what's your opinion?

[Surf City Baby]

Originally posted by Toxick
What exactly is culture shock? . . . I'm just wondering, basically, what are the symptoms of "Culture Shock"?

I don't know a scientific definition.

For a long time I felt completely out of place, and wholly misunderstood whenever I chanced to converse with a stranger.

Except on a job training visit to Reno, I had never been outside California. And, except for Reno (where there are bumper stickers that read Welcome to Nevada -- California's Designated Smoking Area) I had never seen so many smokers! First in NoVA for a few months, then in SoMD, I had to get used to being in a public places where people could smoke again. It took a whole year before I was no longer surprised at being asked "smoking or non-smoking?"

I am quite out of place in some of my political philosophies. For one example, I am baffled by the gun culture (and even more baffled by the rhetoric of the gun lobby. It's not too noticeable in So. Cali.). I have one bumper sticker on my car and it sticks out like a sore thumb as I tootle down Leonardtown or Route 6.

Politics in general seem to be more conservative, and although some may be thinking of Hollywood and saying to themselves, "no surprise there," it really is surprising. It's really only largely around L.A. that politics are liberal. Orange County, for example, is so politically conservative that its confines are routinely referred to as "behind the Orange Curtain." As for the rest of the state: remember, the Golden State gave the nation Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.

In some ways, parents seem more permissive than my friends with children back home. In other ways, they're far more strict.

Attitudes are different here. People on the road are more aggressive and quicker to flip the bird at the slightest excuse. There seems to be more misogynism here -- from women as well as men. That really surprised me.

On the whole, though, I generally find that people are basically the same. Most just want to live their lives in peace and to allow others to do the same.

(Now if I could just get used to the unbelievably frantic pace in DC. My god, you'd think that no one in that city ever slowed down for anything! People, take your time... I'd be willing to bet the average blood pressure within the beltway is a third as high as that back home.)

[Surf City Baby]

Hey, DemsforMD: re: your tagline

"demsformd - the token liberal Democrat here"

Not anymore, sweetie....

[Surf City Baby]

Originally posted by cariblue
No such word.

You're absolutely right, of course. I know the word.... Ever struggled for the correct spelling of a word, but it just won't come to you? I was miserably off the mark, and I am royally embarrassed.

So what you're saying is the men in Southern MD hate women, and the women in Southern MD hate women?

No.

I wrote "There seems to be more [misogyny] here -- from women as well as men. That really surprised me." That's precisely what I meant. I didn't make the generalization you suggest: that I think the men of So. MD and the women of So. MD -- all men and all women across the board -- hate women. Yes, obviously that is the literal meaning of the word. But there can be different shades in its usage -- or is this another round of culture shock for me?

In comparison to the attitude toward women I knew back home, the attitude toward women out here seems harsher. More condescending. More patronizing. This is my observation of a limited number of people in a limited number of settings, as well as my observation of the interactions of men and women -- especially male superiors and female subordinates -- at work.

It's not easy to describe what I mean at midnight after such a long day. If you like, I'll elaborate another time.

PS It still really surprises me. I think it always will.

[Dymphna]

Originally posted by Surf City Baby
I wrote "There seems to be more [misogyny] here -- from women as well as men. That really surprised me." That's precisely what I meant. I didn't make the generalization you suggest: that I think the men of So. MD and the women of So. MD -- all men and all women across the board -- hate women. Yes, obviously that is the literal meaning of the word. But there can be different shades in its usage -- or is this another round of culture shock for me?

In comparison to the attitude toward women I knew back home, the attitude toward women out here seems harsher. More condescending. More patronizing. This is my observation of a limited number of people in a limited number of settings, as well as my observation of the interactions of men and women -- especially male superiors and female subordinates -- at work.

It's not easy to describe what I mean at midnight after such a long day. If you like, I'll elaborate another time.

PS It still really surprises me. I think it always will.

In other words, of the people you've met, there is a more negative attitude towards women, however, you are not prepared to accuse all Southern Marylanders of misogyny, because unlike some people on this site, you are not prepared to make generalizations based on the relatively few you've met.

[jazz lady (Premo)]

Originally posted by cariblue
No such word.





misogyny-hatred of women.

Correction. It is a word [from dictionary.com]:

misogynism

n : hatred of women [syn: misogyny]

My two cents: I've dealt with the condescending attitudes towards women from some men (not all men, so don't jump me). I'm not sure if it's the attitude they grow up with or is part of the atmosphere of the Navy, but it does exist around here. I don't let it bother me anymore - it's their problem, not mine. But if they continue, I just prove to them I'm as smart if not smarter than they are and go on my way.

[SmallTown]

Originally posted by cmcdanal
because unlike some people on this site, you are not prepared to make generalizations based on the relatively few you've met.

If you and your child move into a new home, and later find out a child molester lives 3 doors down, you would want to move. Doesn't mean the neigborhood as a whole is bad, but you've seen enough to decide you want out.

[demsformd]

Originally posted by Surf City Baby
Hey, DemsforMD: re: your tagline

"demsformd - the token liberal Democrat here"

Not anymore, sweetie....

I love the California liberals. I attended Berkeley for undergrads in the 60's and I loved it out there. But I am certainly glad that I am back home.

[Sharon (Premo)]

Originally posted by Surf City Baby
Hey, DemsforMD: "demsformd - the token liberal Democrat here"

Not anymore, sweetie....

Originally posted by demsformd
I love the California liberals.

You guys talk about it like that's a good thing.

[Surf City Baby]

Originally posted by Sharon
You guys talk about it like that's a good thing.

It's good to laugh. Glad I could help make your day!

Do you see the politics of those who don't share your views as necessarily bad, then?

[Toxick]

Originally posted by Surf City Baby
Do you see the politics of those who don't share your views as necessarily bad, then?

I do.

If I thought the politics of those I disagree with were good, I would espouse those politics myself.


In other words, I disagree with policy and views for a reason.


But that's just me.