Dear Foreigners From Non-Egalitarian Countries,
I have heard many people say that you shouldn't be allowed to come here. I have heard regular people - not just the extremists on the far right - say that you don't try to fit in here and you create your own communities within our community and don't understand the larger community you are part of. I have also heard people say that you are lazy, that you just want to mooch off of our welfare systems, and that you don't respect women - not those from your countries nor those from ours. I have always thought - and said - that these claims are not reasonable, that most people regardless where they are from are normal, hard-working, honest, respectful people who not only can be part of our societies but can enrich them. I have always thought that open borders make everyone better off in the end.
Both for society at large an in my personal life, I have assumed that a simple model of respect should and is followed. When a minority of people from culture A are trying to live among a majority of culture B, respect is shown for the minority by the majority by being patient with their cultural gaffes and explaining the basis for traditions and manners - by helping the minority understand the majority. Respect is shown for the majority by the minority by the minority trying to adjust and understand the majority.
Basically, I envisioned a simple contract - mistakes are forgiven, because the minority is trying to learn how the majority works, and both try to find common ground so that they can get along. The minority does not have to adjust completely to the majority in every way, but it does have to adjust in key cultural norms and behaviors. The majority does not have to accept all of the minority's cultural behaviors, but some difference in behavior and thought must be tolerated. However, if there is a clash of fundamental values such that the majority and the minority hold mutually incompatible values that are so fundametal that neitherwill give them up, then two options remain. Either then minority must choose to leave, or they must give up those cultural norms after all.
If the minority were refugees, relocation should be attempted, but refugees are a different case from the one that has recently irritated me immensely. When the minority has chosen to come to country B, they have simultaneously agreed to make these cultural adjustments to the country they have chosen to move to. If they have misjudged and realize that their cultural norms are incompatible with the majority's, they still have to adjust if they stay. Just like one cannot rearrange someone else's house to be like one's own when one is visiting, one cannot expect a host country to adjust to your ideas of how things should be run unless you are also prepared to rearrange your country for visitors or expatriates.
It's really very simple: if you choose to come to the West, you have also chosen Westernization. You cannot come here and be the same person you would have been if you hadn't left. For example, if you want a Western education for its academic excellence, you have to consent to cultural Westernization as well. If you try to reject Western cultural norms, you are both not using your experience to the fullest and are being very rude to your hosts, who are not under any moral obligation to let you come to their country. You don't have to bow and say thank you incessantly, but you do have to keep in mind that you are in someone else's home. You don't get to pull the shots. You have to adjust to them, though, when someone else pulls them.
One of the values that absolutely must be respected and practiced every day is egalitarianism. Secular humanism and its values are extremely important in all Western countries (even though American has its own peculiar Christian fundamentalists that reject many humanist values), but out of all its values egalitarianism is the one that underlies almost all human interactions. If you cannot make egalitarianism a value of yours, you should not come to the West at all, or go home if you are already here. The equality of women and men, poor and rich, white, brown, olive, and black, straight and queer, old and young, married and single, powerful and disenfranchised is a value that is completely non-negotiable. Sure, you can find plenty of examples to the contrary. In fact, we have many academic departments studying just how that much principle is violated in practice. But that should also tell you something. No one can argue to justify the discovered violations without being ostracized by society. Once someone says, "You treated me badly because you think I am not equal to that other person", you must defend yourself or accept condemnation by others.
The example that is closest to my heart is equality of men and women. Society has subscribed to egalitarianism for a long time, but it has collectively only slowly realized its logical implications. Women have pointed out for a long time that if all humans are equal, then women must be equal to men in value and humanity and importance, and therefore women must be respected just as much as men are. Or, looking at it from our side, men should be respected just as much as we are. Women have fought for a long time for what is only a logical consequence of a deeply held cultural value. We have been punished harshly physically and mentally for our resistance to mistreatement and abuse by men, but things have progressed. There is still a long way to go, but we can look back and see where we started 300 years ago a long way behind us. I am proud as a woman of my female ancestors, who fought for my freedom. I know my grandmother would be extremely proud of me and my mother, if she were still alive. The world holds so much opportunity for me - so much more than for my grandmother, who was desperately poor in her childhood and had no opportunity for education. I am pursuing a Ph. D. in a male-dominated, high-paying field, I speak five languages, and have legislation and more awareness backing up my right to exist, so to speak.
