Wojtek writes:
> I guess we come from two different planets.
No we come from the same planet. We just experience the same place differently.
> I also happened to travel around a bit.
I will admit that my travelling has been very limited by a lack of funds, so I do not have much experience of foreign cultures.
> 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.
I agree. From my limited perch I find American society to be very deficient in compassion and fellow feeling.
> 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.
Again, I defer to your experience. I do not know how to drive and depend on public transportation. But I have read reports of how driving is also crazy in other places. I wonder if the problem might be the putting of so much power at the disposal of one person for his/her individual use.
> 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 would be interested to know how many of those males are heterosexual. I believe that the male heterosexual identity is constructed to include a "denigration module" meant to keep them on top. I have also experienced that this denigration practice is not limited to US heterosexual males, but can be found among heterosexual males of many different cultures and nationalities.
> 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.
I agree. I often feel that heterosexual, white males in the United States are raised to believe that everyone who is different from them is out to cheat them of their natural born privileges.
> 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.
Here we must disagree. To me hip hp culture is far more diverse and complex than you characterize it.
> 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.
I realize that a person may wish to turn off parts of culture that offends her/him, but I do not believe that there exists a right not to be annoyed/offended. Queers often face this obstacle as they struggle for equal rights. Non-queers constantly evoke the offense that open displays of alternative sexuality give to others. Additionally, non-queers often evoke the damage to children/family that such exposure can cause when they demand insulation.
As I said in an ealier post, the world cannot be made child-proof. While I will fight and agitate for a more compassionate world, I will also be careful not to paint with too broad a brush.
Brian Dauth Queer Buddhist Reister