Area bloke discovers ignorant Americans working at Walmart.

[MindPilot]

I was just talking with a new co-worker, a Brit who was just transfered to our San Diego office. This is his first day on the job.

He told me he went to Walmart yesterday to buy a bottle of wine. (Why walmart? Different story altogether.)

He's a young guy so the checker asked for his ID and he dutifully produced his UK driver's license. I won't try to duplicate his absolutely hysterical re-enactment of the conversation, but suffice it to say even after going two rungs up the management ladder, he still found no one who knows that the United Kingdom is a real place.

My co-worker said. "I could understand if the law didn't allow them to accept the document as a valid ID, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that even after I explained that "UK" stands for United Kingdom, they still did not know what it is."

[monmouth]

1. OR, how about the nimrod who would not believe that Great Britain, England

and the United Kingdom were all the same place! Yikes..

[arcadian]

31. Actually that's not correct.

:graybox: Great Britain includes England, Scotland and Wales. It is an island.
:bluebox: The United Kingdom includes Great Britain and Northern Ireland and all overseas territories, colonies, etc.
:redbox: England is a political entity within all of the above.

[monmouth]

41. My bad, when I think of Great Britain I think of England only. Thanks....n/t

[geardaddy]

167. That's pretty interesting, since

your nickname is the name of a town in Wales.

[monmouth]

188. I was raised in Monmouth County (Freehold) NJ........n/t

[a la izquierda]

193. Woo hoo...me too. Well, not Freehold

but Monmouth County. (Sorry for the off-topic post)

[JackRiddler]

79. If you're going to correct, you have to get it right.

Let me guess: Wikipedia?

Your definition of England is vague at best, though I'd call it plain wrong: What does "political entity" mean? What does "within all of the above" mean?

England is a country on the island of Great Britain, as are Scotland and Wales. It is a nation, a territory, a people. One might view the state based in London as "a political entity within all of the above," but England is a country. (That each of the three countries of Britain has its own national football team provides a testament higher than religious writ.)

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (official title) probably covers the Channel Islands, but otherwise does not to my knowledge include "overseas territories, colonies, etc.," not even the ones where Britain still has sovereignty, like the Falklands. That would be the British Commonwealth, a loose association of all former territories of the British Empire.

Here's the pretty good Apple Computer (OSX) dictionary, QUOTE:

Great Britain is the name for the island that comprises England, Scotland, and Wales. The term came into official use in 1603, when King James I (who was also James VI of Scotland) acceded to the throne of England and Wales. Scotland joined this legislative union in 1707. The United Kingdom includes Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The British Isles include the United Kingdom and surrounding, smaller islands. The all-encompassing adjective British is unlikely to offend anyone from any of these places. Welsh, Scottish, and English should be used only if you are sure of a person’s specific origin.

England was conquered by the Romans in the first century ad, when it was inhabited by Celtic peoples. It was a Roman province until the early 5th century. During the 3rd–7th centuries Germanic-speaking tribes, traditionally known as Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, established a number of independent kingdoms here. England emerged as a distinct political entity in the 9th century before being conquered by William, Duke of Normandy, in 1066.

((WHO WAS - SHUDDER - A FRENCH VIKING!!! DIEU ET MON DROIT!))

[arcadian]

81. The information I posted is correct.

A country IS a political entity as are states, territories, counties, etc. England is ON the island of Great Britain and England is also a PART OF the United Kingdom. And you are wrong about the Commonwealth thing. All overseas territories are considered the United Kingdom.

[JackRiddler]

83. You're welcome.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uk.html#Geo

[arcadian]

86. Yes and on that list,

The overseas territories are included as being a part of the UK.

[JackRiddler]

101. As dependencies.

[Terran]

149. Oh my god.

Could you be any more dense? British "dependencies" are not a part of the UK. Kinda like the US and Guam or Puerto Rico.

[Pacifist Patriot]

115. arcadian is absolutely correct

quibble over the definition of political entity all you like, but the original descriptions stands as valid.

[MillieJo]

131. My passport says United Kingdom of Great Britain and

Northern Ireland....The UK or the United Kingdom is my country on international forms for goods or simply signing up for a forum like this, I am always from the United Kingdom..
On forms inside the UK, I am British which means that I am a citizen of Great Britain which means
England, Scotland or Wales. It is very confusing because we have so many names and that is without the
complication of The Isle Of Man which has an independent government but are still British Passport holders and non EU.
The Channel Islands are also complicated.
We also have the name The British Isles which is the name of the group pf Islands and does include The Isle Of Man and The Channel Islands, Ireland and The Scilly Isles etc.

[uppityperson]

152. To compare to my situation here in WA in USA...

UK of Great Britain would be like US of America?

On forms inside the USA I am "American" or (as I say) "USAnian"
(being uppity since Mexico and Canada are both in North America, not to mention all the countries in central & south america).

England would be like my being from Washington, sort of like USAnian states? Politically we have states laws/rights/etc but also fed ones. And further down have county/burrough laws/regs/politics, and sometimes if large enough city ones.

So when do you say you are from England, or call yourself English?

Thanks.

[Pacifist Patriot]

157. Hmmm....I've had many a go round in a pub about that last question of yours.

It is apparently perfectly acceptable to say you are Scottish or Welsh, but if you are English you say you are British. Even though Scottish and Welsh people are also British. Seriously though. Watch the international news. If someone is a citizen of the United Kingdom and accomplishes something they will be identified as Irish, Scottish, Welsh or British. Not as common to see someone identified as English.

On the other hand, ask a visitor to the U.S. where he or she comes from and if he or she hails from one of the English counties they will say they are from England.

:shrug:

[frogcycle]

84. United Kingdom? Is that a theme park in Orlando? n/t

[Art_from_Ark]

108. I think it was an old TV program that Marlin Perkins used to host

:dunce:

[uppityperson]

151. Thank you. I get confused over which I should use when.

Seems I have been using England and UK properly. Usually.

