But Seriously - Employment 2010

[DukeUsul]

Trust me, if you live anywhere in the US everyone else in the world considers you a Yank.

I fully understand this perception, and it makes sense from their perspective. When I'm in Canada or anywhere outside the US, I'll live with the label and be respectful of their cultural respective. As I extend that courtesy, I also appreciate that any foreigners would do the same and recognize that the meaning of Yank changes relative to their geographical location and they company they keep.

Sitting from office in Charlotte, in this thread, in this forum, on this site I am most certainly not a Yank.

I recognize that the definition might change within the US but I'm typing from outside the US and to the rest of the world Yank=American. Someone might be from the South but, regardless of the state they are from, if they are American they are still a Yank just as someone who is Scots, or English, or Welsh, or Irish (from Northern Ireland) is a Brit. Heck, I'm Scots but I accept that, to the rest of the world, I am a Brit.

Interestingly enough, wars have been fought over both issues.

[colchar]

Interestingly enough, wars have been fought over both issues.

And it is usually the losers in those wars who are still trying to claim that they aren't a Yank or a Brit! The winners don't seem to give a shit though...

[TillyGalore]

I'm having a bit of trouble with the conversation regarding the use of the term "yank". I understand both sides of the discussion, however I feel one side doesn't seem to be accepting how the other side feels about this term.

In the U.S., particularly the south, the term Yankee does have a negative connotation. By birth I am a southerner, but because I was educated up north and lived there for a period of time, there are those who consider me a yankee. I do not like being called that term, I don't give a shit who is calling me a yankee, whether it's a fellow American or a foreigner. If a foreigner calls me a yank, I remind them I am an American.

Those whom the Brits have conquered, save for the real Irish in Northern Ireland, may have accepted being called a Brit, short for British (yankee isn't short for anything regarding the name of my country). If you are a Brit it is because your country, be it Canada, Scotland, etc,falls under the British Realm. However, in the U.S. there is only one kind of yankee, someone from the north.

I respectfully ask that we as a community accept that there are some terms that some find offensive, and we refrain from using those terms.

[DukeUsul]

I'm having a bit of trouble with the conversation regarding the use of the term "yank". I understand both sides of the discussion, however I feel one side doesn't seem to be accepting how the other side feels about this term.

In the U.S., particularly the south, the term Yankee does have a negative connotation. By birth I am a southerner, but because I was educated up north and lived there for a period of time, there are those who consider me a yankee. I do not like being called that term, I don't give a shit who is calling me a yankee, whether it's a fellow American or a foreigner. If a foreigner calls me a yank, I remind them I am an American.

Those whom the Brits have conquered, save for the real Irish in Northern Ireland, may have accepted being called a Brit, short for British (yankee isn't short for anything regarding the name of my country). If you are a Brit it is because your country, be it Canada, Scotland, etc,falls under the British Realm. However, in the U.S. there is only one kind of yankee, someone from the north.

I respectfully ask that we as a community accept that there are some terms that some find offensive, and we refrain from using those terms.

Are you really offended that someone would call you a Northerner? Cuz that's what Yankee means. What's wrong with Northerners?

Oh and where I come from Yankee definitely has a negative connotation, but we're talking a completely different sport here.....

[YmoBeThere]

I am Hawaiian...at least by birth.

[TillyGalore]

I'm having a bit of trouble with the conversation regarding the use of the term "yank". I understand both sides of the discussion, however I feel one side doesn't seem to be accepting how the other side feels about this term.

In the U.S., particularly the south, the term Yankee does have a negative connotation. By birth I am a southerner, but because I was educated up north and lived there for a period of time, there are those who consider me a yankee. I do not like being called that term, I don't give a shit who is calling me a yankee, whether it's a fellow American or a foreigner. If a foreigner calls me a yank, I remind them I am an American.

Those whom the Brits have conquered, save for the real Irish in Northern Ireland, may have accepted being called a Brit, short for British (yankee isn't short for anything regarding the name of my country). If you are a Brit it is because your country, be it Canada, Scotland, etc,falls under the British Realm. However, in the U.S. there is only one kind of yankee, someone from the north.

I respectfully ask that we as a community accept that there are some terms that some find offensive, and we refrain from using those terms.

