Exchanges with People that Make Your Brain Hurt

[selkiewoman]

I am Scottish.  You would be amazed (or maybe not) at the number of people who ask if I know Susan Boyle.  Especially since I have not lived there for 45 years.

[jolyan]

Not a conversation, but just brain-hurty in general:

My local YMCA has those no-touch Purel dispensers installed all over the place, including right next to many of the doorways.  Except they're all installed at around head height (to me, anyway, an average-sized woman).  So if you cut the corner too close coming out of the locker room, you get hand sanitizer spritzed on your shoulder.  If you back into one - like, oh, if you step aside to hold the door for someone - you get hand sanitizer down the back of your neck.  And if you happened to be in a wheelchair you couldn't get hand sanitizer at all.

I don't know how much it would cost them to re-install all the dispensers 18 inches lower, but I suspect they'd recoup their costs in savings on un-wasted Purel within a year or two!

Two screws per dispenser. Its really simple if you have a drill.

[Redsoil]

I was over in New Zealand, and was seated at dinner with another couple from Australia (which is a pretty big place).   Found out they were very good friends of my Aunt and Uncle (who are also my Godparents).  So, chiming in with the others who say it does happen!

[siamesecat2965]

The driver for my carpool today.

Him - "Is that Coworker's car?"
Me - "I don't know. Doesn't he have a different colour of car?"
Him - "Well yeah, maybe. I thought I heard him say that he bought a new one. And he lives in that direction."
Me - <thinking> Thousands of people live in 'that direction'. And thousands of cars turn right at this intersection every day. Why in the heck would you think this one has to be him??

I have a manager who will say something similar.  We live in NJ but she's from Long Island. We have had customers sometimes who are from there originally, and lets say their last time is something common, but not as common as Smith or Jones. Let's say Anderson. So she will then say, oh, I knew someone in x town on LI with that name. Are you related?

Or someone will comment about someone they know in a particular profession in an area, and she will pipe up and ask their name, since in spite of their being thousands of accountants in such and such a town, this one person she knows MIGHT be the one they are talking about.

One of my DH's cousins was visiting us and was invited to my friend's house with us for dinner. My friend that was hosting is from Texas. When Cousin found out, he said, "Oh I know 'so-n-so' from Texas. Do you know him?" My friend just blinked and I busted out laughing and reminded him how large Texas is to which he sheepishly smiled.

On a flip note a friend of DH's was visiting his wife's home town in Texas. He met her childhood friend and mentioned he was in a band (back in NYC). The friend said "I have a nephew in a band in NYC - do you know him?" and lo & behold the wife's childhood friend was my DH's aunt. It does happen.

Oh I agree. I had something similar happen to me one summer in college. I’m from NJ, but was living at the beach in DE, waitressing. We had someone new start, and while I forget where she was from, she went to school in SC.  So one weekend she mentions she was heading to NJ to see her boyfriend. Without even asking, I had this feeling I would know him. So I said where, and she mentioned my hometown, and then I asked who, and sure enough, it was someone I had gone to school with from 4th grade on! 

[Softly Spoken]

Not a conversation exchange but something I read. On the website microaggressions.com (which requires massive sanity points and cans of diet coke to read  ), there was the following anecdote:

"At my school, the Introduction to Native Americans class, which covers the history of Native Americans from pre-Contact to present day, does not count towards the United States History general education requirement."

                  

[PastryGoddess]

Not a conversation exchange but something I read. On the website microaggressions.com (which requires massive sanity points and cans of diet coke to read  ), there was the following anecdote:

"At my school, the Introduction to Native Americans class, which covers the history of Native Americans from pre-Contact to present day, does not count towards the United States History general education requirement."

                  

*blink*  *blink*
whaaaaa nooooo huhhhhh

[mmswm]

Not a conversation exchange but something I read. On the website microaggressions.com (which requires massive sanity points and cans of diet coke to read  ), there was the following anecdote:

"At my school, the Introduction to Native Americans class, which covers the history of Native Americans from pre-Contact to present day, does not count towards the United States History general education requirement."

                  

*blink*  *blink*
whaaaaa nooooo huhhhhh

I don't see the brain hurt.  US history is usually meant as a course covering the founding and developing of the country/government itself. The Native Americans are, of course, and important part of the history of this country, but that's not the intent of the requirement.  I'm not explaining this very well (and now we know why I'm a mathematician, not a writer).