[Cronus Protagonist]

42. FAIL lol :)

England is only PART of the UK. Great Britain refers only to the British Islands themselves. The United Kingdom includes the remaining territories like the Falkland Islands and Northern Ireland.

[Political Heretic]

72. Heh.... nimrod eh?

Doh! :P

[marmar]

2. "London is in England, not the United Kingdom, you moran."

:rofl:

[MindPilot]

3. LOL!!!

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

Kinda like that All in the Family episode where Archie didn't get a Christmas bonus because he sent a shipment to London, England when it was supposed to go to London, CT or some such.

[jberryhill]

127. No it's not - it's in Britain

Moran yourself.

[rurallib]

4. Unuted Kingdom and Magic Kingdom often confused in America

Sadly more Americans can find the Magic Kingdom on a map than the United Kingdom. This stat is true because I just made it up.

[Sal Minella]

17. And I know it's a true, actual fact because I just read it on D.U.

[MattBaggins]

25. I'm about to put it on Wikipedia

and site you as the source

[Sal Minella]

78. Were you the go-between for Dick Cheney and the New York Times, too?

You're pretty slick at this. But maybe fact-creation just comes more easily to some people than to others.

These people would become known as ManuFACTurers, I suppose.

[Art_from_Ark]

109. If the UK want to be recognized as the UK,

they should ditch the abbreviated Latin inscriptions on their coins and replace them with "UK-- England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland" :dunce:

[MillieJo]

132. If I fill in a form online.. my country is the UK... it is the International code

n/t...My Passport says UK though I am a GB resident... bloody confusing.

[Contrary1]

114. "Unuted Kingdom"

Is that where Christian men go who have had a vasectomy?

:hide:

[jmowreader]

122. That stat might really BE true...

Certainly more Americans have been to the Magic Kingdom than the United Kingdom.

[Pacifist Patriot]

150. I was thinking the exact same thing!

[dysfunctional press]

5. "ignorant americans working at walmart..." Stop the presses!

:eyes:

[tosh]

6. Oh. I thought it was going to be about ...

the DATE FORMAT!! :rofl:

[MindPilot]

9. Do all your dates have periods?

[tosh]

13. Umm...

now that's just too personal.:rofl:

[On the Road]

54. Yeah, Me Too

I thought they would have been trying to figure out which was the 27th month of the year.

[FatDave]

160. That would have been Act II

"See, over there we go day-month-year...."

"Wha....?"

[marmar]

7. Isn't it something like 2/3 of American students can't find the UK on a globe?

I would say dumber than a box of rocks, but it would be slanderous to the rocks.

:dunce:

[EFerrari]

68. No. They can't find the Earth on a globe.

[14thColony]

121. Good one!

I'll be using that...

[WI_DEM]

8. I guess that will teach him to buy wine at a Walmart!

Of course they have Walmart's in England as well. Some people have to take jobs where they can get them, but it's astonishing that so few didn't know what the United Kingdom is.

[Hannah Bell]

10. yes, americans are soooo ignorant. so we are supposed to believe.

[FiveGoodMen]

14. In '96 an Olympics order taker refused to believe that NM was part of the US

I thought that was soooooooo ignorant, didn't you?

[tosh]

15. Well, what do we expect when we've been keeping SCIENCE,

for example, out of our schools.:shrug:

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

26. I think we better start with geogaphy at this point.

Maybe in a few generations we can work our way back up to science.

[Pacifist Patriot]

170. It would help if the kids can find the laboratory on a map. ;-)

[MindPilot]

18. Nothing like helping perpetuate the sterotype...

I think most people would agree that not knowing what the UK is qualifies as ignorance.

Remember it was Americans, roughly half of whom voted for Bush...twice.

[Hannah Bell]

24. let's see, does that make them more or less "ignorant" than the italians

who "voted" for berlusconni's coalition several times, i wonder?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article3744594.ece

i can list any number of other examples.


But let's all keep repeating the ruling class meme, shall we? "americans" are soooooo ignorant, yuk, yuk (except for we exceptional ones).

The "dumb" ones need to be managed.

[dixiegrrrrl]

27. Actually, we don't know if half voted for him.

Remember, the elections were stolen....twice...and the paper trail of votes was erased,
and the results were fraudulent, and the media is owned by the Coprocracy...
all in all, I am no longer sure Bush got a even a third of the votes.

[Lorien]

76. But there was no great uprising against the corruption by the majority

and that's an embarrassment.

[kestrel91316]

37. Americans are EXTREMELY ignorant. I've been noticing it getting

worse and worse. I'm 52, so I remember a time when it wasn't so bad.

[Hannah Bell]

49. i'm older than you, & i don't see what you see.

[Pacifist Patriot]

171. I don't think it's getting worse.

We never could claim widespread high levels of knowledge in this area.

[Deep13]

44. Sure looks that way from my house.

:(

[Hannah Bell]

50. you live in the us so i guess you're american?

[Deep13]

51. Yup. nt

[Hannah Bell]

59. so do you include yourself?

[Deep13]

65. Partly.

I'm more educated than most, but when I consider what constitutes an education today versus what it used to mean, I have to wonder just how knowledgeable I really am. When he was a young man, John Adams had already translated whole books into English from Greek and Latin. A college education was considered incomplete without fluency in at least one dead language. While I struggle with basic algebra, Newton INVENTED calculus. As a student of history, one can legitimately ask how I can call myself that without being able to read source materials in their original languages. Still, I know more more about science, geography, history, medicine, engineering and the world generally than anyone of Adams' or Newton's generations ever did. The telescope that I have as a toy would have blown Galileo's mind. So maybe the breadth on knowledge available to me makes up for some of its lack of depth.

[Hannah Bell]

67. So if one isn't Galileo & Newton's equal, one is "ignorant"?

I suppose that covers most of the human population.

The meme of "ignorant americans" is a ruling class meme.

It might surprise you there's an equivalent version in Europe & asia.

The masses are always deemed "ignorant" by the middle & upper slices.

[Deep13]

111. I didn't say that.

I only mean that we ought to have at least a working second-hand idea of what others labored to discover.

