People from big American cities aren’t used to or comfortable with small-town friendliness. Neither are aliens. Apparently there are still some minorities it’s okay to joke about (whether or not it’s actually funny).
Yeah, I probably had more culture shock moving to a semi-rural area after living my whole life in the suburbs than I did moving from the US to Germany. lazarusjohn’s video is pretty spot on.
@Kilby: Rural Germany. I haven’t been anywhere near rural America since the age of 2 when we visited my mother’s family. But seriously, going from the suburbs of Portland, OR to Düsseldorf was a lot less jarring than moving to a rural village was a few years later.
As a somewhat introverted New Englander I can sympathize with the alien. I have visited the US Midwest many times over the years, and sometimes small-town friendliness can be a touch off-putting to visitors not accustomed to it. :-)
Are people friendly in the Midwest though? Surely not in Champaign, IL. Making friends is harder there than in Upstate NY. People act like you have three heads if you want to talk to them. Maybe that is the joke?
Comics I Don't Understand 
People from big American cities aren’t used to or comfortable with small-town friendliness. Neither are aliens. Apparently there are still some minorities it’s okay to joke about (whether or not it’s actually funny).
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This comic reminded me of this video:
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Yeah, I probably had more culture shock moving to a semi-rural area after living my whole life in the suburbs than I did moving from the US to Germany. lazarusjohn’s video is pretty spot on.
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But who’s the butt of the joke? The polite people, or those uncomfortable with the politeness?
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@ DemetriosX – Do you mean rural America, or rural Germany?
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“But who’s the butt of the joke? The polite people, or those uncomfortable with the politeness?”
Does it matter?
I see it as the people uncomfortable with it.
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@Kilby: Rural Germany. I haven’t been anywhere near rural America since the age of 2 when we visited my mother’s family. But seriously, going from the suburbs of Portland, OR to Düsseldorf was a lot less jarring than moving to a rural village was a few years later.
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lazarusjohn: Thank you for that hilarious skit.
B.A.: Yes
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I actually chuckled out loud with this comic.
As a somewhat introverted New Englander I can sympathize with the alien. I have visited the US Midwest many times over the years, and sometimes small-town friendliness can be a touch off-putting to visitors not accustomed to it. :-)
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Are people friendly in the Midwest though? Surely not in Champaign, IL. Making friends is harder there than in Upstate NY. People act like you have three heads if you want to talk to them. Maybe that is the joke?
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I felt like the alien when I moved to Champaign, IL — a bigger city than my hometown — Rome, NY. :(
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Jen, check out that old song from The Music Man, ‘Iowa Stubborn’ .
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Oh gawd, my narcissistic ex was from Iowa! Bwa ha ha ha ha!
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