I think this example works.  Lets say the degree requirement was a course on "The life of Bob".  There are several options that cover different parts of life.  There's a course on just infant/toddlerhood,, there's a course on the tumultuous teenage years, and an overview of the entire life thus far.  There's also a really great course on "The history of Bob's parents".  That course doesn't count to meet the degree requirement. Bob's parents are important to Bob's life, but, in terms of Bob's life, they're just a related (though vital) topic.  Studying about Bob's parents doesn't quite meet the requirements.

[Hillia]

I guess I kind of see that point.  If the goal is to cover the history of the United States as a political entity, it makes sense.

[LazyDaisy]

I understand why too. From what I understand, the Native Americans are considered "sovereign nations" within the borders of the US. In some areas of the south western US, we have a shared history with Mexico (think of all the Spanish missions along the California coast or the Mexican American war), but taking a course solely on Mexican history doesn't really = US history.

[MariaE]

I was over in New Zealand, and was seated at dinner with another couple from Australia (which is a pretty big place).   Found out they were very good friends of my Aunt and Uncle (who are also my Godparents).  So, chiming in with the others who say it does happen!

My family relocated to New Zealand for a year when I was 10. One evening - after I'd gone to bed - the phone rang. This wasn't unusual, as due to the time difference, my paternal grandparents often rang around 9-10pm. Sure enough, my dad picked up the phone and started speaking Danish, but hung up surprisingly quickly.

The next morning I asked him what grandma and granddad had wanted. "Nothing - it wasn't them. It was somebody else from Denmark, calling up somebody else in New Zealand - expecting to get somebody who spoke Danish... but got the wrong number!"

What are the odds?!?!?

[Virg]

LazyDaisy wrote:

"I understand why too. From what I understand, the Native Americans are considered "sovereign nations" within the borders of the US."

Considering that the vast majority of the geography of the United States used to be Native American land and the whole concept of Manifest Destiny was wound up in conflict with Native American nations, this is too far a stretch to be valid.  For close to a century people born into NA tribes on reservations are considered American citizens by the U.S. government, so at least for the "present day" part of the class they're learning about a segment of the American population.

"In some areas of the south western US, we have a shared history with Mexico (think of all the Spanish missions along the California coast or the Mexican American war), but taking a course solely on Mexican history doesn't really = US history."

Since you mentioned it, would studying the history of California from the 1500's through the present day not count because a good portion of that would be Mexican history?  As I said, present day NA people (in the U.S. of course) are American citizens by birth.

Virg

[twiggy]

Just because the US government lied to and stole from the NA tribes doesn't mean they weren't sovereign nations. The US Government made treaties with the tribes because they were sovereign. After all, the government isn't going to make a treaty with the city of Chicago, right?

That's also why NA reservations can have casinos, they are not necessarily subject to state law, but still fall under federal jurisdiction. Technically any crime committed on the Rez can be investigated by the FBI, but it's not likely.

[MommyPenguin]

Would studying a specific state count as American history?  That is also the history of a specific group of Americans.  It also would cover the period of the entire history of the nation (maybe even colonial times).  It would also give you some insight into general happenings in the country as a whole, because of what was going on in that specific state.  In fact, I think following a specific group/people/place through history is a great way to learn history.  And yet, I'm guessing that studying the history of Virginia would not count as an American History credit, so I don't think that the history of Native America would, either.

[Diane AKA Traska]

Considering how many of our geographic names are Native American in origin, I'd say they count very much toward credit, for my money.

[mmswm]

Would studying a specific state count as American history?  That is also the history of a specific group of Americans.  It also would cover the period of the entire history of the nation (maybe even colonial times).  It would also give you some insight into general happenings in the country as a whole, because of what was going on in that specific state.  In fact, I think following a specific group/people/place through history is a great way to learn history.  And yet, I'm guessing that studying the history of Virginia would not count as an American History credit, so I don't think that the history of Native America would, either.

The community college where I used to teach would not count state specific courses towards the US history requirement either.  They counted for elective credit, and some specific requirements for history sub-specialties and some teaching degrees, but they didn't meet the requirement for US history, which, as  PP said better than I could come up with, was meant to be a course that focused on the country as a political entity.  All the related histories are great things, but not the point.  Virg, that goes for the example you gave as well.