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flagamuffin · 2242 days ago · link ·
So many stereotypes. Oddly, the thing that made me saddest was the hardline Jewish kid. He wants to be a rabbi. Are you surprised? Is anyone not a rabbi where he is growing up? Rather undermines my belief that humans have free will; you don't if you grow up in a place like that. The girl who's been pregnant three times and is only 14 -- sad in a different way. She's had choices, even if mostly I'm sure they've been between 'bad' or 'worse'. She's lived, at least a bit. Overall I found this link extremely troubling, and I really wish I hadn't found it at 4 a.m. right before I sleep.
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I'm sure tons of kids don't want to grow up to be Rabbis. Not everyone can be, for one. I went to a Christian college for two years and the bible department was relatively small. Heck, most people were either in the nursing program or the business/IT school, and this is in Arkansas, pretty well set in the bible belt. I tried to Google search the exact numbers, but have you ever tried to search "Israel Occupation"? No help.
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flagamuffin · 2241 days ago · link ·
I was using some hyperbole, but your anecdotal evidence doesn't change the fact that growing up in a Haredi society isn't even close to growing up in the Bible Belt. Take a step back from what I said, and look at the kid and his room. How many of those things are choices he has made?
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flagamuffin · 2241 days ago · link ·
I'll admit that religion tends to be the biggest offender when it comes to raising close-minded children with zero future, but no, there are other factors. What you're still missing is the extremity to which this kid is affected by his upbringing. In no other first-world country would you find this.
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thenewgreen · 2242 days ago · link ·
This was posted a while back by eb but from a different site. You should check it out it is presented differently and imo, more effectively. It's a wonderful cultural glimpse in to the diversity of our species. Pretty cool.
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flagamuffin · 2242 days ago · link ·
I may be missing something but I felt the short summaries were essential to the piece, and they seem to be lacking from the old link.
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thenewgreen · 2241 days ago · link ·
I could see that flagamuffin, I guess I just enjoyed not knowing the story and creating my own narrative. It is often said that dogs resemble their owners, well people resemble their bedrooms too. I also liked the way the original link was presented, more sparse just letting the images speak for themselves. Don't get me wrong, I think this is a great post. But it's interesting how different the two are using the same images. Those descriptions change everything.
user-inactivated · 2241 days ago · link ·
This is such a biased article. Images of American propaganda. All the kids living in Europe and USA are rich and all the kids living outside of these places are just poor and dirty. And why does the Chinese kid have Chairman Mao on the wall? No one even hang up these posters anymore. Honestly, this is such a biased project.
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thenewgreen · 2241 days ago · link ·
I think you may be on to something there zomberry. How did the photographer chose his subjects? He must have had some sort of narrative in mind, right? That said, the more I looked at the images the more I really wished I had photographs of my bedroom as a kid. I can remember aspects but I'd love to see photos like this. Your bedroom is your whole world when you're a kid.
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user-inactivated · 2240 days ago · link ·
I think I am just very sensitive to how America portrays other countries since I'm a foreigner. I don't know if the photographer is being biased, maybe just the article. I think there are more images in the original documentary. I totally don't remember what my bedroom look like when I was kid. I think I moved so much and had so many bedrooms, I only remember moving as a kid.
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As an American, I think the photos of the American kids' rooms and the stories about their lives are just as horrible. On the one hand you have the rich, overacheiving kids - the one with all the trophies on display reminds me of Violet Blue from Willy Wonka - and the kid who spends his free time studying his finances on the bank website contrasted by the red-kneck kid with the shot gun and the little girl who is living in poverty. Not one of these kids are what I would think of as having a "normal" childhood.
thenewgreen · 2240 days ago · link ·
My wife moved a lot as a kid too and it has definitely impacted her as an adult. It's something I'm very aware of now, I would like my kids to have a place they grew up with life long friends if possible. I provided a link to the original place I saw this work and without the a accompanying text, it's seemingly less biased. I think bias and ethnocentrism are qualities that don't belong solely to the US but I can understand your sensitivity.
kitinnitik · 2241 days ago · link ·
I feel like this article is full of stereotypes. Maybe it´s because I´m Mexican but I never like that whenever there´s a mention about mexico there´s also a mention about gangs ans kidnappes and such. This article and the children are interesting nonetheless.
BLOB_CASTLE · 2242 days ago · link ·
TL;DR: American kids are spoiled and in England they're 'orders' not 'disorders.'
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And the spoiled Mexican girl. And the unspoiled American girl in the trailer that's falling apart. Some of the less financially-fortunate seemed content, if not happy, with their lots in life. I think it would do a lot of people a lot of good to remember that money isn't everything.
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BLOB_CASTLE · 2242 days ago · link ·
I think those two are exceptions. A lot of my family lives in Mexico, and they definitely don't live anything like the girl in Mexico City, much less many Americans. Most of the houses are humble, but not nearly as luxurious as many standard American homes. And thinking more about it, I don't really know that I can speak for most Americans. I'm sure that there are a whole lot of people who live similar to you and me (assuming you live like a lower-mid to upper middle class person). I'm not really sure how many there are in this country who live in a dilapidated home like the American girl, but my guess is that it's a smaller percentage of our population.
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Well, bringing ourselves into the equation: I live off of less than minimum wage (around $280 a month) and am only able to avoid living with my parents because I'm living in a couple I'm friends with's side house for $50 a month. So I wouldn't say I'm thriving in America, haha. But yes, I'd say in general people in America are better off. I just think we should try to avoid seeing other countries as chock-full of poor folks, since there are at least SOME people in other countries doing fairly well. (Even though you're definitely right, in the long run, haha)
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BLOB_CASTLE · 2242 days ago · link ·
Woah, you got lucking finding a place to stay for such a small amount. How is it possible to work for less than minimum, if you don't mind my asking? Yeah definitely. While most countries aren't as affluent as we are (and I use that term loosely in that we aren't as happy as other countries), there are still very well of places. Take the popular tune Gangnam Style. It's about an extremely rich area of South Korea, similar to our LA.
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BLOB_CASTLE · 2241 days ago · link ·
Well that really bites. How difficult would it be to just change jobs to one that at least pays minimum?
I'm actually potentially in that boat also. I might not be able to afford the remainder of this school year and might have to drop out. But I try not to think too much about that for the time being. Haha, I'm right there with you. I tend to generalize a lot, and it's gotten me into some heated debates before.
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Whoooops. Didn't see this comment! I'm currently living in a small town in Arkansas, so job opportunities kinda suck. I'm hoping I'll be able to get back to Colorado in the summer. And if you do have to drop out, I'll be right there with ya, haha, so someone will have your back!
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BLOB_CASTLE · 2241 days ago · link ·
Colorado is so beautiful and full of opportunity. I mean, just look at this:
If we both drop out, let's room together, eh?
(my girlfriend and me in Eagle, CO)
Well, I work for tip wages for less than part time, and people are stingy at smaller restaurants, for some reason. It's a hassle. I had to drop out of college because money got so tight, which was a bit of a bummer. I still live in the town my ex-school is so that I can be with my ladyfriend though. I just try not to generalize in serious conversation. I fail at that a lot though :P