another country. Out of the age category of 20-30 I would estimate that only 1% of us have.
Now compare that with the question I asked above. Moving between European countries is a much bigger deal than moving between american states. You have to leave your mother tongue behind. The TV shows are different. You will be introduced to a completely new set of brands and personalities. You can't just turn on CNN anymore. No, depending on what country you live in, the TV might show something called NRK, BBC or RTL, but it will not be up to you to decide which. European culture is extremely segregated on national levels.
Because there's a lot more movement between american states compared to European countries, and more exposure to culture from other states too, I think it's fair to assume that the american states have grown closer to eachother, and this is what us Europeans mean when we say that Europe have a greater cultural depth. What we're saying is that the typical person from state x isn't that different from the typical person from state y, if you compare with ppl from two different european countries. Bavarian Germans are probably more similar to Lower Saxon Germans than Texas Americans are to New York Americans, but if you instead compare Bavarian Germans with the Dutch, I'm not so sure anymore. Maybe they are, maybe they aren't, but if they are, I doubt you could branch out much further than that.
On May 05 2013 05:28 Gnaix wrote: Do U.S. states have their own culture or identity? Yes Are they extremely significant as most in the thread claims? No As someone who has lived in the Texas for ten years, New York for four, I would say the culture is different but not at all as significant as most claim. Yes, people identify themselves as New Yorkers, or Texans, but there's not that much state pride except when it comes to sports really. If one were to ask most people in the US, they would place their culture and identity as an American first rather than their state. However, in China it's almost the direct opposite, as there is almost ubiquitous provincial pride that it borderlines prejudice and discrimination. In fact, if you so much as speak a slightly different accent in China from the one the majority speak in the province, people will treat you differently, usually in the negative way. In fact, one of the first things asked in most conversations between Chinese is what province one's from. In the US, however, this is much less the case.
So you're willing to judge cultural diversity across all 50 states based on having lived in 2?
Right, because obviously I haven't spoken with anyone from states other than those 2 (sarcasm if you can't tell). In all seriousness, I merely mention the two simply because the previous poster said "Try living in one place in the USA, then move to a different place that is considered to be somehow culturally opposite (New York vs Texas for example)," and I happened to have lived in the two in the example, although I have lived in other states for much shorter lengths.
On May 05 2013 05:28 Gnaix wrote: Do U.S. states have their own culture or identity? Yes Are they extremely significant as most in the thread claims? No As someone who has lived in the Texas for ten years, New York for four, I would say the culture is different but not at all as significant as most claim. Yes, people identify themselves as New Yorkers, or Texans, but there's not that much state pride except when it comes to sports really. If one were to ask most people in the US, they would place their culture and identity as an American first rather than their state. However, in China it's almost the direct opposite, as there is almost ubiquitous provincial pride that it borderlines prejudice and discrimination. In fact, if you so much as speak a slightly different accent in China from the one the majority speak in the province, people will treat you differently, usually in the negative way. In fact, one of the first things asked in most conversations between Chinese is what province one's from. In the US, however, this is much less the case.
In all likelihood you're a white male younger than 30 who speaks General Northern, and almost never talks politics or religion with anyone he meets.
So yeah, to you America is mostly the same everywhere you go. Go ask a native Hawaiian or someone from Tuskegee how similar all of the United States is.
If you even bothered to read my post, you'll notice that I said I've lived for ten years in Texas, so if "General Northern" = "Southern Drawl", then you might be right. Although it's true that I almost never talk politics, I do happen to have discussed religion almost weekly with people of different locations. Also if you bothered to read the post, you'll notice how I can speak with authority of Chinese provincial differences. As "a white male younger than 30" doesn't seem to make much sense unless he happened to major in Chinese Language in college and went to study abroad in China as well. However, this isn't the case, as I was actually born in China and lived in quite a few different provinces there as well. And the different cultural and identity differences between Chinese provinces are much more significant than that of any US state.
Ten years in Texas doesn't mean you lived your formative years in Texas. Didn't know you were from China, you never mentioned it. Simply that you made an allusion to China.
