I believe in a culturally pure America.

[Polymath257]

Yes, but they are still models for good Americans with good values.

No, they actually weren't. They were actors promoting the propaganda of the time.

 

[Polymath257]

Americans, when properly speaking the American language, have no accent at all. I'd certainly prefer to hear the Queen's English over the Southern drawls.

No, they have a midwest accent. It was *one* accept chosen by the broadcast industry as a standard.

The language has changed a LOT over the last couple hundred years. You would likely not be able to understand (at the very least, you wouldn't like them) the accents of Washington and Jefferson, for example.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I wonder, would you Americans mind building a wall along the border to your north? I'd feel a lot safer, frankly.

You gotta pay for it! I do accept payments in maple syrup.

 

[Revoltingest]

It's not even a real word. They don't know where it comes from, why it exists, or what it even actually means. Maybe Wu is right and those corn fumes mess with people's head?

"Hoosier" is a perfectly cromulent word.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

No, they have a midwest accent. It was *one* accept chosen by the broadcast industry as a standard.

No matter what people say, proper English is not MidWestern English. Speak it, and people will assume you aren't from here.
And thank you for acknowledging it as an accent. I can't stand the sheer idiocy that goes behind this nonsensical idea of "accent neutral."

 

[Shadow Wolf]

"Hoosier" is a perfectly cromulent word.

Them corn huffin', cromulently challenged can go up their high hills asking around "who's here?" as they wonder about wondering "who's ear?," and hopefully they'll find a mirror to know what color they are. Then they can find out, maybe, if they work for a dead guy or not. Maybe it's derogatory slang? Maybe it's a priest?
That makes at least seven possible origins of the term. It's about like trying to find where the Simpson's Springfield is.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Really sorry I even stumbled upon this thread.

What a tiny, uninteresting, mind-numbingly dull world it would be if everybody was just like me. Believe it or not, like it or not, there is an enormous pool of strength in diversity. People who speak other languages than mine can actually think things that I cannot. Different points of view bring give a clearer picture, just from seeing from different angles.

I wonder, would you Americans mind building a wall along the border to your north? I'd feel a lot safer, frankly.

Where would we get our Canadian bacon and maple syrup from then?

You know it pains me, but sometimes it is good to see things like this. It takes them from the abstract to the real in a way that so many can see. It makes it difficult for people that lean a certain way to claim that it is just snowflakes whining when here it is in black and white for all to see.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

No matter what people say, proper English is not MidWestern English. Speak it, and people will assume you aren't from here.
And thank you for acknowledging it as an accent. I can't stand the sheer idiocy that goes behind this nonsensical idea of "accent neutral."

I am not even sure what accent neutral would be. Siri? Alexa? Those robotic voices that guide you through services on the phone?

Midwestern is an accent as far as I know too.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

OP seems to have difficulty distinguishing between TV and reality. This is one of several threads where he's bemoaned the fact America isn't just like some imaginary televisual idyl.

The Beverly Hillbillies should be the model that we all follow. I think baseball is ripe for the possum fat ball on the pitcher's mound.

 

[Jonathan Bailey]

Speaking of standard broadcast English, I recall an episode of Murphy Brown where Wallace Shawn played a politician that discovers he is beholden to white supremacists for securing his win. He has to read their manifesto and it sounds very similar to the OP, if I recall correctly.

Yes, to many people sounding polished, cultured, educated and sophisticated means "sounding white".

Yes, I'm white and I prefer to mingle with my own culture and my own people. Am I racist?

