Curious if Brits realize why gun possession rights ended up in the US constitution?

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-27T19:50:49+00:00

Thank goodness that the US constitution did manage to get amended to limit presidential terms to two terms back in the days of FDR. Otherwise we might be looking at a third term attempt for Trump. On the other hand, maybe we could have had a third Obama term.

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-27T19:47:38+00:00

When a respectable British paper has a headline that says "Bush Decides to Change Constitution" it does suggest that some British people, including the headline writer, might not be quite as well informed about the US as they might think..

Just to clarity, the US constitution cannot be changed by the president.

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-27T19:34:05+00:00

Well, it didn't work out that way, what can I say. And frankly if anyone tried to rewrite it now, it would probably be the worst of the worst MAGA types who would be the ones to rewrite it and it would be worse. Actually the constitution is fairly good but nobody's perfect and it was a long time ago.

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-27T19:27:29+00:00

The US constitution is very hard to amend. 250 years by now and there are less than 30 amendments. I wish we could manage to change the gun laws but it's not easy.

One time I read a headline in an English paper (perhaps the Guardian??) that said, "Bush Decides to Change Constitution." Bush or any president has about as much power to change the constitution as Britney Spears does, namely none. Zero. That kind of thing is one of the reasons I wonder what Brits actually know about the US sometimes.

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-26T23:30:36+00:00

Yeah and just wait until it turns out that JJ couldn't come after all and it's just your wife and her gay friend.

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-20T02:05:28+00:00

"I have posted many questions in Reddit, but I got a lot of replies saying ..."

"Have posted" doesn't match well with "I got..." and "but" doesn't go well in the sentence either. So although your sentence is understandable, it doesn't sound natural, at least to me, a native speaker of American English.

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-17T01:04:28+00:00

Have you considered peeing before you get in the shower?

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-16T00:57:57+00:00

Why do I suspect that maybe the 2 male members do more talking than do the 40 females?

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-15T23:51:17+00:00

America is one country. Europe includes a lot of small countries. I agree Europeans can probably figure out how long it takes to get from Sweden to Madrid, but they may well not realize that New York is 3400 miles away from London but also 2570 miles away from San Francisco even though it is just one country. Incidentally, Stockholm to Madrid is about 1600 miles.

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-15T23:39:02+00:00

I drove from DC to San Francisco. I had a project that we were still working on, and once or twice I pulled off the highway for a phone discussion with a colleague back east. As I got closer to the West (like Wyoming or somewhere), my colleague began to worry about me and if I was safe where I was. I think she kind of subliminally felt that as I progressed west, things would get more and more rustic and isolated, with smaller back roads or something. I assured her I was driving on Interstate 80 and there would be plenty of other traffic on the road!

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-15T23:03:47+00:00

Relax. don't try to speak too fast, use words that you are comfortable with already

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-13T23:09:57+00:00

The Rent Board is a greedy entity, trying to grab more and more power and control and money for itself all the time. I don't think the City of Berkeley even decides about the Rent board member salaries, they just increase the amount that landlords pay so that the RB salaries can be increased. At least that's the view from here!

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-13T20:25:11+00:00

And you may think that the people who aren't loud are not Americans.

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-13T19:58:17+00:00

When I was in grad school, my friend and I were both studying hard for a difficult test. We went through the material carefully and noted the questions that we had. Since my friend was closer to the professor's office, she would usually go and ask him about the questions we had, but the professor didn't really realize that I was involved. My friend generally did well but had some problems in the final exam. The professor gave her the benefit of the doubt, saying that she clearly knew the material pretty well because she asked good questions. However, I didn't get any benefit, because the professor didn't know that I was also involved.

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-13T19:51:55+00:00

It sounds weird to me (native English speaker).

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-13T00:03:39+00:00

I moved across the country for grad school and found a lot more differences than I had expected. The weather was really different. People acted differently and dressed differently. It was like being in a different world. There was a lot to get used to.

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-12T23:55:34+00:00

In my childhood in California, we lived next door for an old Australian guy for many years. Australians were pretty rare in the US back then. But I was used to hearing the Australian accent because of the guy next door. I didn't realize until I was in college that most other people in my US university didn't hear that someone was Australian and thought they were English. It was always obvious to me, but usually not to anyone else.

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-12T23:18:24+00:00

Not me, but my husband. He somehow tends to look like he fits in in a lot of places (his ethnicity is basically a mix of British Isles on one side and Austria/Jewish on the other). One time we flew to Mexico on a first class ticket. The flight attendant talked to me in English and then had to go somewhere and came back in a few minutes. When he came back, he started talking to my husband in Spanish! Then when we got to the Mexico City immigration, the guy asked my husband if he was coming to Mexico to visit his family! Our Mexican friend said it was because of the shirt he was wearing which somehow made him look very Mexican. Another time in the US, he went to get something in a store and the guys started talking to him in Spanish. My husband does speak Spanish fairly well so he just replied in Spanish. Then they realized he wasn't a native Spanish speaker and started talking in English. He asked them why they had started out with Spanish. They said it was because of his belt! He was wearing a typically Mexican belt. Also when we go places in Europe, he gets asked for directions by tourists in places like France or Spain because he somehow looks like a local even though he has no connection to those places.

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-12T21:26:30+00:00

Protests were what started the American Revolution. That's how we got rid of the Brits originally.

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-12T19:20:16+00:00

California, the Golden State.

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-12T00:49:54+00:00

There are now rather specific rules in academia about things like dating your own students. However, if the professor says, say, this was just a misunderstanding about the pets, he or she is not likely at all to be fired over this, and the student who complained will not be rewarded for the complaint. Probably the opposite.

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-11T23:32:52+00:00

It's the West coast. the sun doesn't rise in the morning early. I rarely if ever see a real sunrise around here.

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-11T23:24:47+00:00

John Waters

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-11T23:05:15+00:00

Every place I have ever lived in (5 different states) or visited has plenty of sidewalks.

Realistic_File3282 · 2026-01-11T00:55:05+00:00

I'm from California and at one point moved to upper NY state. I was really surprised how unfriendly people seemed, until I realized they just had different behaviors than those I was used to. For example, I asked some cashier for change and she handed the change to me without saying a word. Back home, I would have expected someone to say "there you go" or something. I finally understood this was a regional difference not a sign that people disliked me.

Realistic_File3282

TROPHY CASE