What happens when a person born into societies as severe...

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as the Japanese or American?

I have understood that in these countries,
parents educate their children to work and
be nice to everybody. Does anyone have
rejected this education?

So.. in Spain your parents teach you to be lazy and mean? Or What?

Lol

Actually American culture is more hyper- we work hard and play hard.
Youre supposed earn alot of money, and spend it.

Japanese have the reputation for being workaholics as well.

Europeans are more laid back- take more time to savor things but dont dispose of much ncome. You all have longer vacations,and lunch hours. Drink wine-play mandolins- and sing. Americas have to have stuff-big screen tvs and SUV's

Or thats my impression.

Except behind the wheel of car! Europeans are supposed to be agressive maniacs who consider traffic lights and speed limits to be a fascist plot and so ignore them. Or thats what ive heard.

And you're supposed to earn a lot of money spending 10+ hours of the day in a cubacle doing dull sedentary office work. Either that or be a service sector drone which is equally dull but magnitudes more stressful (for someone on the autism spectrum) and magnitudes less pay.


Yep. Most Americans are empty, obese, materialistic drones. Work, family, religion, and sports... plus buying lots of meaningless sh*t to keep up with the joneses. And don't forget to vote Republican! That's what American life is all about. If you have no interest in any of those items you'd be happier planting a bullet between your eyes.

What type of fun jobs do they have in Europe that we haven't heard about?

All humans are materialistic. All that differs is the ability to acquire it.

I disagree. I have the ability to acquire a lot more than I have materially.

I think Europeans would be more willing to admit that, for most people, work sucks. It's simply a means to an end. They don't bludgeon their culture with the protestant work ethic mythos.


Actually no. Not all human societies care so much about phony status symbols or keeping up with the joneses as Americans do.

I agree. I think Americans have taken their screwed-up priorities to a whole new level. We value money, not life. It's not just vacation allowances either. We have ridiculously inadequate maternity leaves compared to other developed nations as well.

So American culture is inferior because we value working hard? Europeans want the same things as we do, don't act like they're some altruistic worldly people.

And what societies don't value materialistic things? Fundamentalist religious ones who care more about the "next" life and subsistence ones

If we value it to the detriment of other things. The problem is the way the whole protestant work ethic is used to pee on the legs of working people and then tell them it's only raining. Work is not automatically good for people. Americans are not as healthy as their European counterparts.

It's not only physical but psychological. In order for people to prosper, work must fulfill certain psychological stimulatory needs. These would mainly be (varying from person to person)...
1.) physical stimulation
2.) social stimulation
3.) creative stimulation

Now here's the problem. Deprivation in all of these things leads to depression in most individuals, especially ones who are already more genetically susceptible. Most unskilled service sector jobs these days only offer number 2 and if you're autistic you might as well cross off number 2. Besides construction, most jobs offering number 1 have been outsourced, and of the ones that are left autistic people might have difficulties due to slowness or lack of motor coordination. That leaves us with number 3. These jobs are usually competitive and require some kind of post-secondary degree. With higher education becoming less and less affordable for ordinary families these are moving farther and farther out of reach.


Making an all-or-nothing extrapolation doesn't invalidate my claim that Americans are more materialistic than others. Of course all modern societies are somewhat materialistic. It's a matter of degree and priorities. America just stands as the most out-of-whack example.

One thing I've noticed is that recent immigrants seem to like to work harder and buy more stuff more than we do.

That is partly true, but when I obey the rules,
other people disobey these rules and are not
punished, and I gain nothing obeying.

At my school, I unscrewed tables, my teachers
smoked, and I escaped to the woods every day
with two friends: sometimes it is positive that no rules

Not in Germany. Not at all. They're very courteous especially toward cyclists.

Thats good to know.
When theyre not driving on the autobahn at 100 mph the germans are sane drivers.
Maybe its just the French who are crazy.

Even when they're on the autobahn, they fairly safe, and still courteous.

That sounds nice. Miami drivers will not hesitate to run over pedestrians or cyclists, even if you have the right of way.