Kennywood sale makes fans nervous
Posted
Resentment of foreign ownership is a key complaint among the Pittsburgh faithful in response to yesterday's announcement that Kennywood's parent company was sold to a Spanish company.
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I entirely agree with you, however, it's more complicated than that when you are the richest and most powerful nation in the world, and decide you're going to police the world. We've got more responsibility to set the example, otherwise we are just arrogant bullies. There is a lot more pressure for us to do the "right thing" and frankly we're not very good at it. The fact that it happens everywhere is not justification to engage in it ourselves, especially when you consider our nation's short history was built by a population as diverse as the world itself.
Are Americans intolerant? Yeah. Is this an American trait? NO! Ever heard of Darfur? A guy named Milosevic? Ever vacationed on the Gaza Strip? How about the Sunnis and Shiites? Ever heard the French lash out about the recent influx of middle-eastern people? We are not alone. Intolerance, xenophobia, and bigotry are frustrating and just plain stupid. As Americans, sure we could get better, but we're far from the worst.
Kennywood is a special park to me, Just like IB and a few other remaining. So are Compounce and Idlewild their so anti corporate feel is whats special to me.
Chuck
Other than learning to speak English, which makes it a lot easier to find work, I'm fine with the infusion of different cultures. Without it, my neighborhood would be a lot more boring and there would be fewer choices when we went out to eat.
No no, that's not really what I'm getting at. For example, US work hours are different than most of the rest of the world's. But, people who come here adhere to our notion of "working day" rather than keep their own.
The stuff these folks put in the office fridge, however, looks and smells really yummy (or, less often, not so much) when it gets reheated in the microwave---and it's not anything like what I might have seen at the church potluck. ;)
In regards to the workday, however, I worked with guys from France who, even though lived and worked here, regularly took three hour lunches. I don't know how we managed to get any work done! Then again, those were dot-bomb days were half the day was spent watching the prices go up and pulling out the Microsoft calculator to see how much the options were worth that day. ;)
Speaking of church potlucks, I'd LOVE to go to one in Hawaii!
So how bout that Phantom's Revenge! Man, wish some other oldie Arrow's couldda got the 'Morgan Makeover'.
Gotta say one thing, reading all these posts sure makes one think a bit, 'outside the taco shell' if you will.
I mean, were all just human. It's really good to go through some life and death stuff and get outta my own little world sometimes. Give me perspective. And I've never even left the country! (Well, Canada once, but it's attatched...)
The school potlucks are AWESOME. Maybe a little heavy on the vegetarian fare, but incredibly tasty, nonetheless.
Tolerance and open-mindness is something I wish 'they' would teach in school a little more.
I gotta tell you though, nothing more annoying than a liberal who "hates republicans," I mean, they are doing what they hate in the other person...
Chuck, who's glad somebody with a gun was at that church when someone with bad intentions showed up
Re: Iraq,, wasn't there this little matter of a UN resolution that authorized the use of force if Saddam continued to refuse access to UN weapons inspectors into the country? Not US, but UN. Of course, Mr. Annan and several dozen of the other countries pulled an Emily Litella (never mind) when push came to shove. OTOH, I don't like this idea of "exporting democracy" that presidents of both parties are fond of expounding. The American Revolution wasn't fought for democracy-- it was fought for liberty. The two concepts don't necessarily agree.
Re: the stereotype of the ugly American, I'm with Gonch on this one (no wonder it snowed today). Ever notice though, that when Americans complain about Americans being rude, intolerant, whatever, it's followed by a quick disclaimer-- "except me?" Not to pick on anybody, but it happened in here too. Just about everyone who complained about American this or that followed up with an explanation of how tolerant or knowledgable they personally are. Just an observation.
After you hear the message from the media for several years "the whole world hates America, the American people, and everything having to do with America," it only feeds whatever feelings of isolationism may have already existed. Like Gonch said, why doesn't it go both ways? Sure many Europeans know English, but would they if it weren't the language of international business? For many people in other countries their entire "knowledge" of Americans is based on what their government run media tells them, Jerry Springer and Dallas reruns, and bad action movies (Brian Bosworth anyone?).
