I don't know what section of the forum to put this so I will refer to it as "CULTURE" and post it here. The video is called "Top 10 Facts About AMERICA That Make NO SENSE to Anyone Else" and although there are a couple of things that do make sense to me, I do agree that most of it does not make sense. * U.S. Toddlers Shoot One Person A Week * Bestiality is Legal in 9 U.S. States But Premarital Sex is Outlawed * The Highest Paid Public Employee in 39 States is a Sports Coach * Over Half of all Americans do not Hold a Valid Passport * 30% of Americans Prefer Saving Money to Vital Medical Treatment * 7 States Have Custody Rights for Rapists * America Has More Self-Identified Patriots Than Anywhere Else on Earth * Americans Are More Likely to be Bitten by Other Americans Than Rats * Americans Take “Fast Food” Extremely Literally * Government Departments have Official Advice For Reporting Elvis Sightings
Sports are a very big thing in many parts of the U.S. The teams at top schools are very competitive, so they want to have the top coaches to have the best chances of winning. It's almost like an industry that brings in revenue for the school, but it's also about prestige, that their school can host a winning team. The country is a big place, with different regions. Traditionally there were many Americans that just went on road trips to different parts of the country. There's a lot to see. It wouldn't be that different from a European who has never travelled outside of Europe.
There are certain cases where a man who may have sexually assaulted a woman deserves custody rights, even if those rights are limited. I won't go too much into this, since it could spark a whole other long debate, but it's not all what you think. America isn't as feminist as the country you come from, and women don't automatically get all the custodial rights when it comes to their children. A few states even tried passing laws that a woman needs the permission of the father to get a late-term abortion, even if that father was the one who raped her. Medical care can be very expensive in the U.S. (It's also very high quality, if you can afford it) If you want to understand one thing about Americans, it's that they like convenience. Also the labor costs are a lot lower than in your country, so that means fast food is cheaper and, unfortunately, Americans eat a lot more of it. I'm not sure I understand why this does not make sense to you.
Are you merely stating fact or defending the practice of paying coaches more than anyone else? I do not find this point "senseless" but the author of the video does explain his point. This is not correct. Still senseless. Here, in Sweden, it is a matter of course that parents have joint custody of their children and "child support & alimony" have nothing to do with it. Child support (not thought of in those terms) is paid out by the state. The father, in such cases, reimburses the state so even a so-called "dead beat" father has full rights unless he is criminally unsuitable. This is why the American system is "senseless". In Sweden medical care is on offer to each and every one, free of charge. You are putting far too much sugar on the issue. "Convenience" in actual fact means laziness. Labour costs would be a very minor issue if the minimum American wage would sustain life. Here again, this is "senseless" to people who take fair wages for granted. Because Americans are being held hostage by propaganda such as notions of being "un-American", "non-Patriotic", "Love it or leave it", "With us or against us". It is psychologically a very unhealthy environment similar to the Soviet Union.
True. Making jokes to parents about guns in schools is equivalent to making jokes about the gas chambers to Jews. NOT FUNNY.
I think we have a thread somewhere in this forum about the gender inequalities in Sweden: Swedish law not so equal after all
It was not really so long ago that a 14-year-old boy in Sweden could go off on their own with a rifle hunting in the forest. The 1950s ?
True. Women have much, much, much, much more rights than men in Sweden. But I don't understand what it has to do with the part of my response that you quoted? With regards to joint custody and visitation rights Sweden is among the most “equal” nations on earth. No doubt.
Let me see now, you think the thread has now been derailed because 'anti-gunners' have the better logic at the moment? If gun-nuts want to get the better hand then I suggest they come up with some sensible motivation other than "More guns = less shootings" and "If everybody had a gun there would be no (or less) shootings". But rather than fret yourself with who might be 'taking over the thread' perhaps you ought to note that the thread isn't about guns or who is right or wrong on any subject mentioned here. EDIT: Actually I probably jumped to conclusions and you are simply saying the same thing I am.
As much as I hate to say it, there's evidence to support the conclusion that 14 year olds in the 1950s were more mature than 14 year olds today. I hope that's not true.
I think that's true, and would posit genetic factors as at least part of the explanation. But there's also the phenomena of delayed adulthood, as cost of living goes up, and many of those entry level jobs once available to teens and young people are no longer available to them. I remember going to another country in a high standard of living country in Europe and being surprised how so many of the jobs were being done by younger people, like landscape crews in the parks, or the person behind the counter at fuel stations, janitors, even mechanics, valet parking in front of hotels. 17 to 25-year-old adults were all doing these jobs. These were all part-time or temporary jobs for them. There simply were not enough poor people in that society for these jobs to all be filled by full-time mature adults.
Interesting post. Your last sentence seems to show the value of capitalist-socialist economies for the general benefit of the populations of those countries. There were "not enough poor people" there to fill the low paying intro-job positions available. What a wonderful problem to deal with. America has a surplus of poor. Why? Perhaps it's because capitalism doesn't work for the general populace as well as the European capitalist-socialist system does. Hmmm.
Until about 20 years ago, there was really no need to have one. It was only after 9/11 that you needed a passport to visit Canada and Mexico. Anybody could freely visit those countries and return with just an ID card. And since those are the 2 countries that were visited most by Americans, they saw no reason to get one. Now I am much more traveled, having been to almost a dozen other countries. But those were all with the military, so a passport was not needed. We fell under what is known as SOFA, so my ID card was sufficient for entry and exit from those countries. And BTW, the reverse is true as well. A German soldier who goes to Texas for training does not need a passport either, nor does the member of any foreign military member that comes to the US for official duties outside of embassy or consulate staff. It is interesting in that of all my immediate family, only one has a passport. My parents never had one, I never had one, my children never had one. Only my wife has one, and she was not born in the US. But she had to have one, her home country mandated it for every citizen. And they even had to present it to do things like buy food in a store, or travel from one state to another.
I have seen that, and a lot I think is due to the demand that people get paid more and more for what is essentially an entry level job. When I was in school, I knew a lot of kids that bagged groceries. It was an "entry level job", mostly held by high school or college aged kids. But for example here in California, people that have that job are now Union members. Which of course in addition to higher pay and benefits like health insurance mandates that anybody having that job must be over 18. And if you have a job like that, why even bother looking for a better one? This lead to stagnation in the workforce. I realized that in 2003 when I noticed the guy who regularly bagged my groceries had a "15 year" pin on his badge. I could not imagine spending 15 years bagging groceries for a living. But when they went on strike a month or so later I learned that the minimum pay for the job was $18 an hour and came with health insurance 100% paid by the employer. And at 15+ years of seniority, this grocery bagger was surely making more than I was as a computer technician! So yea, no wonder kids no longer do that job. Too many people today do not realize that minimum wage jobs are also minimum skill jobs. Intended to get somebody started in a career, not to be a lifetime employment. Learn how to work with and for others, get some skills and experience, then move on to another job that pays more, but requires more skills and experience.