QueenZone discussion #1343997

pittrek wrote: Thanks for the correction - what is the "politically correct" word that I should use ?

shannaschaffer wrote: I remember reading about the tragedy in Chechnya over a day or two when it happened, but it definitely didn't stay a headline for long here in the U.S.

thomasquinn 32989 wrote:

shannaschaffer wrote: I remember reading about the tragedy in Chechnya over a day or two when it happened, but it definitely didn't stay a headline for long here in the U.S.

Really? Here in Europe, the media were talking about it for weeks! Naturally, it didn't stay on the front pages for that long, but still...they've even aired documentaries about it.

thomasquinn 32989 wrote: Just to clarify: I'm not saying Americans are stupid, I'm saying the vast majority of Americans are ignorant of geography outside their own country. In all fairness, I don't think most Europeans could point out more than about five American states on a map.

thomasquinn 32989 wrote: Just to clarify: I'm not saying Americans are stupid, I'm saying the vast majority of Americans are ignorant of geography outside their own country. In all fairness, I don't think most Europeans could point out more than about five American states on a map.

thomasquinn 32989 wrote: True, and they should. I think as we travel more and faster, and digital communications make the world smaller and smaller, geographical and topographical knowledge are more useful than ever. That doesn't mean I have perfect knowledge of those topics myself, but it is something I work on and believe many more people ought to - it's amazing how often it is useful to have ready knowledge of such things in everyday life.

The Real Wizard wrote:

thomasquinn 32989 wrote: Just to clarify: I'm not saying Americans are stupid, I'm saying the vast majority of Americans are ignorant of geography outside their own country. In all fairness, I don't think most Europeans could point out more than about five American states on a map.

Why should they? It's non-essential knowledge of one country. Knowledge of states in one's own country should bear no comparison to being able to name (and locate on a map) five other countries. I bet you my entire music collection that more Europeans can name 5 US states than Americans can name 5 countries other than their own (with the exception of countries the media has told them they should bomb at some point in the last 50 years).

thomasquinn 32989 wrote: Probably most people in Europe would regard them as Eastern European in physical appearance, with the Czechs being considered Central Europeans.

thomasquinn 32989 wrote: The issue is not one of politics, but one of scale: the U.S. is larger than the whole of Europe, so from a topographical point of view I don't think it's unjustified to equate knowing the lay-out of European countries with that of U.S. states or Canadian provinces. I don't think it's strictly necessary for most people to know where all fifty states are located on a map, but I was putting American ignorance of international geography into perspective - on the whole, European high school students can point out more countries on a map than their American peers, but their knowledge of North American topography tends to be as sketchy as that of American students of European topography. Because the U.S. and Canada are countries on a pretty much continental scale, you can't compare their internal topography to that of, say, Germany or France.

catqueen wrote:

thomasquinn 32989 wrote: Probably most people in Europe would regard them as Eastern European in physical appearance, with the Czechs being considered Central Europeans.

Outside of 'central Europe,' very few people use that term. I've never heard anyone described as a 'central European.' They are either European or Eastern European. And a lot of people would say anyone east of the Berlin wall is an eastern european... although my friend from Hungary doesn't consider herself eastern european, so i guess if you're from the middle bit, it's central -- but she still wouldn't describe herself as a 'central' european, she'd just say she's european, but her romanian and polish friends are eastern european.

thomasquinn 32989 wrote:

catqueen wrote:

thomasquinn 32989 wrote: Probably most people in Europe would regard them as Eastern European in physical appearance, with the Czechs being considered Central Europeans.

Outside of 'central Europe,' very few people use that term. I've never heard anyone described as a 'central European.' They are either European or Eastern European. And a lot of people would say anyone east of the Berlin wall is an eastern european... although my friend from Hungary doesn't consider herself eastern european, so i guess if you're from the middle bit, it's central -- but she still wouldn't describe herself as a 'central' european, she'd just say she's european, but her romanian and polish friends are eastern european.

Technically, everything that was part of the Austrian-Hungarian empire (before that: Holy Roman Empire) and the Balkans is considered 'central Europe'. Everything to the east of that is considered Eastern Europe. I don't know where you are from, but in Holland and Belgium, it is very common to speak of Western-, Central- and Eastern Europe when dividing Europe in an east-west line, and of Northern- and Southern Europe when dividing along a north-south line.

pittrek wrote: Wow :-) link

The Fairy King wrote: Czech porn is awesome. <3

pittrek wrote:

The Fairy King wrote: Czech porn is awesome. <3

German porn from the 70's is the best :-)

catqueen wrote:

The Real Wizard wrote:

thomasquinn 32989 wrote: Just to clarify: I'm not saying Americans are stupid, I'm saying the vast majority of Americans are ignorant of geography outside their own country. In all fairness, I don't think most Europeans could point out more than about five American states on a map.

Why should they? It's non-essential knowledge of one country. Knowledge of states in one's own country should bear no comparison to being able to name (and locate on a map) five other countries. I bet you my entire music collection that more Europeans can name 5 US states than Americans can name 5 countries other than their own (with the exception of countries the media has told them they should bomb at some point in the last 50 years).

Ah, most americans could name a few countries -- remember Canada, Mexico, and England would all be well known to Americans. They might struggle beyond that (with a few additions -- Germany, France, China, Afghanistan, Iraq, India, Australia, Antarctica, maybe a few others). But i think 5 is a really low number. What i've noticed is that a lot of americans have HEARD of countries (limited countries -- or they have heard of Paris but don't know it's in France, that kind of thing), but they haven't a clue WHERE they are. Like don't ask them to find it on a map, or even to reliably identify the continent it's in. I still remember the time i was asked how long of a train journey it was from Ireland to the USA. And the comment of 'hmm... Ireland... that's interesting... is that off the coast of New Jersey?' I guess it is... a looong way off the coast of New Jersey! I also remember LOTS of people in america asking slowly and carefully if i speak english (cos obviously i was from somewhere foreign).

catqueen wrote: The country is very insular and it shows in their foreign policies, among other things. Maybe if they were more educated about other countries and peoples, they might be a little more understanding of immigrants and of other cultures

thomasquinn 32989 wrote: Did this discussion just go from having a laugh at people who think Chechnya = Czech Republic to pornography for the discerning connoisseur in one easy step?