[Pacifist Patriot]

118. I am puzzled why some are getting so incensed by the assertion Americans can be...

fairly ignorant when it comes to knowledge of world geography. No one has said Americans are stupid. Surely we can all appreciate the difference between ignorance and intelligence. The most intelligent person in the world can be ignorant about any number of things. It simply means an absence of knowledge, not an inability to acquire it. The truth is that way too many Americans are not taught the rudiments of world geography and most of us do not really get much beyond the rudiments.

This is nothing new and has been reported in the press on virtually an annual basis since I was in grammar school. I do not see why anyone should be either surprised or offended by this revelation. If it bothers you, lobby your school board for better courses in world geography or an inter-disciplinary approach across the curriculum.

[Obamanaut]

71. When John Adams did all those things, had he been given the

"benefit" of today's public school education? Sometimes I think P.S. may not be all it's cracked up to be. I suspect many agree with that, hence the preference for vouchers, private schools, home school, etc.

[Hannah Bell]

77. hey, but if all those voucher folks are ignorant products of public schools,

how & what are they going to teach their kids?

The "ignorance" meme is itself ignorant; but purposefully so.

[Obamanaut]

94. Perhaps "those voucher folks" are intelligent enough to want to

send their kids to someplace other than a public school, where a large segment of instructional time is teaching how to fill in little ovals for a national/state test.

[Hannah Bell]

168. i see, they're the exceptions to the rule of ignorant americans/public school grads.

[Pacifist Patriot]

146. Can we define our terms here?

You seem to be equating ignorance with stupidity. They are not the same thing.

[Deep13]

112. No but I have.

Without it, I would have gotten nowhere.

[Dora]

166. Vouchers have zip, zero, nada, nothing to do with quality.

Vouchers are a means of siphoning public education funds into private education.

Vouchers do nothing to assure educational rigor, campus condition, teacher competency, or administrative acumen.

[Pacifist Patriot]

175. I agree. I support a family's choice when it comes to deciding whether...

their kids will be educated in a public school, private school, homeschooled, or with private tutors, but vouchers do not belong on a list when talking about educational options.

[Obamanaut]

182. Vouchers allow some kids to escape the public/gov system. Also,

let's say that a school system is allotted $9,000 for each kid in the system. If one of them gets a voucher to attend a private school, is it true that the amount is less than that allotted the public school system - say a $6,000 voucher, and if so, doesn't that mean the public system actually gets some of the moneey ($9k - $6k = $3k) without having to put forth any effort for said kid.

[Dora]

189. You missed my point, and your bias is clear.

The act of moving a child from a public school classroom to a private school classroom does not in itself guarantee that the child will receive a better education from the private school.

I am the child of public school teachers and university professors of elementary education. I have my own bias against the politically conservative notion that our public schools are prisons that children have to "escape" in order to succeed.

Our public schools are already under-funded and over-adminstrated. Any reduction of funds is a blow. The idea that the school benefits by receiving "free money" because of students who use vouchers is ridiculous, at best.

http://www.nsba.org/MainMenu/Advocacy/FederalLaws/SchoolVouchers.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_vouchers

[KittyWampus]

119. Also, in Adams day there were far fewer people educated as a whole. Blacks, poor, women.

It's quite a change in really not that much time.

Look back in history and see that for most of it, humans were illiterate with little knowledge of the physical sciences.

Of course various cultures had more specialized specific knowledge of their immediate environment.

But as a whole, up until about 100 years ago, human beings have been uneducated with the exception of a tiny minority.

[Obamanaut]

125. From the posts in this thread talking about ignorance amongst

Americans (and a couple of posters have pointed specifically to the South), not a whole lot has changed - except we now have public (government) school systems.

[Lorien]

73. George W. Bush was our President. Twice.

We have loads of ignorant people here. Our public schools are pathetic. Our government serves the interests of corporations over the people, but the majority of the people care more about who will win the next installment of "dancing with the stars". Do we live in a society worthy of the admiration of the rest of the globe? I think that's highly debatable at this point.

[Pacifist Patriot]

116. Sadly, when it comes to world geography Americans do tend to be more ignorant...

than other nationalities. We consistently rank low in that regard.

[NeedleCast]

134. A lot of this has to do with geographic isolation

[Pacifist Patriot]

143. Please tell me you forgot the sarcasm tag.

[WildEyedLiberal]

162. Not really, he's got a point

I remember in school, the only "geography" I was really taught was US geography - being able to pick out all 50 states on the map. And, by proxy, learning where Canada and Mexico were. The only state-mandated world geography course I took was in sixth grade as part of my social studies class. We had quizzes for each continent, and the next time I ever had to "learn" such a thing was in an elective geography course I took at university. The sad fact is, because of our geographical isolation, American schools do not feel it important to teach students the locations of countries outside of North America. We didn't even study the Caribbean islands in any depth. Even in history classes, where knowing geography is sort of crucial to understanding things like wars and territorial skirmishes and invasions, maps and geography were rarely referenced or used. Even I, who have a more sophisticated understanding of world geography than many Americans, had to live abroad for six months to really get an intuitive mental image of European geography.

[Pacifist Patriot]

165. American schools placing world geography as a low priority item in the curriculum...

is not the same thing as claiming we are ignorant because of geographic isolation. Perhaps that was once a reason for this educational priority, but holds no real relevance in an age of airplanes, television, telephones and the internet. We are no more geographically isolated than any other industrialized nation on the planet. It's not a reason anymore, it's an excuse.

I absoloutely agree with you about world geography being given low priority. I know my public high school experience was a bit of an anomaly. The recommended schedule was:

Freshman - World Geography (both semesters)
Sophomore - U.S. History (both semesters)
Junior - World History (both semesters)
Senior - Economics (one semester) / U.S. Government (one semester)

The vast majority of kids went this route, but technically the only requirements for graduation were U.S. History and U.S. Government with an additional one semester of social studies as an elective. They offered a psychology course, but I don't remember any of the other social studies electives available because I didn't take them. *cough* This was over twenty years ago.