Of course China is more culturally diverse than the United States. A third of the people in China really wish they weren't a part China to begin with. How many Uighurs don't feel like 3rd class citizens?
You're ethnically Chinese with a Southern Drawl? O.O Really? That's extremely rare, the cultural dialect, which generally proceeds regional dialect, of East Asians who grew up in America is General Northern. I know, I've lived in LA (city/suburbs), Philly (city/suburbs), NYC, and Texas (Dallas/suburbs) myself, got family who live in each. Never met an East Asian with more than a sarcastic one star accent. You sir, are a beautiful swan of a rarity.
On May 05 2013 10:02 ninini wrote: It seems like many americans doesn't understand how extremely segregated the european countries are from eachother. It's extremely uncommon for us to move to another country for studies or employment, especially if you live in western europe, where our own country can offer us pretty much anything we want.
How many americans here have moved to another state for work or for studies? You americans can probably answer that more accurately than me.
How many swedes do you think have moved to another country for studies or for work? And with that I mean full 3+ year studies in another country. Out of the age category of 20-30 I would estimate that only 1% of us have.
Now compare that with the question I asked above. Moving between European countries is a much bigger deal than moving between american states. You have to leave your mother tongue behind. The TV shows are different. You will be introduced to a completely new set of brands and personalities. You can't just turn on CNN anymore. No, depending on what country you live in, the TV might show something called NRK, BBC or RTL, but it will not be up to you to decide which. European culture is extremely segregated on national levels.
Because there's a lot more movement between american states compared to European countries, and more exposure to culture from other states too, I think it's fair to assume that the american states have grown closer to eachother, and this is what us Europeans mean when we say that Europe have a greater cultural depth. What we're saying is that the typical person from state x isn't that different from the typical person from state y, if you compare with ppl from two different european countries. Bavarian Germans are probably more similar to Lower Saxon Germans than Texas Americans are to New York Americans, but if you instead compare Bavarian Germans with the Dutch, I'm not so sure anymore. Maybe they are, maybe they aren't, but if they are, I doubt you could branch out much further than that.
You are also comparing a continent to a country. You need to compare Spain with Spain, not Spain with France. If you are talking about pure landmass, then sure I can see that. You have thousands of years of history, world wars, nationalism, language barriers with each country having their own national language (unlike the US, which doesnt have a named national language) etc. But that really isnt a legitimate comparison if youre looking at a COUNTRIES culture.
On May 05 2013 03:47 Scootaloo wrote: Ofcourse, one liners and irrelevant critiques of grammar, how very... American of you.
Well, considering that it is oh so easy for you to point at our nationality and both attribute pedantic criticisms to it while in the same breath making cursory judgements as to the depth of our culture, I think it's easy to see that you are nothing more than a hater.
Not a hater at all actually, I enjoy an awful lot of your media, but when we're talking about culture's you'd have to be blind not to see the obvious problems here, for gods sake, many people still care more about their pre american cultures, be it Irish, Italian, African, Mexican or whatever then their American, let alone their states culture.
American has a lot of great things, but original culture is not one of them, if you think that makes me a hater, then clearly you're just talking out of some outdated sense of patriotism, not any kind of historical perspective.
Again, you clearly have no experience with actual Americans nor with the inherent problems in putting too much weight on ones' own anecdotal perspective when it comes to making judgements as expansive as those of an entire nation or culture. In fact, the notion of an "original culture" is something straight out of a fascist ideology; in order for one to even begin the process of judging such a thing, they must assign a value to a particular mode and operation of cultural expression with which to compare others. This superimposes a hierarchy of values overtop a phenomena that is distinctly without an objective value, and this amounts to cultural-political violence as one argues for their idea of culture in the face of others which may disagree with it.
It's clear you have no respect for American culture, but I'm afraid that such a judgement is more entrenched in discomfort and disregard rather than anything truly objective.
Actually, living in a very popular tourist destination for Americans and knowing quite a few, clearly you're talking out of your ass due of frustration. And if you're thinking this is all based on anecdotal evidence, clearly you've been too much caught up in thinking of fancy words to actually read my posts.