So, to you who have come to the West: Respect me or go home. I will not put up with your gender roles and your social roles that are based on that someone is always superior. You have no right - no right - to come here and use those values. If you insist on using them - go home. Pack your bags and go home, where you can treat people like shit in peace. Don't you dare come here and think you can talk down to me, order me around and sexually harrass me and call me a slut because you'd do that at home to a woman. When you came here, you agreed to egalitarianism. That it's your "culture" is irrelevant. You agreed to something different when you came here. And if you looked, women where you came from probably have a lot they'd like to change about your culture when it comes to oppression of women, too. Don't you come here and think you're so superior - don't you forget that I don't give a shit who your daddy is, I don't give a shit how much money you have, I don't give a shit how hot you think you are - if you can't treat me with respect, you're getting jack shit back. Simple. Adjust or go home. We didn't have to let you come here in the first place, and you chose to come. Tough shit if you can't handle it.
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Personal Belief System Principle I
The equality of men and women is universal and not culture-dependent. Therefore, any attempt to legitimize sexism or oppression of women, especially violent attacks on women because of their sex, through cultural norms is illegitimate. Being sexist is universally immoral.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Images of America
America and the consequence of her foreign policy is an insitution of things to talk about, even when something else is the main point.
Ultra Bra - Kahdeksanvuotiaana
Kahdeksanvuotiaana tiesin
että maailma tuhoutuu
kaksintaistelussa suurvaltojen
kahdeksanvuotiaana tiesin
että ihminen murskautuu
silmänräpäyksessä
historiaan
Kävikin niin, että sodat ovat
monimutkaisia kansallisia konflikteja
joissa ammutaan
ja joissa kuolee
aina vähän ihmisiä kerrallaan
joissa kuolee
aina vähän ihmisiä kerrallaan
Kahdeksanvuotiaana tiesin
että maailma tuhoutuu
kaksintaistelussa suurvaltojen
kahdeksanvuotiaana etsin
kartalta kaukaista paikkaa
joka välttäisi
laskeuman
Kävikin niin, että sodat ovat
monimutkaisia kansallisia konflikteja
joissa ammutaan
ja joissa kuolee
aina vähän ihmisiä kerrallaan
joissa kuolee
aina vähän ihmisiä kerrallaan
Kumitossut ja huppari päälläni
otsa kurtussa
löysin Pääsiäissaaret Tyyneltämereltä
myöhemmin tuli ilmi
että juuri sillä merellä tehdään ydinkokeita
missä on Pääsiäissaaret
Translation: When I was eight years old
When I was eight years old I knew
that the world would be destroyed
in a duel between the superpowers
When I was eight years old I knew
that humanity would be crushed
in a blink of an eye
of history
It turns out that wars are
complicated national conflicts
where they shoot
and where a few people
always die at a time
where a few people
always die at a time
When I was eight years old I knew
that the world would be destroyed
in a duel between the superpowers
When I was eight years old
I looked for
a distant place on the map
that would avoid the fallout
It turns out that wars are
complicated national conflicts
where they shoot
and where a few people
always die at a time
where a few people
always die at a time
Dressed in rubber boots and
my forehead wrinkled
I found the Easter Islands in the Pacific Ocean
later I found out
that on the very same ocean they do nuclear tests
where the Easter Islands are
If you're American and hadn't realized this sort of interconnections exist all over, little children far outside your borders have worried about what you will do for a long time. In fact, if you're from any large country, your foreign policy creates reality for eight-year-old kids in a lot of places.