Last week I heard some women at the soccer fields bitching about our school funding problems. One woman brought up the example that, "It is outrageous we have three teachers teaching geography when one will do." No way I'm going to get involved in this discussion but my first thought was that three might not be enough. That high school has over 3,600 kids. If just 1 out of 10 is taking geography any given semester that's 360 kids. Divide it by 4 periods (I firmly believe teachers should get lunch and a planning period) you've got at least 90 kids taking the class each hour. But then again, maybe she thinks they have too many math teachers too.

[WildEyedLiberal]

172. Oh it's definitely an excuse, but it's why geography will continue to get shafted in US schools

Actually now that I think about it I think I had to take a semester of "World Geography" as a HS freshman, but obviously, the class wasn't that memorable since I didn't recall it immediately. I'm sure it was one of those classes the teacher sleepwalked through and just handed out the grades at the end like candy provided you didn't mistake Venezuela for Namibia or something.

Granted, I grew up in a small rural Midwestern town, so the sense of geographic isolation was perhaps more acute than it would be for students in Chicago or New York. That said, it's the state DOE's responsibility to set standards for all public schools, and obviously Illinois' geography standards are pretty sad. I imagine the same is true of most other states as well. Like I said, it took going to Europe for me to actually "get" where, for example, the Benelux countries were in relation to the rest of Western Europe. Oh sure, I could've picked them out on a blank map, or told you that I knew they were between France and Germany. And that's Europe, the one continent to which most Americans who are ever going to travel overseas will choose as their destination. It's all just very sad.

[Pacifist Patriot]

176. *snort* The one thing I remember most about my World Geography classes?

Team taught by the two basketball coaches by the way.

I remember them showing the Star Trek episode "Catspaw" on Halloween.

I was a geography geek though. I loved maps, globes and atlases from when I was a wee thing. I suspect I could have served as a fairly competent substitute teacher on the days they had away games.

[Rambis]

11. LOL!

I had trouble at a bar in America with a friend and his passport.

Bartender.... "this is not a legal document"

Us.....What?
It is a passport, it doesn't get much more fuckin legal than something you use to travel to other countries does it?

Bartender... If you don't have a legal documents get out!

Never forget it-

[Wapsie B]

19. Good lord, a passport not a legal document?

Boy, he's destined for greatness.

:eyes:

[Rambis]

22. It was a bar in Iowa City Iowa

I noticed the Hawkeye
The Deadwood-

[Wapsie B]

29. Never drank there when I was there in the 80's.

Normally at the Fieldhouse or the Airliner when I went downtown.

[Mr. Ected]

34. I Had Trouble With A Passport in Iowa City As Well!!!

1981.

Can't remember the bar, but I was told that my passport was not official identification.

You can't make this stuff up, folks.

[Rambis]

53. It is laughable

It is well known that the town in question lets underage people drink downtown all the time and has always done so. It is 21 to drink in the state but 19 and 20 year old students can go to bars but are not allowed to consume?
Meanwhile your man with the passport stands in the corner with no drink?

[Yunomi]

35. Years ago

I was told by the instructor in a TABC alcohol servers class that the ONLY acceptable ID was a valid Texas drivers license. Under intense questioning by the crop of future bartenders, he admitted that a current passport or Texas state ID card might possibly be okay, but better to be safe and turn all others away. 0_o

[14thColony]

138. Similar experience

when I was stationed in Texas with the military. Military people are not required to change their vehicle license plates or DLs, and mine were and had always been Florida. I found that I often couldn't buy booze anywhere in TX because I didn't have a TX DL, and they often wouldn't accept a military ID even though it's a federal ID card. In frustration I once as "why did I have to learn to drive in Texas to be able to drink here?"

[tjwash]

40. I had a dipshit at B of A refuse to notarize a document for me....

...stating that a passport is not a valid 2nd form of ID :wtf:

[Gormy Cuss]

Yep. I've seen that happen too. n/t

[conscious evolution]

75. Same thing happened to me

Several times as a matter of fact.
Twice in bars and four times in banks.
I can understand a bartender being that ignorant but a bank teller? Geez louise.

Edit to add:I have also had employers tell me I needed a second piece of ID for the INS Form 9 when I used my passport.The thing is is that it says right on the form that a second ID is not needed with passports and green cards.Yet they still insist on it.

[Rambis]

135. Bank teller?

I would hope they are not working the foreign currency exchange counter?:wtf:

[uppityperson]

153. I just got told my passport wasn't good enough for I-9 Homeland Security ID thing for work

You need to show proof you are whom you are and can be legally hired. Something from list A (like passport or military ID, showing ID and legal hiring status), or something from list B AND C (like drivers license and birth certificate or soc sec card). The person refused to believe that I did not have a soc sec card, even though I had a number older than her (lost the card some 30 yrs ago) and no, my passport wouldn't work since it was not even as good as a drivers license for proving whom I was.

It might work for foreign places, but wasn't valid here in the USA. I think she'd never seen one before.

Doing a quick HS search got me the form and info to give to her.

Passport isn't valid in the USA? Why would I need a passport anyways since everything I might ever need or want is here in the USA?

[Gormy Cuss]

180. I have my original Social Security card, but don't use it.

The logo doesn't match the current card design and my signature looks like a child scrawled it because I was 12 at the time. Besides, it says very clearly "NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION." That confuses people who've never seen the old version.

[uppityperson]

186. It seems they would be easy enough to fake.

The last one I had looked like it was printed on a really cheap machine, with stuff typed in. It did have red on it though. Maybe once they added the red it became useable for ID? The person I was dealing with did not have much knowledge of what it all meant.

[Gormy Cuss]

190. The change had nothing to do with faking the cards.

The actual card is printed in a deep blue ink and the SSN is printed in red. The cards explicitly excluded use as ID because of objections at the time that Social Security was implemented there was considerable distrust among legislators and average citizens that this number would be used as a national ID and would be used to monitor citizens. That's why its government use was restricted to employment and tax purposes.

