Matthew

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  • in reply to: British vs. English #40280

    Matthew
    Participant
    British = English + Welsh + Scottish. UK = Great Britain + Northern Ireland (for now? ) This is a topic that has been simmering in the UK for the past few years. As you may know, Scotland and Wales have gained regional assemblies recently and there are now calls for England to have one as well, as Scottish and Welsh politicians can now vote on matters that regard England more than the other way around. Then there is Northern Ireland... The England flag (St George's cross) is seen more and more at sporting events and some Little Englanders are moaning about pubs not having longer hours on St George's day as they do on St Patrick's day. Most sane English people do not care very much though. (For the record, the large majority of English people would gladly see Northern Ireland out of the UK as both sides of the divide there scare us).

    User Detail :  

    Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : English/French, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 2 Years of College, 
    in reply to: 20-something virgins OK? #25162

    Matthew
    Participant
    What exactly do you mean by 'are virgins OK'? It's a bit ambiguous. If you mean 'will a man go out with me and agree not to have sex,' this will almost certainly depend on their and your religious backgrounds. If, on the opposite end of the spectrum of possibility, you are asking if a man will agree to sleep with you 'even though' you are a virgin, I think you will find in most cases the answer to be, 'Yes please!' If you are in a relationship with a man and give him your virginity (hey, I'm assuming this is your case you're bringing up;; if not, sorry!) at 22, IF he's got any brain, he will be greatly flattered and touched and realize he means a lot to you.

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    Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : English/French, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 2 Years of College, 
    in reply to: Genocide in Africa #47117

    Matthew
    Participant
    A genocide is the systematic killing of a people, ethnic group etc.. What are you refering to exactly ?

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    Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : English/French, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 2 Years of College, 
    in reply to: Madonna’s style in the ’80s #45149

    Matthew
    Participant
    Like all Hollywood representations of 'street' style it was hopelessly out of touch and basically a middle-aged man's idea of what a street-smart teenage female was like. However this being Madonna it ended up being popular as a consequence! Honestly, I would advise you not to emulate that style slavishly. Especially here in England, if you look like you are emulating a particular person's style of a particular year, you will be laughed at! Try to figure out what it is about it you like and maybe adapt it to you and to now if you see what I mean.

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    Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : English/French, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 2 Years of College, 
    in reply to: Black, Blond and Blue-Eyed Italians #44719

    Matthew
    Participant
    I have never heard of 'Italians' not considering themselves white! You mean 'Italian-Americans,' I think, and that has only got to do with the United State's extremely complex ethnic politics (as with Irish-Americans). Carthaginians did not conquer Italy, despite Hannibal temporarily having the upper hand in the war with Rome. There was no occupation of Italy resulting in mass cross-breeding. (Armies were just a few thousand strong in those days, anyway). The features you describe are found all over Southern Europe. Basically, the more south you go in Europe (Spain, Portugal, Southern France, Greece, Yugoslavia), the more you find that people have dark skin and hair. (Inevitably, racist Northern Italians such as Umberto Bossi's supporters believe Southern Italians to be lazy criminals and parasites, etc.). There are also blond, blue-eyed people in Northern Africa, whose implantation dates from ancient times.

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    Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : English/French, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 2 Years of College, 
    in reply to: Reply To: ‘Bugger’ and the C-word in the UK #43780

    Matthew
    Participant
    'Cunt' is definitely offensive when referring to female genitalia, but many men here use it as an insult to another man. It is vulgar as well, but possibly not sexist then. To bugger definitely refers to anal sex, and I think any Brits who told you otherwise may have been pulling your leg a bit.

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    Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : English/French, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 2 Years of College, 
    in reply to: Reply To: Scottish/American differences #38467

    Matthew
    Participant
    To follow up from earlier posts, generally, you must understand that people there will think of you as 'American' and not 'Scottish-American.' This is not some form of snobbery: most Europeans think of anybody basically with a U.S. accent as American, and not something-American. This is because all Americans are 'originally' from somewhere else. Even 'Native Americans' really came from Siberia, didn't they? I know that many U.S. citizens cherish their particular roots, but understand that people will not really see it that way, and do not feel rejected because of that.

    (There is a joke in Series 2 of The Sopranos where the real nutcase whose name escapes me tries to get in touch with his Italian roots, only to be shouted at in return, 'Are you from NATO? You cut our cable-car!' This is cruel but well-observed!) Enjoy your trip (if indeed you are going there).

