conchita
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Jul 1, 2014 11:25:58 GMT
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Post by conchita on Jun 28, 2015 20:32:21 GMT
But that's sort of my point... this particular tragedy is more relevant to you and the OP because of your ties to it; the majority of Peas are American, and I'm willing to bet the majority of Americans (not necessarily Peas, just Americans in general) don't even know what/where Tunisia is! Seriously? That can't be true! I hope it's not anyway. I do agree, we are always more struck by events with which we have a connection. I am shocked to read about there being more shark attacks! I read about the first two but hadn't heard about any more. That's awful - I would be too terrified to go in the water!! No, I don't believe that's true about Americans not knowing where Tunisia is. If they don't, then a quick google search on their phone and that problem is easily remedied. It's certainly not a vacation destination for Americans though so not readily identified as a tourist spot for us. We think of the Carribean as a frequented tourist spot. And we've got a lot of beaches Stateside so many Americans wouldn't even need to leave our borders to go to the beach. And the shark attacks are occurring in shallow water. Absolutely frightening because that's as deep as I'll go...used to go...in the water.
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Post by gar on Jun 28, 2015 20:36:58 GMT
Seriously? That can't be true! I hope it's not anyway. I do agree, we are always more struck by events with which we have a connection. I am shocked to read about there being more shark attacks! I read about the first two but hadn't heard about any more. That's awful - I would be too terrified to go in the water!! No, I don't believe that's true about Americans not knowing where Tunisia is. If they don't, then a quick google search on their phone and that problem is easily remedied. It's certainly not a vacation destination for Americans though so not readily identified as a tourist spot for us. We think of the Carribean as a frequented tourist spot. And we've got a lot of beaches Stateside so many Americans wouldn't even need to leave our borders to go to the beach.And the shark attacks are occurring in shallow water. Absolutely frightening because that's as deep as I'll go...used to go...in the water. Oh I know that a lot of Americans don't leave the U.S. for holidays but that's not a reason for a lack of general world geography knowledge is it?
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Post by cadoodlebug on Jun 28, 2015 20:41:58 GMT
No, I don't believe that's true about Americans not knowing where Tunisia is. If they don't, then a quick google search on their phone and that problem is easily remedied. It's certainly not a vacation destination for Americans though so not readily identified as a tourist spot for us. We think of the Carribean as a frequented tourist spot. And we've got a lot of beaches Stateside so many Americans wouldn't even need to leave our borders to go to the beach.And the shark attacks are occurring in shallow water. Absolutely frightening because that's as deep as I'll go...used to go...in the water. Oh I know that a lot of Americans don't leave the U.S. for holidays but that's not a reason for a lack of general world geography knowledge is it? I'm pretty adept at world geography but sometimes get fuzzy with parts of the mid-east and Africa. Honestly, I've heard of Tunisia but if my life depended on knowing exactly where it is on a globe, I'd be in a world of trouble. From what I've read about the massacre it is heart wrenching.
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Post by gar on Jun 28, 2015 20:46:00 GMT
Oh I know that a lot of Americans don't leave the U.S. for holidays but that's not a reason for a lack of general world geography knowledge is it? I'm pretty adept at world geography but sometimes get fuzzy with parts of the mid-east and Africa. Honestly, I've heard of Tunisia but if my life depended on knowing exactly where it is on a globe, I'd be in a world of trouble. From what I've read about the massacre it is heart wrenching. Oh I definitely have gaps in my knowledge but I would have a good guess, as you would, by the sound of it
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Post by cadoodlebug on Jun 28, 2015 20:46:46 GMT
I'm pretty adept at world geography but sometimes get fuzzy with parts of the mid-east and Africa. Honestly, I've heard of Tunisia but if my life depended on knowing exactly where it is on a globe, I'd be in a world of trouble. From what I've read about the massacre it is heart wrenching. Oh I definitely have gaps in my knowledge but I would have a good guess, as you would, by the sound of it I'll google a map and get back to you. ETA: I guessed on the Mediterranean Sea and the north coast of Africa so I guessed correctly.
