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Comment by gnaritas | Hacker News Reader

Could you expand on that last sentence, as an American I find it very interesting?

I've always been a movie buff, and so as a kid I had some miss-conceptions and naive beliefs about the US. Some random ones I can think of now (a bit busy ATM):

- Cops are nice and they are out there to help people.

- There are no criminals in US neighborhoods. It is ok to even leave your car unlocked.

- There's no unemployment in the US (or it's minimal). If you go to college you automatically get a nice paying job. Only college students or lazy ones work at fast food joints.

- Health care is widely available and easy to get by.

The first day I got to the US I was detained at the airport (in TX) because I mentioned to the immigration officer that I (had) worked at immigration in my home country. He freaked out for some reason and I was taken to a tiny room with some people where I was questioned about my "real" reasons to go to the US, I always replied the same (the truth) and they kept pushing like I was lying. This went on for an hour until I was release and allowed to board on the plane to make the connection. Obviously had to take another flight since the original plane had left.

Then that same day I went to a coffee shop with a friend in a quite nice area of Phx, AZ. While we were inside, someone stole the spare wheel from his Jeep. He then told me they had a car stolen a few months before.

I saw several homeless roaming the streets. Which I had always pictured (as a child) only happened in NYC or something, and only because they didn't want to work or had some issues in their personal life.

While talking about living in the US with some friends there, they explained how health care works in the US. Basic health care is free in my home country and higher end procedures are fairly affordable, so I was shocked to learn about the US system. I don't believe much in socialism, but I can't think of a good reason for people in a civilized society to not be healed for free (retirement is a different issue though).

Can't type much more now. Hope this helps!

Very interesting, thank you.

Got a few minutes and wanted to make some more comments...

I've had several ugly situations while entering the US. Last time I visited (March this year) I went through LAX. I was greeted very nicely by the officer, had all my paperwork done and off I went. Then I went to Baja California (MX) where I would stay at a friends/client house.

Then I had to cross the border (through Tijuana) to go to a marketing expo at AZ. The experience was nerve-wrecking. The border patrol officer started telling me I was hiding something because of my body language (apparently he saw too much "Lie to me") and started questioning why I had friends in the US, how had I met them and so on. After about 20 minutes we were let go. Like I said, I've worked at immigration in my home country, so I know how it works and stuff, but there are more professional ways to handle matters than just accuse people, push and see if they bite.

Also, what I missed to add to my comment above... In (most) mainstream US movies, you see that no matter what your job is you can lead a pretty nice life. Even if you work as a bartender, you can have your small apartment and be in charge of your life. I don't think it works like that. I met a client that was a school teacher and he was broke. Some of my clients have declared for bankruptcy, and some very, very rich clients have lost a lot of RE and have to downsize their homes by an order of magnitude.

I know it works like that pretty much everywhere, but for some reason all this things I imagined as a kid, stuck with me until I visited the US. It's like deep down we hope there's a place were things are better, and the US could be that place; so we buy into the dream (until we realize it was a dream and there's no such place).

> The border patrol officer started telling me I was hiding something because of my body language (apparently he saw too much "Lie to me") and started questioning why I had friends in the US, how had I met them and so on

Cops are dicks, plain and simple, they are not your friends; Hollywood definitely glosses over this. The reality is more like Training Day, those are real cops, mostly straight but dirty when it benefits them. How they treat you tends to depend heavily on your race.

> In (most) mainstream US movies, you see that no matter what your job is you can lead a pretty nice life. Even if you work as a bartender, you can have your small apartment and be in charge of your life.

Ah, interesting observation; yea, that's not true that all.

I don't think that all cops are dicks, but they have the power to behave like it if they want to. One of my dream jobs has always been to be a murder investigator though (I'm a big fan of "The Wire"):-)

And yeah, even though I'm from South America, I don't look too latino. I once crossed the border with two mexican friends. They definitely treated them worse than me.

> I don't think that all cops are dicks

I think the vast majority are, and I used to be one so I've known more than a few.

I'm just curious, where are you from?

South America.

The movies in my country are about one man fighting another for the love of a woman, gunfights between families, going from a rural town to the big city and getting robbed then having to return home defeated. They are about things that make a difference on a personal level. American movies are about fighting to save the world. Fighting everyone to protect your family. Doing the right thing. They deal with so much money that the translation seems outrageous. Americans in the movies are kind, wise and noble, but in the real America, people are petty. Walking down the street someone will try to pick a fight because you looked at them. You get hundred dollar tickets, if you cross the street anywhere except the corner. Buses kick people off, if they are missing ten cents. People are quick to point to their Constitutional rights, but are offended by everything save smiles. And that is when you find out that few Americans fit the Hollywood American archetype.

Interesting perspective, though, you seem to have had some bad experiences with Americans, sounds like you've been to the bad side of some big city. Small town America are closer to the Hollywood prototype you see in the movies; friendly people, helping strangers and all that.

What is your home country?

If there are a lot of songs too, it's definitely India :)

I grew up in Mexico. My uncle had lived in California and he always spoke of the US like a mythical land. He talked about orange trees everywhere, which was not something to see in Mexico because all the oranges would be stolen long before they were ripe. And he also spoke of sandwiches the size of your palm. My father had also been in the US and he was more grim in his stories. He spoke of how my uncle lived on animal crackers and water to save money fast because he missed home so much.

My stories are somewhere closer to the middle. I have seen some Americans do amazing things and I have seen Americans act like punks. It's almost as if doing those things is part of being human.

> He talked about orange trees everywhere, which was not something to see in Mexico because all the oranges would be stolen long before they were ripe.

American's pick anything from a tree without being forced to... never happen, lol.

> And he also spoke of sandwiches the size of your palm.

I thought sandwiches were pretty much the same size everywhere?

> I have seen some Americans do amazing things

Such as?

> and I have seen Americans act like punks.

This I expect.

I should have been clearer on the sandwich thing. When he said that it was the size of his palm, he held his hand as he would have held a hamburger. Looking back, I'm quite sure he was describing hamburgers and not sandwiches.

Speaking of sandwiches, I was at a subway. A homeless man was ordering a sub. When his turn to pay came up, he took out a handful of Subway stamps and handed them to cashier. The cashier went on to tell the homeless man about how a roll of stamps had been stolen from that restaurant and that were not accepting them. The homeless man picked up his bag and left. The cashier and the sandwich maker had a small discussion culminating with a who cares is not like he ever bought a sandwich from us. A couple of customers later an older man asked how much for sandwich since it was just going to get thrown away. The guy behind the counter gave a price. He paid for it, walked outside and handed it to the homeless man.

> A couple of customers later an older man asked how much for sandwich since it was just going to get thrown away. The guy behind the counter gave a price. He paid for it, walked outside and handed it to the homeless man.

Nice, I'd do that too.

Many immigrants tell me that they came to the US because of all the wonderful movies they watched. TV probably plays a large role as well, now.

You're just repeating the obvious part of what he said; I already know this, I'm interested in the details of what differed between what the movies told them vs their actual experiences.

Just imagine you know nothing about the US except what you see in movies. Do you see a lot of poor people?

There obviously are movies and TV which show a much more "real" version of the world. But the most popular TV and movies tend to show an idealized version of reality.

I can't imagine that because I was raised here, that's why I'm asking. I saw plenty of poor people in real life and in popular movies; when I see American movies, it looks like home to me, it's where I grew up.

I'm a big fan of The Wire, Treme and Shameless (US) for those kinds of shows, suggestions are welcome!

Ditto on the Wire; that show rocked, that's real America on the bad side of town. Couldn't get into Treme, haven't tried Shameless yet.

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