The good in America

[bookkie]

Everyone's been talking about the murders in our schools. Who is to blame. Claiming that our Country's morals are going downhill... Well this site is very uplifting. It dispels this notion. Makes one believe that the problem is not as large as it make to look by the media.

http://www.lonsberry.com/writings.cfm?story=71&go=4

Richard

 

[Bruce in West Oz]

I believe you hit the nail right on the head -- the media make everything look worse than it is!.

The view we get of the US from our media is of a gun-happy country, full of redneck, right-wing, fundamentalist "bubbas" or black "gangsta rappas", where you are likely to be gunned down on the freeways or in the city streets.

Then, on my first of several trips to the US, I spoke with a professional coach driver, who had been driving LA's freeways for 27 years, and who had never seen anyone pull a gun on anyone else while driving. He didn't say that it didn't happen -- just that with all the thousands of miles he'd driven, he'd never seen it -- contrary to how our media report it.

Then I went up to New England (I had relatives living in Maine) and fell in love with the place and the people. Ayuh! The lifestyle reminded me of Perth before we became paranoid. The people were friendly and open, relaxed -- and not the least bit "redneck". Where I stayed, "home invasion" (armed forcible entry while the occupants are home) was unknown, not like here. The vandalism and graffiti were negligible -- not like here. My brother-in-law kept a 30-06 in the wardrobe -- not because he needed it, but because he could! His was no different from most households I visited -- gun on the wall or behind the door. They couldn't really understand my fascination -- or that we were denied being allowed to do the same. I even bought myself a BB gun there -- 44 Automag "replica". Inaccurate as hell, slow, but the best fun since sliced bread. Had to leave it there, though, because they're a prohibited "weapon" here.

Now, they've moved to Salem, OR. We haven't been able to visit yet, but I am hoping to do so soon. I hope the people are as friendly, and the gunstores as big as in New England.

The only time I felt real discomfort in my trips was driving down through the tunnels and everything leading to the George Washington Bridge (??--memory going) in NY at 1.00 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Pretty creepy stuff for me.

Oh, and when we were accosted and abused by some maniacal jerk in Washington, DC for being "godammed f***ing foreigners" etc. because we automatically walked on the left hand side of the footpath.

Apart from those incidents, which I see as a function of population size, not nationality, I would happily live in the US -- except your immigration laws preclude it.

I spend a lot of time here trying to correct the misconceptions actively promulgated by our media. Even here in the office, there are a couple of "youngsters", fresh out of University, who have been so indoctrinated with an anti-US mindset that it is quite frightening. (Their attitude to gun ownership is almost identical, BTW.) It's like talking to a brick wall -- you can see their eyes glaze over when you try to explain anything they don't want to hear.

Forgive the ramble, people, but this was something I needed to say.

Bruce

 

[Miss .357]

I find the media to be very misleading. Recent news coverage depicted gun shows as places to easily buy guns with no laws or checks needed. (Not true where I live.)

When I lived in Melbourne, I found people to be very hestitant towards Americans. They had a preconceived notion that Americans thought themselves superior to all people. I also found that the local news depicted New York State as being only in New York City. People found it hard to understand that upstate New York was not the Bronx.

Media plays a bigger role in society's beliefs than most give it credit for.

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"Time changes everything"

 

[walkin' man]

Bruce,
Surely you jest, what do you mean "our immigration laws preclude" your living in the US????? Please elaborate or tell me your kidding. Being about a sixth generation American I always assumed an English speaking, literate immigrant from a first world country would always be welcome. My opinion is: anyone willing to work and to try to make this a better country is always welcome, especially if they already speak the language.
Bruce, I will personally "vouch" for you should you decide to try to make a try at citizenship. If you liked Maine you will love the rest of the country. ayaah.


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land of the free and the home of the brave......WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT

 

[Destructo6]

Remarkably true, Bruce. I live here in east Los Angeles County, merely blocks from rough neighborhoods (if you don't call mine rough), and I've never seen anyone pull a firearm of any type in public.

Here in the states, we have some crazy notion that there are no cities in Australia or something. Australia is a rugged, primitive continent, with Abo's hiding behind every bluff and vast tracts of nothing but crocodiles.

When I was stationed in Okinawa, the Okinawans treated us like we would rape and kill them at the earliest opportunity. We couldn't even go into the Hard Rock Cafe without a Japanese escort to keep us in line.

At the few local ranges that exist, we get all types of people, from gang-banger looking people, to Asians, to recent and non-english speaking Mexican immigrants. What's interesting is that at the range there's a sense of comraderie, equality, and comfort that I would not feel if I ran into these same people on the street or in a mall somewhere. Maybe it's just me, but from the reactions of these people, they seem to feel the same way.

The media and politicians need problems to sell their respective goods. The bigger the problem, the bigger the sale.

 

[Bruce in West Oz]

Miss .357:
Melbourne</> people are just naturally stand-offish and aloof. Heck, we even call it Mel-boring here You should have come over to the West!

Walkin' Man:
Fraid it's true -- I actually checked up. (But thanks for the kindness.) There are only a very few reasons accepted for immigration to the US. Off the top of my head ('cause I don't have the papers with me), they are something like:

1. Marry a US citizen (My darling wife could get a wee tad upset at that)
2. Be awarded refugee status (Not yet accepted for Aussies -- though it should be, considering our gun laws)
3. Be offered a job in the US that, substantially, "can not be done by a US citizen". (Burnt-out editor/website manager doesn't cut the mustard)
4. Be prepared to open a business in the US, employing (from memory) at least 10 US citizens and requiring a minimum investment of USD$250 000 (rural area) or USD$1 000 000 (city).

Maybe I could just sneak over the border one night .... But then, "Walker, Texas Ranger" seems to spend a lot of his time stopping people from doing that ...

Bruce

 

[fubsy]

bruce,
That dosent sound right, unless they have tightened there immigration laws......now I worked for a while in micronesia and for a while there were people(americans), that I worked with who were thinking of immigrating to australia--the experienced some difficulity and I forget all the details, but it was professionals only and like the restrictions you posted for the us large sums of money to invest in business.....now thats been 20 years ago.................but heres one for ya.......were I now work bout 15 years ago I was working along side a married couple who were from a different country, we all make very similar amounts of money, there was obviously something bothering them so I asked and they told me with so concern that they were either going to have to go back home or become citizens...they had been here almost 7 years, I asked how come its a problem becoming a citizen, cause they didnt want to go back h0ome.....there response---then we will have to pay taxes.....they had been here for 7 years with an estimated tax savings of 10k a year, or 70k total.....sure wish we were eligible for that.......fubsy.

 

[Bruce in West Oz]

fubsy:

Sorry, mate -- but it's true. We had cause to get lawyers here in Oz to look into it for one of our staff -- for an "ordinary" person, it's next to impossible.

If you want to have a look at a site which "summarises" the conditions, go to:

http://www.immigrationlink.com/

Otherwise, go to the INS homepage, and look into the law database for the full printout of the rules. But be warned -- you need pretty damned good comprehension skills to sort out the legal gobbledegook!!!!

http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/

Cheers
Bruce