Poll: What kind of Foreign are you?

[blackdwarf]

dutch, from the litle country: the netherlands.

 

[elbrandino]

I'm American. With ancestry from pretty much all of Western and Central Europe. And I was lured here by my friend. Because he's a fan of ZP. >.>

 

[zehydra]

I find it odd that non-Americans have been posting that they resent being called "foreign".

Why? Are there negative connotations with this?

I'm going to assume you're not trolling and are just intellectually lazy.

"Foreign" is a subjective adjective. To an American a Brit is foreign; to a Brit an American is foreign; to a Frenchman they're both foreign.

To objectively decide someone is foreign is to create an objective standard about what is foreign and what is not, creating an objective stance on something subjective, and that can't be done without changing the meaning of the word.

There is a long standing stereotype that Americans think they're the dog's bollocks, the bee's knees, the most important thing going. To then use the word foreign to objectively describe all non-Americans as foreign reinforces that. It asks those non-Americans to describe themselves as foreign because to not be foreign you have to be American, which is stupid. It completely relegates their own perspective to meaninglessness; which is insulting.

I'm not foreign Sepo, you are.

Like several posters have already said, you'd get a much better idea if you put up a poll that breaks the world down into continents; Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, North America, South America. If you want it more specific than that you'd have to create a new poll for each continent, so for example Europe would become; Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe, Southern Europe.

As it is, you're going to be left with a poll that doesn't tell you much and a shit tonne of individual posts that tell you a lot more.

I would say that "foreign" is subjective to the place, not an individual. If the website is indeed based in the US, then non-Americans would indeed be foreign visitors, for the same reason that American tourists visiting Japan are also foreigners, and consider themselves foreigners whilst abroad in Japan.

 

[ZydrateDealer]

Welsh. Maybe I should have put Polish as I live in Wrexham/Wrecsam or New Warsaw as it will now be known to offset English/Welsh tension.

 

[Roperius]

So since I began reading the escapist, my first thoughts were that this was an internationally owned site, perhaps because ZP brought me here. But then i began looking at everything else the site has to offer, and have since discovered that escapist is based in... North Carolina maybe? i forget right now... anyway, then i'm beeboppin' around the forums and see a lot of British-type people, maybe Australian, spelling words like color as "colour" generally means that you're British-ish, or a pretentious american.

so i'm wondering, is this an american site primarily occupied by Brits? if so, why is that do you think? ZP?

(so before i post this, i'm noticing that this may come across as racist, but i'm really just a curious person. i understand that race or ethnicity has nothing to do with our enjoyment of videogames, or our desire to discuss them amongst like minded people. It was just a bit of a trend that i couldn't help but notice.)

(PRE POSTING EDIT: there's not enough available choices for me to not feel like i'd be pigeonholing some people, and i wouldn't want to include an option like "Oriental" way too broad, so i'm changing this...)

Are you american or not?

(Post-Posting edit: I didn't scroll down to erase Polish, please don't select that.

Was this thread set up as some sort of inflammatory 'Trolling' device, or are you truly that ignorant?

 

[Fox242]

I'm most assuradly an American. In fact I have Native American ancestry, so that kinda makes me more American than most.

Swedish mexican here.

So...Ariba! Eating tacos in my IKEA furnitured room!

Quite the combination there my friend.

 

[0_Insomnis_0]

I'm American, and I am grateful for the international community. I can gain a new perspective on issues by coming here and reading forums, watching videos, etc. That's not a luxury any of us get to enjoy often.

 

[jonyboy13]

Israel here.
Not a tiny bit of pride in that.

 

[SNIPERFOX ft. Harry P.Ness]

Russian. heres my pastime.

[http://img69.imageshack.us/i/bearcavalryd.jpg/]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us [http://imageshack.us]

 

[kurupt87]

I would say that "foreign" is subjective to the place, not an individual. If the website is indeed based in the US, then non-Americans would indeed be foreign visitors, for the same reason that American tourists visiting Japan are also foreigners, and consider themselves foreigners whilst abroad in Japan.

The internet is not a place. For it to be a place one would have to exclusively be able to go there whilst not being somewhere else. The internet is a thing, it doesn't matter where its servers are located.

Forums, and other things, can decide they represent a country and so you'd be a foreigner there if you entered from outside. Like if I joined an American WoW server, or a forum for Americans about V8 engines.

The Escapist has made no such claim to nationality and is, therefore, neutral.

 

[thylasos]

I was under the impression that Americans were the dominant nationality, possibly followed by British.

'American' is not a nationality, as America is a continent (or even two), not a country.

On a brighter note, when i see 'foreign' i read it as non-Korean. It's a starcraft thing. =)

Yes there are numerous countries in the Americas, but only one has "America" in its name, and uses the common soubriquet "American" as a demonym. You call yourself Korean and there's two of them, even if one's not particularly tasteful.

Just as I don't call myself a United-Kingdomite, and Britain is only part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (And its Dominions & Territories Overseas).

 

[Firagion]

I'm the Finnish kind of 'foreigner'

 

[viking97]

*puts on pedant hat*

the question should be "are you american" because to the question "are you american or not" everyone has to answer yes because everyone is either american or not american.

*removes pedant hat*

OT born in nevada, currently living in idaho. planning on moving to London when i turn 18 tho, quite honestly England seems a lot more my style than this place.

 

[DefunctTheory]

The best kind of foreign.... a 'Foreigner.'


{USA}

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

English... I couldn't think of a witty comment so here's a picture of a dog in a hat awesome air guitaring

King Diamond does it better.

Spoiler

Metallica+King Diamond

 

[rokkolpo]

i'm from belguim the country beneath holland.

I'm from The Netherlands, the actual name of Holland.
(also you misspelled Belgium)

 

[Warforger]

Oh I'm Commie stuff from the east side of Europe. Bulgarian to be precise. Of course I'm in America after all who would rather be in the Balkans the scariest part of Europe then in America?

There were 6 nordic people in the first page. We are about 0.05 percent of the world population so.....What the fuck?

Finnish by the way.

Edit: Eight fins overall. Really? REALLY? HOW THE FUCK IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE! LESS THAN 0.01 % of the world population and we amount for 25 percent of this site? REALLY???

Um most of the world isn't very developed and even less have access to Video games, and for the most part foreign gamers tend to go to websites which have their native language and even if there isn't one someone would eventually make one.

 

[martin's a madman]

English/Finnish Canadian.

I identify with either England or Finland depending on who is doing better in the world at any time : D.