I'm angry because I'm poor and must live in areas in the United States of America which are well below the level of culture and education of my boyhood and young adulthood. I must put up with a crappy state like Oklahoma because rent is low enough for me here. Economic situations of the present will no more permit me to live along the now-opulent northern California coast line and particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area. I can't live around my cultured and educated California white people any longer. I have champagne tastes but a malt-liquor budget. Personal financial conditions alienate me from the places and culture I used to know and cherish. I miss the beautiful California scenery and climate. Oklahoma is a hell full of flash floods, ungodly summertime humidity and tornadoes. Unfortunately, the low-income areas of America often have poor/unfavorable weather, dilapidated infrastructure, widespread slumlording, environmental decay, pollution and ignorant rude-and-crude trashy people who often wave bibles. This is especially true in politically RED areas on our nation's map. The majority of American poor people can't seem be both poor and have decent manners. Poverty separates them from grace. Being poor is no excuse to be impolite. Being poor is no excuse to act ignorant. Being poor is no excuse to be too lazy to use a garbage can. Being poor is no reason to live like a dirty slob. Being poor is no reason to use bad grammar. Being poor is no reason to be hateful and miserable. Being poor is no reason to smoke, abuse alcohol or drugs. Being poor is no reason to be mixed up in crime and vice. Mother Teresa was both a poor person and a beautiful, graceful person under God. All these poor people around me in thee RED areas on the map try to drag me down to their level of rudeness and crudeness.

There is no paradise in America for the poor that I know of. Homosexual people have their mecca in San Francisco. I know of no mecca for the impoverished.

I'm poor and culturally-displaced American. I will fit in nowhere that I can afford.

It's ironic the traditional party of the poor is the Democrats but the blue states and blue areas within states have the highest cost of living. Rent is cost-prohibitive. How odd! The red states are cheaper to live in but are Republican and most of the poor people in these red states vote Republican, and therefore they are deprived of better-quality social services and housing, so I don't follow the logic at all.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

And how would you enforce it? Would you lock people up for speaking French?

Don’t first amendment protections extend to language? If I have the right to say whatever I want to say without government interference then I have the right to say Je dis ce que je veux.

Or am I not allowed to say that?

You are only allowed to say J'aime le gâteau. Sorry. I don't make the rules. OK. I made that up. Now I will be joining you in the 'used some ferin mumbo jumbo langije on the Merican internet detention center' next to the Quickie Mart in Corn, Iowa.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Yes, to many people sounding polished, cultured, educated and sophisticated means "sounding white".

Yes, I'm white and I prefer to mingle with my own culture and my own people. Am I racists?

That would be a big YES.

I'm angry because I'm poor and must live in areas in the United States of America which are well below the level of culture and education of my boyhood and young adulthood. I must put up with a crappy state like Oklahoma because rent is low enough for me here. Economic situations of the present will no more permit me to live in now-opulent northern California coast line and particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area. i can't live around my cultured and educated California people. I have champagne tastes but malt-liquor budget. Personal financial conditions alienate me from the places and culture I used to know and cherish. Unfortunately, the low-income areas of America often have poor weather and ignorant rude-and crude trashy people. This is especially true in politically RED areas on our nation's map. The majority of American poor people can't seem be both poor and have decent manners. Poverty separates them from grace. Being poor is no excuse to be impolite. Being poor is no excuse to act ignorant. Being poor is no excuse to be too lazy to use a garbage can. Being poor is no reason to live like a dirty slob. Being poor is no reason to use bad grammar. Being poor is no reason to be hateful and miserable. Being poor is no reason to smoke, abuse alcohol or drugs. Being poor is no reason to be mixed up in crime and vice. Mother Teresa was botha poor person and a beautiful and graceful person under God. All these poor people around me try to drag me down to their level of rudeness and crudeness.

I am poor. I think it sucks. I have not retreated to blaming people that are different for that. I am looking for any way to change my situation for the better.

Sounds like you have lofty and unrealistic expectations and failure to achieve them is making you angry. There is no guarantee of success. Only of a playing field and sometimes, people win on that field for stupid reasons and no effort of their own. Live with it.

I may not like it that people are rude, but I ignore them. Why perpetuate it and why stew in it? Seems pointless.