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    Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : English/French, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 2 Years of College, 
    in reply to: Bogged down by Bogwa #37735

    Matthew
    Participant
    I have never heard of it but a quick search brought up this page: http://www.ifugaos.org/newsarticles/inculturationby1.htm

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    Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : English/French, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 2 Years of College, 
    in reply to: Reply To: Why do men feel they must be dominant? #37001

    Matthew
    Participant
    This is a huge and controversial question that involves sociology, anthropology, sexology, politics, zoology possibly... But I disagree with the earlier answer: most men definitely feel a need to dominate. My opinion is that this is a deplorable remnant of our animal origins, which men need to be educated out of.

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    Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : English/French, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 2 Years of College, 
    in reply to: British Racism #36975

    Matthew
    Participant
    I am half-English but grew up abroad, so I think I'm fairly impartial on this matter and see both sides of the argument. I don't think Brits are more racist than other European nations, but there IS a nasty xenophobia in public discourse. The sad thing about Britain is that the tabloids here are very influential, very popular and they ARE extraordinarily crass. They do feed a constant stream of rubbish into public life which takes the breath away if you are not used to it. I am endlessly shocked by the way even half-clever papers like London's Evening Standard constantly use offensive language to refer to asylum seekers, and the Labour party will not fight that. Some of the worst offenders here belong to Mr R.Murdoch of New York by the way.

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    Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : English/French, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 2 Years of College, 
    in reply to: Reply To: Clean, militaristic Germans #35383

    Matthew
    Participant
    Germans are indeed quite tidy and clean, more so than many other European nations but maybe not more than Americans. All German households have 4 different rubbish bins for different sorts of waste etc... which is rare in Europe. On the other hand, they are definitely LESS militaristic than other nations! There was a great guilt and shame for decades after WWII and the nazi killing machine, and it has left a very lasting mark on Germany.

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    Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : English/French, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 2 Years of College, 
    in reply to: French non-verbal communications #34320

    Matthew
    Participant
    I am half-French and grew up in France. I spent a year in the United States when I was 18 and can't say I noticed many differences in non-verbal communication beyond a few obvious gestures - then again I was a dumb teenager, so maybe I didn't notice anything...

    Greetings gestures are different. For example, in France we very rarely hug (except within a couple, obviously), but we kiss each other on the cheeks as a greeting in many situations. (Some people air-kiss near your cheeks, others think this is as annoying as a very limp handshake). This is not really non-verbal communication, though, is it? Also, the 'air quotation marks' are not done in France (or anywhere in Europe, as far as I know). Finally, there is in France an alternative to the universal middle-finger-up, which I'm not sure you have in the United States. It consists of slapping your upper arm with the opposite hand and raising a clenched fist. Do you do that? It's known as a 'bras d'honneur,' and I do not know its origin. It's actually a bit more specific than the middle finger, and more or less means 'I don't care so (insert favorite profanity here).' It's a favorite with bad drivers. of which there are a lot.

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    Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : English/French, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 2 Years of College, 
    in reply to: France and humor #32372

    Matthew
    Participant
    This is a slighly strange question. I think most humour is pretty much the same in France and the USA. We think Dubya is very funny for instance ;) Is this to do with the bizarre US belief that Jerry Lewis is very popular in France? Woody Allen is very popular in France (where they think he is an intellectual because he has glasses and messy hair ) not Jerry Lewis!

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    Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : English/French, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 2 Years of College, 
    in reply to: Finding out about Finland #31746

    Matthew
    Participant
    I have several Finnish friends here in London, and the impression I get from them is that either Finland is full of R'n'R-loving, lovely, gorgeous, enormously-fun-to-be-with people (but my God, do they drink and pop pills!), or anybody like that has to leave Finland for some reason and come to London. Finland is getting quite a bit of media coverage in Europe these days because of the success of Nokia (which many people think is a Japanese company because of the sound of it), so it could well soon become as trendy as Iceland (yes, Iceland is trendy in England. Don't ask.)

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    Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : English/French, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 2 Years of College, 
    in reply to: Reply To: Why goth, by gosh? #28799

    Matthew
    Participant
    Gothic is an aesthetic rather than a philosophy/way of life/religion... It's mostly a style. The fact that it is quite spectacular visually makes it look a bit more serious than it really is.

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    Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : English/French, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 2 Years of College, 
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