That changed around 1980 and voila, we have a de facto national ID number. With REAL ID we'll soon have national ID cards too.

If you're interested in reading more, EPIC has a decent write up of the history and the issues.
http://epic.org/privacy/ssn/

[peace13]

12. A sign at my local grocery store...

only US ID's accepted. We live in a tiny world here.

[Echo In Light]

16. Ha...ever watch "Idiocracy?"

Little wonder the shadow govt can convince large segments of the populace that "conspiracies" of the corporate/state nexus are non-existent.

[MindPilot]

21. One of my favorite documentaries. n/t

[Pacifist Patriot]

174. Stumbled upon that two nights ago on the comedy channel.

It is a seriously disturbing film to watch right after reading a book on evolutionary psychology.

[cboy4]

20. That's embarrassing....but I think it says every bit as much about

the American education system as it does about Walmart.

I'm not a hugh fan of group classifications.

I'm sure there are some very smart people working at Walmart, and they're there because they need a check like the rest of us.

[Joanie Baloney]

23. It does sound mystical...

I found myself when I awoke
in the lovely United Kingdom
where men are strong and wise;
the women comely, with sky blue eyes.
"But I digress...forget the wine!" sayeth the bloke.


:) JB

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

28. Remember folks, Americans are ignorant and arrogant.

Just like Anglo-Saxons are coldly rational and Italians are a stab-happy people.

[pampango]

123. I love stereotypes. Makes life so much simpler.

;)

[14thColony]

139. Wait...

I thought we were mostly Anglo-Saxons? Now I'm really confused...

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

147. I dunno. I got those stereotypes from Agatha Christie. nt

[14thColony]

156. Ahhhh

Agatha Christie - creator of the only Belgian anyone's ever heard of.

[SeattleGirl]

30. Years ago, when I lived in Texas, I went to cash my paycheck at

the local supermarket (they did that, and I had not yet set up a bank account). Kid asked me for ID, which I gave him -- my Oregon driver's license. My then-husband was in the air force, so we didn't need to get Texas drivers licenses.

Anyway, I hand him my drivers license, and this kid, serious as a heart attack, wants to know what part of Texas Oregon is in. :eyes:

[Catherine Vincent]

63. That kid must have dropped out in elementary school. nt

[treestar]

32. How can US Americans be expected to know this?

They don't have maps! :rofl:

[Mr. Ected]

33. American Ignorance Pt. II

I have a dear friend from the Netherlands who was visiting a golf club supplier in North Carolina. The marketing director was a pleasant young lady, well-educated and well-heeled. When my friend indicated that he was from the Netherlands, she said, "Oh, I'm sure the Alps are beautiful there!"

[Elwood P Dowd]

52. They have some tall dikes there.

:hide:

[leftstreet]

36. I bet all wealthy people know what UK stands for

They're far superior to dumb working class Americans.

I thought of putting a sarcasm icon here, but I'd rather see if someone is dumb enough to ask if I forgot it.

[Deep13]

46. As a general rule, the rich know the value of education.

It may not be fair to equate uneducated with lower class, but it is usually true.

[leftstreet]

58. And you think working class people don't?

Everyone knows the value of education.

The Ruling Class remind us at every turn.

[Deep13]

62. First, knowing it and being able to get it are not the same things.

Second, part of being uneducated means not knowing the value of education. Again, it is unfair and part of the disadvantage of having modest resources. There is a strong anti-intellectual streak in this county and the lower one goes on the social ladder, the more obvious it becomes. While it is generally known that there is a correlation between education and economic success, an awful lot of people still see education as merely a means to an end and dismiss the value of mere "book-learnin'."

[ikojo]

97. Do you mean rich people like the Bush family

or rich people like the Wal Mart heiress who paid another student to take tests and do her papers while attending a California college. The U of MO in Columbia MO was going to name a stadium after her (her first name was Paige) but then the news about her basically buying her diploma hit.

[Deep13]

110. I've not heard of the other two examples, but the Bushes are well educated. nt

[tjwash]

38. He should have really fucked them up and tried to pay in British Pounds.

They probably would have to call the swat team in.

[Lost in CT]

39. Could have been worse could have been a New Mexico license. nt

[radfringe]

43. my sister was a server

at a restaurant. Servers took turns operating the cash register over the course of a shift.

Ennywho, this one night, a not to bright server was on the register. A middle age couple, obviusly Asian, came in to eat. When they were done, they went up to the register to pay. The gentleman asked "Visa?" - meaning does the restaurant take visa credit card.

the not-to-bright server says "Ohhh, no, we don't need to see your passport".

[RoyGBiv]

45. Blink ...

blink ... blink

I stand in awe of that.

[Odin2005]

47. WTF? How could someone NOT know what and where the UK is?

:wtf:

[SoCalDem]

60. Someone who was absent, that day in 6th grade, when they studied world geography

:rofl:

[southernyankeebelle]

48. Well Friend

In a way you can't blame the ignorant. They do not teach world history in high school. The young people don't even understand the 3 branches of government and how it works in the united states. Our own history and you expect them to understand world history? I hope Obama's education plan will make the schools teach real history again. Kids are really lacking.

[Fire1]

88. Yeah, if they can ever stop teaching to that fuckin test (NCLB). n/t

[Elwood P Dowd]

55. Want to have fun with your republican friends?

I've always had a world globe in my residence since back in the 1970s. I've asked several Bush worshiping visitors to pick out Iraq or Afghanistan on my globe, and half the time these idiots take forever to find those countries.

[csziggy]

90. And according to John McCain, Iraq is next to Afghanistan!

So if they can find one, they will be able to find the other - maybe.

[damntexdem]

56. Well, after all, that UK driver's license makes them drive on the wrong side of the road.

Who wants to sell wine to someone who drives on the wrong side of the road? ;-)

[av8rdave]

57. That SO sounds like an Onion headline

How sad that it's a true story!

[MindPilot]

89. It was intended to

Thanks for noticing!