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Post by gar on Jun 28, 2015 20:47:04 GMT
Oh I know that a lot of Americans don't leave the U.S. for holidays but that's not a reason for a lack of general world geography knowledge is it? Oh you would be surprised. Geography is not stressed as much in the schools as it once was. I would be willing to bet that neither of my sisters would be able to pick out Tunisia on the map. They both have some college, but no interest in the world outside of their small communities. Every time I ever move to another country I'd have to explain where it was. It makes me just shake my head sometimes. Oh dear
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georgiapea
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Jun 27, 2014 18:02:10 GMT
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Post by georgiapea on Jun 28, 2015 20:48:22 GMT
Well for me the escaped convicts and the shark attacks are much more important than something that happened in Tunisia. The entire eastern part of the US has been worried about those 2, and we are vacationing where the sharks are attacking. That Tunisia is a British vacation spot was not something I was aware of. B
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Post by gar on Jun 28, 2015 20:51:43 GMT
Well for me the escaped convicts and the shark attacks are much more important than something that happened in Tunisia. The entire eastern part of the US has been worried about those 2, and we are vacationing where the sharks are attacking. That Tunisia is a British vacation spot was not something I was aware of. B We're lucky to have easier, quicker access to many countries to visit
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conchita
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,141
Jul 1, 2014 11:25:58 GMT
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Post by conchita on Jun 28, 2015 21:01:19 GMT
No, I don't believe that's true about Americans not knowing where Tunisia is. If they don't, then a quick google search on their phone and that problem is easily remedied. It's certainly not a vacation destination for Americans though so not readily identified as a tourist spot for us. We think of the Carribean as a frequented tourist spot. And we've got a lot of beaches Stateside so many Americans wouldn't even need to leave our borders to go to the beach.And the shark attacks are occurring in shallow water. Absolutely frightening because that's as deep as I'll go...used to go...in the water. Oh I know that a lot of Americans don't leave the U.S. for holidays but that's not a reason for a lack of general world geography knowledge is it? That's not exactly what I meant. Geography is a non-issue considering Americans have access to immediate information via googling on their phone and other devices. Tunisia isn't immediately recognized as a spot for tourism because...well...geographically speaking it's quite a distance to go when we don't have to actually leave our own shores. The main issue is that British citizens were specifically targeted and massacred while on vacation. We can all identify and share in the horror of what happened to your citizens this week. Whether we can pinpoint the location on a map or not.
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Post by gar on Jun 28, 2015 21:18:31 GMT
Oh I know that a lot of Americans don't leave the U.S. for holidays but that's not a reason for a lack of general world geography knowledge is it? That's not exactly what I meant. Geography is a non-issue considering Americans have access to immediate information via googling on their phone and other devices. Tunisia isn't immediately recognized as a spot for tourism because...well...geographically speaking it's quite a distance to go when we don't have to actually leave our own shores. The main issue is that British citizens were specifically targeted and massacred while on vacation. We can all identify and share in the horror of what happened to your citizens this week. Whether we can pinpoint the location on a map or not. I have to admit I find that a little bit of a strange way of looking at it. I haven't been to Hawaii or Mexico, Dominican Republic or Long Island but I know where they are. Having access to Google (we do too ) doesn't really replace general knowledge does it? but you're right......this is obviously more important to Brits because our citizens are involved and I appreciate the concerns of the American peas.
