10 Things I learnt in the US - part 2

6. Guns

We've seen them in movies. People keep guns at home. But to actually meet a gun owner was still shocking. I'm also not used to people talking casually about playing with assault rifles or hunting. I happened to go to a gun show once (It was side-by-side with the Heritage India festival), and was amazed by the murder weapons all around, all on sale! Thankfully, loaded guns were not allowed inside. In trying to buy a gun, I found out that one needed to apply for a license, which typically takes 3 days (Thank God, some regulations atleast).

Many people feel that they need guns in case the government attacks them. Others go by "Who will protect your family at home against an intruder?". ("Bowling for Columbine" talks all about this). It is quite amazing that many people feel safer with a murder weapon at home.


7. The Respected Professions

In India, the respectable people are those with a high education and/or high position - doctors, professors, IAS officers, company general managers, etc. However, in the US, people respect those who do a service for the community without high pay. Doctors are CEOs are looked at as money making. Lawyers are totally detested. Professors are looked as elitist. Civil administrators are "part of the Government". School teachers, police officers, military personnel and firemen are the respected professions. They are the ones quoted in newspapers to give a true testimony as to what people feel.

8. Insurance (and Credit Card) Scams

I never realized that scamming could be part a successful business model. One of the simplest ways to make money is to make people fight in order to claim money that was rightfully theirs. Many people don't notice the "mistake", while others try to fight, but get too busy and then forget about it. Insurance companies, apart from the highly regulated home, health and car insurance, are pretty much a law upon themselves. There is always fine print, or millions of documents to provide along with hours on the telephone to claim what should have been yours at the start. For those who fight till the end, like grad students with plenty of time, the company does pay up, and despite all the trouble it has caused, can claim to have "done its job" and move on to the next victim. And until the company name is pasted all over the internet with bad reviews, the scam goes on.

9. Minority religion groups

That there were many conservative Christian groups is one thing. Finding non-mainstream groups who have ultra-conservative beliefs is more shocking. From a colleague of mine, who was once a Mormon, I found out that Mormons live in almost a parallel universe, where creationism, belief in their prophet (who lived in the 1800s), communication with God are all truths, where coffee and alcohol do not exist and where all young people must spend 2 years of their lives in missionary service. One would expect the pluralistic nature of American society, along with communication and media, to prevent people from being so orthodox. But that isn't the case. Like Mormons, there are orthodox Jews, who don't operate machinery on Saturday (due to Sabbath), Amish people who still use horses for transportation, and probably several other lesser groups too.

There are also many extreme Hindu groups, whose views on Christianity and Islam would shock the average Indian ("Christianity and Islam, Capitalism and Communism are the 4 axes of evil in the world"). Some youths take a year off from education or work, to devote their time to the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, which sounds uncannily similar to Mormons spending time for missionary service. I wouldn't be surprised if similar groups exist for Islam too.

10. Nicknames

This is one of the more everyday things which does not take long to figure out. Prior to coming to the US, I always believed your name, when formally asked was what is written in your documents. However, during my first teaching lab, when I asked a group of students what their names where, I got "Jen... Ed... Al...". I soon realized that one could choose one's first name everywhere - what your colleagues call you, your credit card, name plate - except for very serious things like your driving license or passport. Many names have an associated short form, like William-Bill, Joseph-Joe, Amanda-Mandy. Some parents even choose a name based on its short form (a friend of mine was named Amanda because her Mom liked the name Mandy). Others, who have a foreign name, choose a more American short form (my favourite is Devarajan-Dave). Still others, (I've known many such Chinese) completely abandon any resemblance to the original name (Weihao - Jennifer, Zhechun-Lance). To all those parents who have ambitious plans to name their kids, if your kids don't like their given name, you may find them being called something completely different.

10 Things I learnt in the US - part 1

Back in India, we hear a lot about the US - News, Hollywood movies and stories from people visiting from the US. Nevertheless, that isn't a complete picture. Here are a list of things that I didn't know or fully appreciate before coming here


1. Immigrants

While I always had the picture of "White America", coming to the Washington DC suburbs, I was surprised by the number of immigrants. In fact, where I live, I hardly hear a proper American accent, either at home, work or outside. My earlier post, "People I meet" talks about this.

2. The Conservative Movement

If many people want to close their eyes and not face the truth, they can create anything for that - media (FOX news), talk shows, books (Intelligent Design), experts, scientists (Will Happer - 'More C02 will be better for humanity') and even museums ('Creation Museum' Seeks to Disprove Evolution, Paleontology, Geology)! While I knew that Americans voted Bush with all his Conservative leanings, I had no idea of the extent of support structure for conservative ideals, however blatantly wrong they may be.

In India, being "conservative" has a negative connotation - "his parents are very conservative and will not allow him to stay out late." Being "liberal" has a positive connotation. Those who'd like to say that they are not enthused by modern radical ideas refer to themselves as "traditional". In the US, the "traditional" people refer to themselves as "Conservative" (which I found quite amusing). Among such circles, "liberal" is a bad word. How can being free and open ever be bad? Well, that's the Conservative Movement.

3. Racial Tensions - what really happens

Back in India, we learn about the American Civil War and racial tensions in the US. We also know of America welcoming talent from all around the world and celebrating their African-American sports heroes. Coming here, I was interested in learning the truth. Is America racist?

The short answer is no. Even in the most Conservative circles, being openly racist is looked down upon. People are polite irrespective of who you are. Still, several subtle biases still exist.

However, the question is more complicated than I initially thought. It is not just about White-Black or White-Brown racism. Tensions exist between all the various minority racial groups. In fact, such groups are more open and explicit about it, since they don't have a "racist" tag to avoid (see "Crash", a 2005 movie). My first glimpse was when I heard a black person rant to his friends about how Hispanic immigrants were a problem. "They cause all the trouble. It's not us. They should all be sent back to their country". Also, when I lived in a predominantly black housing complex, I felt the resentment towards outsiders and would occasionally encounter someone who was rude to me when I asked for directions.

4. Non-Profits

While NGOs in India are associated with social service and upliftment of the poor or underprivileged, there are Non-Profits for everything here - the environment, fiscal discipline of the government, for guns, against guns, monitor of Catholic law makers and even pro- and anti-circumcision. There is a Non-Profit for the wildest idea you may have.

Having been around for a long term, Non-Profits follow certain, almost business models. They have their standard lines, "We've been doing great work .... However, to keep up with the increasing need, we need your contribution" or "... are in great danger. If you don't act now, we will lose ...". Their methods include guilt tripping and sending you freebies (name stickers, greeting cards) to make you feel obliged.

5. Car culture

While I had heard that America was largely dependent on cars, I didn't fully appreciate it until I came here. Large parts of the country do not have decent public transport. Even the suburbs of Washington DC have places where no buses run. In many places that do have buses, they run only weekdays. The concept that you cannot go somewhere because you do not have a car was new to me.

In American culture (includes immigrants and all), people are very helpful towards those without a car. For any get together, you can always be sure that someone will give you a ride, from and to your doorstep. People who live out of public transport's reach, will pick and drop you off at the metro at the very least.

Ironically, one of the hardest things to do without a car is to buy one. The good cars get sold before you reach them. Many cars are in far flung places, out of reach. Seeing a car itself is a half day affair using the metro.

After buying a car, everything changed. There are no time restrictions to return. Far flung addresses don't evoke the question, "How will I get there". While I do my duty to help my car-less friends, I hardly spare a thought for bettering public transport to help the unfortunate people out there who don't have cars.