Re: Kennywood. When the dust clears and all is said and done, the original statement (however offensive some people may take it) is true. The park will NOT become a huge taco stand.
No offense Carrie but I really disagree about stereotypes. While stereotyping is basically offering up a blanket statement to cover a specific group of people, there is a big difference between making fun of the Polish with grade school jokes and accusing Americans of being self-absorbed.
None taken. But the difference you describe doesn't negate my point about stereotyping. It only pertains to the manner in which a stereotype is expressed (jokes vs reported facts) and your own measuring stick as to whether you take the stereotype seriously and choose to learn more about it.
And that is completely fair as you have every right to determine what stereotypes you deem to be valid and which ones you don't. The key, though, is bearing in mind that just because you find validity in the stereotype based on whatever parameters you choose, it doesn't make it completely true. A stereotype is still a subjective opinion of sorts.
For example, there is much discussion about US foreign policy in this thread and how it leads to the stereotyping of Americans as self-absorbed and egocentric. I can't quite follow that connection. Do I think that the US government has made questionable decisions with regard to foreign policy over the years? Absolutely. Do I think those decisions are a reflection of my individual character, intellect, and cultural beliefs? God I hope not.
Folks have the right to judge our government's decisions and in turn form a perception about the character of the people of this country. But it doesn't make their perception accurate.
All I know is Carrie is a lot smarter than she lets on - and I should've known that considering the ass beating she handed me playing Scrabulous.
Thank you. :)
Bingo! Mary Lou is one of the kindest, open-minded people you'll ever meet. She found out one morning that the place that she and both of her parents have worked for is being sold to a Spanish group. She gets an inordinate amount of idiots questioning her about freakin' tacos all day long. Finally, someone makes a comment and her response is "We are NOT turning Kennywood in to a big taco stand!" What to you think made it on to TV? The barrage of questions, or just her one line response? Does that sound bigoted now? Did anyone even bother to think of any potential context, or did you just think that she mentioned tacos, so she must be stupid and bigoted?
I am with you on this. And if I were Mary Lou's friend or family member I would feel really badly about this scenario. I would give her a hug and let her know that I knew what she meant and was sorry things happened the way they did. But I don't know Mary Lou. And she is a PR representative by profession which means she is the voice of the company. And she did make a mistake.
If I work hard enough I could reason away through empathy every ugly thing I encounter in life. But sometimes even with the best and/or most innocent intentions, a mistake is still a mistake. And there needs to be accountability for it. I personally think a public apology and explanation is enough. But then I personally wasn't that offended by it, either.
RatherGoodBear said:
"For many people in other countries their entire "knowledge" of Americans is based on what their government run media tells them, Jerry Springer and Dallas reruns, and bad action movies"
I am not sure which countries you mean. You were talking about Europe before but the above quote is certainly not true for (western) Europe.
America was always quite good to sell itself to the rest of the world.
Disney, Mc Donalds, Coke, NASA, Pepsi and of course Hollywood all imported their vision of what the world was supposed to think of America for decades. Of course this is all image, a veneer to sell products and ultimately the basic ground for prejudices!
But these images were positive for a few decades. The USA was always seen as a place "where you can make it".
This is deeply ingrained into the psyche of 20th Century people and it is fair to say that the second half of the last century was an "american era."
It is also possible that things will change in this century and that may be a reason for these "frightened" comments, regarding the Kennywood take-over.
You can sense in Europe that the USA has somehow lost its "pulling power" and maybe many Americans feel it too?! Do we all sense that we are in the hands of madmen and giant corporations and that things get worse instead of better?
I am a European who spends half of the year in Europe and the other half in the US and Canada. The perception of things has really changed since 2000.
Jerry Springer and Dallas reruns are only a faint echo of the past. Springers offspring hatched in every tv channel across Europe with its own freak-show of mouthbreathing morons. His show was not even shown in most countries, but the idea certainly catched on. And who needs bad action movies anymore, when you can get better ones from Hong Kong?
Anyway, concerning the Kennywood take-over: As of now Parques Reunidos is not a "brand" in itself. They own certain parks and smaller chains and let them continue to run on their own.