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conchita
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Jul 1, 2014 11:25:58 GMT
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Post by conchita on Jun 28, 2015 21:32:47 GMT
That's not exactly what I meant. Geography is a non-issue considering Americans have access to immediate information via googling on their phone and other devices. Tunisia isn't immediately recognized as a spot for tourism because...well...geographically speaking it's quite a distance to go when we don't have to actually leave our own shores. The main issue is that British citizens were specifically targeted and massacred while on vacation. We can all identify and share in the horror of what happened to your citizens this week. Whether we can pinpoint the location on a map or not. I have to admit I find that a little bit of a strange way of looking at it. I haven't been to Hawaii or Mexico, Dominican Republic or Long Island but I know where they are. Having access to Google (we do too ) doesn't really replace general knowledge does it? but you're right......this is obviously more important to Brits because our citizens are involved and I appreciate the concerns of the American peas. Gar, perhaps my explanation isn't clear enough. But it isn't an issue I really care about haggling over any longer. If people want to believe Americans don't have general geographical knowledge, then have at it. I know where Tunisia is. The real issue is that 38 people were brutally murdered on a beautiful sunny day. 38 lives lost. We have a common enemy that is determined to eradicate us...French, Canadian, American, Australian, British. I heartily disagree that this isn't a concern for Americans. It is. It's of *worldwide* concern.
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Post by gar on Jun 28, 2015 21:45:17 GMT
I have to admit I find that a little bit of a strange way of looking at it. I haven't been to Hawaii or Mexico, Dominican Republic or Long Island but I know where they are. Having access to Google (we do too ) doesn't really replace general knowledge does it? but you're right......this is obviously more important to Brits because our citizens are involved and I appreciate the concerns of the American peas. Gar, perhaps my explanation isn't clear enough. But it isn't an issue I really care about haggling over any longer. If people want to believe Americans don't have general geographical knowledge, then have at it. I know where Tunisia is. The real issue is that 38 people were brutally murdered on a beautiful sunny day. 38 lives lost. We have a common enemy that is determined to eradicate us...French, Canadian, American and British. I heartily disagree that this isn't a concern for Americans. It is. It's of *worldwide* concern. Ok. My discussion point was an aside to the main point here but you're done with that, that's fine, And I understand the real issue, I promise.
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Post by anxiousmom on Jun 28, 2015 23:56:43 GMT
I have to admit that I have paid a bit more attention to the massacre in Tunisia than I do when it happens in other places. It was very much a beach town, a vacation destination-just like the majority of the state of Florida. It is very disconcerting to me to know that you can be sitting on the beach, enjoying the day and then be gunned down. I also admit that it took me way longer than it should to remember where it was. I am always a bit fuzzy about Northern Africa and the 'stans.
I have also paid attention to the shark stories for almost the same reason as above. It is very disconcerting to know that I could be standing around in the water and be bitten by a shark. Last summer my mom, my son and I were standing in probably just over waist high water-and a big giant thing swam between us. She went with big ass fish, I went with big ass ray, and the boy-who was the only one wearing polarized sunglasses-said that he got a good look at the six footish nurse shark that swam by us. I take the chance going into their turf, but that doesn't mean that when I read the stories I don't freak just a little bit.
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Post by annabella on Jun 29, 2015 1:49:40 GMT
I've been to Tunisia, I call it the cleaner version of Morocco in that you get the exotic middle eastern experience but clean orderly streets. I did stay at a beach resort but it wasn't warm enough to go to the beach. I hadn't heard about this because my friend got married yesterday so from Friday until now I haven't looked at any news. On social media on Friday people were only talking about the Supreme Court case. I just went to CNN's website and it's not even on the front page. I'm glad it was mentioned on this board, but no need to get snarky about being the first one to report it.
The Today show did a feature on how not to attack a shark, they said what not to wear in the water but the victims weren't wearing that. I think that's what makes shark attacks so scary, it's really like being shot randomly by a sniper.
I agree that geography is not stressed in American schools. I'm constantly hearing people say expressions such as "I'm going on vacation to Africa" when they are only going to one country. It's as if they can't differentiate the continent from the country.
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georgiapea
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Jun 27, 2014 18:02:10 GMT
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Post by georgiapea on Jun 29, 2015 3:00:37 GMT
Gar, yes, because we have such a vast country with so many differing climates, many of us never leave the US. I am really surprised to hear about the frequency of going to another country because I never do it. There is so much happening daily in the US that it's sometimes difficult to take it all in. I have personally stopped watching TV news, checking Yahoo daily to see if anything major is happening in the world.
