<p>eruanneth: wow it made me glad i don't live in africa. (or india)</p>
<p>And what exactly is wrong with living in India????</p>
<p>not anything generally! but this show was also about bride-burning in india--a very scary thing. it just made me glad that i was born in america, where things like that are not common occurrence. there, people burning brides for more dowry is, apparently, a growing problem, and one that i am glad not to have to experience.</p>
<p>lol nothing's wrong with india--just wouldn't want to have to go through some of the things that go on there.</p>
<p>The world has a very odd view of the US. We are a country of gun totin nuts with drug dealers on the every corner. They mainly know us from our movies.</p>
<p>If you are under 18, you cannot legally sign a binding contract.</p>
<p>I legally signed an Early Decision contract...</p>
<p>stop whining. deal with it. Basically, they're just making you live on-campus, if you think about it. It's not that bad. At least you'll be able to go to the college of your choice.</p>
<p>bride-burning in india--a very scary thing. it just made me glad that i was born in america, </p>
<p>India has been independant for short of 60 years. Before that, The British ruled India and totally did as they pleased and were cause for segregation etc. (many rules like SAfrica)</p>
<p>The USA has been independant for like 300 years and is far more developed. Bride burning, dowry, sati and infanticide are present problems but are rural. In the cities, people are much better educated and such problems arent prevalent</p>
<p>Also, not too long ago, there were Witch hunts in the USA which were equally barbaric.</p>
<p>dufus3709.. no one considers USA from the movies. Most dissatisfaction with the US is not the country or the people. The Government and Foreign policy, which often is hypocritical in terms of other countries is a cause for dissent</p>
<p>at least they care about u.</p>
<p>meaning? Sorry, didnt get you...</p>
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<blockquote> <p>Also, not too long ago, there were Witch hunts in the USA which were equally barbaric<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>Not too long ago? The one and only incident of killing "witches" in what is now the US happened in 1692 in Salem, MA. The witch hunts were much more a feature of medieval Europe than of modern US. Not that Americans are incapable of barbarity, it's just that witch hunts aren't a very good example of it.</p>
<p>antarius, i wasn't suggesting that everything in the u.s. is perfect. and i didn't even say anything about what parts of india bride-burning happened in. i was simply remarking, after watching a pretty horrific documentary about it, that i was glad i was in no danger of it, and that it was a terrible thing which does, on whatever scale, exist in india.</p>
<p>and i'm afraid the british don't have much to do with it either. they actually banned suttee (i'm assuming that's what you meant by "suti"?) during their occupation. </p>
<p>honestly, i don't see what the big deal is. and coreur is right: we have had no official witch hunts since salem. of course, that doesn't count the red scares and the mccarthy lists, and maybe the kkk. and these were things of a very different kind (though, yes, very barbaric) because they were carried out by groups or the government. i don't see how bride-burning is very comparable. in fact, sometimes it seems even worse than many of the atrocities in america because many of the women actually live, disfigured, outcast, and in pain for the rest of their lives. the amount of time that india has been independent, or any kind of segregation, is no excuse for husbands burning their own wives for more money, just as social factors in early america were no excuse for the salem witch hunts, or poverty in germany was no excuse for the holocaust.</p>
<p>If you're paying for your own housing or paying for the extra money you need to pay for off campus housing you have a right to be ****ed.</p>
<p>Be thankful your parents are helping you pay for college if that's the case. </p>
<p>If they don't, then yes, go complain.</p>
<p>Your parents are definately in the wrong for forging your signature - don't let any of the other posts in this thread take away from that fact. It sounds like they were too scared to tell you that you had to do it so they just did that behind your back...which would be even more wrong. They SHOULD have told you that it was a condition of them paying for your room and board and then had you make the decision. All the posts saying "just be thankful" and "oh stop crying parents are always right" and "you are whining over nothing" are quite ludacris.</p>
<p>Seems you and your parents have some trust issues</p>
<p>Need to work on that</p>
<p>Count your blessing they are paying and eltting you go</p>
<p>Read some threads about kids whose parents are holding on for dear life</p>
<p>I don't mean to harp on this, but they were legally entitled to sign your name (although they should have signified under the signature that "signed by parent for minor child"). It is not automatically illegal to sign somebody's else's name. I've done it myself and then had the signature notarized because I had the person's power of attorney. </p>
<p>Of course, the main point is that they should have let you know.</p>
<p>Ok...point conceeded</p>
<p>By the way, it is not suttee but SATI.. thats how it is spelt.
I agree that bride burning is inexcusable, but it iasnt on the scale it was a while ago. Its improving slowly...</p>
<p>And women here are better off than the middle east. Thats where life is miserable</p>
<p>I think you are having normal breaking away issues with your parents. Perhaps I would agree that they should have discussed housing with you, but for my kids the results would have been the same. We would have talked about it and I would have explained that on campus housing was the only option. Housing has not been an issue with either of my kids, they enjoyed being on campus. </p>
<p>I know this is a hard pill to swallow, but your parents are still concerned about you. Even though you are soon to be leaving for school they will want to protect you. Growing up and letting go is a gradual and sometimes painful period for both parents and young adult child. Try to remember that they are not being overprotective for their own benefit.</p>
<p>
[quote]
And women here are better off than the middle east. Thats where life is miserable
[/quote]
Have you been a woman living in middle east? If not then please don't speak for people who have. The middle east consists of many countries and many regions, and although some do not fare better than others (no one man/woman/child fares well in a country which has been through war, I am sure if the US had bombs being dropped on it, the people here wouldn't feel too good either), however, in many of the nations women live fairly well, and are radically improving their conditions -> eg. education in "Iranian women have made up more than 60 percent of university entrants" including doctors, lawyers,...</p>
<p>Of course I am not looking through a rose glass, IMHO women everywhere are misrable in one way or another-> eg. I personally think the lives of many American women are miserable in some respects AND I hate it when people make silly unknowledgeable comparisons about other cultures, and try to draw parallels and make generalizations based on silly little CNN fockumentaries.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I agree that bride burning is inexcusable, but it iasnt on the scale it was a while ago. Its improving slowly...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>that's good--it seems like it should, now that people are finally starting to hear about it.</p>
<p>I wasn't replying or addressing the Middle East topic in any way. I was sending a comment to the "very upset" post</p>