America
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What is it about that fucking country? I know it's retarded; a horrible place for someone used to the things we take for granted here in Europe, but for some inane reason I want to go there. I want to live and work there, and the only sense it makes is the jobs - there's a lot more of them out there for someone with my skills.
But it's more than the jobs. It's the cities - I've visited New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Miami and I loved the hell out of every bustling, vibrant one of them. It's the weather - New York is like England turned up to 11, California and Florida were so blazingly beautiful I just wanted to lie in the sun forever. It's the people - every last person I met in the US was so incredibly friendly and nice it's hard to believe it's the home of the KKK and WBC. Was it the food too? I read labels religiously and some of the additives in American food make me nauseous just reading about, but I'm sure I have never eaten better than in some of the restaurants we ate at.
There are so many stupid little things to love about America as a tourist, so to stop myself making doe eyes at the visa information website I have to remind myself of a couple things. They pay servers way below minimum wage to incentivise customer service, and everyone seems to be just fine with that. What part of 'minimum' are they missing out on? You get charged for ambulance rides and every visit to a doctor or emergency room has to be covered by your mandatory private-sector health insurance or you'll be in debt til the day you die. Knowing what I do about my partner's health makes this point a particularly sickening one - we'd have to be millionaires to cover his premiums. Here, he's cost the NHS millions a day and the only thing it cost his parents was sleepless nights. The country's morals are incredibly, insanely warped by its Puritan roots - but we'e getting almost as bad here so maybe that's not so much a negative point than a comment on the world at large. As above, this is the country that the KKK and Westboro Baptist Church call home, and they're not the only crazies by a long shot.
There are so many stupid little things to hate about America, and so many stupid litle things to love about it. Do I still want to go there, abandon this trainwreck of an island in hopes of a different bag of ups and downs?
I think that part of me that doesn't listen to sense still does. Damnit America, you and your Land of the Free propaganda.
rough hewn politicians rode you with a broken leg while they gather whispering, usually in this situation we'd just put her down. but you're a beautiful creature. they steady you with steel and stitch you up with ropes of highway. some beautiful things must come to an end.
your chest heaves in july, the desert sand is at your heels in january, the atlantic fills your lungs. while men with white suits (the ones wolfe took after) take bets for two dollars
another stunning turn around in mid may kicks up dust to cheers a forgotton sure thing it's regretful, they say, that she won't grow old.
and just to think...despite all the military bases, security checkpoints, access codes, retina scans, metal detectors, polygraph tests, background checks, profling, passwords, walls, fences, lines in the sand, and secret handshakes, we have done very little to lock "them" out, but quite a bit to lock "us" in.
gAnGsTa CaPs sUpPoRtErS
well, to address your issues: the server thing- depends on where you are. at most places servers make a lot of fucking money. i've known people that have served both in the us and in england or new zealand, and they've said that the money is hands down better in the US. you forget that almost everyone tips and almost everyone tips at least 10%-20%... think about it. if you have 4 tables an hour and each spends, $50, tips 20% or $10, after splitting tips you end up with an extra $15 an hour or more.
health care... well, health care fucking sucks, but it's not the worst thing in the world. you have a lot of options. it's workable. i have serious health problems but still manage to get health care through my work that is easily affordable.
as for the last two... those offend me. look, we're not evil. we're just people. some people suck, world round. you can't tell me there's no hate, prejudice and violence anywhere in europe. we're not all kkk fucks or wbc hate mongers. in fact, the only reason you know about those groups is because they are incredibly crazy, marginal fringe groups. think about it. how can you classify a whole country (that you previosly said seem nice and friendly from your previous experiences) by a few of those fringe groups? go with your gut.
some stereotypes that are true: we're loud. we tend to be somewhat ignorant as a culture... but i don't think most people are close minded.
all those cities you named are pretty good, too. but the US is a big country, don't count the weather as a plus everwhere, haha. gee, this is making me all pattiotic.
Ignorance. Greed. Unfounded contempt. Hypocrisy. Anything seem familiar?
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