Anti-Americanism-Why?
- Thread starter yennut
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wildchilds said:
So instead of using articulate wit to insult a person, you pick the lowest denominator and attack his sexual orientation
Apparently Goober is not a moderator anymore for those of you who STILL have questions.Drunken Master said:
<Beating Goober to the Punch>
Which country is, then?Luke32 said:
True that!
Care to detail those reasons? And, no, it's not sufficient to list examples of bad/stupid American policies in a vacuum.
As I said before, there are many countries that are responsible for far more evil than America is, but can you name a single country that is responsible for more good?
Huh? So as long as we "contextualise" (say) Pinochet's Chile in the broader context of the Cold War, what happened there was justifiable?The Shake said:
I've always said America has been a force of enormous good and enormous evil in the world. Whether the scales balance out is a question for powers greater than mine to determine. What remains certain is how little the "enormous evil" part has penetrated into certain (large) segments of the American consciousness, and how this willful blindness continues to this very moment.
Wow. I now understand what it's like to deal with people who have suffered serious head trauma.wildchilds said:
Let me spell this out very slowly in the hopes that you might actually be able to grasp things.
1) Go back and re-read your initial post.
2) Focus on the statement "Did not see to much 'swagger" when you got your asses handed to you on Sept 11th".
3) Try to grasp that adding "it was tragic" after such a statement is akin to saying "You didn't look so pretty and confident after that guy raped you - although it's terrible that he did".
4) Realize that you are an idiot.
5) Go back to #1.
Absolutely not. There are countless examples of morally abhorrent American actions, some justified in the broader context of geo-politics, others not.Drunken Master said:
I think it's fair - and necessary - to point out when America screws up or actively pursues paths that are wrong and harmful. America is, and should be, held to a higher moral standard than other countries. America is not always the shining knight that it purports to be, sometimes not even remotely so. That said, the idea that they are the Global Bully, and somehow an overly negative influence in this world is patently ridiculous. I find, more times that not, that anti-Americanism doesn't come from an actual understanding of (or even care for) real issues, but rather a need in the beholder to deny the failings of their own nation and, quite frankly, intellectual laziness. America, like democracy itself, is horribly flawed, but a hell of a lot better than any of the alternatives.
A bit harsh is it not?
Certanily America's foreign policy has not been well received by many parts of the world, and for good reason. But, America is also "expected" to step up to the plate with anything from military support to charitable aid. And, in addition to government fianancial aid Americans give more dollars to charity and volunteer more hours of their time than any other country in the world. America has also served as a refuge for millions of people that were eitehr fleeing their own country out of fear or searching for a better opportunity.
I don't think that anyone, including the Americans that have posted here claim that America is perfect. I think what is troubling is that everyone here presumably is an adult. But very few are acting as such. It is absolutely frightening to me to see the level of ignorance and the depth of the lack of common courtesy, civility and respect.
Look, I totally understand that America as a country, and a fair number of Americans, have behaved in such a way as to earn the dislike of those in other parts of the world. I guess what troubles me is the broad generalizations that have been used in this thread. These statements are bread out of ignorance and have nothing to do with reality. Additionally these statements are grossly one sided and fail to present a balanced picture of America and Americans.Luke32 said:
Certanily America's foreign policy has not been well received by many parts of the world, and for good reason. But, America is also "expected" to step up to the plate with anything from military support to charitable aid. And, in addition to government fianancial aid Americans give more dollars to charity and volunteer more hours of their time than any other country in the world. America has also served as a refuge for millions of people that were eitehr fleeing their own country out of fear or searching for a better opportunity.
I don't think that anyone, including the Americans that have posted here claim that America is perfect. I think what is troubling is that everyone here presumably is an adult. But very few are acting as such. It is absolutely frightening to me to see the level of ignorance and the depth of the lack of common courtesy, civility and respect.
If you love Turkmenistan so much, why don't you marry it?Escohort said:
(Sorry, just trying to compete on the cleverness scale with ASSuming. Ho ho, my sides are still splitting from that one...)
I substantially agree, although I'm not sure how we should define "overly negative". I will say this - America's embrace of its role as "the World's Only Superpower" will tend to accentuate the negative.The Shake said:
True enough. Canada and Saudi Arabia being cases in point.
Part of the problem is that, in fact, America has identified itself with Democracy, as the living avatar of the idea.
As for alternatives, well, I'M moving to Europe as soon as I possibly can.
It fit in the context of the previous post re:swagger moron so continue trying to convince yourself that I did not find the events tragicThe Shake said:
