The loudness of the US

Complaints Corner
1
Hey American Expats,

Have any of you had similar experiences/epiphanies

The longer im away from the US, the more I dislike it. The entire US, and indeed Americans in general, need a nice cup of STFU.

Every day I wake up, open the laptop with a nice cup of coffee, and read the news, check facebook, read the email. And these things are always tied together. There will be some outrage du jour in the news (which is normally not really even news-worthy at all, just sort of “newsy”). Let’s use today/this week as an example, this idiot republican congressional candidate and the whole “illegitimate rape” crap he said. The US media outlets grab on to this and won’t let go like a dog with a stick. The local San Franciso paper that I read will have local politicians weighing in, too. Then I go to FB, and all the facebooktivists have linked to it and commented on it and all their friends congratulate eachother on how smart they all are in condemning/supporting whatever it is that was linked to. Then I go to the email, and some relative will have fwded “omg did you hear this new scandal over there? Some congressional candidate made some horrible comments about rape!”

Its this huge cycle of noise, from multiple channels. Even those of my friends who should, I suppose, know better, cant help themselves but get caught up in the noise and raise their voices until there’s this never ending roar of suckitude from the US streaming into my quiet little Zürich morning routine. I find myself finishing my cup of coffee, and im annoyed. First thing in the morning, annoyed. This is no way to go thru life. And the weird thing is, it didnt use to even bother me, i wasnt even aware the rest of the freakin' world wasnt like this. it was only after living here for a few years that i feel i gradually unplugged from the noise to a degree where i even notice it enough (although i still, evidently, cant completely escape it) to be bothered by it.

Its amazing to me that the country that does its best to carry humanity forward with landing rovers on mars and creating so many amazing things can be so overcome with static white noise and never ending churn. STFU and GBTW, America!

As long as ive been travelling and living abroad, people have always told me that “Americans are loud”. Seems to me that this has never been more true.

2
Do what we do and tune into Swiss radio first thing in the morning.

I quite like having a look at FB because more than 90% of my "friends" on it are very close and/or family so there's always something funny, relevant or heartwarming on there, but you could just ignore the laptop until you've had your first (6?) cup(s) of coffee and can cope with the US drivel that gets you annoyed...

3
I don't necessarily see the difference between the US and any other place. The one noteworthy fact in my opinion is, that news travels much faster there than here and you have steady access to multiple news channels, whereas here, it mainly boils down to whenever the editor gets his/her information (even on the online version of most papers). I'm also not caught by the "linked to facebook" "check my twitter" fad and simply chose to ignore it.

4
news outlets and politicians are the same everywhere, the US hardly has the market cornered on talking heads and inane politicos. this is why, as a general rule, the only "news" I read or watch anymore is sports news, there's simply no upside in reading or watching "news" about politics, religion, who is killing whom or what natural disaster befell some part of the world I didn't even know existed. well, actually the only non-sports "news" I watch is local Swiss news, but that's only targeted at frustrating me as I keep trying to learn the local language, I don't actually care about the substance anymore than I do back in the US.

as for Americans being "loud", I miss it horribly. there's simply nothing worse than going to an Irish pub to hear "traditional" Irish folk music - which for a non-Irish American can be loosely translated into "getting drunk" - and having an entire pub briefly and politely clap and then stop talking the minute the music stops so that you could hear a pin drop. or playing sports and not being able to shout at the top of your lungs (joyful shouts, mind you, not at other players). or making your kids whisper at the restaurant so they don't push the aggregate dB level north of 15.

I have to confess when we visit the States it usually takes a couple of days for us to re-acclimate to the openness and noise, but as much as we love living in Switzerland we definitely miss being "loud".

5
One does have to realize what has made "America" popular around the world. Arguably, one of the major factors is Hollywood and the entertainment sector. The news/media in the US follows the long trend of shock and entertainment and amusement, to present stories that hypnotically tug at conscious and subconscious emotions not unlike a big movie or pop song. The entire country is essentially based on emotional slavery in one way or another. That being said, it is still a hugely populated large, rich country, so their contributions to science and technology will always be relevant and expected---as long as one does not fall into the entertainment/media spell of describing an entire population through few independent shocking cases.

6
There's something to be said for blissful ignorance.

No news, no TV, only the irreverent dribble from Facebook and EF, guaranteeing me only limited exposure to the real world.

7
Amen to that.

Reading US news from my computer here in Switzerland I easily buy in to the stereotypical negatives, and I catch myself starting to feel like a smug superior expat, looking down my oh-so-worldly-and-refined nose at my bumpkin-esque countrymen. It's easy to do from afar - one forgets that the news media entertainment industry tend to focus on a certain almost cartoonish slice of America.

Yep, there's crazies a-plenty, there's a heap o' legitimate bad news, there is much to drive one to dispair - but that's far from all there is to America and Americans.

Once back home I'm surrounded by the good bits. Yep it's loud - but it's a friendly kind of loud. It's inclusive.

