Posted by Sadie from D007145.N1.Vanderbilt.Edu (129.59.7.145) on Tuesday, December 31, 2002 at 2:19PM :
In Reply to: I think you've understood very well ... posted by andreas from dtm2-t9-1.mcbone.net (62.104.210.98) on Tuesday, December 31, 2002 at 1:51PM :
I was kidding about wanting to be like anyone else or using a gun on anyone. In fact, I could say that a lot of the people in the South, particularly in the rural & poorer regions, are deeply suspicious of the "feds" & not any immigrants.
Anyway, the US actually DOES let me & anyone else express ourselves however we want to... for a while there, it did, or seemed to. The problem is that a lot of immigrants don't like to stick out too much... & then the other folks that live here don't learn to appreciate "other" cultures... & then it becomes easy for the president & his friends to make anyone different "suspect".
The fact that Dead Heads, Parrot Heads, & Phish heads could still wander around in a smokey, boozy haze, Key West is the choice vacation spot of gay European men, Hells Angels could continue to have their gatherings, that the alternative culture in Austin TX still exists, that Massachusetts & California are so liberal, my friends from various immigrant communities & Middle Eastern & Finnish friends & family could have huge cultural celebrations inviting the public to their events (& watch the public show up) for such a long time speaks a lot for the freedoms of expression people in this country enjoy.
BUT, like I said before, there are a lot of immigrants who don't care to share their cultures w/ the people here, & there are people here who are opportunists... free to express THEMSELVES as much as they want to, apparently. This country is interesting... diverse, vibrant, & very full of contradiction... but that is the human condition.
-- Sadie
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