I grew up in a place that was 28,000 white people and maybe three black people. Most of the crime was committed by white people that were poor. Being poor is often the reason people turn to crime. Crime is not an issue of race, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, etc. It is an economic issue.

The only one that I see dragging you down is YOU. Instead of finding a way to lift yourself up, you are externalizing and blaming anyone that you can fling something on for your position in life.

Let me tell ya. I am tired of hearing a bunch of whiny people blaming anyone but themselves for why they are where they are. Sure, sometimes circumstances are handed to us and they suck, but blaming other people isn't going to change that. YOU are the first and primary person that can make the changes. If the system sucks, find a way around it. Put it to work for you. Get help when it is too much for you.

Spouting racist nonsense on the internet isn't going to change your life or make things better. It just makes things worse.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Yes, to many people sounding polished, cultured, educated and sophisticated means "sounding white".

Yes, I'm white and I prefer to mingle with my own culture and my own people. Am I racist?

I'm angry because I'm poor and must live in areas in the United States of America which are well below the level of culture and education of my boyhood and young adulthood. I must put up with a crappy state like Oklahoma because rent is low enough for me here. Economic situations of the present will no more permit me to live along the now-opulent northern California coast line and particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area. I can't live around my cultured and educated California white people any longer. I have champagne tastes but a malt-liquor budget. Personal financial conditions alienate me from the places and culture I used to know and cherish. I miss the beautiful California scenery and climate. Oklahoma is a hell full of flash floods, ungodly summertime humidity and tornadoes. Unfortunately, the low-income areas of America often have poor/unfavorable weather, dilapidated infrastructure, widespread slumlording, environmental decay, pollution and ignorant rude-and-crude trashy people who often wave bibles. This is especially true in politically RED areas on our nation's map. The majority of American poor people can't seem be both poor and have decent manners. Poverty separates them from grace. Being poor is no excuse to be impolite. Being poor is no excuse to act ignorant. Being poor is no excuse to be too lazy to use a garbage can. Being poor is no reason to live like a dirty slob. Being poor is no reason to use bad grammar. Being poor is no reason to be hateful and miserable. Being poor is no reason to smoke, abuse alcohol or drugs. Being poor is no reason to be mixed up in crime and vice. Mother Teresa was botha poor person and a beautiful and graceful person under God. All these poor people around me try to drag me down to their level of rudeness and crudeness.

I'll enjoy it for you. And I'll enjoy it (and have enjoyed it) even though I don't see many of Celtic descent running around. And are you aware that even the wealthy "act ignorant, use bad grammar, are hateful and miserable, smoke, abuse drugs, are active and involved in crime, are rude, crude, and trashy, and are impolite?"
Granted, what described is largely why I left Indiana for California. Red states do suck. But how the serious hell do you keep exclusive company with white people in California? That's a very massive chunk of the population you'd be intentionally isolating yourself from, and they're all around you there.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Yes, to many people sounding polished, cultured, educated and sophisticated means "sounding white".

Yes, I'm white and I prefer to mingle with my own culture and my own people. Am I racist?

I'm angry because I'm poor and must live in areas in the United States of America which are well below the level of culture and education of my boyhood and young adulthood. I must put up with a crappy state like Oklahoma because rent is low enough for me here. Economic situations of the present will no more permit me to live along the now-opulent northern California coast line and particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area. I can't live around my cultured and educated California white people any longer. I have champagne tastes but a malt-liquor budget. Personal financial conditions alienate me from the places and culture I used to know and cherish. I miss the beautiful California scenery and climate. Oklahoma is a hell full of flash floods, ungodly summertime humidity and tornadoes. Unfortunately, the low-income areas of America often have poor/unfavorable weather, dilapidated infrastructure, widespread slumlording, environmental decay, pollution and ignorant rude-and-crude trashy people who often wave bibles. This is especially true in politically RED areas on our nation's map. The majority of American poor people can't seem be both poor and have decent manners. Poverty separates them from grace. Being poor is no excuse to be impolite. Being poor is no excuse to act ignorant. Being poor is no excuse to be too lazy to use a garbage can. Being poor is no reason to live like a dirty slob. Being poor is no reason to use bad grammar. Being poor is no reason to be hateful and miserable. Being poor is no reason to smoke, abuse alcohol or drugs. Being poor is no reason to be mixed up in crime and vice. Mother Teresa was both a poor person and a beautiful, graceful person under God. All these poor people around me in thee RED areas on the map try to drag me down to their level of rudeness and crudeness.

