I'll take a shot at this.

[YOhio]

I'm not afraid of the cops, not increasingly afraid of being shot by concealed carriers...

Ooooh. Il Pad, did you hear that? Colly Wolly?

... not afraid I'll be pick-pocketed every time someone bumps into me in a crowd, etc.

You're not going to like China much.

[Pheidippides]

Perhaps our experiences are different (you in Saudi Arabia, me in Japan), but I genuinely feel more free here than I did in the US. I'm not afraid of the cops, not increasingly afraid of being shot by concealed carriers, not afraid I'll be pick-pocketed every time someone bumps into me in a crowd, etc.

If anything, my time here so far has made me more and more grateful to NOT be in the U.S. I'm going through a phase, I guess, where I don't want anything to do with my countrymen. I definitely miss the creature comforts, though, that's the truth!

I know what you mean, and I feel it every time I go over there. In fact, I make it a point to stay away from Roppongi, Hiroo, etc., to avoid all the gaikokujin (gaijin, as you may or may not know, is actually at least mildly pejorative and I consider it to be a slur). I try to blend in as much as a 6'1" white guy can blend in while in Japan.

[pellegrino]

I miss Raleigh deeply. The pines, the oaks, the Lily's Pizza. I miss my life there. I also love it here, though. It's an interesting feeling to love two places at once.

But at the same time, I don't miss middle American rednecks, gun-toting yokels, Palin lovers, and all of the other things that suck about America.

You'll cry like a baby when you get off the plane at RDU and smell the pines. I do every time.

[ByuMba90]

I golfed with Tim on a couple occasions in the CB tourney....

Not on this computer. LOL, thinking of the things I wore to the CB golf tourneys... good times!

He wore those memorable outfits so people would not pay attention to his forgettable golf game!!!!

[PaloAltoCougar]

I think it was before that. It was at a tailgate, maybe? Or was it...... that one time in the men's room (oh, hell, that sounds terrible... but the conversation did indeed take place inside -- or just outside of -- a men's room at LES).

71's wide stance has ensnared many of us who simply thought we were going to take a leak.

And your observation about the superiority of other countries relative to the U.S. is accurate in certain respects. That's what's great about travel; an objective mind can always find certain things, sometimes a lot of things, that are better than at home. But, as you also note, you're going through a phase. Given that you are U.S. born and bred, you'll return eventually and find that ultimately, there's no place quite like USA, for better and worse, but more often than not for the better.

[cowboy]

I'm not afraid of the cops, not increasingly afraid of being shot by concealed carriers...

What proportion your fears are based on substantiated data versus anecdotal evidence and internal bias? Your follow-up post raised the question.

I don't miss middle American rednecks, gun-toting yokels, Palin lovers..

Based on historical data, what is the probability of getting shot as an innocent bystander by a concealed carrier versus the probability of getting mugged, hit by a bus, or struck by lightning? What is the probability that you will be wrongfully accused and/or harassed by a cop with absolutely no provocation?

I don't travel outside this country, but I travel all over within the lower 48 and I've interacted a great deal with "middle American rednecks, gun-toting yokels, and Palin lovers." They're good people, and I'm always struck by the fact that they're good everywhere I go. From Florida to Vermont, North Carolina to California, I have stories about good people I've met in every state I've visited.

Honestly, I've never been afraid of anybody, anywhere (except that one time in Boston when I was looking for the Enterprise drop-off at 10:00 pm, and the cops stopped me before I went down an alley and told me I'd get killed if I went any further.) Reading your post made me think we live(d) in two different America's, and I wonder what is different about our experiences that gives us such different perspectives?

[Indy Coug]

What proportion your fears are based on substantiated data versus anecdotal evidence and internal bias? Your follow-up post raised the question.



Based on historical data, what is the probability of getting shot as an innocent bystander by a concealed carrier versus the probability of getting mugged, hit by a bus, or struck by lightning? What is the probability that you will be wrongfully accused and/or harassed by a cop with absolutely no provocation?