A small example: my father has Alzheimer's, my mother is caring for him at home, trying to keep him connected to reality by keeping him a part of the community.

In our 'loud' neighborhood kids play kick-ball back and forth over all the lawns along the block. Babies shriek with glee as they are out strolling with their parents. Dog owners walk their dogs, who bark an enthusiastic 'hello' when they see a friendly face. People are continually outside - mowing lawns, doing DIY, gardening, having a good gossip... in short, making a joyful noise.

My father likes to watch and even join in these activities as he takes his daily walks. The neighbors stop and chat, ask him to toss a ball, pet the dog, make funny faces at the baby, discuss the merits of diagonal vs horizontal mowing techniques. They include him, no matter how with-it or confused he is that day. He responds to their liveliness. ANd most important - no one minds his outbursts - they remember the person he used to be, treat him with respect and compassion.

Contrast that with what I see here. A friend has been given a Kundigung notice because her husband who has dementia sometimes makes too much noise. They have lived in this building 40 plus years - and yet the neighbors' right to silence is more important than compassion for a gentleman who once was a good neighbor and friend. The law says that quiet hours must be followed, and so my friend and her husband must leave the home they know and love.

Switzerland is a wonderful place, to be sure. But I wouldn't want to be here when I grow old and vulnerable. I hope to spend my dotage in a loud - and friendly, compassionate and inclusive - community.

8
They really, really aren't.

The major TV news source in almost every other (democratic) country is a state-run broadcaster with a legal requirement for political impartiality. I can't think of another country with a news channel with the influence and partiality of Fox News. Of course, every country's media has biases but most pale in comparison.

The whole twelve month long news-channel blanket coverage hysteria over candidate nominations is partly the result of this. In other countries where the news channels aren't as strongly influenced by political pressure groups, there is nowhere near the same demand for this blanket coverage.

Where else would you have the media environment to produce anything akin to the last year's Republican party nominations? A relatively obscure regional politician is picked out, touted as the next big thing, given one televised interview a day on repeat until they say something stupid or off party-line, and then dropped - all over the course of just six weeks or so? Santorum, Perry, Bachmann, Cain, Huckabee, Palin...

Compare this to the coverage of the selection of the presidential candidates in France. Political TV in the US is a whole different species.

9
This sounds like our street here (apart from mowing the lawn and DIY on Sundays).

10
however you did manage to have a nice little rant here after you realized I dropped you from my FB

11
Maybe I need to move out of the Heart Of Darkness.

12
Well in all honesty, anyone in the US who takes FOX news as a serious, impartial news source, isn't too intellectually adept. There are many, more powerful news sources in America, and personally I prefer a rainbow of news agencies rather than a single state-run broadcaster. I shake my head in disbelief sometimes watching Swiss news, and watching the Swiss folk take it in word for word as the holy truth.

13
Nope, I see just as many morons, geniuses, and normal people here as I do anywhere. People say as many stupid things or brilliant things here as anywhere else. The only difference I see, here versus there, is that there are many more news outlets reporting things there. Thankfully, we all have the ability to change the channel, browse to a different webpage, or whatever else we have to do to maintain our sanity.

14
Anyone who takes any news source in the US as impartial is only fooling themselves. News channels are in business to make money, and choose their stories, reporting styles, and pretty people to sell advertising. Fox/CNN/MSNBC, New York Times, Washington Post, etc etc... Some see with the 'left' eye, some see with the 'right' eye. Maybe if I watch/read them all for hours on end, I might actually get something approaching 'balanced' reporting. Or my brain might turn to mush...

15
Who? Certainly in TV, Fox are by far the most watched, and have an unusually strong brand loyalty amongst a very large number of people. Whether this is justified is another matter.

I wasn't saying necessarily that one system is better than the other - just pointing out quite how different the US is to other countries in that respect.

16
Did you choose that font to emphasize your point of loud Americans? That hurt my ears just reading it.

17
really? id think the opposite would be true. id much rather be here than the US when im old.

* health care coverage much more secure

* better pensions generally

* better safety nets

* no crime

* no being taken advantage of because of your demographic by predatory snake oil salesmen

* easier country to get by in if you cant drive

18
And you think these news outlets never bias the news in favor of the state that runs them?

19
Funny, when I visit the states I am always overwhelmed by their genuine friendliness and feel that it takes me about three days to lose my Swiss "armour".

If you really compared speech volumes, I am sure you would find that most Europeans speak louder than Americans. It's that unique, gentle flow of "shwa" 's in the American language that makes it stick out so prominently.

As for the news stories, that's just DemoCRIPS against ReBLOODlicans ( http://www.amazon.com/DemoCRIPS-ReBL.../dp/1616084480 ) as usual. Once the president is elected everything will go back to normal and gas prices will drop by a quarter.

20
My solution is to disable Facebook and no Twitter. I watch BBC news http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/europe/ and for Switzerland www.20min.ch and that is enough!