Brian Dauth:
> Another Wojtek Leap (WL). How you get from me not having a problem
with
> music emanating from cars (drivers enjoying their groove) to presuming
that
> I would have no problem with school prayer and religious symbols in
> courtrooms (the imposition of religious imperialism) is beyond me. I
see no
> logical connection except you trying to bait/smear me.
I guess we come from two different planets. As you probably noted, I am not a native-born US-er, and I also happened to travel around a bit. My very negative view of most things US come from that life experience.
Take for example interaction with other people in public places. When you go to places like Nairobi or Istanbul you cannot complain about the lack of interaction, which is an euphemism for a barrage of attention directed at you from vendors of various stripes. On when you go to Cape Town or Jo'burg it is not uncommon to be lectured by a taxi driver about the vices of apartheid and basic suckiness of "the North."
I do not particularly enjoy attempts to separate me from my money or being lectured about things of which I have no control - yet these encounters do not annoy me as much as most attention grabbing efforts I run into the US. What makes the difference is that the Turkish or Kenyan vendor or South African cab driver may want something from me, but they interact with me like with another human being. By contrast, most US-ers do not even seem to be entertaining the basic humanity of others around them. They either enjoy themselves, as you correctly pointed out, completely oblivious to the effects their enjoyment has on others, or they treat others as mere instruments in their mission, whatever that mission might be. They do not talk, they broadcast. Most of the times I have an encounter with a stranger in a public place in the US I feel being treated like an object - either ignored altogether or being treated as a mere means to one's end, used and discarded.
That total negation of the humanity of others seem to permeate every aspect of life in the US - blasting rap music is but one tiny aspect of using automobiles as escape or assault vehicles. Some US-ers - those who are "enjoying their groove" as well as those who lock doors and windows when they see dark faces in the street - use their cars to lock themselves in a bubble that separates them from others. Other US-ers - such as those who buy menacingly looking SUVs, drive them aggressively, cut people off, turn on high beams, or take two parking spaces - use their cars as the means of intimidating and denigrating other people.
That form of public interaction in the US is not limited to automobiles. Take the internet. I often browse "have your say" pages that major news agencies (such as Reuters, BBC, or yahoo attach to their news stories. There is a fair amount of strong and controversial opinions expressed there, but the chances are that if such an opinion denigrates or objectifies other people, it is written by a US male.
I also find that US-ers often see the non-US-ers as less than human, a sort of vermin that bound to destroy their way of life. They show open contempt for anything foreign and have no desire or interest in learning about other people. The same can be said about political speeches in the US - most of which are open or thinly veiled attempts to rub some shit into other people's faces. Even the Christian messages of loving thy neighbor and turning the other cheek has bee converted to god hates sinners, fags, secular humanists, communists etc.
It seems that hate, contempt for- and objectification of others in words and actions are the core US-values. Hip hop is a true fruit of these values - neither less no more obnoxious than the rest of what this country produces and spills on others. If am more annoyed with rap, it is only because I cannot switch it off as easily as I do other aspects of the US culture - the televised chatter, the advertisement, the political harangues, religiosity, sports, suburban living and infatuation with the automobile.
Wojtek