One powerfully positive thing about this country.

[cali]

We are by far and away the most diverse country on earth, and our history of diversity has meant that we haven't had the same problems as Europe has.

Yes, there's an ongoing and often xenophobic debate about immigration,and that's not exactly new, but the numbers don't lie.

It's a unique and important reality. No other country even comes close to containing the diversity of the U.S.

[Hydra]

1. Did you forget to mention about subduing that diversity?

We've gotten good at that- likely due to all the practice we've had.

[sufrommich]

4. Why bother getting out of bed in the morning.

Not all is bleakness. We are diverse.It is an historical phenomenon.It works more than not and will improve. It's worth celebrating even in it's imperfect state. Thanks,Cali , for giving it a shot.

[Hydra]

5. Enjoy the rose colored glasses

I actually pound the pavement and work on race relations, children's rights and educate people. It's a mess down here, but I'm happy to do it.

I'm not happy to have people paint the problems over with pretty pink paint, however.

[cali]

6. Facts aren't pretty paint of any shade.

And they don't deny very real problems. But my OP is absolutely fact based. Of course you're free to pretend it's something it isn't, but that's hardly my problem.

[Hydra]

7. Sure Ms. Not Guilty

practice what you preach, right?

[cali]

8. yeah, that made a ton of sense.

or not.

[The Straight Story]

14. So....You're an American and you are doing something 'positive'

Well, you are not doing enough damnit - Don't make me toss out the good work you do and only talk about the bad.... ;)

[Hydra]

17. You'd be right to criticize

there is so little I can do, and so much to be done...but I do it, and have some small victories...until Bush and Congress bulldoze them.

Imagine what could be done with the power they so casually use to destroy people.

[The Straight Story]

11. I think you missed something in the OP's post

It was not about what is wrong with America, you can hear that all day every day here on DU - it was about something positive, even if it is not 100% working correctly it is a positive force in this country (our diversity).

We have people here from pretty much every country on the planet, people who have brought with them their ideals, traditions, beliefs, dreams, foods, etc.

If you see some things wrong in our diversity and how it is integrated, feel free to start a thread to rant about it.

If we only look at the negative we never see the positive, or in cases like this - when people see the positive they want to jump right in and say 'no way, there can be good because something is bad' and some folks never stop to celebrate the good (and just because you celebrate the good does not mean you are blind to the bad).

[cali]

12. thank you for that. n/t

[Hydra]

15. Yes, it was a cheer thread

which bothers me as an advocate of the diverse. There isn't a great deal of support for real diversity- most of it is prefaced with "does your tradition/custom/food offend me?" if it does, it's considered "unamerican," and if it doesn't offend or obstruct the prevailing culture, it is allowed in.

So much has been lost because of this type of thinking, which is why I don't see us as a nation that is inclusive.

[cali]

16. LOL

*gasp* a thread that says something positive. And guess what? I posted another one you seem to have missed about Kansas denying a power company the ability to build a coal burning plant.

Truly awful.

And while we may not be completely inclusive, my OP still stands.

[Marrah_G]

2. Didn't take long for someone to toss that out

Good things aren't allowed Cali, or did you not get the memo? Unless it is PERFECT, then it is not worth mentioning at all.

[cali]

3. Oh, I know that Marrah. For some here at DU

the cardinal rule is that there is no other side but the dark side. And I'm not even remotely surprised that the first post on this thread was a whinge.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

13. I agree.

All the minorities in this country are something to be proud of, and people who point out that they're a permanent underclass and continually disenfranchised and under-represented by the government are a bunch of downers.

[cali]

18. god you are so predictable

with your perfected inanities. It's scarcely worth pointing out to you that your attitude is disgustingly condescending to minorities. Either that or you actually believe that minorities haven't made progress over the past few decades. Yes, there are problems aplenty, and they're easy to find, but that doesn't detract from the facts.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

21. "your attitude is disgustingly condescending to minorities."

Pointing out abuses towards minorities is condescending?

I don't think it is, but please feel free to tell me how?