[cherish44]

61. I ended up giving about a 15 minute lesson on the UK to someone the other day

"Oh so Wales is a place? I thought Prince of Wales meant he was the prince of WHALES! I always wondered wtf that was all about!"
:banghead: I shit you not. That was a real comment from an American adult with a high school education. It's embarrassing sometimes.

[Odin2005]

80. LOL, I pronounce W and WH differently so I was suprised to learn that they are the same for most....

...people.

[Obamanaut]

82. Public high school? nt

[Vinca]

64. He should've told the clerk it was an abbreviation for Uhlaska.

:rofl:

[Obamanaut]

66. Would this be the thread to mention U.S. public schools? nt

[GoCubsGo]

142. Why pick on the public schools?

We have tons of private schools around here (South Carolina). They opened up after the Civil Rights act was passed, so that the precious, little white children would not have to mingle with all those black children. The teachers in these schools do not have to be certified or prove that they are qualified in the subject matter they will be teaching. I have had to deal with the students from some of these schools, and many of them are at least as clueless as the public school children. This notion that private schools are superior is is ridiculous.

I went to both private and public schools when I was young. In the Catholic school, we were taught to memorize everything and regurgitate it. I didn't learn to actually start thinking for myself until I got to the public school. It's the same with the private schools around here. Most of them are "Christian" schools, and like the Catholic schools, their main concern is religious indoctrination. Education in all other subject matters is secondary.

[uppityperson]

154. If you add in NCLB and needing to teach to stupid mandated tests rather than what people need to

learn. Then sure. Go ahead.

[Obamanaut]

158. I think somewhere I did mention state/national testing, and teaching

how to fill in little ovals, and the amount of classroom time doing that.

However, isn't it true that NCLB is less than 8 years old, and the problem exists in many people over the age of 26 (assuming everyone graduates HS at 18 - or at least those few who do graduate.

And, if that is true, then the problem is much older than the NCLB excuse (bearing in mind that I also think NCLB is a crock, a waste, a useless table scrap.

Edited to add: I think the public school system has been "dumbing down" the curricula for a very long time.

[uppityperson]

159. True, it isn't all related to NCLB but difficult to make positive changes in schools with NCLB happe

If you got rid of NCLB bs, then it might be possible to make some changes in a positive way. Yes, the problem extends further back than 8 yrs, but seems to have been exacerbated in the last 8 yrs.

[Obamanaut]

181. Sometimes I think the schools don't want to be fixed, or even bandaged.

In 1995 I had interviews at three local schools to volunteer. (1) The principal (elementary #1)looked me in the eye and said, after discovering I am not related to someone he knew with the same last name "On, we'll call you." Never did. (2) H.S. principal and assistant, in interview, discovered I was skillful enough in 1st semester Spanish at local comm. coll. that instructor asked me to assist in language lab (I was the oldest student in the class.) Also, not too shabby in math and English/grammar. I filed attendance slips for three days before I gave up. (#3) Elem. #2 found me a place in the spec ed class because my wife knew the county coordinator for sp ed, and called her at home. Volunteered in that class for 6 months until I started working as prison guard (7 yrs) then 2 more as spec ed teacher aide in the prison educ. dept.

Fast fwd several years. Retired from dept of corr. Went to school board, and they got my background check from state, and updated it. I was on the agenda for approval at next school board meeting. Was told I would be called. Three weeks later I went back to school board office, and the volunteer coordinator said sweetly "I guess we forgot to call you." This is in a county with a 30% drop out rate, just hired three new coaches at high school while losing many more teaching positions as a result of budget cutbacks.

Yes, I am soured on the public school system here. I know many of the teachers, and they are good, and dedicated. The administration is not assisting them, IMO, as much as they should or could.

I have written letters to the editor, talked with schools supts, former and current, and at age 66 no longer have the fight left in me that is necessary to prevail.

Thanks. I feel better now after this rant. And I apologize for my earlier tone

[uppityperson]

185. Rant on and no problem. Good luck to you and all who want to help at schools.

What you wrote was true.

[cynatnite]

69. In our Walmart we have a young woman who can speak five languages...

She's working at a cash register. Go figure.

[csziggy]

91. Management is probably threatened by her abilities!

[ColbertWatcher]

96. What country was she born in? n/t

[snooper2]

136. She should apply at the CIA or State Dept.

what a waste if what you are saying is true- and she is actually fluent..

[Lorien]

70. Lol! Not surprising. I've met middle aged adults here in the South who

think that Paris is a country.

[Sequoia]

87. I knew a person who didn't think West Virginia was a state.

Someone at work (long ago now) asked her for the zip code of West Virginia and the other gal said, There's no such state.

[CBR]

113. So many times I have....

stated that I am from Bluefield, WV and the response -- "Is that near DC or Richmond?" or I have to repeat over and over again that it is not Western Virginia but a state of its own.

I live in Delaware now and when I was transferring health insurance to a new coverage region the gal on the other end of the phone assigned me to Ohio (there is a Delaware there) and I had to explain its state status (the first state no less)!

[Sequoia]

144. First in Freedom!!!

[Sequoia]

164. I'll do you one even better

A few years ago I was talking to a 8 or 9 year old boy and I said how the moon was a satellite and he said it wasn't. Then what is it? I asked him. The boy said his father told him the moon was a planet !! This kid was home-schooled so I told him, "Well, he's wrong. Go ask your mother."

[Litespeed]

74. Pathetic...and embarassing.

[Irish Girl]

85. Those darn colonials!

:crazy:

[FedUpWithIt All]

92. I happen to love an intelligent walmart employee who is smart enough to recognise...

that in a world where everyone is losing their jobs (my loved one had already lost one), a walmart paycheck buys food just the same. When a narrow slot opened up after a year of searching for a job, my loved one took it.

[MrsBrady]

93. do they understand

that there are places outside the US?
That we are not the only place in the world.

or better yet...do they know the Earth is round like a ball?