There was a 6th shark bite yesterday and the person arrived at the hospital in critical condition. So far no one has died but as the attacks continue we all fear someone will be fatally bitten. And why people continue swimming is really a mystery to me. So not worth risking my life for a dip in the ocean.
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BarbaraUK
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Jun 27, 2014 12:47:11 GMT
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Post by BarbaraUK on Jun 29, 2015 9:32:26 GMT
Well for me the escaped convicts and the shark attacks are much more important than something that happened in Tunisia. The entire eastern part of the US has been worried about those 2, and we are vacationing where the sharks are attacking. That Tunisia is a British vacation spot was not something I was aware of. B Really? You regard the loss of 30+ British lives, and several more of other nationalities, in an IS attack in Tunisia as unimportant! How sad that you can't extend any thought or sympathy to anything or anyone involved in a terrorist attack if it happens outside the USA.
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anniebygaslight
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Jun 28, 2014 14:08:19 GMT
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Post by anniebygaslight on Jun 29, 2015 9:36:17 GMT
Well for me the escaped convicts and the shark attacks are much more important than something that happened in Tunisia. The entire eastern part of the US has been worried about those 2, and we are vacationing where the sharks are attacking. That Tunisia is a British vacation spot was not something I was aware of. B Really? You regard the loss of 30+ British lives, and several more of other nationalities, in an IS attack in Tunisia as unimportant! How sad that you can't extend any thought or sympathy to anything or anyone involved in a terrorist attack if it happens outside the USA. I find that pretty shocking too Barbara, given that she was sufficiently interested in the 2 escaped convicts to skim read another thread about them and assume that the second one was dead.
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Post by ScrapsontheRocks on Jun 29, 2015 10:21:33 GMT
Well for me the escaped convicts and the shark attacks are much more important than something that happened in Tunisia. The entire eastern part of the US has been worried about those 2, and we are vacationing where the sharks are attacking. That Tunisia is a British vacation spot was not something I was aware of. B Really? You regard the loss of 30+ British lives, and several more of other nationalities, in an IS attack in Tunisia as unimportant! How sad that you can't extend any thought or sympathy to anything or anyone involved in a terrorist attack if it happens outside the USA. Sad indeed. I saw on our news this a.m. that the British death toll had risen to 30. Just awful. FTR, I am catching up a bit on some threads today and IIRC this quoted poster got her facts wrong on the escaped convicts thread . The shark attacks for the win, then. ETA : our OP made my point.
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Post by melanell on Jun 29, 2015 11:04:42 GMT
I have heard & read about the attack. It's awful. But generally I do not start threads about these kinds of things here, and this event was no different in that regard.
Something I have read, that I haven't seen here yet, is the story of the man who took 3 shots in an attempt to save his fiancee’s life. Apparently he is doing well in his recovery, which is good news.
As for the location of Tunisia, I know it's one of the northern most countries in Africa. I could possibly place it on a map, but not definitely. Geography was just not a major interest to me when I was in school, and I basically remembered what I needed to know to do well on my exams, and then the information quickly became muddled in my mind. It was an unfortunate habit that I utilized quite a bit back in the day. My current knowledge of anything geographical was relearned bit by bit due to my interest as an adult, and therefore while I might not have learned & memorized the entire globe at once, as I did back then, what I have learned has managed to stay with me quite a bit better.
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Post by AussieMeg on Jun 29, 2015 11:14:02 GMT
OK, here's my take on it (for what it's worth).... The majority of people on this board are Americans. So it's not a huge surprise that the attack in Tunisia has been overshadowed on this board by other big stories closer to (their) home. I'm sure that if 30 Americans were killed in a Terrorist attack in the Carribean there would be multiple threads. (I'm sure that statement makes it sound like I am being disparaging, but I promise you I am not. I totally get why other stories have taken centre stage here.)
This thread reminds me of when the Bali bombings happened back in 2002, where 202 people were killed including 88 Australians. It was considered to be an attack on Australians because Bali is such a popular tourist destination for Australians. Back on the old board an Australian Pea started a thread very similar to this. She was pretty peeved that no-one seemed to care what had happened, whereas for us, it was considered to be "our" 9/11 (but on a much smaller stage - obviously).
