Text 21384, 135 rader
Skriven 2006-01-08 08:42:00 av FRANK SCHEIDT (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av CAROL SHENKENBERGER
Ärende: Editor's censorship
===========================
-=> Quoting Carol Shenkenberger to Frank Scheidt <=-

 CS> In Japan, we teach as best as we can to all our troops that we have to
 CS> be  'ambassadors' as that one meeting with one of us, may the the only
 CS> one some  person from another country may have to base an opinion on. 
 CS> In this echo, we  need to keep that in mind as that is all some of the
 CS> people reading us, will  ever know.
 
 FS> Thank you.  I think of myself as a true American, as an American 
 FS> Nationalist ... furthermore with that statement you reveal more 
 FS> of yourself than you might realize.  Let me explain.
 
 FS> Consider our two situations:  You have done a lot of travelling 
 FS> around the world.  Exactly how much, I don't know but obviously 
 FS> you've spent a lot of time outside of the US.  *I*, OTOH, have 
 FS> travelled extensively inside of the US, and have lived in various 
 FS> parts of the country -- on the East Coast, the Gulf Coast, the 
 FS> West Coast and in the Midwest.  I have lived through both the 
 FS> Great Depression and I was there in WWII, as you well-know -- 
 FS> and that was done before you were even *born*!
 
 FS> As you've pointed out I'm probably *twice* as old as you are 
 FS> hence have had *twice* as much life experience.  And experience 

 CS> Frank, that doesnt mean you are 'right' by weight of age.  Notice
 CS> something? No 
 CS> one seems to find me awkward or objectionable.  I discuss ideas and
 CS> like you  mostly do, avoid attacking people (but will discuss the ideas
 CS> they espouse). 

You'll note *I* am never the one to start these confrontations.  
However I also never back off from any.

 CS> I too have lived many places in the US thougfh obviously I cant claim
 CS> 80 years  of it nor am I trying to.
 
 FS> Japanese nationals so I readily admitted you would be expected to 
 FS> know more about the Japanese mentality than *I* would. That's 
 FS> based on your more extensive experience living in Japan.

 CS> As well as more extensive experience overall in just dealing with
 CS> people from  other cultures than you have.  There's a term for a person
 CS> who speaks only one  language.  Mono-lingual.  I'm coining a new one. 
 CS> Mono-cultural.  Most  Americans are mono-cultural and in this, you
 CS> probably are main-stream while i  think perhaps, I am not.
 
That's where you're mistaken.  This is a small town but it's a 
very cosmopolitan community.  People come here to work from all 
over the world as it's the headquarters of what is *now* the 
world's largest chemical company.  I worked as a research chemist 
in the central research labs for three decades and was constantly 
dealing with foreigners.  I doubt *very* much that you've 
encountered more nationalities than *I* have.  And I've worked 
with them not just had casual conversations.

There's one difference in our experiences in that regard though, 
most of the foreigners *I've* dealt with have been 
technically-trained.  You probably dealt with a broader 
cross-section of, say, Japanese.

 FS> Another item:  You tend to be a more conciliatory person than I 
 FS> am -- and there's nothing wrong with that.  It's for that reason 

 CS> Definately, and thats because you can have more fun talking with
 CS> people than  hitting them over the head with a brick.  I dont know
 CS> about you, but I'm here  to have fun chatting with people and learning
 CS> about them if they come from 'far 
 CS> away' and see no reason to fight over our diferences.  I just discuss
 CS> them and  learn how others feel.

 CS> Your general threads are a bit less accepting of other cultural biases
 CS> which is 
 CS> why some folks have stopped talking to you.

That's your opinion, however I think some have stopped because 
they were losing the debate ... it happens ...
 
 FS> that the Europeans here (and I define "Europeans" for this 
 FS> purpose as *anyone* here not an American) tend to deal with you 
 FS> more carefully than they do with me.  Consider, for example, my 

 CS> Thats because I accept their culture as a valid one and after talking
 CS> with some 
 CS> of them over 10 years, they just know that.  Watch, I can pick on Dave
 CS> Drummond 
 CS> and he will pick back and we will both have *fun* because I have a
 CS> clue as to  where his mind is coming from after all this time as well
 CS> as several trips to  Darwin (wish I could another place next time but I
 CS> like Darwin too). 
 CS> (Hey Dave, Durian in your face!  SPLAT!  Gotcha bastard right in the
 CS> eyes! Ohh  boy!  You owe me a beer for that hit!)
 
 FS> Your ideas in this area differ from mine but think about it:  
 FS> The ideas of *both* of us are based largely on *experience* ... I 
 FS> don't ridicule your ideas since I know they'll change with time.

 CS> Sure they will change, but not to the way yours are. I am not
 CS> mono-cultural or  at least, I do not think I am and I am pretty sure no
 CS> one else would say I am.  

 CS> I may be unfamiliar with many cultures, but I adapt well to all the
 CS> ones i have 
 CS> been in.  I make friends wherever I go.

That's a fine attribute.  Actually *I*, too, have a lot of 
friends.  You'd not even *suspect* that, of course, reading how 
many in this echo try to attack me ... heh heh heh ... my 
attitude usually reflects the attitude of the participants in any 
echo.  People here tend to be intolerant.
 
 FS> objectively what I've posted.

 CS> I have.  We are at a stopgap of a sorts in understanding but I hold
 CS> hope for  you yet.  You are NOT senile.  You've had a wide USA living
 CS> pattern and seem to 
 CS> be reaching to learn more outside of it but are stumbling a bit as we
 CS> all do at 
 CS> first.

Ha!  I think diplomacy is in your genes ...

 CS> While it isdoubtful you will ever rreach the point of having a laugh
 CS> with local 
 CS> shop keepers after a live eel escapes from your shopping cart in the
 CS> middle of  an open air market or a sea cucumber fight, you'll do well
 CS> enough if you listen 
 CS> to what the folks are actually saying.

I'm *far* more flexible than you seem to think ...

... "Cover your mouth when you sneeze!" Tom scoffed.

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