[ColbertWatcher]

95. Name a country that starts with the letter "U"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8ftoFnFpwM

[Elwood P Dowd]

102. Ugoslavia?

:hide:

[ColbertWatcher]

106. LOL! n/t

[PVnRT]

161. Uganda, Uzbekistan, Uruguay off the top of my head

Not bad for a stoopid American.

[ColbertWatcher]

183. I hope you watched the video! n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

98. If I could get a buck for every time my mom's driver's license

Mexico City, is doubted for its legality

Yep, ignorant and proud of it, and not just Wallyworld

[LibertyLover]

99. I had to explain today to one of the women I work with

about Jersey and Guernsey. She kept asking how I knew to send a notice on a Guernsey company to the United Kingdom. I finally got through to her by saying "Remember when your country, India, was a crown colony? Well, it's sort of like that." How did I know? I'm not an idiot and I read.

[Pharlo]

100. I worked with a woman once - very nice lady -

we were discussing something and I made a sarcastic comment about U. S. Grant. And she asked me "The General, or the President?"

The sad part was I don't know if I was more flummoxed that she didn't know they were the same person, or more amazed that she knew there HAD been a General Grant and a President Grant.

So, I told her "Both."

[Lucian]

103. I can understand that...

there are a lot of idiots working at Walmart. But you also need to realize that there are a lot of smart, capable people working there as well. Some probably have to work there because they can't find a job in their field. Some probably have to work there because there's nowhere else to work right now. Or others are working there because they lost their job during the recession.

[rainbow4321]

104. I couldn't get the social security office to accept my daughter's birth certificate

as a form of ID to get her a replacement card. I had her birth certificate, my SS card/driver license to prove I was her mom trying to get her a replacement (she was in school that day, I did it on my lunch break) card mailed to our house.
The worker said "birth certificates can be counterfeited/faked"...so WHAT did she list as acceptable documentation to get the card: a school ID or a health insurance card. My response: "and THOSE can't be faked"??????? She said it was "less likely" for them to be "falsified".
I remember thinking at the time that I hoped whoever was running the SS documentation security had little or nothing to do with over national security!
Yet what she said she could give me that day was a letter with their letterhead saying that the SS# listed was my daughter's #. She could give me that but they couldn't mail us a real SS card cuz I didn't have the "acceptable ID" with me.

[Pacifist Patriot]

120. I'll get my head handed to me for this one too, but I think too many Americans profoundly...

lack critical thinking skills. I cannot speak to the critical thinking skills of other nationalities so please do not consider this a comparison that places Americans above or below any other nationality. It may very well be because of a string of experiences I have had over the last two weeks so my perspective is skewed, but given the grumbling I'm hearing I do not think my experiences have been all that unique.

As you suggest, it is entrenched at a policy level. I will give one example. I had to call my bank to discuss a simple matter. My husband is the primary and I am the joint holder of the account so they needed to speak to him to get his permission to allow me to speak to them. (Don't get me started on THAT!) My husband was out of the country and eight time zones away so I put my son on the phone who said simply, "Please speak to her about this issue." Because the person on the phone heard a male voice I could now proceed with the conversation. No passwords were required, no security questions asked. AAAGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

[RebelOne]

137. That doesn't make sense. Parents get social security cards

for children before they are even in school. So I doubt that they would have school Ids or health insurance cards.

[Blue Diadem]

191. The same thing happened to us. I even had his old social security card that

I'd started to laminate when we first got it, before I flipped it over and saw "do not laminate". They also told us the same, that it's way to easy to fake a certified copy of his birth certificate. Here was my 16 yr old standing next to me and she told me that even with my ID and the birth certificate, there was no proof that he was my child. I asked what was acceptable and she told me a baptismal certificate, school ID card,(our school didn't use them), a homework school paper with his name written on it or a picture with his name written on the back.

Luckily we'd gone to the office directly from school and he had a school paper in the car. It still baffles me, the paper only had his first name and last initial written by him.

[Dukkha]

105. not ignorant, stupid and proud of it.

59,934,814 murkins thought Sarah Palin was qualified to be President.

[1]

107. so in the end... did this arrogant fucking prig of a brit get his wine?

i do hope so. along with his funny little party story about how americans are "so" ignorant.

because we should expect each and every minimum wage employee at walmart to be able to identify and verify each and every international id they are presented with.

my god! the fact that they could lose their job through an improper id validation has no bearing on this? none at all? of course not!

the walmart employee should first and foremost be completely aware of what a valid uk id should look like, shouldn't they? how about the credentials of some bloke from saudia aribia?



the arrogance and stupidity in this thread is outrageous. some little working fuck at walmart is confronted with a challenge that could cost them their livelihood. it might just be a challenge from the state alcohol control commission. how is the minimum wage fuck supposed to know?

but that's cool. let's just laugh and "cluck" at that minimum wage employee here. after all, they are not a "union" employee, right? and they work at walmart. so they are nothing in our eyes, right?.

sometimes du really disgusts me...

[Pacifist Patriot]

117. Whoa and a wow!

Why are you assuming this is an "arrogant little prick?" Because he's British? Maybe he was frustrated and that's why he told his co-worker. Maybe he was bemused or mildly amused. Sounds to me like you're throwing stones while living in a glass house.

[14thColony]

126. Somebody needs a hug!

[treestar]

130. So if the British employees of Wal mart in Britain

Had never heard of the US, you'd understand? Though this is imaginary, since there are not going to be any such people in any country.

Why is it arrogant to think people should know the existence of a country? Especially the UK. We are the direct descendant of that country!

You'd probably be offended if you went to France and found nobody speaking English.

[Stevenmarc]

133. Someones blue smock is tied a little too tight.

[MindPilot]

140. It would be perfectly acceptable for "the minimum wage fuck" to not know

But apparently your knee jerked before you got to the part about going two rungs up the management ladder. That means three people--a checker, a supervisor and a manager didn't know.

Knowing the answers to questions like "is this an acceptable ID?" is what front line retail supervisors are paid for.