Clearly you're a cultural romantisist if you believe you should not assign values to cultural expressions, should we not assign a value to cultural practice of female or even male circumcision (which the states practice not for hygene purposes, but as a measure to counteract mastrubation)? How about the cultural tradition of hunting endangered species like whales? Or how about the american cultural ideas about physical beauty? That leads to anorexia, cosmetic surgery and steroids? The fact that something is a culture does not mean it deserves any praise or protection from scrutiny.
You're right, I don't respect American culture, not do I respect any other culture simply for the merit of it being one, American culture has done a couple good things once they started to ignore their own isolationism, but these days their slave liberating days are over and they are more inclined to enslave via the wonderful systems of debt and military threat.
Even better that you willingly admit that you are judging the bulk of American culture based on having interacted with a few tourists. Anti-American sentiment is an incredibly popular and easily accessible idea abroad, and you are laying bare the fundamentally flawed backbone to such an idea through your repeated refusal to admit that getting a sense for the culture of over 300 million people, spread across one of the largest nations by land mass in the world, is actually an incredibly difficult thing. Your willingness to ascribe potentially negative cultural phenomena to the US and the US alone tells the tale. Whale hunting, the fashion world's distortion of popular beauty, and the controversy surrounding circumcision are all topics with multivarious influences and beginnings, and this is clear to anyone who isn't a card carrying anti-American.
On May 05 2013 05:56 Sbrubbles wrote: Seems like a pointless discussion to me. No one here seems to be offering a metric to define "how different the culture is" between someone in texas and new york and how this "difference" compares to the one between Paris and Berlin. Everyone's just throwing out anectodal evidence and getting butthurt at those who disagree (well, mostly americans getting butthurt, but that isn't unexpected given the nature of the thread).
So, if I start a thread about how the culture of Brazil breeds pathetically weak men, horrible discrepancies in wealth equality, and is responsible for the bulk of South America's problems, are you going to just sit there and take it? I'm genuinely curious.
The reason I brought up American tourists and friends at all was because you where blindly stating I never talked to an American, which was, well, just a blind statement. I find it cute how you try to turn me into some stereotype America hater, I really don't, they're our trembling giant superpower, they serve their purpose and create things of value just as any other country does. Culturally though, they are incredibly poor, this is not because I hate America, but for the very simple reason that you need time for that, I already gave some examples, many European countries have parts that don't even speak the native tongue of the country, let alone English, their traditions are completely different, from work schedules to clothing to their artforms, and although the Chinese government has tried to homogenize everything, the same can be said for them.
And you must have been confused if you thought I was saying that those problems where only American, I used whale fishing and female circumcisions specifically as an example to show that it's not just American culture that's rotten, most cultures have their extremely ugly sides, which is why we shouldn't coddle and protect them like you seem to be trying to do.
Oh in your second reply you seem to equate this to someone being incredibly discriminatory against South Americans, which really doesn't fly, just saying your culture is young and underdeveloped, for a country that is barely 300 years old, a mere blip compared to the history of China for instance, when that is a completely accurate statement is not discriminatory, it's just a simple statement of fact, that you're unable to see this just shows you have a serious lack of knowledge about history outside of your own country or don't understand how humans create culture.
On May 03 2013 14:39 micronesia wrote: I definitely think there are major variations in culture around the USA, but I don't think state lines are a good way to differentiate them.
I think many Europeans don't realize how different it is living in some states versus others. The size and diversity of the US is difficult to understand if you haven't experienced it yourself (there are not many comparable nations in this regard).
Probably only Brazil Russia and China in terms of being such a complete package
On May 03 2013 22:48 TheFish7 wrote: I have a perfect example. I work at a big corporation that has employees all over the country and I'm based out of Connecticut. The other day we had a conference call with some of our employees in West Virginia. One of the Virginians greeted my boss with a "Howdy, Ma'am!". This was a big mistake because my boss was very offended at being called "Ma'am". In West Virginia, this is a sign of respect but in Connecticut calling someone Ma'am is considered condescending, or implying that she is an old lady. .
