The religious expectations of your family and peers.
none
Social stereotypes that you've adopted or are grouped into.
nerdy white guy
The gender role that you either accepted or challenged.
i'm a dude
Yeah, it looks like this right here is a thread about culture, damn. Yet another in a long and horrible series of threads where I get to know you better, SE++.
Hmm, both my parents come from the same region of Mexico, but separate 'pueblitos'. Villages? That is the closest translation I can think of. I don't want to get more specific about their township (not sure if I can spell it anyhow). My father's family got to California first. Then came my mother's. Dad was actually landlord when they first met. 100 percent Mexican blood, but born in the US. I look Indian/Arabic/go figure.
Southern California is very diverse, so I have met all kids of people. Our area is typically Hispanic though (followed by Asian). It's an alright area, not the best, not the worst. Just walk three blocks up our street (um, and across a bridge) and you are in a very rich area. The juxtaposition is laughable. Trying to describe the people is difficult, but the offspring of immigrants are typically left-leaning. Getting to college is a pride for the whole family to share and the general goal in life is to do better than ones parents.
Lower Middle Class or barely floating I suppose. We aren't in good shape.
We are Catholic, but don't actually attend church often. A lot of people don't. My immediate family has been very open and encouraging of personal beliefs. My mother really doesn't like the Jehovahs Witnesses.
Stereotypes ... for my ability to enunciate and use words with more syllables people call me smart. Maybe nerdy; it's okay since there aren't any formal cliques at the school.
That is I guess.
Muse are you in the shitty part of SoCal or are you in LA
did you just suggest that LA is somehow not shitty
Hmm, both my parents come from the same region of Mexico, but separate 'pueblitos'. Villages? That is the closest translation I can think of. I don't want to get more specific about their township (not sure if I can spell it anyhow). My father's family got to California first. Then came my mother's. Dad was actually landlord when they first met. 100 percent Mexican blood, but born in the US. I look Indian/Arabic/go figure.
Southern California is very diverse, so I have met all kids of people. Our area is typically Hispanic though (followed by Asian). It's an alright area, not the best, not the worst. Just walk three blocks up our street (um, and across a bridge) and you are in a very rich area. The juxtaposition is laughable. Trying to describe the people is difficult, but the offspring of immigrants are typically left-leaning. Getting to college is a pride for the whole family to share and the general goal in life is to do better than ones parents.
Lower Middle Class or barely floating I suppose. We aren't in good shape.
We are Catholic, but don't actually attend church often. A lot of people don't. My immediate family has been very open and encouraging of personal beliefs. My mother really doesn't like the Jehovahs Witnesses.
Stereotypes ... for my ability to enunciate and use words with more syllables people call me smart. Maybe nerdy; it's okay since there aren't any formal cliques at the school.
That is I guess.
Muse are you in the shitty part of SoCal or are you in LA
did you just suggest that LA is somehow not shitty
So you have your genetic ancestry.
My great grandmother on my fathers side was Cherokee; outside of that, my entire extended family more or less trundled over to North America in the late 1800's from Ireland, my Grandfather's grandfather moving to Canada, and then my Great-grandfather moved up north somewhere in the '30's, where my Grandfather was born. My Grandmother was born and raised as a second generation Irish Immigrant in Boston, and then married my grandfather and moved to Hampton, Virginia when he joined the military in the 50's. He was stationed at the military base there.
So I'm pretty much entirely Irish, with a smidgen of Cherokee. Interestingly, both of my grandparents are very liberal and, even as poor white Irish individuals, were pretty passionate supporters of the Civil Rights movement while it happened and totally discourage any racism in our family. They also refuse to drink any alcohol and won't have in their home.
The societal norms of your geographic region.
I live in Richmond, VA, which is a pretty fuckin' odd city. It was the capital of the confederacy, for one, so it's positively inundated with history and the legacy of antebellum southern aristocracy. Throughout the 20th century it was pretty large and industrious, but the Civil Rights movement destroyed the sense of progress; all of the white people fled, leaving Richmond poor, almost entirely black, segragated, and dangerous.
It was the murder capitol of the united states for several years, and was basically a shithole ridden with crime and corruption and economic scandals for decades, while the counties around it where all the rich white people fled flourished. Nowadays people are coming back, and the city is sort of undergoing a socioeconomic rennaissaince. There are tons of students here at VCU, a big artistic sort of avante-garde community that's really building the city up to modern social and intellectual standards. As such, it's a pretty liberalised place, with plenty of dangerous parts around. There's two seperate communities in this city, whether people want to recognize them or not - there's the majority of the city, blue-collar black workers, and the minority, an upper-crust white part of the city that are contributing heavily to the gentrifaction of the downtown area.