Blur - He Thought Of Cars
Moscow's still red, the young man is dead
Gone to heaven instead, the evening news says he was confused
The motorways will all merge soon, lottery winner buys the moon
They've come to save us, the space invaders are here
He thought of cars and where, where to drive them
Who to drive them with
There, there was no-one, no-one
There's panic at London Heathrow
Everybody wants to go up into the blue
But there's a ten year queue
Columbia is in top gear, it shouldn't snow at this time of year
Now America's shot gone and done the lot
He thought of planes and where, where to fly to
And who to fly there with
Where, there was no-one, no-one
He thought of cars and where, where to drive them
Who to drive them with
There, there was no-one, no-one
So part of the craziness of the modern world is that America just goes nuts with its army. I will not insult my audience by pointing out the obvious connection to current affairs - this song came out on The Great Escape in 1995.
Ultra Bra - Lähetystyö
Panama, Panama, ihana maa
siellä saa palvella Jumalaa
oi lordi, saanko mennä juoksemaan
kohti kaukana siintävää Ameriikkaa
Voi sitä mekaniikkaa, toimintaa
mitä Ameriikka harjoittaa
ei ole muuta valtakuntaa
jossa taivaan valtakunta kajastaa
Panama, Panama, ihana maa
siellä saa palvella Jumalaa
oi lordi, saanko mennä juoksemaan
kohti kaukana siintävää Ameriikkaa
Haluan asua Ameriikassa
haluan kastua Ameriikassa
haluan paisua Ameriikassa
haluan vaipua Ameriikassa
(Translation: Missionary work
Panama, Panama, what a lovely country
you can serve God there
oh lord, can I go running
towards the dimly visible America in the distance
Oh all that mechanics, activity
that America practices
there's no other realm
where the realm of heaven shimmers
Panama, Panama, what a lovely country
you can serve God there
oh lord, can I go running
towards the dimly visible America in the distance
I want to live in America
I want to get wet [or baptized] in America
I want to swell [up and become fat] in America
I want to sink [into the ground or sink down] in America)
Heavy association with fundamentalist Christians. Note to Americans: Europeans don't really use "Lord" about god, certainly not in the Nordic countries, at least. That's an American thing.
Also, public religious expression isn't very socially acceptable. The line of reasoning is, crudely, that people who feel such a compelling need to shout out their religion and their religious beliefs could easily be compelled by said religion to do all kinds of objectionable things, because if you see yourself so strongly in terms of religion you are less likely to consider others and societal harmony. Unlike the US, there are no laws (except for France, now) against religious symbols, prayer, whatever in public places or schools - people will just wonder if you're a bit of a religious nut if you want to be public about your religion.
For devout American Christians, here's a little more explanining for why that is. There's history, of course. People were forced to go to church for a long time. Priests held an extraordinary amount of power, and many of the darkest and most immoral days of Christianity happened in Europe. Freedom from religion is very important, to the point where people want to see signs of it every day, not just in a law book. However, before you feel too sorry for your religious compatriots, (whom, by the way, you may have a lot less in common with than you think in how you interpret your faith) the worry is mostly with respect to Muslims. There have been some spectacularly gruesome crimes committed by male immigrant Muslims from very sexist and socially repressive societies against women in their own families which are at the very least linked up with how Islam is practiced in the country they immigrated from, like honor killings and organized serial rape of women as punishment for being too secular and living like girls in the host country. I don't want to get into what Islam really says and all that, but the common view is that some of it is culture, but that Islam is also culpable because it hasn't condemned the practices to the point of disappearance and because they often invoke "Islamic" ideals of behavior for men and women to explain their behavior (being the most generous to Islam here). So, people get nervous about religious people who can't keep their religion to themselves - you have to wonder what happens behind closed doors.
I guess what I'm saying is that for various reasons, Europeans tend to suspect you might not be able to play fair with others, be understanding toward others who are not like you, that you might have views that are incompatible with the views of society at large, and in the extreme case, not obey the laws of the country, if you insist on public expression of your religion. European Christians seem to have no problem. It's the immigrant Muslims' problem, not your religious compatriots'.