And begging your pardon, but not knowing that the UK is real, qualifies as ignorance, sorry. And it is fucking funny, because if I wasn't laughing, I'd be crying.

[14thColony]

124. I can understand this

Let's face it, a San Diego Wal-Mart employee probably isn't going to be up-to-date on "All the World's ID Cards, Volume VI" or "Precise Official Names of World Countries, Edition 5".

But figure this one out:
My gf and I were flying out of DC back home to London (I'm not English, but I live here), when she was stopped by the Department of Homeland Security passport checker because when she presented her Luxembourg passport, the DHS passport checker didn't believe Luxembourg was a real country. We had to wait while her passport was sent to the back office for them to decide if her country existed or not. I imagine they had to consult a pretty big globe to find Luxembourg. I'm glad they did, otherwise she probably would have had to taken them to her embassy to prove her country was real.

Please note this was a DHS employee whose job was to check passports, working in an airport serving one of the most international and diplomatic cities on Earth. The Wal-Mart dude pales in comparison to that level of ignorance.

[Pacifist Patriot]

148. Do Americans really need access to "Precise Official Names of World Countries...

Edition 5" to know that the United Kingdom is a country? Heck, you can figure that out just by tuning in to our dumbass Olympic coverage once every four years. ;-)

[14thColony]

155. Good point

but in fairness ask 5 Brits to define Great Britain versus the United Kingdom, and you'll get 6 answers, 5.9 of which will be wrong. Had his DL said 'England' (hypothetically of course) I'd be willing to bet he'd know what country that is. OK, I wouldn't be willing to bet a lot, but I'd go $10. Maybe $5.

And for the record, EVERYONE needs a copy of Precise Offical Names of World Countries, Edition 5.

[lonestarnot]

128. Holy fuck.

tisk tisk.

[Laelth]

129. That is sad. n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[BlooInBloo]

141. This is my typical example of how stupid Americans are....

Of course, there are many, many examples.

http://media.putfile.com/Verizon-Bad-Math

[Pacifist Patriot]

173. Think of how many believe buying lottery tickets is a good investment.

Then again, they may have a leg up on those of us who bought stocks. ;-)

In all fairness to those who play the lottery, I'll buy a ticket every once in awhile. I consider it an entertainment expense for the twelve hours or so of fantasizing what the winnings would buy. Per minute it's a lot cheaper than a movie.

[windoe]

145. Not surprising since civics is not a requirement in HS

anymore--Just science'nmath,science'nmath....not that these are not needed, but without CONTEXT, science'nmath can get a little, well, dangerous. Returning history. LIBERAL arts and social studies would do the trick--old school.

[WildEyedLiberal]

163. Americans are actively taught not to value the liberal arts

Hence the old joke, "I have a B.A. in liberal arts, would you like fries with that?" As if a comprehensive knowledge of history, culture, sociology, and literature, along with critical thinking skills, are not desirable qualifications in our society.

Of course, the sad and tragic truth behind that unfunny "joke" is that they are not. I have a B.A. in history and can't find a "real job" for anything. Our corporate culture only values those skills which can enhance a company's profit margins. An understanding of history and critical thinking skills do not fit the bill.

[Pacifist Patriot]

169. Well I could launch into my sermon on the origins of public schooling....

in America. It was promoted by industrialists to create a supply of adequately educated compliant laborers. It wasn't exactly intended to create a society of Renaissance Men and Women, critical thinkers or innovators. I have to wonder if education reform will ever be successful if that isn't first understood.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

177. I'll raise you a B.A. in a Natural Science.

Is that unusual enough for ya??

I have a B.A. in Biology because I went to a well known liberal arts school that only offered the B.A. in Biology at that time.

I went on a job interview after graduation and the idiot interviewer asked me why I didn't get a B.S., implying that I was stupid. I told him the truth: "Trinity University does not OFFER the B.S. in biology. It's a Liberal Arts College!!".

Assholes. :grr: :wtf:

[Pacifist Patriot]

178. By the way, in case anyone is curious, a UK driving license is a bit dodgy looking.

;)



Okay, yes I know this is Mr. Bean, but this is what a UK driving license looks like. I can see why a U.S. retail employee might want to take a closer look at this as being valid. Doesn't excuse two levels of management not knowing what the UK or United Kingdom is, but I do doubt cashiers run across these very often.

[madmom]

179. Ok here we go, when I worked at Walmart, we had to take training

sessions every couple weeks about certain parts of our job. In EVERY one I took there was something in there about checking IDs for tobacco and alcohol. It was pounded into our heads (I wasn't even a cashier)My thinking is this poor kid was terrified of fucking up. As far as the management goes I haven't a clue.They also have to take these training sessions but they are usually on management skills.That doesn't necessarily mean they are smarter.
I worked in the deli and the younger girls (not all of them) would come to me because we had digital scales and they didn't know how to convert fractions, 1/2 lb. + .50 etc. On the other hand I have a niece who went to private/lutheran school, she now works at a billing office in a medical facility and she can not tell time! She never learned to tell time! BUT she sure can quote the bible!
Yes some Walmart employees are dumb but so are employees at other places Walmart does not have an exclusive here.

[ColbertWatcher]

184. I'm sorry, but I can't understand what a portion of your post means.

When you say your niece cannot tell time, do you mean she cannot read a clock (the round kind with hands worn by Flava Flav)?

[madmom]

187. Yes that's exactly what I mean. She has to use a digital clock, because she was not

taught how to tell time.

[ColbertWatcher]

192. How frightening. And sad. n/t

[Turbineguy]

194. Well, there was the time

when a Shop in the UK would not accept my Bankamericard for a purchase because they only accepted the Barclaycard.

[OnyxCollie]

195. My girlfriend has an Australian student in her college speech class.

He had given his speech about Australia and was asked:

"Is Australia connected to the United States?"

"How long does it take to drive to Australia?"

"Do they speak english in Australia?"

Couple this with the inevitable excuse she receives from students who can't do an outline-

"I couldn't find the Roman numerals on my keyboard."

Duh.