On May 05 2013 05:28 Gnaix wrote: Do U.S. states have their own culture or identity? Yes Are they extremely significant as most in the thread claims? No As someone who has lived in the Texas for ten years, New York for four, I would say the culture is different but not at all as significant as most claim. Yes, people identify themselves as New Yorkers, or Texans, but there's not that much state pride except when it comes to sports really. If one were to ask most people in the US, they would place their culture and identity as an American first rather than their state. However, in China it's almost the direct opposite, as there is almost ubiquitous provincial pride that it borderlines prejudice and discrimination. In fact, if you so much as speak a slightly different accent in China from the one the majority speak in the province, people will treat you differently, usually in the negative way. In fact, one of the first things asked in most conversations between Chinese is what province one's from. In the US, however, this is much less the case.
So you're willing to judge cultural diversity across all 50 states based on having lived in 2?
Right, because obviously I haven't spoken with anyone from states other than those 2 (sarcasm if you can't tell). In all seriousness, I merely mention the two simply because the previous poster said "Try living in one place in the USA, then move to a different place that is considered to be somehow culturally opposite (New York vs Texas for example)," and I happened to have lived in the two in the example, although I have lived in other states for much shorter lengths.
On May 05 2013 05:39 ShatterZer0 wrote:
On May 05 2013 05:28 Gnaix wrote: Do U.S. states have their own culture or identity? Yes Are they extremely significant as most in the thread claims? No As someone who has lived in the Texas for ten years, New York for four, I would say the culture is different but not at all as significant as most claim. Yes, people identify themselves as New Yorkers, or Texans, but there's not that much state pride except when it comes to sports really. If one were to ask most people in the US, they would place their culture and identity as an American first rather than their state. However, in China it's almost the direct opposite, as there is almost ubiquitous provincial pride that it borderlines prejudice and discrimination. In fact, if you so much as speak a slightly different accent in China from the one the majority speak in the province, people will treat you differently, usually in the negative way. In fact, one of the first things asked in most conversations between Chinese is what province one's from. In the US, however, this is much less the case.
In all likelihood you're a white male younger than 30 who speaks General Northern, and almost never talks politics or religion with anyone he meets.
So yeah, to you America is mostly the same everywhere you go. Go ask a native Hawaiian or someone from Tuskegee how similar all of the United States is.
If you even bothered to read my post, you'll notice that I said I've lived for ten years in Texas, so if "General Northern" = "Southern Drawl", then you might be right. Although it's true that I almost never talk politics, I do happen to have discussed religion almost weekly with people of different locations. Also if you bothered to read the post, you'll notice how I can speak with authority of Chinese provincial differences. As "a white male younger than 30" doesn't seem to make much sense unless he happened to major in Chinese Language in college and went to study abroad in China as well. However, this isn't the case, as I was actually born in China and lived in quite a few different provinces there as well. And the different cultural and identity differences between Chinese provinces are much more significant than that of any US state.
It doesn't matter how you dress it up; you are placing an inordinate amount of importance and significance on your own personal experiences, and your willingness to discount the possibility that things just might be different than your experiences have led you to believe speaks to hubris more than any sort of objective standard of cultural variation. The moral of the story is that comparing cultural variations across different nations is so problematic as to render the thing potentially useless outside decades of exhaustive research.
Well you can insist it all you like, but there is certainly more cultural difference between an Amazonian native and a Wall Street banker than there is between a resident of Los Angeles and a resident of New York. Believe it or not, you don't need to wave a flag of objectivity to make this comparison. In fact - that's the point. The degree of cultural variation within a country is going to be a matter of degree.
So obviously it's going to be the case that there is 'cultural variation' within the US. Any collection of people are going to have 'cultural variation' - much like the cliques of a school, or the alliances within a workplace/politics. But, again to answer the OP's original concern, is it as distinguished as within Europe (I think the UK is the specific country being mentioned)? No its not.
