Ireland another US state

thebaz · 31-05-2006 04:15PM #1

According to Dave McWilliams , father of the Celtic Tiger, Ireland has become just another state of the U.S. . Having lived in the U.S. for awhile , the similarities are scarily real . Anti smoking, Dundrum mall , even some school kids speaking with an American twang , drive by shootings in the hood , the large SUV's , the permanent tan . Have we become the 52nd state of America ?

Donegal Lass · 31-05-2006 04:20PM

yea probably seein as half of us are now residing in boston or new york!!

MrJoeSoap · 31-05-2006 04:21PM

The 51st state being?

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 31-05-2006 04:22PM

Pretty much...

Money talks and bull**** walks. We have the exact same commercial aspects as the Amercians, the exact same shallow dependency on material needs and the same insecurites about losing everything if we don't make at least x thousand a year. We're following their 'health' and 'beauty' trends and have no problem pollution the hell out of the place and living in denial.

Compared to euoprean countries, who are much more people friendly, far healthier and more open-minded. And can think outside the office.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 31-05-2006 04:22PM

MrJoeSoap wrote:

The 51st state being?

that would be Britain

Pigman II · 31-05-2006 04:23PM

USA is the empire and the rest of us are her colonies.

ionapaul · 31-05-2006 04:24PM

I lived in California for almost five years (some graduate college and then working in the dotcoms) from the late 90s to early 00s and to be honest, both places feel very similar to me because of familiarisation. So some of the differences then:

- US is much more customer-service oriented, lots of business there realise that the well-informed customer is king and will move his/her business elsewhere unless you go the extra mile. In Ireland, most customer facing employees / businesses don't have this down quite yet, some of the customer service we suffer through is horrendous.
- There is even more of the awful 'because I'm worth it' (I want my huge SUV, don't care about others on the road, etc) attitude in the States, although obviously it is increasing over here. Used to drive me crazy.
- There is a greater appreciation of the environment by the average American (or at least Californian).

I do think we are almost as much of a consumer society as America is, and this is what links us so closely with them.

MrJoeSoap · 31-05-2006 04:25PM

Ikky Poo2 wrote:

that would be Britain

I'd say we were more like a UK nation than a US state, but I'd be shot before I could say "I love Ian Paisley".

Wow, thats two posts mentioning Ian Paisley in 20 minutes... weird.

dermot_sheehan · 31-05-2006 04:26PM

thebaz wrote:

According to Dave McWilliams , father of the Celtic Tiger, Ireland has become just another state of the U.S. . Having lived in the U.S. for awhile , the similarities are scarily real . Anti smoking, Dundrum mall , even some school kids speaking with an American twang , drive by shootings in the hood , the large SUV's , the permanent tan . Have we become the 52nd state of America ?

I'd be interested in knowing where the 51st state is though.

ionapaul · 31-05-2006 04:29PM

It is obvious, and no surprise given history, that the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland are like peas in a pod compared to the rest of the world, with Australia and New Zealand right on our heels. The question is are we becoming more similar as times goes on, is this a good thing and what are people's opinions of how this should change (if at all) going forward? I should state that I'm planning to move to Canada, perhaps permanently, someone over the next few years so it should also be obvious that I see the better aspects of the Anglo-American Trans-Atlantic life!

Zebra3 · 31-05-2006 04:29PM

gabhain7 wrote:

I'd be interested in knowing where the 51st state is though.

District of Columbia.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 31-05-2006 04:30PM

MrJoeSoap wrote:

I'd say we were more like a UK nation than a US state, but I'd be shot before I could say "I love Ian Paisley".

Wow, thats two posts mentioning Ian Paisley in 20 minutes... weird.

Same difference....?

ChityWest · 31-05-2006 04:31PM

I am not seeing the similarities at all - and wouldnt rate Dave Williams' opinion on the matter either. We dont go around invading countries or trying to tell the rest of the world how to behave/think/vote. As for increasing consumerism - well that isnt a uniquely american trait - its global and human nature. (imo)

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 31-05-2006 04:32PM

Pigman II wrote:

USA is the empire and the rest of us are her colonies.

Disagree with this... Euope's managed to keep a wide cultural diffreemce. I think the langauge barrier helps. If a country speaks English, it's more likley to assimilated the way we have.

thebaz · 31-05-2006 04:38PM

Ikky Poo2 wrote:

that would be Britain

Good shout , i was never too good at Geography !

bonkey · 31-05-2006 04:43PM

Zebra3 wrote:

District of Columbia.

