"Berliners have a self-righteousness about their incapacity, their unemployment, their non-participation in what they call the Scheisse-System. It's an attitude of arrogance-in-failure you just don't encounter in Asia."
I've always thought the shrugging attitude of "Shameless"-type working class refuseniks was at least more honest than that of their middle class counterparts, who pretend to be clinically depressed or invent psuedo-M.E. phantom illnesses to make their refusal to work and participate seem somehow more ligitimate and respectable.
R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
anonymous
January 23 2010, 20:00:11 UTC
I've just returned to a country I've spent much time in (also in Asia, Thailand in my case) and I'm always struck by the things that just couldn't be possible back where I come from (America). Many bus stations here have computers for people to get online while they wait for their buses, for a small charge. But what's impressive is that the device is not behind a glass case, it's not even chained down; it's just a computer there in the open. There just seems to be an acknowledgement that this machine is for everyone to use, why would you abuse it? Compare this to New York City, where I once desperately needed to check my e-mail at JFK Int'l, only to find that every public computer terminal (which, as a security precaution, had already been built into immobile furniture) had been senselessly vandalized into inoperation. When I got a bike in Thailand, I asked a local friend where I could could get a bike lock (a necessity in America, yet one that still hasn't deterred thieves). She said "Oh you don't really need anything like that
( ... )
this is depressing. I'd have hoped for better from Germany.
I live in Chicago for about three years, and standards for public behavior here seem to vary by location, situation etc. Today I had a very nice time walking around town, riding the trains, etc. A stranger greeted me warmly on the train platform, and it was such a surprise that I immediately expected him to ask for change, but he just wanted to say hi. That set the tone for the day. I heard a great busker, coffee shop & store employees were friendly and smiling, etc.
At other times, (especially baseball season in the neighborhood where the Cubs play, where public drunkenness and loutishness is the norm) people can be horrendous.But bad & good behavior both seem to cut across race & class lines, and seem to be tied to other factors.
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I've always thought the shrugging attitude of "Shameless"-type working class refuseniks was at least more honest than that of their middle class counterparts, who pretend to be clinically depressed or invent psuedo-M.E. phantom illnesses to make their refusal to work and participate seem somehow more ligitimate and respectable.
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I live in Chicago for about three years, and standards for public behavior here seem to vary by location, situation etc. Today I had a very nice time walking around town, riding the trains, etc. A stranger greeted me warmly on the train platform, and it was such a surprise that I immediately expected him to ask for change, but he just wanted to say hi. That set the tone for the day. I heard a great busker, coffee shop & store employees were friendly and smiling, etc.
At other times, (especially baseball season in the neighborhood where the Cubs play, where public drunkenness and loutishness is the norm) people can be horrendous.But bad & good behavior both seem to cut across race & class lines, and seem to be tied to other factors.
I do miss the ultra-civility of Japan at times.
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