I don't travel outside this country, but I travel all over within the lower 48 and I've interacted a great deal with "middle American rednecks, gun-toting yokels, and Palin lovers." They're good people, and I'm always struck by the fact that they're good everywhere I go. From Florida to Vermont, North Carolina to California, I have stories about good people I've met in every state I've visited.

Honestly, I've never been afraid of anybody, anywhere (except that one time in Boston when I was looking for the Enterprise drop-off at 10:00 pm, and the cops stopped me before I went down an alley and told me I'd get killed if I went any further.) Reading your post made me think we live(d) in two different America's, and I wonder what is different about our experiences that gives us such different perspectives?

Maybe Tim's spent more time in Allentown than he's admitted to.

[JohnnyLingo]

As a bleeding heart liberal, Tim is a graduate of "Why I Dislike America 101" and "Middle America is Stupid 302."

[cowboy]

As a bleeding heart liberal, Tim is a graduate of "Why I Dislike America 101" and "Middle America is Stupid 302."

I don't think shots like this lend to the discussion. Reality is subjective and I was trying to understand what experiences and data have shaped Tim's perceptions, because they are very different from mine. If I want unwarranted name calling I'll turn on Rush or Hannity.

[JohnnyLingo]

I don't think shots like this lend to the discussion. Reality is subjective and I was trying to understand what experiences and data have shaped Tim's perceptions, because they are very different from mine. If I want unwarranted name calling I'll turn on Rush or Hannity.

Just responding in kind.

I don't miss middle American rednecks, gun-toting yokels, Palin lovers..

[TripletDaddy]

What proportion your fears are based on substantiated data versus anecdotal evidence and internal bias? Your follow-up post raised the question.



Based on historical data, what is the probability of getting shot as an innocent bystander by a concealed carrier versus the probability of getting mugged, hit by a bus, or struck by lightning? What is the probability that you will be wrongfully accused and/or harassed by a cop with absolutely no provocation?

I don't travel outside this country, but I travel all over within the lower 48 and I've interacted a great deal with "middle American rednecks, gun-toting yokels, and Palin lovers." They're good people, and I'm always struck by the fact that they're good everywhere I go. From Florida to Vermont, North Carolina to California, I have stories about good people I've met in every state I've visited.

Honestly, I've never been afraid of anybody, anywhere (except that one time in Boston when I was looking for the Enterprise drop-off at 10:00 pm, and the cops stopped me before I went down an alley and told me I'd get killed if I went any further.) Reading your post made me think we live(d) in two different America's, and I wonder what is different about our experiences that gives us such different perspectives?

I am definitely of the opinion that there are 2 different Americas....various factors will shape your concerns...where you were raised, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, etc.

However, I agree with you that there is good across all demographics. Politics has nothing to do with it, at least not in my experience.

[Tim]

As a bleeding heart liberal, Tim is a graduate of "Why I Dislike America 101" and "Middle America is Stupid 302."

You don't know anything about me, so just duck out of this thread and move on, please.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Just responding in kind.

Let me break this down for you, friend. There is a big difference between saying:

"I don't like drivers who fail to yield."

and

"Johnny Lingo is an asshole."

[JohnnyLingo]

You don't know anything about me, so just duck out of this thread and move on, please.

Aw, so byu71 gets to call you a bleeding heart liberal and I don't?

Let me break this down for you, friend. There is a big difference between saying:

"I don't like drivers who fail to yield."

and

"Johnny Lingo is an asshole."

Indeed there is. Is "bleeding heart liberal" a major insult like "asshole" is?

Anymore so than "redneck" or "gun-toting yokel" or "Palin lover"?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Aw, so byu71 gets to call you a bleeding heart liberal and I don't?



Indeed there is. Is "bleeding heart liberal" a major insult like "asshole" is?

Anymore so than "redneck" or "gun-toting yokel" or "Palin lover"?

Come on. byu71 was clearly using the term in an affectionate way.

You should just bow out now before you dig yourself any deeper.