Questions about the USA.

[Hauldren Collider]

7. What can a policeman do to you if he sees you walking down the street? Let's say you have no ID on you.

The answer to this question is basically nothing. They might ask what you're doing, if you look drunk they might give you a breathalyzer, if you look high they might check you for pot. Not having ID is not a crime either. If you do need ID for something, you usually have a few days to show up at the station to demonstrate it, but they'll let you go for the time being.

[Addled Platypus]

liquid detergent for clothes
powder - if you want to make homemade napalm
if your machines break and it maybe a while before you buy the replacement
i vote by mail - can you ?

[MRT144]

1. Do you really put liquid detergent into your washing machines instead of laundry powder?
2. Why do laundromats exist if they provide no additional service? Why don't people just put a washing machine in their bathroom or kitchen?
More to come.

2. not all apartments have hookups. my first apartment on my own was a studio in a building built before your grandpappy was shooting at bolshevicks/commies

[Dinner]

A word of advice, onodera: Oerdin doesn't know **** about Arizona or southern states or their laws or how the cops operate there. Just in case you hadn't picked up on that by now (which would surprise me).

Another butt hurt know nothing who can't accept reality.

[Al B. Sure!]

Nah Oerdin is actually sort of right but Onodera is white so he'll be cool.

A photo ID is a must for a Black guy, which makes the whole voter ID controversy so weird to me because there are actually Black guys with the guts to walk the streets without an ID?

I personally know guys who have forgotten their ID in other pants and got approached by the cops. They would get detained at the station for some time.

When almost every suspect called in over the radio is a young Black male and that generally fits your description, it's best to have ID on you and cooperate with police. Something like a school or work ID could also alleviate suspicion.

I've never once been approached by a cop but I don't know any Black guys who haven't.

[Hauldren Collider]

You live in Philly, though. Which is, last I checked, above mason-dixon.

[Al B. Sure!]

You live in Philly, though. Which is, last I checked, above mason-dixon.

I know right.

Also, Oerdin mentioned "Black people where they 'didn't belong'". Nah. This checking ID's thing takes place in the hood.

Remember, most crimes take place in the hood so that's where the police are looking; and if they're just trying to check for people with bench warrants, as Oerdin suggested, again they'd be better off stopping random people in the ghetto.

[Dinner]

They're both, of course. Though I honestly don't know how you can seize on one tiny part of a long post and completely miss the other 90% as I also covered that. Selective reading I guess.

[Tuberski]

They vote with the location of their permanent duty station/where their unit is headquartered. An army man might be able to answer this better than me, but I think if your unit is headquartered in, say, Vicenza or something you can't vote.

Wrong, any duty station you would be sent to is considered American soil. You can always vote no matter where you are. I retained citizenship in my home state the entire time I was in the military.

ACK!

[Felch]

They're both, of course. Though I honestly don't know how you can seize on one tiny part of a long post and completely miss the other 90% as I also covered that. Selective reading I guess.

In Arizona you can be stopped if you look hispanic but the courts will toss out that racist law also in some southern states there is a history of doing this to black people especially if they were in a white neighborhood "where they don't belong". That wasn't decades ago either but in the last 5 years or so.

What have we learned, kids? We've learned that 59 words is a long post, and that 33 is 90% of 59.

[onodera]

2. not all apartments have hookups. my first apartment on my own was a studio in a building built before your grandpappy was shooting at bolshevicks/commies

Hey, **** you. I am proud of my red heritage.

[onodera]

8. Is it true that you have to hire a babysitter when you're having a night out because it's against the law to leave your kids home alone?

[The Mad Monk]

Yes, but "hire" in this case is a very informal term. Dropping the kids off at the grandparents counts, and its not like you're filling out paperwork.

[Felch]

Short answer, no. It would depend on the state and the age of the kid. If you habitually left a newborn unattended you could be charged with child neglect. But neglect cases are more about parents who essentially abandon their children and leave them to fend for themselves. Nobody is going to have their kids taken away for leaving them unattended for a few hours.

[Al B. Sure!]

8. Is it true that you have to hire a babysitter when you're having a night out because it's against the law to leave your kids home alone?

How old is the kid?

A lot of parents wouldn't want to leave the kid alone not because it would be illegal but because of concern for the kid without adult supervision.

There's also the matter of how would anyone know?

[onodera]

9. How do traffic violations work? Do you have a points system? We don't and it sucks from a safety point of view, as you can be caught speeding 100 times and still keep your license if you pay your fines on time.

[Lorizael]

Your license can be taken away from you, unless you're an attractive woman or a servicemember.

[Al B. Sure!]

