Making white people look bad (again).

[doctorcaligari]

Yes, Solvang. Opposing the expansion of a Native American reservation is exactly like the Arab-spring revolutionaries' sacrifices of blood and freedom. That's not even sort of an insulting comparison.

I've heard this kind of squawking from the folks out that way before (mostly from people who seem to just hate reservation casinos because well,

Comments

[vincentdamour]

Damn those pasty Danes!

[doctorcaligari]

Heh! But actually, I highly doubt the Danish-descended population thereabouts is anywhere near as high these days as it was many decades ago. :-)

[vincentdamour]

When I was in California in '98 I was on several occasions encouraged to visit Solvang to meet "the Danes" and speak Danish to them, but it's my experience that settlers (no matter where they're from) tend to keep a rather anachronistic language (take French Canadian for instance), which makes it virtually impossible to communicate, and - more importantly - they tend to be a whole lot more nationalistic about their home country than the people who stayed behind (I think American Irish people are a shining example of that), and I find it hard to stomach such joy in oneself.

V

[doctorcaligari]

Ahhh, well. (And yes, I know, us Colonials muck it all up, don't we? Look what we did to English!) You'd probably have gagged at all the touristy windmills and whatnot anyhow. :-D

[vincentdamour]

No, no! It's actually the other way around - you Colonials tend to preserve the language, thus speaking to a resident in Solvang is like talking to a Danish farmer from the 17th century. ;o)

From a linguistic perspective it's rather interesting, but since I was on vacation (and since I don't fancy seeing my living heritage displayed on a museum), I didn't feel like a field trip.

V

[doctorcaligari]

Ah yes, I remember hearing about how some group out in the Appalachians or something had preserved aspects of Shakespearean-era English. :-) Fascinating stuff, all right. But yes, you can be forgiven for not wishing to view the Disneyfied version of Danishness on your vacation. 8-)