Why is it that so many people refer to it as “the Ukraine” rather than just Ukraine? It’s so prevalent that it’s only recently that I’ve learned that referring to it as “the Ukraine” is incorrect.
Come to that, how many other countries customarily have “the” pre-pended when they’re referred to? There’s “the USA”, and there used to be “the USSR”. And does this seem to happen only with countries whose name start with a “U”? If so, why isn’t it “the Uganda”?
<wanders off, once more pondering the oddities, quirks, and idiosyncrasies of the English language>
<wanders back to comment on the thread>
Oh, yeah, Tom Tildrum. Very odd experience. I’ve been known to talk to people in grocery store lines, but it’s usually things like “how many cats” if I see them buying cat food. I’m not sure how I’d react if someone said something like to me. I suspect I’d be so taken aback I’d say nothing, but it’s equally possible that I’d blurt out something like, “What, are you kidding me?” (I have a faulty governor on my tongue. It gets me into trouble.)
Someone will come along with a more detailed answer, but Ukraine roughly translates as borderland. This comes from a time when it was the western edge of the Russian empire. As an independent nation, it is no longer the borderland, but rather Borderland. It is a subtle difference that reflects Ukraine’s status as a free nation. I believe it was not until the 1917 that Ukraine was an official nation.
In Russian, which does not have the word the, the change is reflected by the fact that the prepostion for being in Ukraine changed from na to v, roughly changing the meaning from on/at the borderland to in Borderland.
Are you insinuating that it’s common? Do you live here? Because I have to say that I’ve lived here for over forty years and I never experienced overt anti-semitism from anyone. And for the first 28 or so of those years I was a blue-eyed blonde. (Now more brown and gray.) I would be utterly shocked if I heard something like that!
I have seen news reports of damage done to local synagogues and protesters coming to town with anti-semitic agendas, but these are seen as ultra-fringe, ignorant views.
It can be shocking the bullshit people will spout when they think they’ve found a sympathetic audience.
I’m still wondering where the SDMB goon squad is that calls people “smug” and “superior” and “promoting racism” by starting threads about how they don’t particularly appreciate hearing other people’s racist BS. I guess the only come out when people are offended/confused/shocked by racism against African-Americans. :dubious:
Maybe you saw a family collecting for their church? I volunteered at a church for a while that made scheduled late-night trips to the local Kroger to pick up expired merchandise for their food pantry. Anyone who volunteered would have to go along and load everything up, I can see a kid getting carried away and sharing the wealth.
Even sven, this thread is different than the ones you are referring to. The OP seems to me tl only want to relate an odd story. It doesn’t seem like hes looking for a cookiedor not being a racist. Key facts here are that this is in mpsims and not turpitude and the op doesn’t express indignation that someone else would intimate that the op shares their racism.
Because any American over 40 grew up seeing it that way everywhere, all of the time. It was only after independence that Ukrainians began caring how English speakers rendered their name, and decided that “the” was too reminiscent of the old Soviet republic.
One time a fellow communal taxi passenger(taxi that travels a set route unloads and then waits til it fills up to go back the other way again) that was talkative when I said my wife was a local and the inevitable race question came up he said good for me, those niggers are always stealing white women good on you for getting revenge. Then he said he was also doing his part as his GF was black(he was indian).
I find random strangers are good for that no response thing.