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BarbaraUK
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Post by BarbaraUK on Jun 29, 2015 11:59:31 GMT
OK, here's my take on it (for what it's worth).... The majority of people on this board are Americans. So it's not a huge surprise that the attack in Tunisia has been overshadowed on this board by other big stories closer to (their) home. I'm sure that if 30 Americans were killed in a Terrorist attack in the Carribean there would be multiple threads. (I'm sure that statement makes it sound like I am being disparaging, but I promise you I am not. I totally get why other stories have taken centre stage here.)
This thread reminds me of when the Bali bombings happened back in 2002, where 202 people were killed including 88 Australians. It was considered to be an attack on Australians because Bali is such a popular tourist destination for Australians. Back on the old board an Australian Pea started a thread very similar to this. She was pretty peeved that no-one seemed to care what had happened, whereas for us, it was considered to be "our" 9/11 (but on a much smaller stage - obviously). I would normally agree absolutely with what you say regarding this AussieMeg. However, to read a comment about the deaths of 38 people in an IS terrorist attack was of no importance because it didn't happen in America just surprised and saddened me: Well for me the escaped convicts and the shark attacks are much more important than something that happened in Tunisia. The entire eastern part of the US has been worried about those 2, and we are vacationing where the sharks are attacking. That Tunisia is a British vacation spot was not something I was aware of. B I don't expect the poster to be aware that it is the worst IS terrorist attack against British people since the 7/7 2005 attacks but I do find it sad that not even one thought could be extended to the victims, especially as the attack results from the problems in the Middle East.....which we are all involved in!
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Deleted
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May 18, 2024 22:11:38 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2015 13:37:46 GMT
I've been to Tunisia, I call it the cleaner version of Morocco in that you get the exotic middle eastern experience but clean orderly streets. I did stay at a beach resort but it wasn't warm enough to go to the beach. I hadn't heard about this because my friend got married yesterday so from Friday until now I haven't looked at any news. On social media on Friday people were only talking about the Supreme Court case. I just went to CNN's website and it's not even on the front page. I'm glad it was mentioned on this board, but no need to get snarky about being the first one to report it. The Today show did a feature on how not to attack a shark, they said what not to wear in the water but the victims weren't wearing that. I think that's what makes shark attacks so scary, it's really like being shot randomly by a sniper. I agree that geography is not stressed in American schools. I'm constantly hearing people say expressions such as "I'm going on vacation to Africa" when they are only going to one country. It's as if they can't differentiate the continent from the country. Even our own Vice President doesn't know that Africa is a continent and not a country.
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gsquaredmom
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Jun 26, 2014 17:43:22 GMT
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Post by gsquaredmom on Jun 29, 2015 13:46:10 GMT
I wonder if one of the reasons it was not posted earlier was the "borrowing tragedy" thread on 6/27?
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quiltz
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Jun 29, 2014 16:13:28 GMT
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Post by quiltz on Jun 29, 2015 13:53:58 GMT
I agree that geography is not stressed in American schools. I'm constantly hearing people say expressions such as "I'm going on vacation to Africa" when they are only going to one country. It's as if they can't differentiate the continent from the country. I feel the same way when people are going to Europe, and not stating the actual countries that comprise the continent of Europe.
Also, going to the UK & Ireland is, to me, not going to Europe. Maybe because I am part of the Commonwealth?
My heartfelt sympathy to everyone who was affected by this horrible Tunisian Beach Massacre. This has been a head-line news in the Toronto area news, more so than the escaped convicts that were in NY State.
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Post by anonrefugee on Jun 29, 2015 14:27:37 GMT
I agree we need more geography education in USA. But I often wonder, could the average citizen in UK quickly point to Nebraska or Iowa? They're roughly the size of Tunisa.
I'm not talking about RefuPeas who converse daily with citizens of those states, but an average man on the street.