There was another thread the other day where I was explaining to a guy how racism is to blame for all the problems minorities face, and he was telling me no, minorities have their won responsibility for their own problems. And that I, by blaming racism, was being condescending.

So are you making that same sort of argument?

[cali]

30. you said:

All minorities are a permanent underclass and continually disenfranchised. If you can't get what's wrong with that statement, you're not looking hard enough. Yes, there's disenfranchisement and we have a long way to go to achieve true equality, but all minorities are not a permanent underclass, and every group of minorities has made amazing strides and amazing contributions in just about every field imaginable. To not recognize that, stinks.

So no, I'm not saying the same thing as the other poster. Good try though.

[The2ndWheel]

9. That depends on your definition of diversity

Is it diversity when black and white, male and female are all able to work in the same office? Is it diversity when everyone needs to work in your personal choice of the same office?

What's more diverse, 50 completely independent states, or the United States of America?

Is an all A neighborhood, and an all B neighborhood living side by side in different ways, but not interacting too much more diverse, or would one neighborhood incorporating both A and B living the same way be more diverse?

You bring up a point that I ask myself a lot in this world of ours. What is diversity?

Although, we did have that civil war a few years ago in this country. Then there was the Manifest Destiny thing. We just haven't had the modern problems Europe has had. Expanding centers of power have to rid their path of diversity. We ran out of space to expand(until those world wars).

[pampango]

10. That's a fact!

:grouphug: :thumbsup:

[Horse with no Name]

19. I wonder why Ireland is fast becoming one of the most desirable places to live?

It's nice to say nice things, but we are also a country that is illegally occupying another country and oppressing it's citizens.
Just because you say something doesn't mean it is true. While you would like to believe YOU are one of the few here that actually love your country, you would be absolutely wrong in your ASSumption.
Most of us love our country WHICH is why we can see the need to kick the corporations AND their candidates out of power and restore the balance of power to include the citizens.
Parents love their children when they are good and when they are bad, however, if they don't influence the good behavior and redirect the bad behavior, then it turns out badly for everyone. Same goes for this country.

[cali]

22. oh for fucks sake.

what a bunch of absurd statements. Where to start? Let's start with your out-of-your-whatever, claim that I believe I'm one of the few here who actually love their country. Not only have I never said that, I don't particularly love my country. I've never been patriotic. I love the hell out of my State, but I'm not that big on my country.

And of course the rest of your post is, to put it politely, baloney.
I've written plenty about the terrible occupation. I'm all for exerting control ove the corporations, etc, etc. Believe it or not, those were outside of the scope of this post.

Why don't YOU take your head out of yor ASSumptions?

[Horse with no Name]

24. Well since you went behind the curtain

Your post is full of shit.
We oppress people. We have ALWAYS oppressed people. We are NOT diverse and just because YOU say it doesn't make it so.
Gay people are oppressed. Poor people are oppressed. Non-Christians are oppressed. Just about every non-white culture in this country is oppressed.
But go ahead, post your "feels good to be me" bullshit, just be careful not to remove your rose colored glasses in the process.

[cali]

25. no shit sherlock

get this through your impressive skull: people with power oppress people without. Nations with power oppress those without. It's called human nature, genius. And yeah, since the U.S. wields a lot of power it oppresses. And China wields a lot of power and it oppresses. Talk to the people of Tibet for more info on that.

And far as we have to go, if you think that gay people are oppressed here, take a look at many, many other places in the world that are leagues worse.

I don't have on rose colored glasses. It's just that I don't sport the shit smeared ones perched on your nose.

[Horse with no Name]

27. Oh so you justify oppression because others do it worse

I'll hand you back your shit stained glasses now. You need them far worse than I do.

[cali]

28. truly pathetic

in a totally fucked up and dishonest way.

[Horse with no Name]

29. Touche'.

But I've come to expect it from you.

[Megahurtz]

32. Rofl!

:rofl:

[depakid]

20. Ironic, isn't it?

Diverse yet collectively ethnocentric and profoundly ignorant of what goes on beyond our borders (or within them for that matter).

