Go figure...

On one of the other sites I play around on, I started two new groups. The first deals with Latin America. The group welcomes those who study the history, sociology, politics, literature or anything else about the region. It has two members. The site in particular is populated by people who like to think they are better and more educated than everyone else. Still, these people don't care about Latin America. That depresses me a little bit. This region is very intrinsically linked to the United States. All Americans should be more informed about our southern neighbors (or for that matter be able to name any of the countries other than Mexico or Cuba.) A lot of people think it's trendy and cool to go to a nice western European country and then be "cultured" when they come back. At the same time they don't even know the capital of Brazil. It's not Rio de Janeiro by the way, thanks for playing.

The other group I started deals with Eastern Europe and the Balkans. There are interesting stories in these regions. Most of them are much more interesting than Franco-Germanic history. Let's face it, the history of Western Europe goes like this...

Collapse of Roman Empire, Franks united under Charlemagne, Charlemagne dies, France and Germany are doomed to squabble for the rest of time. The End. Oh right, and the rest of Europe tries to stay out of their way, Britain goes so far as to take everything else in the world before becoming involved in European affairs.

Sure, they built neat buildings and painting some decent stuff too, but the people of the Balkans have amazing buildings as well. The region is more multicultural than most people know. Since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, these differences have caused some terrible atrocities. In a lot of areas though exist stories of great humanity. The Jews in Bulgaria during World War Two for example, read Beyond Hitler's Grasp, were saved by their government.

These two regions are rich in history and humanity, and amazing foods. I might continue to post on this topic for a while as it really aggravates me that no one cares unless it involves us in a major way. Like with Kosovo, or migrant workers, or the coffee we drink and how hoity-toity we can get about it.

**deep breath**