We have this exchange so often...
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Post by anonrefugee on Jun 29, 2015 14:30:34 GMT
I wonder if one of the reasons it was not posted earlier was the "borrowing tragedy" thread on 6/27? Probably? And I don't understand why a person interested in discussing didn't start a thread. This seems like it was a back handed attempt to make another point.
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BarbaraUK
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Post by BarbaraUK on Jun 29, 2015 14:54:25 GMT
I agree we need more geography education in USA. But I often wonder, could the average citizen in UK quickly point to Nebraska or Iowa? They're roughly the size of Tunisa. I'm not talking about RefuPeas who converse daily with citizens of those states, but an average man on the street. We have this exchange so often... Not sure about quickly pointing to Iowa or Nebraska....but the average person on the street in the UK travels abroad on holiday a lot, often to the USA.......and quite a few even own property there.
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Post by ScrapsontheRocks on Jun 29, 2015 15:07:27 GMT
I agree we need more geography education in USA. But I often wonder, could the average citizen in UK quickly point to Nebraska or Iowa? They're roughly the size of Tunisa. I'm not talking about RefuPeas who converse daily with citizens of those states, but an average man on the street. We have this exchange so often... Good point. I hang out with you lot a bit of most days. I have two degrees. I would not be able to place these or many of the other 50 states. I have lived in Africa all my life, so would SMH at the confusion about it being one country. So I would concede proximity and parochial interest colour our consciousness (mine too). Lack of compassion is a bit off-putting though. FTR, we have had some shark attacks off our coast this week, too.
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Deleted
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May 18, 2024 22:11:38 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2015 15:29:34 GMT
I agree we need more geography education in USA. But I often wonder, could the average citizen in UK quickly point to Nebraska or Iowa? They're roughly the size of Tunisa. I'm not talking about RefuPeas who converse daily with citizens of those states, but an average man on the street. We have this exchange so often... Not sure about quickly pointing to Iowa or Nebraska.... but the average person on the street in the UK travels abroad on holiday a lot, often to the USA.......and quite a few even own property there. I'd be curious to know the numbers of visitors from the UK that travel to the USA...and wonder how it compares with people in the US travelling to the UK.
I'm really not surprised that the "average person on the street" travels "abroad" a lot...hell...when you can take a train from London to Paris and arrive in 3 hrs...why wouldn't people be travelling abroad? If I'm driving south in GA, I wouldn't even be out of my own state in 3 hrs and you guys are in a whole different country. I don't really think you can fairly compare "travelling abroad" from the US (as US residents would) vs. "travelling abroad" for someone in the UK or the rest of Europe.
With that said, I'm a little offended that anyone thinks that because the victims of the terror last week don't matter to us because they're not US Citizens, or vacationing in a place frequented by US citizens repulses me. I give zero shits what their nationality was.
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mallie
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Jul 3, 2014 18:13:13 GMT
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Post by mallie on Jun 29, 2015 15:44:37 GMT
I agree that geography is not stressed in American schools. I'm constantly hearing people say expressions such as "I'm going on vacation to Africa" when they are only going to one country. It's as if they can't differentiate the continent from the country. I feel the same way when people are going to Europe, and not stating the actual countries that comprise the continent of Europe.
Also, going to the UK & Ireland is, to me, not going to Europe. Maybe because I am part of the Commonwealth?
My heartfelt sympathy to everyone who was affected by this horrible Tunisian Beach Massacre. This has been a head-line news in the Toronto area news, more so than the escaped convicts that were in NY State.
Well, I can assure you that when people asked me where I'm going on vacation this summer and I answer, "Europe", it's not because I don't know the names or locations of the 3 countries we're visiting. Nor is it because I don't know that Europe has many individual countries in it. I say "Europe" when I'm going to Germany/Austria/Slovakia, like my FIL said "Africa" when they were going to Kenya because you're just giving people a general idea. Just like when someone answers the same question by saying, "To the beach." I'm pretty sure that the person knows that the Jersey Shore and Clearwater aren't the same thing.
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