Compared to Disney, SF and CF they don´t have a "prototype" park which they could use to model all their other parks after. Its actually quite the contrary: All their recent purchases are very distinct and original parks which have rejected a corporate look. Well, maybe except Parques Warner Madrid, which was the last attempt to blueprint an american theme-park in Europe.
This could be a very good business idea, since people seem to be getting tired of corporate parks that LOOK like corporate parks.
Full circle?
...it's more complicated than that when you are the richest and most powerful nation in the world, and decide you're going to police the world. We've got more responsibility to set the example... The fact that it happens everywhere is not justification to engage in it ourselves.
Oh, absolutely. There just seems to be this running theme (and not just here) that we're all intolerant hicks and that these problems don't exist elsewhere (and it is frustrating when we perpetuate it ourselves.) I've been to 11 countries in Europe and two in Africa, and there are ignorant people everywhere.
Carrie said:
Do I think that the US government has made questionable decisions with regard to foreign policy over the years? Absolutely. Do I think those decisions are a reflection of my individual character, intellect, and cultural beliefs? God I hope not.
...and others realize that, too. I have never had a problem overseas, even in France as I mentioned earlier. I have found that people in other countries are generally smart enough to separate the policies of a country from the views of its people.
when Americans complain about Americans being rude, intolerant, whatever, it's followed by a quick disclaimer-- "except me?"
I've got my moments. After all, I've already owned up to being selfish and conceited, what's a little intolerance thrown in for good measure?
After all, people are stupid, and I'm a person, and so I must have my stupid moments as well. The only slim advantage I have in this arena is a bit more experience than some, by virtue of some international travel every year or so, and working in an "industry" (PhD education) that is truly international. Of my faculty colleagues in my department here in flyover country, fewer than half are native citizens. Even here, though, there are some areas of the world that are poorly represented---primarily South America and Africa.
I don't believe that Americans are innately intolerant. Rather, Americans---like all people---are innately bad at imagining themselves in someone else's position. Combine that with the average American's almost total lack of experience in dealing with folks from other cultures/countries---only 1/4 US Citizens even have passports----and we are bound suffer from foot-in-mouth disease from time to time.
kpjb:
There just seems to be this running theme (and not just here) that we're all intolerant hicks and that these problems don't exist elsewhere (and it is frustrating when we perpetuate it ourselves.)
Exactly what I was trying to say way back there. :)
Somewhere along the line (Vietnam, 70s OPEC crisis?) American started losing "pulling power" and started acquiring "pushing power". If the US really wants to be a "moral authority", then our leaders need to give the impression that doing what's RIGHT is more important than doing what's expedient, or more often, profitable. Somehow, I have to feel the you give an *impression* by your ACTIONS... ;)
Our government IS in the hands of the military industrial complex, and if we want to be taken seriously on the wlrd stage, we "the people" need to take it back....
I know I sometimes come across as fatalistically and hopelessly pessimistic, but to me I try to be more of the canary that's sending up the warning sign. This here coal mine "smells" funny...but maybe only canaries can smell it... ;)
If only our leaders would start listening to ME...then I'd be more optimistic... :)
I don't believe that Americans are innately intolerant. Rather, Americans---like all people---are innately bad at imagining themselves in someone else's position. Combine that with the average American's almost total lack of experience in dealing with folks from other cultures/countries---only 1/4 US Citizens even have passports----and we are bound suffer from foot-in-mouth disease from time to time.
I agree. Well put.
Yah, but you gotta think that they must scratch their heads when we, as a country, re-elect someone like that.
I was visiting EPFL, one of the two main Swiss research universities, in the summer just prior to the 2004 presidential election. The Swiss, particularly the German-derived side, are notoriously direct. And, while Lausanne is on the French-derived side of the country, my host was from the other side. ;)
He said, "We know that sometimes people make mistakes in judgement, so we don't really blame you for electing Bush. But, if he is re-elected, most of us simply won't be able to understand why."
As an aside, if you've never been to Switzerland, it is a very interesting place. It is disturbingly orderly. For example, in living situations where laundry facilities are shared, there is an implicit schedule of who uses the machines when. It is not posted. It is simply understood.
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