Richmond really is a fascinating look at how race relations in America can seriously alter a geographic area.
Your economic class.
I'm upper-middle class. My parents were the first in their family to go to college, and they paid their way through it by busting their asses despite being discouraged by their families. They now make pretty good money, enough to support me and pay for my college. I'm very grateful that I have generous parents who are willing to subsidize my learning and free time.
The religious expectations of your family and peers.
We went to church for about eight years when I was a kid. My dad was a religious studies major, and he came from a baptist home. We went to a liberal baptist church for many years, but we were never really religious. It was mostly a social experience - we never prayed before meals, or kept bibles around, or anything at all. I've been raised pretty much as an atheist, with the church experience factored in to promote a sense of community. My immediate family, outside of my father, are all professed atheists and most of my childhood theology revolved around my parents and older sibling questioning it and branching out into different intellectual areas. We were encouraged to decide for ourselves whether we gave a shit about religion.
Social stereotypes that you've adopted or are grouped into.
I don't know what social stereotype I fit. For many years I was a giant, reclusive, weeaboo nerd, but I more or less ditched that entirely when I went into high school. Most of my friends are pretty generic potheads, I guess, stoners with expensive bongs that deliver pizza. I hesitate to call them generic stoners, though, because most of my friends have a pretty healthy interest in literature or philosophy or some sort of niche. I've more or less avoided the apathetic blobs of people with dim, red, eyes and poor grammar. Most people think I'm some sort of curmudgeonly English major type of person when they first meet me.
JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
edited August 2008
Richmond does have a really interesting history. Due to my unhealthy obsession with history I have trouble thinking of it as anything but the capital of the Confederacy. I'd like to visit it someday. Do you guys have any good museums?
I'm also interested to note that you view an interest in philosophy as differentiating your friends from stereotypical stoners. Have you ever met a philosophy major?
Muse Among MenSuburban Bunny Princess?Its time for a new shtick Registered Userregular
edited August 2008
I don't live in LA as in the city. LA County I suppose, but many people will still consider it LA, albeit suburban. In all technicality it is a mini-city all it's own (that I live in). For those who don't live in SoCal it is hard to describe, but once you get into the suburban areas some square blocks are considered a city. You can drive into a different 'city' altogether without knowing it. My friend for example, lives in another city separate from the city our school is in. If you call it shitty, so be it, but it's much much nicer than those Desert Communities. Those are boring and depressing. At least where I live there are no empty stretches of unoccupied space and everything is very close by. If you want a classier change of scenery it is only a 10 minute drive.
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FandyienBut Otto, what about us? Registered Userregular
Richmond does have a really interesting history. Due to my unhealthy obsession with history I have trouble thinking of it as anything but the capital of the Confederacy. I'd like to visit it someday. Do you guys have any good museums?
I'm also interested to note that you view an interest in philosophy as differentiating your friends from stereotypical stoners. Have you ever met a philosophy major?
I've met a few. Most of them were sort of uppity pricks, though you're probably right about philosphy majors. I'm just sayin', most of them aren't the kind of retarded, bud-light swilling SPARK THE BUD I'M RASTAFARIAN douchebags we all want to hurt.
Richmond does have some awesome museums. We have a fantastic art museum up on boulevard, the Edgar Allen Poe museum is in the house where Poe lived during his time in Richmond, and then Daughters of the Confederacy have a pretty impressive museum, too.
Outside of actual museums, there's a bunch of historical places to go. Hollywood Cemetery is incredibly old, on a big hill overlooking the James river. It's got Andrew Jackson's grave, among lots of other notable people, and it's just a gorgeous and serene place. It really feels like something right out of the old south.
There's Belle Isle in the center of the James, which has a bunch of old factories / crumbled buildings from the industrial revolution when the James was a big center of shipping and commerce. There's some really, really neat buildings to explore down there despite Belle Isle being crowded and touristy a lot. Church Hill is a really historic district, it being one of the main seven hills of Richmond, and you can get a pretty cool insight into the nature of older architecture when you drive around there. Lots of cobblestoned streets, and stuff, too.