Blur - Magic America
Bill Barrat has a simple dream
He calls it his Plan B
Where there are buildings in the sky
And the air is sugar free
And everyone's very friendly
Well, Plan B arrived on a holiday
He took a cab to the shopping malls
Bought and ate till he could do neither any more
Then found love on Channel 44
La la la la la
He wants to go to magic America
La la la la la
He'd like to live in magic America
With all those magic people
Bill Barrat sent his postcards home
To everyone he'd ever known
They went
"Fifty-nine cents gets you a good square meal
From the people who care how you feel"
Rammstein - Amerika
We're all living in Amerika
Amerika ist wunderbar (America is wonderful)
We're all living in Amerika
Amerika
Amerika
We're all living in Amerika
Amerika ist wunderbar (America is wonderful)
We're all living in Amerika
Amerika
Amerika
Wenn getanzt wird will ich führen (When there is dancing, I will lead)
Auch wenn ihr euch alleine dreht (Even when you are turning alone)
Lasst euch ein wenig kontrollieren (Let yourselves be controlled a little bit)
Ich zeige euch wie's richtig geht (I'll show you how to do the steps right)
Wir bilden einen lieben Reigen (We'll make a lovely round dance)
Die Freiheit spielt auf allen Geigen (Freedom is playing on all the violins)
Musik kommt aus dem Weißen Haus (The music comes from the White House)
Und vor Paris steht Mickey Mouse (And in front of Paris stands Mickey Mouse)
We're all living in Amerika
Amerika ist wunderbar (America is wonderful)
We're all living in Amerika
Amerika
Amerika
Ich kenne Schritte die sehr nützen (I know steps that are very useful)
Und werde euch vor Fehltritt schützen (And I will protect you from missteps)
Und wer nicht tanzen will am Schluss (And whoever doesn't want to dance right now will in the end)
Weiss noch nicht dass er tanzen muss (Just doesn't know that he has to dance yet)
Wir bilden einen lieben Reigen (We'll make a lovely round dance)
Ich werde euch die Richtung zeigen (I will show you the direction to go)
Nach Afrika kommt Santa Claus (Santa Claus arrives in Africa)
Und vor Paris steht Mickey Mouse (And in front of Paris stands Mickey Mouse)
We're all living in Amerika
Coca Cola
Wonderbra
We're all living in Amerika
Amerika
Amerika
This is not a love song
This is not a love song
I don't sing my mother tongue
No, this is not a love song
We're all living in Amerika
Coca Cola
Sometimes war
We're all living in Amerika
Amerika
Amerika
Just in case any deshis are reading this, the mixing of languages is symbolically important - Europeans are very touchy about anglification of their languages, which is seen as cultural imperialism. Mixing English and an European language upsets people a lot because it's seen as treason and/or "those damned yanks with their damned imperialist ways are here in our back yard!"
Another thing that might need clarification: EuroDisneyland was not a popular project, and it's as far as I know never made a profit. It was at least making losses every year for the first five years or so. It is a symbol of crap imperialist pop culture to a lot of people.
Blur - Look Inside America
Good morning, lethargy
Drink Pepsi - it's good for energy
The bath's on, smoke in the bedroom
Sore throat, and on my neck a nasty bruise
And where it came from
Well I don't know
But we played last night - it was a good show
Got to play a second rate chat show
A nationwide deal, so we gotta go
Jeff from the Company says it'll be alright
Got an ad on KROQ
And there's an in-store tonight
Well I build things up
Then I let them go
Got to get time share on the radio
Look inside America
She's alright, she's alright
Sitting out in the distance
But I'm not trying to make her mine
Looking for America
With its kookie nights
And suicides
TV says its alright
Cos everybody's hung up
On something or other
Stepping off in twenty
So the driver says
I should sleep tonight
But I think I'll watch videos instead
Annie Hall leaves New York in the end
Press rewind and Woody gets her back again
And the whole world could have passed through me
But I don't know that it means much to me
Look inside America
She's alright, she's alright
Sitting out in the distance
But I'm not trying to make her mine
I'm looking for America
With its kookie nights
And suicides
TV says its alright
Cos everybody's strung out
On something or other
And the whole world could have passed through me
But I don't know that it means much to me
Some more explanatory notes to Americans: Your way of denoting radio stations with four wacky letters that are impossible to pronounce and mean nothing is unique to you. In Europe, they have proper names. The national state radio stations are frequently simply numbered: Radio 1, Radio 2, etc (UK), P1, P2, etc (Sweden - short for Program 1, Program 2..) NRK1, NRK2, etc (Norway - NRK is the acronym for the national radio and TV corporation), YLE1, YLE2 (Finland - YLE is short for yleinen=common). Commercial stations pick whatever they like - like NRJ, which sounds like "energie" (= energy in French, but fits better on the car radio LCD displays), or Vinyl 107 (Obviously oldies station), Kiss FM, or Radio Mafia. So, the four letter radio station means it has to be a portrayal of life here, and Europeans hate memorizing the call letters.
