mag007,
touche, sort of...
I distinguish between insularity and racism.
What I had in mind was an incident related by a friend of mine who lived in Boston for a few years.
He went out in the sticks, and filled up with petrol. The girl on the till noticed his "not from round here" accent and asked where he was from. He said "England" to which the girl replied, "Gee, is that in London?"
I shudder at the degree of insularity which that sort of response implies, or maybe the girl was merely ignorant - who knows for sure?
By comparison, whilst travelling and living in Europe, I never encountered such situations. To my frequent frustration, many folk wanted to use me as an opportunity to brush up their English, which made it hard for me to learn the local language. Admittedly I only have experience of Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium and Holland, so I can only make observations about those countries. However, there did seem to be a much higher level of awareness. After living in Germany for a year, I got home and was apalled at how insular us Brits are.
I'd just come from a place where one could go to Switzerland for the afternoon, France for the day, or Czechoslovakia and Poland for the weekend. It definitely broadens ones outlook on life - sigh.
As for racism, it's everywhere, and all one can do is stamp it out of existence wherever it's uncovered, especially if that's within one's self.
Does my observation about insularity strike a chord with you, or is that uncommon in your experience?
Regards
Tharg
Grinding away at things Oracular