[Gasification] [Bioenergy] What do you think of the Noahproject? OT

[Max Kennedy]

You misinterpret, I don't just give approval of europeans,  "conservative" can also be looked on as a form of being narrow minded.  What I am saying is most cultures have a tendency to be more of one thing than the other.  This is both a "defect" ie narrow mindedness and a strength ie being visionary (using the american tendency for overstatement as an example for both the positive and the negative).  You seem to have missed the point made that there are exceptions, stereotyping is where one see's the "generalities" only and doesn't recognise there is variation. As for knowing other cultures I am Canadian, born in England, learned french in Quebec before I spoke english, lived in Germany and worked extensively in Asia teaching ESL.  My extensive travels have shown first hand that cultures do tend to be national based as nations evolved around groups of people that have similar values and each culture does have tendencies based on their different value systems. In NA the
 squeaky wheel gets greased, in Japan the nail that sticks up gets hammered down.  Both speak to standing out from the crowd however the reaction noted is at opposite ends of the spectrum.  The message is that either may be appropriate or inappropriate depending on the situation.  Canadians are accepting, this can be taken as both willing to see others viewpoints and also as unwilling to make a stand or be decisive, wishy washy if you prefer (not exactly a glowing recommendation is it?).  Unfortuneately your reaction speaks volumes to our general unwillingness to look at ourselves in the context of how others perceive us.  Extremes of any sort tend to be negative.  And NO, living north of the border, having had many interactions and coming back to the idea that nations form around people having similar value systems regardless of where they came from, I have not got any problem speaking of "typical american culture".  Also typical N European, E European, central european,
 Asian cultures either.  Please note I say it is not something to take offence at but an observation of differences.  The world would be very boring if we were all the same.

Max K

PS.  I am willing to discuss this further off line should you like but will comment no further online as it is not gasification.

MK


----- Original Message ----
From: Michael Redler <redlerm at yahoo.com>
To: Discussion of biomass pyrolysis and gasification <gasification at listserv.repp.org>
Sent: Friday, June 15, 2007 12:27:02 PM
Subject: Re: [Gasification] [Bioenergy] What do you think of the Noahproject? OT   


It's not just a generality, it's a stereotype which I'm sure most 
people, irrespective of where they come, would see it as pure garbage 
without any useful value at all. In addition to conveniently putting 
Americans (in this case) into a narrow minded little package, you go 
ahead with your approval of others (i.e. "Europeans").

Categorizing groups of people by national origin is reserved for people 
who really believe that it has a useful purpose and imply that it's both 
logical and reasonable to apply those principles broadly. Those same 
people often share another trait (or defect) like xenophobia, extreme 
nationalism, or bigotry.

A country of 300 million people, who's families immigrated from hundreds 
of countries and you have no problem speaking of "typical American 
culture" - whatever that is.

I'd like to add that I'm a dual citizen (American/Swiss) and have 
traveled to Europe (Germany, Switzerland, Austria) every year since I 
was a child. I know other cultures and would NEVER make the kind of 
generalizations you made.

Mike

"I am a citizen of the world, known to all and to all a stranger."
-* Erasmus von Rotterdam*


Max Kennedy wrote:
> No, it refers to a geographical region, much like saying North American or European vs American or German.  Including a country or region in a description may indeed be appropriate.  In the example of "American blah blah blah" it is indicative of the hype, if you will, prior to accomplishment typical of american culture as compared to other cultures. European for example, where the tendency is to at least have a proven prototype before coming out with the extravagent claims may be catagorized as "conservative".  These are generalities and of course there are exceptions to all such but this does not invalidate the observation.  It is not something to take offense at but an observation of what makes us different.
>
> Max K
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Mike Weaver <mweaver at misteam.net>
> To: Discussion of biomass pyrolysis and gasification <gasification at listserv.repp.org>
> Sent: Friday, June 15, 2007 8:50:18 AM
> Subject: Re: [Gasification] [Bioenergy] What do you think of the Noahproject?
>
>
>   
>>> Asian - isn't that more of an ethnicity than a nationality? ;-)
>>>       
>
>
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