Are you really offended that someone would call you a Northerner? Cuz that's what Yankee means. What's wrong with Northerners?

Oh and where I come from Yankee definitely has a negative connotation, but we're talking a completely different sport here.....

I also don't like being called a bitch, cuz I'm not.

[CathyCA]

Trust me, if you live anywhere in the US everyone else in the world considers you a Yank.

I fully understand this perception, and it makes sense from their perspective. When I'm in Canada or anywhere outside the US, I'll live with the label and be respectful of their cultural respective. As I extend that courtesy, I also appreciate that any foreigners would do the same and recognize that the meaning of Yank changes relative to their geographical location and they company they keep.

Sitting from office in Charlotte, in this thread, in this forum, on this site I am most certainly not a Yank.

I recognize that the definition might change within the US but I'm typing from outside the US and to the rest of the world Yank=American. Someone might be from the South but, regardless of the state they are from, if they are American they are still a Yank just as someone who is Scots, or English, or Welsh, or Irish (from Northern Ireland) is a Brit. Heck, I'm Scots but I accept that, to the rest of the world, I am a Brit.

Okay, then. Yank-me.

I don't really care what someone outside the US calls me.

[DukePA]

just don't call me a tar heel and all will be cool with me

[DukeUsul]

I'm having a bit of trouble with the conversation regarding the use of the term "yank". I understand both sides of the discussion, however I feel one side doesn't seem to be accepting how the other side feels about this term.

In the U.S., particularly the south, the term Yankee does have a negative connotation. By birth I am a southerner, but because I was educated up north and lived there for a period of time, there are those who consider me a yankee. I do not like being called that term, I don't give a shit who is calling me a yankee, whether it's a fellow American or a foreigner. If a foreigner calls me a yank, I remind them I am an American.

Those whom the Brits have conquered, save for the real Irish in Northern Ireland, may have accepted being called a Brit, short for British (yankee isn't short for anything regarding the name of my country). If you are a Brit it is because your country, be it Canada, Scotland, etc,falls under the British Realm. However, in the U.S. there is only one kind of yankee, someone from the north.

I respectfully ask that we as a community accept that there are some terms that some find offensive, and we refrain from using those terms.

Are you really offended that someone would call you a Northerner? Cuz that's what Yankee means. What's wrong with Northerners?

Oh and where I come from Yankee definitely has a negative connotation, but we're talking a completely different sport here.....

I also don't like being called a bitch, cuz I'm not.

Yeah but bitch is inherently negative. Many of us are notherners and see no negativity in the association. Your offense at the term might cause others offense for the judgment inherent in it.

[lawgrad91]

When I moved to western VA from eastern VA, the kind folks in my new abode informed me that I was a Yankee, even though I have never lived anywhere north of the southernmost jurisdictions of Virginia. Allegedly I talk fast.

It bothered me then, but it doesn't now. The only thing that would bother me now, like DukePA, is being called a tar heel. Them's fightin' words!

[TillyGalore]

Yeah but bitch is inherently negative. Many of us are notherners and see no negativity in the association. Your offense at the term might cause others offense for the judgment inherent in it.

Look, I never said I found the term offensive, I said I did not like being called a yankee.

I lived in the boston area for 8 years. I think I enjoyed about 10 minutes of it. I found the people to be as cold as the winters, and not very welcoming to outsiders. By equating myself with northerners/yankees, means I am cold and unwelcoming. I'm sure your experience was different, but as an outsider, it sucked being in the north. I had the same experience when I lived in upstate new york. Vermont on the other hand, much more welcoming.

[cl15876]

I'm thinking EJ, how is the job search going?

[Lavabe]

I'd never thought of that, I guess I am the only non-Yank here eh?

I'm not a Yank.

Trust me, if you live anywhere in the US everyone else in the world considers you a Yank.

According to OED (YOUR Bible):
"informal, often derogatory an American."

I simply wouldn't use it.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Heck, I'm Scots but I accept that, to the rest of the world, I am a Brit.

Do you speak with a Scottish or Canadian accent, eh?

[colchar]

I'm having a bit of trouble with the conversation regarding the use of the term "yank". I understand both sides of the discussion, however I feel one side doesn't seem to be accepting how the other side feels about this term.