9. How do traffic violations work? Do you have a points system? We don't and it sucks from a safety point of view, as you can be caught speeding 100 times and still keep your license if you pay your fines on time.

Pennsylvania has a points system.

[The Mad Monk]

Most states do. I would say all but I haven't confirmed it.

[regexcellent]

New York does. People drive like maniacs here anyway. Must be the snow.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

You live in Philly, though. Which is, last I checked, above mason-dixon.

MY experiences in PA, DE, NJ, NY, MD, CT, Mass. leave me with the undeniable impression that racism is far worse in the NorthEast than say in the Deep south. My impression is that there is a high degree of racial segregation in the NE (especially in rural areas) where mixing only really occurs in the urban areas, while in the south races are much more likely to come in contact with each other regardless of urban or rural locales. Given that the root of racism is a demonization born of ignorance, having little to no contact with other races is a natural breeding ground for racism.

Caveat, my experiences in the Northeast are from 1970 - 2000 or so, while my expereinces in the south are 2000-2012. So racial attitude progress may be a factor in my impression.

[rah]

Racism is still an issue in the vanilla villages that surround Chicago. DWB or DWH is still a common reason to get pulled over. They have to be a bit more discreet about it these days due to all the watch dog groups that analyze statistics but I would say that over half the time I drive by someone pulled over, they are either black or hispanic.

[Imran Siddiqui]

MY experiences in PA, DE, NJ, NY, MD, CT, Mass. leave me with the undeniable impression that racism is far worse in the NorthEast than say in the Deep south. My impression is that there is a high degree of racial segregation in the NE (especially in rural areas) where mixing only really occurs in the urban areas, while in the south races are much more likely to come in contact with each other regardless of urban or rural locales. Given that the root of racism is a demonization born of ignorance, having little to no contact with other races is a natural breeding ground for racism.

Caveat, my experiences in the Northeast are from 1970 - 2000 or so, while my expereinces in the south are 2000-2012. So racial attitude progress may be a factor in my impression.

I think that caveat is the case . Because being from NJ, I wouldn't even come close to saying that racism is worse up North East. Does it exist? Sure. Is it worse in Georgia? Oh Heck Yes!!

[SlowwHand]

How old is the kid?

A lot of parents wouldn't want to leave the kid alone not because it would be illegal but because of concern for the kid without adult supervision.

There's also the matter of how would anyone know?

Unless there's a terrible tragedy nobody likely would know. Although that's kind of the point in not leaving them alone in the first place. "Oops", wouldn't suffice.

[OzzyKP]

Unless there's a terrible tragedy nobody likely would know. Although that's kind of the point in not leaving them alone in the first place. "Oops", wouldn't suffice.

Which demonstrates the answer. There may be no laws against it, but parents are completely paranoid.

[regexcellent]

I think that caveat is the case . Because being from NJ, I wouldn't even come close to saying that racism is worse up North East. Does it exist? Sure. Is it worse in Georgia? Oh Heck Yes!!

Don't know about NJ but I'm under the distinct impression that it's worse in New York.

[Dr Strangelove]

Racism is still an issue in the vanilla villages that surround Chicago. DWB or DWH is still a common reason to get pulled over. They have to be a bit more discreet about it these days due to all the watch dog groups that analyze statistics but I would say that over half the time I drive by someone pulled over, they are either black or hispanic.

When I taught at Dartmouth students would routinely demand that I return home and take the black people with me.

[Hauldren Collider]

9. How do traffic violations work? Do you have a points system? We don't and it sucks from a safety point of view, as you can be caught speeding 100 times and still keep your license if you pay your fines on time.

Varies. Virginia does points though. I think most states do, these days. Some state's points might not count in others, though, so if you have say a Kentucky driver's license and get caught speeding in Maine, it might not affect you. Not sure.

[OzzyKP]

Not that dramatically.

[Dinner]

Racism is still an issue in the vanilla villages that surround Chicago. DWB or DWH is still a common reason to get pulled over. They have to be a bit more discreet about it these days due to all the watch dog groups that analyze statistics but I would say that over half the time I drive by someone pulled over, they are either black or hispanic.

A few years back we the SDPD got sued with the defendent making claims about racial profiling with "driving while black" claims being made. Since the state requires all police and sheriff's departments to compile data about who race, sex, and other info of every stop it was pretty easy to defend but the surprising thing which turned up was east Asian officers (for which there are a good number in this area) were statistically been more likely to pull over blacks or hispanics at higher rates than white officers on the same beat. It was so high there was actually a question if Asian-American officers might have been profiling black or hispanics driving in white or Asian neighborhoods while the white officers were already walking on pins and needles in order to avoid such accusations.

It would seem Asian-Americans have well and truly assimilated to the American way of life.