Also, soda doesn't come out of the tap in Europe like it almost does here. In fact, it's common knowledge it rots your teeth and it's generally bad for you - so again, the positive connotation to Pepsi is not natural from an European point of view.
Everyone has a relationship or image of America. Like I said.
Ultra Bra - Kahdeksanvuotiaana
Kahdeksanvuotiaana tiesin
että maailma tuhoutuu
kaksintaistelussa suurvaltojen
kahdeksanvuotiaana tiesin
että ihminen murskautuu
silmänräpäyksessä
historiaan
Kävikin niin, että sodat ovat
monimutkaisia kansallisia konflikteja
joissa ammutaan
ja joissa kuolee
aina vähän ihmisiä kerrallaan
joissa kuolee
aina vähän ihmisiä kerrallaan
Kahdeksanvuotiaana tiesin
että maailma tuhoutuu
kaksintaistelussa suurvaltojen
kahdeksanvuotiaana etsin
kartalta kaukaista paikkaa
joka välttäisi
laskeuman
Kävikin niin, että sodat ovat
monimutkaisia kansallisia konflikteja
joissa ammutaan
ja joissa kuolee
aina vähän ihmisiä kerrallaan
joissa kuolee
aina vähän ihmisiä kerrallaan
Kumitossut ja huppari päälläni
otsa kurtussa
löysin Pääsiäissaaret Tyyneltämereltä
myöhemmin tuli ilmi
että juuri sillä merellä tehdään ydinkokeita
missä on Pääsiäissaaret
Translation: When I was eight years old
When I was eight years old I knew
that the world would be destroyed
in a duel between the superpowers
When I was eight years old I knew
that humanity would be crushed
in a blink of an eye
of history
It turns out that wars are
complicated national conflicts
where they shoot
and where a few people
always die at a time
where a few people
always die at a time
When I was eight years old I knew
that the world would be destroyed
in a duel between the superpowers
When I was eight years old
I looked for
a distant place on the map
that would avoid the fallout
It turns out that wars are
complicated national conflicts
where they shoot
and where a few people
always die at a time
where a few people
always die at a time
Dressed in rubber boots and
my forehead wrinkled
I found the Easter Islands in the Pacific Ocean
later I found out
that on the very same ocean they do nuclear tests
where the Easter Islands are
If you're American and hadn't realized this sort of interconnections exist all over, little children far outside your borders have worried about what you will do for a long time. In fact, if you're from any large country, your foreign policy creates reality for eight-year-old kids in a lot of places.
Blur - He Thought Of Cars
Moscow's still red, the young man is dead
Gone to heaven instead, the evening news says he was confused
The motorways will all merge soon, lottery winner buys the moon
They've come to save us, the space invaders are here
He thought of cars and where, where to drive them
Who to drive them with
There, there was no-one, no-one
There's panic at London Heathrow
Everybody wants to go up into the blue
But there's a ten year queue
Columbia is in top gear, it shouldn't snow at this time of year
Now America's shot gone and done the lot
He thought of planes and where, where to fly to
And who to fly there with
Where, there was no-one, no-one
He thought of cars and where, where to drive them
Who to drive them with
There, there was no-one, no-one
So part of the craziness of the modern world is that America just goes nuts with its army. I will not insult my audience by pointing out the obvious connection to current affairs - this song came out on The Great Escape in 1995.
