Well - some thoughts on our adventure in the USA.
These are only my observations and please don't feel compelled to read them. They are neither right nor wrong, just my humble observations.
Firstly the people!
Actually Americans aren't hugely different to New Zealanders or any other country for that matter, but you all knew that didn't you!
However the sheer scale of the country and size of the cities has to make the psyche of the people a little different, doesn't it? The cities in particular I found very fast paced. I guess if you actually live there you find a more relaxed niche to live in but from a visitor's perspective the pace makes the people seem a little detached, a little more remote, and seem to be always focusing on some future event. They seem to find it hard to be in the 'now'. This may be more true of Californians perhaps.
Not to say that they aren't friendly and helpful, I certainly found them so, but it seems sometimes to be a little superficial. You are just another number, sometimes that changed when they heard your accent, (yes we do have one)!
Side note - You could tell they didn't know where New Zealand was by the way they said 'Uh-huh'. I never raised it, they always asked where I was from because I believe they really wanted to know. I didn't want to embarrass them by putting them on the spot so I never pushed it. I did however always make sure that they did know we weren't part of Australia.
If something interested me and I bothered to get past the initial veneer I ended up having some wonderful conversations with them. I met some really nice people. You have to push them a little bit to get to the interesting stuff like their opinions. They don't 'let you in' easily. One work colleague who spent 2-3 years in the USA told me that it was close to a year before they got their first invite to a BBQ at some people's place, who had over time become friends. I could see that being the case. Unless you're a biker, as that seemed to break down quite a few barriers.
There also appears to be bit of a 'fear' factor as well? Safety is an issue. The remoteness they display kind of offers them a level or sense of security where if they don't have to let people 'in' they will be a bit safer? It's almost like they have a little bubble around them and they can hold people at arms length. I saw quite a few examples of this when on my bus journeys. But in fairness, this could happen on buses in NZ as well? I don't catch buses back home so I don't really know. For example I saw a black lady perhaps in her forties, who got up from her seat while waiting for a bus at the bus stop and went around the corner to wait when a young (black) man sauntered around the corner with his hoodie up, and sat down at the same seat. When the bus came she waited until the last minute then came back around and hopped in the bus. She choose who she sat next to and it was another black lady. She was clearly intimidated.
I did wonder if this was due is some part to the gun culture that is alive and well in the USA. You really don't know who has a gun on them and who doesn't. Perhaps you have to assume that everyone does or could have one on them. It doesn't seem to take much to get a gun licence and this is for hand guns also bear in mind. Talking to Roger (the ex-cop from San Francisco), he did define that most gun agents in the USA don't like it when Californians buy their guns from out of state, as there is a much more complex paper trail to be done. They will avoid it or just refuse to sell them a gun. Californian gun laws are much tougher, but not impossible.
Younger people didn't seem quite so afraid but this could be the bravery and naivety of youth! It's not like like I was in a bad part of town. There seemed a even mix of white, black and Hispanic races in my immediate area which was Westchester. Perhaps this is so for Kiwis also but I think as a general rule we walk the streets in Auckland anyway a little easier. You might disagree.
Apart from my mapping error on my first day when I inadvertently ended up riding through Watts and East LA, I felt quite safe. Even then I was too ignorant to know I wasn't in the best place to be although looking back I had plenty of clues.
Sometimes American people working in shops and garages quote the 'have a nice day' a little to easily. I love it when they say 'have a nice day' at about 7-8PM at night! This is a little more true for Californians. There does seem to be a difference between Californians and other states.
I don't know whether the economic downturn is having an ongoing effect because I've got nothing to compare it to but certainly in some of the smaller towns we went through in states like New Mexico and Utah, Nevada there was evidence of the harsh reality of economic downturn. Lots of empty shops boarded up and businesses that were clearly struggling. People in the dinners talked about better days and how the government is stuffing everything up. I didn't get a feel for the Republican/Democrat thing but you are either in one camp or the other, and for Obama or not. A bit simplistic maybe but I was an outsider looking in with a self-admitted lack of knowledge on the subject.
Sometimes it looked a bit like a country under siege where everyone unites to fight the evil of terrorism. Nev laughed when I said I felt every black Suburban with tinted windows that went past us was either FBI or CIA. My friend Roger from Oregon laughed also and said that they probably were! This humour fed my paranoia!
Our petrol stop in Dixon provided an interesting sight. Two large buses with blanked out windows with Dept of Homeland Security on the side were parked in there just having refuelled. Big uniformed men were walking around the place with the usual weaponry and heavy utility belts hanging off them. I for one would not have given them any cheek. I did wonder what was inside and where they were going? Nev thought perhaps they were transporting prisoners but I wasn't so sure that's what DHS was responsible for? Perhaps it is?
Recorded announcements at LAX announced that all travelling military personnel went to certain gates for speedy processing, and a big thank you from the American people and we salute you! This message is broadcast perhaps every half hour to all 4 terminals. They do believe that God will defend and bless the USA and yet have cut God out of so many other facets of their lives. Prayer time at school etc...
Anyway, I liked the people. With two exceptions of blatant rudeness I only experienced politeness, helpfulness and humour. I think the average American on the street is quite distant from American foreign policy and ultimately not responsible for it, in a country of 313 million people there is little they can do to change anything except once every four years, and then it just comes down the the economic policies of any given President. They are more concerned with their internal economy and their quality of lifestyle than being the defender of the downtrodden in a global sense.
They are a lot like you and me, and that's good enough for me.
Paranoid about the CIA and FBI - too many American TV programmes - such as Homeland!
ReplyDeleteGreat to have you back - Kay