There is no paradise in America for the poor that I know of. Homosexual people have their mecca in San Francisco. I know of no mecca for the impoverished.

The only thing I wanted to add is that there are sometimes people that have behaved in ways that directly impact our situation. They can be blamed for their role, especially if it is willful, malicious and with intent.

But you are not placing blame on people like that. You are mad and attacking poor people, people from other countries, different cultures, or ethnic groups for your problems, when those people did not have any direct impact on your condition. They are not sitting around whining. They are working their butts off to get somewhere. Are you jealous when one of them succeeds where you have failed? Get over yourself. Do what they did. I don't know how old you are, but you are never to old to improve yourself. Get some realistic goals and quit living the a fantasy past that did not exist even then.

The best advice I ever got about being down, depressed or dejected was to take action. I mean positive action. Make your bed in the morning. It will make you feel better. When you feel better, your whole day will change. When you get home to a made bed, you will appreciate it even more. You would be amazed at the results of simple positive actions will be on your outlook and your life. Maybe you will never achieve you lofty goals of living on the California coast, but you might achieve something that will be better than what you claim to have now.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

"Hoosier" is a perfectly cromulent word.

What does it mean? I am going to have to look that up.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

What does it mean? I am going to have to look that up.

I am not at all joking or exaggerating when I say there are at least seven possible origins, and ultimately no one knows where it came from or what it means.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Them corn huffin', cromulently challenged can go up their high hills asking around "who's here?" as they wonder about wondering "who's ear?," and hopefully they'll find a mirror to know what color they are. Then they can find out, maybe, if they work for a dead guy or not. Maybe it's derogatory slang? Maybe it's a priest?

"high hills" - hooz, a word in some language meaning high hills
"who's here" - back to the frontier days and asking that when approaching a cabin
"who's ear" - again from older times, back when duels were common and allegedly due to ears being bitten off people would ask that
"find a mirror.." - Hoosier might come from the French word for red, and something else, and be a possible slur against Natives
"Work for a dead guy" - Some guy with a name close to Hoosier who was in Kentucky but hired Indiana workers.
"Derogatory slang" - it comes up again with some more possible connotations here, possible even adopted among themselves to disempower the derogatory meaning
"Maybe a priest" - A Methodist priest with a last name similar to Hoosier.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

I am not at all joking or exaggerating when I say there are at least seven possible origins, and ultimately no one knows where it came from or what it means.

I see that. I think it was my great, great, great grandfather that was born in Indiana as the family moved ever westward, before settling in Missouri.

I liked the Gene Hackman movie about Hoosier basketball. I remember it was also a line in the Outlaw Josey Wales. Granny Sarah mentioned that she was from Indiana and referred to Hoosiers. Here in Missouri, the use is often derogatory and describes a sort of uncouth taste or lifestyle.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

My mistake. Grandma Sarah and her family were from Kansas. There is a scene where they are talking to a shopkeeper and he is the Hoosier.

GRANDMA SARAH: Never heard of nice things from Missouri coming West. And treading lightly is not my way. (To the shopkeeper) We're from Kansas. Jayhawkers, and proud of it.

SHOPKEEPER: I know how you feel. I'm a Hoosier, myself.

GRANDMA SARAH: Personally, I don't think much of Hoosiers neither.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

You are only allowed to say J'aime le gâteau.

Doch! Ich hasse Kuchen. Aber, Ich mag heiße käsige Kartoffeln.