RONALD EVITTS ARCHITECT
1201 Broadway, Room 503
New York, NY 10001-5405
212-679-7050 tel
212-679-7058 fax
revitts@xxxxxxxxxxx
-----Original Message-----
From: Basic and applied design (Art and Architecture)
[mailto:DESIGN-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Derek Thornton
Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2002 7:05 PM
To: DESIGN-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: nuts or huts !
> ... The reality of the United States is very,
> very different from the illusions and
> stereotypes imposed upon us by outsiders.
But, Gregory, the United States provides the world
with its own ready-made illusions and stereotypes.
Nobody outside the US would have much success
generating more impressive and convincing stereotypes
than are served up to us every day by the US media
and Hollywood. When we see footage of US troops
landing in Afghanistan we see Wyatt Earp and his
friends heading for the OK Corral; we see the sheep
farmers going down to the local jail to hang some guy
from the nearest tree before the judge arrives in town.
> ... The glut of information blends truth
> and lies, and camouflages the important
> as the trivial. ... It's rather a brilliant piece
> of misdirection when you think about it --
> hidden in plain sight.
As a European who has lived for a year or two off and
on in the US, my impression was that youall have
succeeded only in camouflaging the rest of the world from
yourselves. What you have hidden from your view is the
other 95% of the population of the world.
The reality of this became clear when, to our astonishment,
many US citizens interviewed on TV or expressing opinions
in the newsgroups and elsewhere after Sept. 11th, claimed
to be totally taken by surprise that so many people in the
world could be hating the US like they seemed to be doing.
And we were surprised that you all were surprised.
But that's the point -- the ones that were interviewed or screaming the
loudest were not the most representative, IMHO. I certainly am not
surprised by the hatred and dislike many people in the world have for the
US. And I can't understand how any American could or would be. But imagine
that sound byte: "yes, i knew we were hated in that country, I saw it
coming..." Not as interesting/newsworthy as the more hysterical "I can't
believe they would hate us so much!"
It comes with the territory of being (default) world leader. But it's also
true that this dislike/hatred of America is frequently accompanied by an
infatuation with and even affection for americans, personally. In my
travels, I've encountered both, but I must say I'm sometimes
surprised/appalled by the mindless, knee-jerk anti-americanism of some of my
european acquaintances, mainly the more "intellectual" ones. Given a choice
between mindless ignorance or mindless hatred, I think I would go with the
former -- it's more easily corrected!
It works both ways. While I was in the US, the only times
that Germany was mentioned in the news was when
scenes were shown of German riot police cracking skulls
in the street. And that seemed to be about once a week.
Yet I have lived 25 years in Germany and have been around
a bit but have never once seen or been near a street riot here.
Who is going to save us all from the torrent of misinformation
that separates us?
I think the internet is doing some of that. For example, I now frequent the
BBC news website as a more interesting and, I think balanced reporting of
world news than American news media, and I appreciate the difference. It's
one of the promising aspects of the internet that, hopefully, will not fall
victim to the increasing commercialization and privatization of the web.
Derek Thornton
Pforzheim, Germany
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gregory Wharton" <jgw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <DESIGN-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2002 12:06 AM
Subject: Re: nuts or huts !
1201 Broadway, Room 503
New York, NY 10001-5405
212-679-7050 tel
212-679-7058 fax
revitts@xxxxxxxxxxx
-----Original Message-----
From: Basic and applied design (Art and Architecture)
[mailto:DESIGN-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Derek Thornton
Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2002 7:05 PM
To: DESIGN-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: nuts or huts !
> ... The reality of the United States is very,
> very different from the illusions and
> stereotypes imposed upon us by outsiders.
But, Gregory, the United States provides the world
with its own ready-made illusions and stereotypes.
Nobody outside the US would have much success
generating more impressive and convincing stereotypes
than are served up to us every day by the US media
and Hollywood. When we see footage of US troops
landing in Afghanistan we see Wyatt Earp and his
friends heading for the OK Corral; we see the sheep
farmers going down to the local jail to hang some guy
from the nearest tree before the judge arrives in town.
> ... The glut of information blends truth
> and lies, and camouflages the important
> as the trivial. ... It's rather a brilliant piece
> of misdirection when you think about it --
> hidden in plain sight.
As a European who has lived for a year or two off and
on in the US, my impression was that youall have
succeeded only in camouflaging the rest of the world from
yourselves. What you have hidden from your view is the
other 95% of the population of the world.
The reality of this became clear when, to our astonishment,
many US citizens interviewed on TV or expressing opinions
in the newsgroups and elsewhere after Sept. 11th, claimed
to be totally taken by surprise that so many people in the
world could be hating the US like they seemed to be doing.
And we were surprised that you all were surprised.
But that's the point -- the ones that were interviewed or screaming the
loudest were not the most representative, IMHO. I certainly am not
surprised by the hatred and dislike many people in the world have for the
US. And I can't understand how any American could or would be. But imagine
that sound byte: "yes, i knew we were hated in that country, I saw it
coming..." Not as interesting/newsworthy as the more hysterical "I can't
believe they would hate us so much!"
It comes with the territory of being (default) world leader. But it's also
true that this dislike/hatred of America is frequently accompanied by an
infatuation with and even affection for americans, personally. In my
travels, I've encountered both, but I must say I'm sometimes
surprised/appalled by the mindless, knee-jerk anti-americanism of some of my
european acquaintances, mainly the more "intellectual" ones. Given a choice
between mindless ignorance or mindless hatred, I think I would go with the
former -- it's more easily corrected!
It works both ways. While I was in the US, the only times
that Germany was mentioned in the news was when
scenes were shown of German riot police cracking skulls
in the street. And that seemed to be about once a week.
Yet I have lived 25 years in Germany and have been around
a bit but have never once seen or been near a street riot here.
Who is going to save us all from the torrent of misinformation
that separates us?
I think the internet is doing some of that. For example, I now frequent the
BBC news website as a more interesting and, I think balanced reporting of
world news than American news media, and I appreciate the difference. It's
one of the promising aspects of the internet that, hopefully, will not fall
victim to the increasing commercialization and privatization of the web.
Derek Thornton
Pforzheim, Germany
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gregory Wharton" <jgw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <DESIGN-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2002 12:06 AM
Subject: Re: nuts or huts !