Only in the USA

[alaina]

Please answer my questions. I asked you if displacement was credible? Of course it's not true 'just because I learned it in school'; I never said that. If to make a point,you have to attribute to me statements I didn't say, and tell lies about cannabilism, you are obviously grasping at straws If you can come up with an argument against displacement, I'd like to hear it.

[alaina]

You may find the conclusion to my 'argument' absurd, but I reiterate that it is you, not me, that is basing your claim in some abstract idea of moral fiber...you acknowlegde my point of greater economic stratification in the U.S. vs. Eastern Europe (obviously you don't think it matters, I do) and you have yet to refute displacement. What kind of contention are you offering me?

[henerte]

nockwasright said:

henerte said:

Was that sarcasm???

No, I am serious. Why, do you think that could happen in an European city? Could it happen in Varsaw?

There was a huge flood in Poland in 1997, as far as I remember...and the reaction was similar to the czech one.

[henerte]

Basically what I meant is that the facts of New Orleans look like scenes from another world, a world were a conspicuos mass of people has not even minimally internalised the basics of civilisation, nor feels any connection with the society, and is actually prevented only by continuous coertion from going back to a homo homini lupus stage. And that this could not happen in Europe.

USA is the country where the gap between the poor and the rich is the biggest in the West. It looks like huge parts of the society are excluded. It's a direct result of very individualistic and free economy and the emergence of such gaps in the society is an inherent part of capitalism. That's why so many people reject liberalism.

btw, USA might be the most powerful country in the world but it's usually GB that is thought to have the best democracy.

[Melnorme]

henerte said:

GB that is thought to have the best democracy.

"Best democracy"? How do you measure that?

For the record, I'm pretty sure the USA ( still ) beats anybody as far as free speech goes.

[henerte]

"Best democracy"? How do you measure that?

There is no way to measure it objectively. But that's the opinion you can hear from many experts. I don't know...I might be wrong. Probably, it's based on assessment of many factors: free speech, minority rights, economy, labour market etc...

For the record, I'm pretty sure the USA ( still ) beats anybody as far as free speech goes.

Well, that's become an axiom that USA beats all other countries when it comes to free speech. But that's just one of many factors. I'm sure that Sweden is the most advanced country in the case of women's rights but you can hardly call it the best democracy...

[Nist]

info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=185&category=events

An all american tradition?

[nockwasright]

alaina said:

Please answer my questions. I asked you if displacement was credible? Of course it's not true 'just because I learned it in school'; I never said that. If to make a point,you have to attribute to me statements I didn't say, and tell lies about cannabilism, you are obviously grasping at straws If you can come up with an argument against displacement, I'd like to hear it.

Actually it shoud be you who come for an argument to support "displacement", as you didn't. However, if I understood, by displacement you mean that when A is angered by B that is out of his reach, he reacts by kicking C that's within his reach.

If the above is correct, displacement is one of the fancy word by which those assembly of modern world sciamans called psychologists try to sex up a concept old as civilisation itself. As the say goes, " ... and the shop boy kicks the cat".

So, agreed that this is in itself something that can happen, at a certain level, to everybody, it's up to you to explain why such anger and why such kicking that have no equal in the civilised world is going on in NO.
Your assumption that the cause is economic inequality in imo not satisfying for the reasons that I already told you.

Actually I think a very poor excuse the fact that those perpetrators are only very well off (for world standards) while some people not very far are super extremey well off. They all can eat, have a car, have school and medical care.
In many countries the rich can have those things, the poor doesn't. And in the same countries, the poor has not even a real chanche to become rich or richer, while in the USA it has. So when you see at opportunities given, the assumed reason for the displaced anger get even thinner

Every family, every person has a cultural capital, some values and rules internalised and felt also at a non rational level. The difference in such capital show themselves dramatically in situations like NO and Kobe.
Do you think that if the hearthquake had happened in Taiwan or Hong Kong, were differences in income are huge, people would have behaved like the people in NO?
However, I never said "moral fiber" that I would understand as something that comes before education, as natural predisposition; actually I refer to what could be called cultural capital, i.e. what one has after education, or lack of it.