Ultra Bra - Lähetystyö
Panama, Panama, ihana maa
siellä saa palvella Jumalaa
oi lordi, saanko mennä juoksemaan
kohti kaukana siintävää Ameriikkaa
Voi sitä mekaniikkaa, toimintaa
mitä Ameriikka harjoittaa
ei ole muuta valtakuntaa
jossa taivaan valtakunta kajastaa
Panama, Panama, ihana maa
siellä saa palvella Jumalaa
oi lordi, saanko mennä juoksemaan
kohti kaukana siintävää Ameriikkaa
Haluan asua Ameriikassa
haluan kastua Ameriikassa
haluan paisua Ameriikassa
haluan vaipua Ameriikassa
(Translation: Missionary work
Panama, Panama, what a lovely country
you can serve God there
oh lord, can I go running
towards the dimly visible America in the distance
Oh all that mechanics, activity
that America practices
there's no other realm
where the realm of heaven shimmers
Panama, Panama, what a lovely country
you can serve God there
oh lord, can I go running
towards the dimly visible America in the distance
I want to live in America
I want to get wet [or baptized] in America
I want to swell [up and become fat] in America
I want to sink [into the ground or sink down] in America)
Heavy association with fundamentalist Christians. Note to Americans: Europeans don't really use "Lord" about god, certainly not in the Nordic countries, at least. That's an American thing.
Also, public religious expression isn't very socially acceptable. The line of reasoning is, crudely, that people who feel such a compelling need to shout out their religion and their religious beliefs could easily be compelled by said religion to do all kinds of objectionable things, because if you see yourself so strongly in terms of religion you are less likely to consider others and societal harmony. Unlike the US, there are no laws (except for France, now) against religious symbols, prayer, whatever in public places or schools - people will just wonder if you're a bit of a religious nut if you want to be public about your religion.
For devout American Christians, here's a little more explanining for why that is. There's history, of course. People were forced to go to church for a long time. Priests held an extraordinary amount of power, and many of the darkest and most immoral days of Christianity happened in Europe. Freedom from religion is very important, to the point where people want to see signs of it every day, not just in a law book. However, before you feel too sorry for your religious compatriots, (whom, by the way, you may have a lot less in common with than you think in how you interpret your faith) the worry is mostly with respect to Muslims. There have been some spectacularly gruesome crimes committed by male immigrant Muslims from very sexist and socially repressive societies against women in their own families which are at the very least linked up with how Islam is practiced in the country they immigrated from, like honor killings and organized serial rape of women as punishment for being too secular and living like girls in the host country. I don't want to get into what Islam really says and all that, but the common view is that some of it is culture, but that Islam is also culpable because it hasn't condemned the practices to the point of disappearance and because they often invoke "Islamic" ideals of behavior for men and women to explain their behavior (being the most generous to Islam here). So, people get nervous about religious people who can't keep their religion to themselves - you have to wonder what happens behind closed doors.
I guess what I'm saying is that for various reasons, Europeans tend to suspect you might not be able to play fair with others, be understanding toward others who are not like you, that you might have views that are incompatible with the views of society at large, and in the extreme case, not obey the laws of the country, if you insist on public expression of your religion. European Christians seem to have no problem. It's the immigrant Muslims' problem, not your religious compatriots'.
