Indian kid describes America

[Aeson]

Al is certainly public about his failures but his accomplishments are a little thin on the ground.

He seems to have landed his dream job and has an attractive girlfriend. As long as that's the case he's done very well by any (useful) standard.

[regexcellent]

He hasn't landed his dream job by any stretch; he moonlights in it once a month. (Probably for the best, for him)

[KrazyHorse]

Was that written by aneeshm?

[dannubis]

That I don't know. But I am sure it was written as a means to gain prestige amongst his fellow students (and maybe get invited to some study group).

[Sava]

i think they prefer "native american"

[self biased]

this thread lead me to this classic poly thread.

[Guynemer]

blah blah blah

Oh honey.

Come work with me for a day if you think we have an almost-classless society.

Is it better than India? Sure, no denying that.

[Felch]

By classless he means that we don't have dalits. Obviously there are rich people in America, but even the very poor are middle class by third world standards. "Almost every single person in America has access to basic food, clothing, water and sanitation." That's not the case in a lot of places.

[Imran Siddiqui]

This may be wrong but part of it has to do with the fact that obtaining credit in this country is extremely easy.

He's absolutely correct about that. Of course, he doesn't really see what occurs due to credit card debt (I'm not saying that people who rack up $30k in debt are living intelligently, FWIW).

And, as pointed out, compared to India, yes, America is fairly equal. However, I think we prefer to relatively compare ourselves to other first world countries when it comes to that metric. The poverty in the subcontinent is stunning - which also leads to the more well off folks living in virtual castles (seriously, they have huge walls and gate men to keep the riffraff out).

[Colon™]

Income distribution is actually much more equal in India than in the US, more in line with Europe, though I'm happy to accept this isn't reflected in their attitudes towards one another.

And why would you take pride in favourable comparisons with a country as screwed up as India?

[Dinner]

this thread lead me to this classic poly thread.

You're link is broken. I think you were trying to link to this classic Zylka thread: http://apolyton.net/showthread.php/9...n+girls+pretty

[Sava]

Income distribution is actually much more equal in India than in the US, more in line with Europe, though I'm happy to accept this isn't reflected in their attitudes towards one another.

Income distribution doesn't mean anything if everyone is poor as balls.

[molly bloom]

By classless he means that we don't have dalits. .

You don't have a caste of untouchables but you do have the homeless and people living underground. Not the kind of thing a starstruck Indian college kid picks up on.

the more well off folks living in virtual castles (seriously, they have huge walls and gate men to keep the riffraff out).

Uh, Imran aren't they called gated communities in the U.S. ?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Gated communities at least are open to their neighbors in the same community .

And it isn't even remotely the same.

[molly bloom]

And it isn't even remotely the same.

If you say so. Mind you, when you talk about them living in virtual castles I can't help seeing some similarities....

A private polo field? A place where pet ostriches and llamas roam? To most, they sound like the trappings of a king. But to members of the most exclusive gated communities, deluxe perks like these are becoming standard. “Buyers are not only buying a home, they’re buying a lifestyle,” said Dana Olmes, an agent with Ewing and Associates Sotheby’s International Realty in California. “I have clients who pick up their children on horseback.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyamohn/2012/07/03/americas-most-exclusive-gated-communities/

Oh yes, we see a lot of that in my neck of the woods....