That would be a district, not a state. Which is why they called it such.

I'm more intrested in how this Dave guy is the father of the Celtic Tiger. Did he dictate government and corporate policy in Ireland or something?

jc

arbeitsscheuer · 31-05-2006 04:43PM

Ireland's a mixture between a UK nation and a US state, as MrJoeSoap accurately pointed out. It should've pretty predictable really. Geographically located to be a link to the European "market", but historically influenced by our nearest neighbour, the UK. British architecture, a lot of British institutions and heritage, swamped/influenced by US consumerism and culture.

Tbh, what I've just written could easily describe Britain itself as well...

Ruu_Old · 31-05-2006 04:43PM

I dont think Ireland has become the '52nd state', maybe a while ago it was looking that way. Ireland doesnt get any special treatment from the US like it once did despite all the lick arshes in the government bending over backwards to help the US military and such.

Funkstard · 31-05-2006 04:48PM

Actually...who the hell is this Dave McWilliams lad? I've flicked through a few interviews with him about his book, and read last week he landed some record book deal or something. Is he one of these self-helpey type gob****es?

31-05-2006 04:55PM

thebaz wrote:

Dave McWilliams, father of the Celtic Tiger,

That's stretching it a little. He was an economist who coined the phrase, he can hardly claim credit for actually starting the revival.

We're like the US? Good.

Lord Oz · 31-05-2006 04:57PM

We're still a republic, right?

thebaz · 31-05-2006 04:58PM

bonkey wrote:

That would be a district, not a state. Which is why they called it such.

I'm more intrested in how this Dave guy is the father of the Celtic Tiger. Did he dictate government and corporate policy in Ireland or something?

jc

he coined the term Celtic Tiger , and writes a weekly journal in the Irish Indo . He's a financial whizzkidd , who writes on economics , on his own website , used to host a business program on TV3 .

Pigman II · 31-05-2006 05:01PM

I like the sig Lord Oz:D

segadreamcast · 31-05-2006 05:07PM

thebaz wrote:

he coined the term Celtic Tiger , and writes a weekly journal in the Irish Indo . He's a financial whizzkidd , who writes on economics , on his own website , used to host a business program on TV3 .

There are arguments that he didn't coin the term either - it was recorded elsewhere several months previously IIRC...

trillianv · 31-05-2006 05:09PM

Zebra3 wrote:

District of Columbia.

Uhhm actually it's not a state. There are only 50 states. Guam and Puerto Rico are our territories and DC is exactly what it says on the tin, it's a district that contains most of our political headquarters.

I am American and have been here in Ireland for the last 3 years (and no I am not of Irish descent). I am married to an Irishman and my kids will be raised here, but do I think that this country is our newest addition? No. Ireland has retained a hell of lot of it's culture and identity whilst opening itself up to globalization. And globalization is not always a bad thing. Having other cultures living here only broadens the horizons of the residents. Why would you want to live in a country that shuts itself off to the opportunities diversification can bring?

Zebra3 · 31-05-2006 05:22PM

I'm well aware that the District of Columbia is a district and not a state, but afaik people refer to it as the 51st state because it's not in any other state and it's on the American mainland.

Plug · 31-05-2006 05:30PM

51st state done in the union jack:mad: :mad:

thebaz · 31-05-2006 05:30PM

Zebra3 wrote:

I'm well aware that the District of Columbia is a district and not a state, but afaik people refer to it as the 51st state because it's not in any other state and it's on the American mainland.

Maybe my geography was not so bad -- as there seems a bit of confusion if there is actually 50 or 51 states in the U.S.
I do know Hawaii is the the 50 th.

MrJoeSoap · 31-05-2006 05:36PM

thebaz wrote:

Maybe my geography was not so bad -- as there seems a bit of confusion if there is actually 50 or 51 states in the U.S.
I do know Hawaii is the the 50 th.

There are 50 states.

metrovelvet · 31-05-2006 05:49PM

Puerto Rico is jokingly referred to as the 51st state.

DC is not a state and no one refers to it as such.

Ireland seems to be far more English than American. Its political models, its educational systems, its cuisine, its clothes and customs seem to be green coloured versions of whatever is in Britain.

robinph · 31-05-2006 05:49PM

MrJoeSoap wrote:

There are 50 states.

50 states + DC which gets taxed but not represented in any of the political houses they have. PuertoRico and what ever the other little island in the caribbean is are really just colonies effectively, but don't tell the Americans that they have an empire as that may offend them.

Ireland another US state

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