[cali]

23. yep. you have a point

we are still ethnocentric- though that's been changing, and we are, collectively, profoundly ignorant of the world at large. Partly, of course, due to our size, both geographically and population wise.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

26. I agree and I love it!!!

I love being exposed to so many different people. That exposure is the richest part of my life.

[BooScout]

31. Ummmmmmm........

have you ever been to Europe? Last time I personally checked (and that was today btw)....it was pretty diverse and rocking along quite nicely tyvm.

And I guess US diversity history has selectively forgotten Slavery and the Civil War, the Klu Klux Klan , various church and synagoue bombings, Chinese workers working in slavery, internment of Japenese Americans, abuse and explotation of Mexican workers since the 1800s, the slums of NY, Chicago and Boston, etc that European immigrants wallowed in?

Rose colored glasses get cheaper and cheaper every year.:eyes: .......pardon me while I gag that the US is the bestest at everything including being the most diverse and trouble free.:eyes:

[cali]

33. Many times. I have a mother who lives in London.

And of course that is a diverse city, though not as diverse as NY. And in case you haven't noticed, England, France and other countries inclucing the scandanavian countries and Switzerland are having deep problems and attendant violence because of immigration.

And the past is important but it's not the only thing.

Something sad about all of you who are wearing shit smeared glasses.

[BooScout]

34. Attendant Violence?

What is that? Sweetie I live here. Our racial violence is no different than the US.....if anything it's a lot less......and the so called problems you are spouting off about are more politcally motivated than racially motivated. Primarily by politicians & Chief Constables wanting more £££'s for their respective constituencies.

*handing you a tissue and some deep shit waders to get you out of the caca from digging a deep dodo hole*:eyes:

[cali]

35. So I dreamed all

this:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/29/AR2005112900295.html

http://www.brookings.edu/articles/2005/1201france_laurence.aspx

http://www.brookings.edu/articles/2005/1201france_laurence.aspx

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/27/wfra127.xml

Yes, the U.S. has a long way to go, but despite the fact that you live in Europe, you seem invested in denial when you say "if anything, it's a lot less" and try and justify problems by saying they're only perceived and made up by politicians.

So, keep the waders, babycakes honeypoo, you need them.

[BooScout]

38. 2005?

You had to go back two years to find racial problems in France in 3 of your sources and the last source is one problem with illegal immigration at one port?

Perhaps I am in a little better position to judge what Europe's so called problems are since I live here and see on a day to day basis that the problems are not what you are making them out to be. And perhaps since I am an American who has also lived in the States and frequently travels between the two countries I am in a better position than you of telling you that America is no better at handling diversity than many other areas of the world?

I don't dismiss either of the issues you have brought up (diversity and immigration)......but I do know that it's not a pissing contest to see who's the best at handling the issues. Why the hell must Americans always get into a pissing contest with always thinking that they handle somthing or another better than the rest of the world? It gets so fucking tiring.....and invariably.......as in the case with your OP it's just not substantiated by the facts?

I don't need the hip waders sweeticums.....I learned long ago how to separate the truth from the caca.

[cali]

39. Can you spell hypocrite?

I knew that you could, cookie.

YOU bring up slavery, the KKK, the internment of the Japanese Americans in WWII, and exploitation of workers back to the 1800s in your post and have the all out gumption to chide me for going back two years?

Unfuckingbelievable. And pretty lame, lambkins.

[BooScout]

40. Your OP mentioned 'history of diversity in the US'

I responded to that by pointing out that the history of diversity in the US was not as rosy as you pointed it out to be and reminded you of some of the uglier examples of how the US has handled Diversity.

Further down in the post we move on to so called current diversity issues in Europe and you come up with 3 sources about an incident(s) 2 years ago.....in one European country. And a single recent artical about illegal immigration again to prove your non-point.

Must you always get a bug up your butt and start slinging shit when people don't agree with your view on life? If you act like this IRL I would think you don't like to surround your self with diverse opinions at all..........just your own opinions and anyone who dares to disagree with you is wrong.

[The Inquisitive]

36. Also, we have no Goliath Bird Eating Spiders, that's a major plus!

nt

[renie408]

37. That was funny. n/t