Blur - Magic America
Bill Barrat has a simple dream
He calls it his Plan B
Where there are buildings in the sky
And the air is sugar free
And everyone's very friendly
Well, Plan B arrived on a holiday
He took a cab to the shopping malls
Bought and ate till he could do neither any more
Then found love on Channel 44
La la la la la
He wants to go to magic America
La la la la la
He'd like to live in magic America
With all those magic people
Bill Barrat sent his postcards home
To everyone he'd ever known
They went
"Fifty-nine cents gets you a good square meal
From the people who care how you feel"
Rammstein - Amerika
We're all living in Amerika
Amerika ist wunderbar (America is wonderful)
We're all living in Amerika
Amerika
Amerika
We're all living in Amerika
Amerika ist wunderbar (America is wonderful)
We're all living in Amerika
Amerika
Amerika
Wenn getanzt wird will ich führen (When there is dancing, I will lead)
Auch wenn ihr euch alleine dreht (Even when you are turning alone)
Lasst euch ein wenig kontrollieren (Let yourselves be controlled a little bit)
Ich zeige euch wie's richtig geht (I'll show you how to do the steps right)
Wir bilden einen lieben Reigen (We'll make a lovely round dance)
Die Freiheit spielt auf allen Geigen (Freedom is playing on all the violins)
Musik kommt aus dem Weißen Haus (The music comes from the White House)
Und vor Paris steht Mickey Mouse (And in front of Paris stands Mickey Mouse)
We're all living in Amerika
Amerika ist wunderbar (America is wonderful)
We're all living in Amerika
Amerika
Amerika
Ich kenne Schritte die sehr nützen (I know steps that are very useful)
Und werde euch vor Fehltritt schützen (And I will protect you from missteps)
Und wer nicht tanzen will am Schluss (And whoever doesn't want to dance right now will in the end)
Weiss noch nicht dass er tanzen muss (Just doesn't know that he has to dance yet)
Wir bilden einen lieben Reigen (We'll make a lovely round dance)
Ich werde euch die Richtung zeigen (I will show you the direction to go)
Nach Afrika kommt Santa Claus (Santa Claus arrives in Africa)
Und vor Paris steht Mickey Mouse (And in front of Paris stands Mickey Mouse)
We're all living in Amerika
Coca Cola
Wonderbra
We're all living in Amerika
Amerika
Amerika
This is not a love song
This is not a love song
I don't sing my mother tongue
No, this is not a love song
We're all living in Amerika
Coca Cola
Sometimes war
We're all living in Amerika
Amerika
Amerika
Just in case any deshis are reading this, the mixing of languages is symbolically important - Europeans are very touchy about anglification of their languages, which is seen as cultural imperialism. Mixing English and an European language upsets people a lot because it's seen as treason and/or "those damned yanks with their damned imperialist ways are here in our back yard!"
Another thing that might need clarification: EuroDisneyland was not a popular project, and it's as far as I know never made a profit. It was at least making losses every year for the first five years or so. It is a symbol of crap imperialist pop culture to a lot of people.
Blur - Look Inside America
Good morning, lethargy
Drink Pepsi - it's good for energy
The bath's on, smoke in the bedroom
Sore throat, and on my neck a nasty bruise
And where it came from
Well I don't know
But we played last night - it was a good show
Got to play a second rate chat show
A nationwide deal, so we gotta go
Jeff from the Company says it'll be alright
Got an ad on KROQ
And there's an in-store tonight
Well I build things up
Then I let them go
Got to get time share on the radio
Look inside America
She's alright, she's alright
Sitting out in the distance
But I'm not trying to make her mine
Looking for America
With its kookie nights
And suicides
TV says its alright
Cos everybody's hung up
On something or other
Stepping off in twenty
So the driver says
I should sleep tonight
But I think I'll watch videos instead
Annie Hall leaves New York in the end
Press rewind and Woody gets her back again
And the whole world could have passed through me
But I don't know that it means much to me
Look inside America
She's alright, she's alright
Sitting out in the distance
But I'm not trying to make her mine
I'm looking for America
With its kookie nights
And suicides
TV says its alright
Cos everybody's strung out
On something or other
And the whole world could have passed through me
But I don't know that it means much to me
Some more explanatory notes to Americans: Your way of denoting radio stations with four wacky letters that are impossible to pronounce and mean nothing is unique to you. In Europe, they have proper names. The national state radio stations are frequently simply numbered: Radio 1, Radio 2, etc (UK), P1, P2, etc (Sweden - short for Program 1, Program 2..) NRK1, NRK2, etc (Norway - NRK is the acronym for the national radio and TV corporation), YLE1, YLE2 (Finland - YLE is short for yleinen=common). Commercial stations pick whatever they like - like NRJ, which sounds like "energie" (= energy in French, but fits better on the car radio LCD displays), or Vinyl 107 (Obviously oldies station), Kiss FM, or Radio Mafia. So, the four letter radio station means it has to be a portrayal of life here, and Europeans hate memorizing the call letters.
Also, soda doesn't come out of the tap in Europe like it almost does here. In fact, it's common knowledge it rots your teeth and it's generally bad for you - so again, the positive connotation to Pepsi is not natural from an European point of view.
Everyone has a relationship or image of America. Like I said.
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