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I think instead of saying it's relaxed, I would describe it as very local? Folks work pretty hard in Caribbean, but when I was there (a fair while ago), I also
by random5634 6y ago
I think instead of saying it's relaxed, I would describe it as very local?
Folks work pretty hard in Caribbean, but when I was there (a fair while ago), I also worked dang hard. But you absolutely felt like you were in a bubble. You really could imagine that Israel and the Palestinians would have an intifada / war and no one would notice.
You drank after work with the folks you worked with (in west this is a no no for many good reasons), you ate larger group meals, you spent a lot more time outside. I'm just spitballing some impressions. Some of this was efficiency, (group meals are more cost effective?) etc.
There is also an attitude difference. There is a story (probably made up - please fill in correct details) that a group "conquered" one of the islands (maybe Saba?). They took over whatever building, raised whatever flag. And everyone just ignored them. They eventually left.
One thing that's an adjustment is ignoring the rules if they are silly - no one thinks anything of it. And yes, in part because of corruption and rent seeking there are some silly rules so maybe you have to.
Absolute downsides as well no question. But I wonder if the folks not on internet just don't care as much about what someone said to someone as the rest of us.
- watwut 6y ago> There is a story (probably made up - please fill in correct details) that a group "conquered" one of the islands (maybe Saba?). They took over whatever building, raised whatever flag. And everyone just ignored them. They eventually left. I would guess it made up, because when people conquer stuff, they tend to have actual material goals and need. Starting from basic - their army needs to eat. The way you get that food is to take it from people who are there. They need wood and what not, if you are the armed one, you force local population to get it for you. When people used to run from incoming armies, it was not for fun. It was because the armed men tend not to ignore you. The miracle there is not island people ignoring incoming people. The miracle there is the supposed conquerors being content with raising flag, without trying to take actual benefit from it. I guess in some rare situations they would conquer thing for trolling/emotional purposes, but generally the goal is control and things.
- varjag 6y agoDo you really think all wars are rational, resource-driven pursuits? How about Falklands, what Argentina planned to extract there? Steal the rocks and tax the 300 sheep? Or Russia with Crimea, whose ownership value is enormously negative? All it takes is one moron with delusion of grandeur.
- watwut 6y agoWars are expensive, that is first thing. Second, soldiers need to eat right now and where do you think food used to come from? Army "living off the land" was a thing, because supplying them was difficult and who cares. The land armies passed through used to be pretty destroyed after. > Russia with Crimea, whose ownership value is enormously negative? Russia does not see expansion of own territory as negative value. Also, Russians are very much making changes in Crimea.
- varjag 5y agoUnlike 'seeing', negative economic value is objective. Suffering sanctions for occupying a region that was traditionally heavily subsidised is negative value.
- Mauricebranagh 6y ago1 To distract the population by stirring up nationalism / appealing to "machismo" 2 OIL
- ClumsyPilot 6y agoIndeed, countless wars were started for the most idiotic reasons imaginable, see 'war of the bycket' https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Bucket https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Bucket
- appletrotter 5y agoDid you read what you linked to? It says that the war wasn't actually started to due to the bucket, but the taking of a castle. Pretty reasonable cause to start a war I could imagine, back then.
- thaumasiotes 6y ago> You drank after work with the folks you worked with (in west this is a no no for many good reasons) In the West, this is a conventional thing that many people expect.
- gspr 6y agoProbably an American equating "the west" with the US and Canada.
- Proziam 6y agoI never experienced this in the US. I did experience this in Germany, Sweden, and the UK.
- dukeyukey 6y agoYeah, in the UK this is incredibly common. Drinks after work were at least a weekly thing, sometimes even a nightclub.
- DanBC 6y agoYes. And in some places it would be drinks during the workday, if the pub was close enough for a lunchtime pint.
- dukeyukey 5y agoDefinitely. In one of my previous companies, we'd sometimes do sprint retros in a nearby pub, drinks on the company tab.
- aixi 6y agoin Germany this is also extremely common. I really don't know what the commenter means by the west, I'd assume after office drinking is also normal in the US?
- talliedthoughts 6y ago
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- appletrotter 5y ago> You drank after work with the folks you worked with (in west this is a no no for many good reasons) It's like you've never been to a Western country`
- random5634 5y agoI live in the US - and drinking with staff of different levels is tricky for a number of reasons. Inappropriate behavior broadly defined is not tolerated, and drinking is already in that category in many California and east cost areas. Public transit / jitney's etc are not great so a lot of folks drive to work and back which makes drinking harder. Your right - I should have said US (and maybe just progressive areas).
- machello13 5y agoOr maybe just the particular companies you work for. At many companies I've worked for, and many others I haven't, drinking with coworkers happens often enough that many they have regular official happy hours at bars.