You can also go and visit the capitol, or the historic Byrd theatre in Carytown, which has been standing, as a theatre, for almost 100 years - first it was an Opera house for rich southerners, then a regular theatre, and it's been a $2 movie theatre for a few decades now. For a long time they would pick a favorite cult film to show every saturday at midnight, and all the weirdest people you could imagine would show up.
There's a shitton to do here. Downtown has been sort of renovated in some places so it doesn't feel so historical anymore, but there are a lot of upper class breweries and resturants down there.
As many problems as Richmond has, it's still a beautiful city. I hated it when I first moved here, but now I love this city so much.
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FalloutGIRL'S DAYWAS PRETTY GOOD WHILE THEY LASTEDRegistered Userregular
The religious expectations of your family and peers.
fake french
Social stereotypes that you've adopted or are grouped into.
fake french
The gender role that you either accepted or challenged.
fake gay
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JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
edited August 2008
Man, I didn't even make the Poe connection. Sounds like a pretty cool place. I've been drafted to do some family history research at some point in Jamestown. Might need to check out the Richmond scene while I'm there.
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FandyienBut Otto, what about us? Registered Userregular
edited August 2008
If you're ever in Richmond, send me a PM and maybe we can get coffee or something.
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WeaverWho are you?What do you want?Registered Userregular
So you have your genetic ancestry.
I am the product of Scottish, Welsh and Bavarian Protestant families being force out of Europe by Catholic persecution. In the eventual migration across America that brought these three lines together the ancestry stayed mostly the same with very minimal addition of other northern European genes. Reddish hair, pale skin, freckles, tall, don't take well to excess heat.
The societal norms of your geographic region.
I was born in Texas where it is expected that you have be a huge ass to everyone not Texan that Texas is the best place ever, which I guess is true if all you want to do is drive Ford trucks, eat oversized menu portions and be unable to survive without air conditioning.
Your economic class.
When I was very little we were poor ass poor, my dad was working sheet metal welding and oil rigs. When my sister was born he joined the army and we moved up into middle-class. Helped me to not be a spoiled fuck who expects the world on a platter.
The religious expectations of your family and peers.
I was raised southern baptist but most of my family is now ok with my being agnostic. Mainly because I'm stubborn as hell and they know they can't say anything to change my mind.
Social stereotypes that you've adopted or are grouped into.
I've as long as I can remember been just a blend of everything. I spent several years going to school in Germany with kids from all over the states, and I've been all over the world as an adult as well so I've been exposed to just about every culture there is. Everything in life has some form of weight on who you are and how you carry yourself. I feel that I've got enough experiences under my belt that you could reclassify me several times a day just depending on what kind of mood I'm in or who I'm with at the time.
The gender role that you either accepted or challenged.
I'm always the one that mows the yard?
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JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
edited August 2008
Sounds like a plan. I might be there next summer if there's a gap between my graduation and when the libraries are hiring.
Irish, British, Dutch. I just recently found out about the Dutch.
The societal norms of your geographic region.
I'm from Vancouver Island originally. We're an environmentally clean people, supposedly - and we all love nature. But now I live in Vancouver ... I guess it's pretty much still the same. The societal norm of this region is to jog every day on the seawall, eat lots of sushi, drink heavily and carry a dog around with you at all times. I don't do any of this.
Your economic class.
When I lived with my mom, we were extremely poor due to my mother's poor life choices. When I moved in with my father, we weren't unpoor - and we were comfortable - but there was nothing to throw around, really, as far as I could tell. Now ... I'm just comfortable. I have a lot of debts due to stupidity at the moment which I am working to get rid of because I know I could be saving, and it's just because of my dumbness that I'm not.
The religious expectations of your family and peers.
My entire family is Catholic. Except me. !
Social stereotypes that you've adopted or are grouped into.
I've never been grouped into a social stereotype, actually. I've been in far too many of them to really stick to one. Nerd, obviously, I get that nowadays but mostly because I apply it to myself consistently because it's the one I like. Artist, that gets applied to me. If people ask you what stereotype I am, they will say artist -- even though I don't do much art anymore. I've been called a loner by people on the outside -- even though I have more friends than I should, I tend to withdraw a lot. I've been the popular one, and I still am in certain crowds for whatever reason, I've also been the "weirdo" that gets ignored. That was more in lower grades of school. For a while, even, I was the girl who would take you down in rugby. Jock? Ha. I also had a period when I dressed all in black and had purple hair, and was dubbed "goth". What? Okay, whatever.
I'm mully. Ain't no thang.
The gender role that you either accepted or challenged.
