Guest guest Posted February 21, 2001 Report Share Posted February 21, 2001 i am admittedly sensitive to general assumptions about "americans,asians,germans,italians," or any nationality or group based on generalization or political understanding. <br><br>since i am "american" (whatever that means?) i am particularly disturbed when anyone's image of "american" is applied to me...as much as any german might be when some worn out "american" idea of "german" is applied to them.<br><br>in my experience, too often the european understanding of the united states is what it is, based on the media, on the perceived actions of the u.s. government, and a less than experiential understanding...none of that prepares anyone to know me as a person. <br><br>but...when travelling in europe, which i do often, i am often an ignorant rich arrogant ugly american racist industrialist murdering pig...i have been swindled (because everyone knows americans have money to spare), yelled at, threatened, spit at, even had a loaded gun pointed at me once in milan during a communist rally...so, yeah, i am often sensitive...to being judged by what the world imagines about my country and its stretched application to me.<br><br>on the other hand some of my closest friends, the ones with whom i have the most in common, are my "european friends" who i visit as often as i can. thank goodness for common language and experience like yoga.<br><br>ciao. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.