On May 05 2013 05:28 Gnaix wrote: Do U.S. states have their own culture or identity? Yes Are they extremely significant as most in the thread claims? No As someone who has lived in the Texas for ten years, New York for four, I would say the culture is different but not at all as significant as most claim. Yes, people identify themselves as New Yorkers, or Texans, but there's not that much state pride except when it comes to sports really. If one were to ask most people in the US, they would place their culture and identity as an American first rather than their state. However, in China it's almost the direct opposite, as there is almost ubiquitous provincial pride that it borderlines prejudice and discrimination. In fact, if you so much as speak a slightly different accent in China from the one the majority speak in the province, people will treat you differently, usually in the negative way. In fact, one of the first things asked in most conversations between Chinese is what province one's from. In the US, however, this is much less the case.
So you're willing to judge cultural diversity across all 50 states based on having lived in 2?
Right, because obviously I haven't spoken with anyone from states other than those 2 (sarcasm if you can't tell). In all seriousness, I merely mention the two simply because the previous poster said "Try living in one place in the USA, then move to a different place that is considered to be somehow culturally opposite (New York vs Texas for example)," and I happened to have lived in the two in the example, although I have lived in other states for much shorter lengths.
On May 05 2013 05:39 ShatterZer0 wrote:
On May 05 2013 05:28 Gnaix wrote: Do U.S. states have their own culture or identity? Yes Are they extremely significant as most in the thread claims? No As someone who has lived in the Texas for ten years, New York for four, I would say the culture is different but not at all as significant as most claim. Yes, people identify themselves as New Yorkers, or Texans, but there's not that much state pride except when it comes to sports really. If one were to ask most people in the US, they would place their culture and identity as an American first rather than their state. However, in China it's almost the direct opposite, as there is almost ubiquitous provincial pride that it borderlines prejudice and discrimination. In fact, if you so much as speak a slightly different accent in China from the one the majority speak in the province, people will treat you differently, usually in the negative way. In fact, one of the first things asked in most conversations between Chinese is what province one's from. In the US, however, this is much less the case.
In all likelihood you're a white male younger than 30 who speaks General Northern, and almost never talks politics or religion with anyone he meets.
So yeah, to you America is mostly the same everywhere you go. Go ask a native Hawaiian or someone from Tuskegee how similar all of the United States is.
If you even bothered to read my post, you'll notice that I said I've lived for ten years in Texas, so if "General Northern" = "Southern Drawl", then you might be right. Although it's true that I almost never talk politics, I do happen to have discussed religion almost weekly with people of different locations. Also if you bothered to read the post, you'll notice how I can speak with authority of Chinese provincial differences. As "a white male younger than 30" doesn't seem to make much sense unless he happened to major in Chinese Language in college and went to study abroad in China as well. However, this isn't the case, as I was actually born in China and lived in quite a few different provinces there as well. And the different cultural and identity differences between Chinese provinces are much more significant than that of any US state.
It doesn't matter how you dress it up; you are placing an inordinate amount of importance and significance on your own personal experiences, and your willingness to discount the possibility that things just might be different than your experiences have led you to believe speaks to hubris more than any sort of objective standard of cultural variation. The moral of the story is that comparing cultural variations across different nations is so problematic as to render the thing potentially useless outside decades of exhaustive research.
So obviously it's going to be the case that there is 'cultural variation' within the US. Any collection of people are going to have 'cultural variation' - much like the cliques of a school, or the alliances within a workplace/politics. But, again to answer the OP's original concern, is it as distinguished as within Europe (I think the UK is the specific country being mentioned)? No its not.
What's confused me this whole thread is the OP just seemed to ask if there is enough cultural differences between the states to refute someone's concept that they are "entirely homogeneous", not how US cultural difference compares to any other nation, let alone a continent.
One thing I wonder about, how diverse are European Universities? Pretty much any decent size university in the US is just filled with people from all around the world so you can get quite the varying cultural experience. Is it the same pretty much in Europe?
As a european, I have always viewed the different states as small "different countries" with their own laws and traditions. I have no doubt that each state have their own culture, though it will share similarieties with neighboring states.
But so can be said about many european countries. Germany and the scandianvian countries share alot of culture. Hard to tell the difference unless you are born there.
EPT