In the U.S., particularly the south, the term Yankee does have a negative connotation. By birth I am a southerner, but because I was educated up north and lived there for a period of time, there are those who consider me a yankee. I do not like being called that term, I don't give a shit who is calling me a yankee, whether it's a fellow American or a foreigner. If a foreigner calls me a yank, I remind them I am an American.

Those whom the Brits have conquered, save for the real Irish in Northern Ireland, may have accepted being called a Brit, short for British (yankee isn't short for anything regarding the name of my country). If you are a Brit it is because your country, be it Canada, Scotland, etc,falls under the British Realm. However, in the U.S. there is only one kind of yankee, someone from the north.

I respectfully ask that we as a community accept that there are some terms that some find offensive, and we refrain from using those terms.

Originally, I was just joking around in this thread but now I have to say with all due respect, that some people here are taking far too seriously the fact that the rest of the world uses the terms Yank and American interchangeably.

First of all, to everyone else in the world, Yank and American mean exactly the same thing. Whether you (and by 'you' I do not mean Tilly - I mean 'you' collectively) like it or not, that is simply a fact.

Second, being called a Brit should be far far far more offensive to the Scots, the Welsh, and the Irish (I have no idea what was meant by the 'real Irish' comment) than Yank should be to an American regardless of which side of the Mason-Dixon Line you come from. Whether those from the south like it or not, you are as American as someone from New York or Michigan and if the terms Yank and American have become synonymous then you're just going to have to deal with it. The Scots, the Welsh, and the Irish have a much much much longer history of oppression at the hands of the English than anything the North may have done to the South preceding or following the Civil War. We've been dealing with it for far far far longer than America has even been a country. We've been dealing with it for centuries. We have had our lands taken away. We have had our cultures suppressed. We have had our cultures banned outright. We have had our people slaughtered. We have had our families ripped apart. We have had our people forcibly removed from our own land/countries and shipped all over the world never to see their families again. We have had our resources plundered and stolen. We have had our nation's wealth taken from us. We have bled for the Empire in shitholes all over this globe while the English reaped the rewards. We have fought countless wars against the English and were doing so a long long long time before anyone stumbled onto what would become American soil. But you know what? After all of that we got over it. We have far more reason to be pissed off over real issues than southerners ever will and we've managed to move on. With all due respect, maybe it is high time southerners got over it too.

And besides, when American finally start to understand and respect other cultures maybe they will be in a position to demand that others respect American cultural sensitivities. But until then...

[colchar]

I am Hawaiian...at least by birth.

Have you checked with the 'Birthers' to see if you're even an American?

[colchar]

Heck, I'm Scots but I accept that, to the rest of the world, I am a Brit.

Do you speak with a Scottish or Canadian accent, eh?

Both actually.

My normal way of speaking is a combination of the two which leans heavily on the Scots. When I am around Canadians I am conscious of what I say and make a point of Canadianizing my accent. When I am with my parents I speak more naturally and Scots comes to the fore a bit more. When I am in Britain (anywhere in Britain), my Scots accent comes flying back out as it is my more natural way of speaking as I learned to speak as a child while we were living in Scotland and I have had people, both Scots and English, who have refused to believe that I am Canadian because I simply don't sound like one. Some of my cousins in Scotland say there are times when I sound a little bit Canadian but they also say that, the majority of the time, I sound like I never left Scotland.

So, again, I speak with both accents and which one comes to the fore is dependent on my location and my audience.

[EarlJam]

I'm thinking EJ, how is the job search going?

LOL! True!

Actually, I expect most productive responses to come privately, and I HAVE received multiple very helpful responses in such way (thanks to "you know who!"). So anything, and I mean ANYTHING that keeps this thread at the top is welcome in my eyes!

In short, keep the posts (of any sort) coming!

-EarlJam, southern big damn redneck

[cl15876]

Excellent! Hope today was a great day! Just think of how many LTE post achievements We could have all achieved towards the 40K mark! Still vibrating for ya EJ! I know YOU CAN DO IT! I hope it doesn't rain on Saturday for the ballgame (O's .vs. Nats)!

[DukePA]

Go Bro!!!!!