Challenged. I have extremely motherly tendencies (towards everyone - even people I dislike), and I can be strangely emotional at times, but other than that there are not many female stereotypes that apply to me. Christ, even when I do get strangely emotional I start challenging myself over it. Oh, and maybe that I'm over analytical. I'm a "guy's girl" though, I don't have many female friends, though it wasn't until after my first relationship ended that I became that way -- which opens up a whole whack of theories! But that's neither here nor there.
Polish as hell. I think there's a little German and some Irish mixed in there too, but I'm mainly Polish
The societal norms of your geographic region.
Uh. Central New York uhhhh... I got nothing here. I blame it on being in the 'burbs
Your economic class.
Middle class
The religious expectations of your family and peers.
My father's side of the family wants me to be a Catholic, my mom's side doesn't care, and I ended up being an agnostic.
Social stereotypes that you've adopted or are grouped into.
A little bit of everything. I'm a huge geek, as the four boxes of comics and all the toys demonstrate. I was one of the nerds in school, but I managed to hide my intelligence behind a ton of laziness, had most of my friends snowballed for a long time. Other than that, I'm a part-time skater, had a short-lived career as a jock, and write in my spare time.
The gender role that you either accepted or challenged.
I guess...let me get back to you on that one. I don't really know what my gender role is supposed to be
I just do my own thing and worry about it later
I will say that being the "gay friend" isn't exactly the dudeliest thing ever but oh well
WeaverWho are you?What do you want?Registered Userregular
edited August 2008
At family events I'll sit around with my father-in-law and the other "old men" and talk about golf & rifles & how bad music is these days, then I'll ge upstairs, bump into a younger cousin and whoops hey let's go play mario kart and then a little later I'll go help out the ladies in the kitchen.
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WeaverWho are you?What do you want?Registered Userregular
edited August 2008
I think the only thing that I can't pull off well is "token black guy"
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FandyienBut Otto, what about us? Registered Userregular
edited August 2008
Are you the fun uncle, Weaver
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WeaverWho are you?What do you want?Registered Userregular
edited August 2008
Thankfully I'm not actually an uncle yet but yeah I imagine I will be.
Posts
good post.
your gay
ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
So I have French/Czech ancestry on my mom's side and my dad's grandparents were from Lebanon which is why I appear white, but not exactly.
no u
what
did you just suggest that LA is somehow not shitty
Man fallout don't you live in LA too
Gotta have some pride for the home town duder
Also it's a relative term.
what has science done
I'm also interested to note that you view an interest in philosophy as differentiating your friends from stereotypical stoners. Have you ever met a philosophy major?
I hope you get twatted on by a shit, you elephant
I've met a few. Most of them were sort of uppity pricks, though you're probably right about philosphy majors. I'm just sayin', most of them aren't the kind of retarded, bud-light swilling SPARK THE BUD I'M RASTAFARIAN douchebags we all want to hurt.
Richmond does have some awesome museums. We have a fantastic art museum up on boulevard, the Edgar Allen Poe museum is in the house where Poe lived during his time in Richmond, and then Daughters of the Confederacy have a pretty impressive museum, too.
Outside of actual museums, there's a bunch of historical places to go. Hollywood Cemetery is incredibly old, on a big hill overlooking the James river. It's got Andrew Jackson's grave, among lots of other notable people, and it's just a gorgeous and serene place. It really feels like something right out of the old south.
There's Belle Isle in the center of the James, which has a bunch of old factories / crumbled buildings from the industrial revolution when the James was a big center of shipping and commerce. There's some really, really neat buildings to explore down there despite Belle Isle being crowded and touristy a lot. Church Hill is a really historic district, it being one of the main seven hills of Richmond, and you can get a pretty cool insight into the nature of older architecture when you drive around there. Lots of cobblestoned streets, and stuff, too.
You can also go and visit the capitol, or the historic Byrd theatre in Carytown, which has been standing, as a theatre, for almost 100 years - first it was an Opera house for rich southerners, then a regular theatre, and it's been a $2 movie theatre for a few decades now. For a long time they would pick a favorite cult film to show every saturday at midnight, and all the weirdest people you could imagine would show up.
There's a shitton to do here. Downtown has been sort of renovated in some places so it doesn't feel so historical anymore, but there are a lot of upper class breweries and resturants down there.
As many problems as Richmond has, it's still a beautiful city. I hated it when I first moved here, but now I love this city so much.
I'd hit that
hey satan...: thinkgeek amazon My post |
That makes me sad