Is it just me or do Europeans have a different distance "comfort zone" when holding conversations?
When i was working in Mahattan for several years i seem to recall working on projects with several European clients and remember feeling like - wow these folks like to stand way too close when having conversations... one time in particular comes to mind, discussing a project,at length, with a client who was only about 6 inches from my face the whole time..
Oh, I dunno, Americans can converse that way, too...it's just that they're usually red-faced and jumping up and down at the same time.
PARIS - In the general European euphoria over the election of Barack Obama, there is the beginning of self-reflection about Europe's own troubles with racial integration. Many are asking if there could be a French, British, German or Italian Obama, and everyone knows the answer is no, not anytime soon.
Well, racism is not a privilege of the United States. There is racism EVERYWHERE in the world in its many different guises. And of course, a lot of countries in Europe face racial problems on a daily basis. On a different note and as a practical illustration, I am from Brazil and my country has the second largest African descendant population out of Africa and after the election of Obama many Brazilian journalists were asking when we would have an Afro-Brazilian president as well. So yes, we do have our doses of racism too.
That is why the election of Obama is important because it showed once again that the United States can re-invent itself, re-new it so to speak, and once again show to the world why it is still the most influential (and powerful) nation in the globe. What everyone is waiting for now is that such influence and power have a positive attitude which could largely distance itself from the extremely insular and xenophobic Bush administration.
Yet, issues such as prejudice, racism and xenophobia should never be off the table. Even having a president who is African descendant. After all no matter what skin-color you have that does not redeem you of any bad judgements. And of course, the same applies for Radio Paradise Community.
PARIS - In the general European euphoria over the election of Barack Obama, there is the beginning of self-reflection about Europe's own troubles with racial integration. Many are asking if there could be a French, British, German or Italian Obama, and everyone knows the answer is no, not anytime soon.
