This is such a stupid thread.
Poll suggests world hostile to US
by Simon 203 Replies latest social current
-
-
teejay
Yes, but they were not asking people how well they knew the USA, just what they thought of it, whether they considered it a threat etc ...
I understand, Simon, but here's the deal....
Ask some Americans (who've never been to your country) what they think of England and they might say that they think it's cold and rainy ALL THE TIME, and that ALL Brits have bad teeth and drink too much. I don't imagine that you would get upset about such an opinion poll, would you? That's my only point. That some of my fellow Americans got so bent out of shape about your post is a bit hard for me to understand.
-
Englishman
Danny Bear said:
Most of you who adamantly like to assert your right to critisize America, ought to be reminded that your ability to do so freely without the sharp end of a swastika encrusted night stick up your butt, was insured and paid for by the 'fast and loose' blood and guts of America and its son's and daughter's.
Now Danny seems to be under the impression that we had our butts saved by the good ole US of A spilling it's blood on our behalf some 3 years into after the war had started..
If we take a look at just who did spill most blood, the results are quite intriguing:
So all those movies that Hollywood produced to convince it's viewers that America fought and won the war pretty well on it's own are just a wee bit exaggerated, don't you think?
And, BTW, we are right there STRAIGHTAWAY when our friends need us.
Well, mostly anyway.
Englishma, who has reposted after a small tantrum.
-
blacksheep
Well given the general hopelessness of Bristish people about their lives (according to RubyTuesday's) article, sounds like, all things considered, most Brits are happier with the US than with the UK...:)
-
DannyBear
Englishman,
Glad you got your hissy fit tantrum off your chest.;)
Tit for tat is not the point my fine english friend. If Joseph Kennedy had had his way, we would have never shown up on your doorstep.
The undisputed fact is quite simple. Dwight Eisenhower and the good ole US of A put together the plan and the wherewithal to accomplish saving your butts. Period.
Then to top it off, we stuck around for the next sixty years and made the whole investment stick......right down to the last brick being dismantled from the Berlin Wall.
You can't obfiscate the effort by measuring the amounts of blood shed. No way.
The US much to my chargin sometimes continues to offer aid and support to those countries who conveniently forget about what we have done for them in the past. You brits are amoung them.
Danny
-
ThiChi
I have enjoyed many comments here. I don’t mind any topic discussion as long as both sides can be considered and tolerated. You should be able to rebut a claim, or place a claim in context without being called childish or defensive.
Many here are very loose with context, history or just the plain truth.
You should be able to "play" under the same rules without being threatened with, or labeled Spamming or Baiting.
I am very pleased that Simon does not restrict this board to JW topics only. I have enjoyed many conversations, on and off board, as a result.
the reason the world hates us all comes down to economics. The nations of the earth that have been around for thousands of years are simply jealous of the United States because it has only been around about 225 years, and yet it's so far ahead in any way you want to measure it - economically, culturally, and spiritually. There is a deep resentment as a result of this success, and David Brooks really hits the nail on the head in describing why and how this came to be. The piece really opens your eyes, not to something new, but rather validates what you instinctively believed but never were able to put your finger on in totality.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/102gwtnf.asp -
Mr. Kim
Thank you DannyBear! You caught it!
-
Jayson
SimonIn the same way, lots of us have opinions of other countries such as Iraq but I doubt many have been there (and I don't count benig part of an invading army as geting to know what a country is like!)
You are right Simon I've never been to Iraq. (Maybe it doesn't really exist. Maybe Bush made the Nation up for poll ratings.) Did you hear that GW and Cheney were the real 9/11 highjackers? They jumped just prior to impact. (BBC is doing a mockumentary)
I was put down for trying to expand your understanding of the Middle East through the book "The Threatening Storm." I now see the stupidity of such an attempt. So, in the spirit of understanding that some people's bias is just to great for common sense I now recommend "In The Eye of The Threatening Storm." It is an Arab authored book about GW Bush and his America. One great comment is how Saddam does not fuel Israeli/Palistinian conflicts via support of terrorism. Only 70% of Palistinan funding went to terrorist bombers. ONLY 70%! I know you will enjoy it. I'm sorry for suggesting books, documentaries, and other sources of information outside the BBC. I understand how arrogant that must seem to you.
What gets my goat is not that you don't like America/GW Bush/American policy domestic or abroad. It's your right to an opinion. What gets me is how obvious your BBC bias is and you are blind to it. It's you who can't see the forest for the trees my friend not I. GW and America does not need my defending them. But a stance against black propaganda is what this site is about. You make claimes that Fox news is my mantra. You said as much in your WMD thread. As I have given countless other sources and don't really even like that news station I make no applogies for accusing you of being a propagandist.
I wanted to drop the US/UK/Iraq/War topics. I said as much a while ago. You reserected it with me. You commented that maybe this topic is not worth talking about to me (and you agree) but if the WMD were found I'd be crowing. [my words] Would I be willing to drop the issue? Well, when WMD are found are you going to drop it? You start the threads dude. My point in not talking about the issue is not that I don't think it important or have no point of view, that's probably quite obvious. My desire is to leave this alone and try to repair relationships here. Now I see the error in that thinking. With the lefties if you insult the core of their beliefs there is no turning back. Just like being critical of God's chosen people I have made the choice of standing against the mantra of those in the cult of "Bush lied." It is up to you save the world from us "crazed wild bunch of facist Americans." We all need our windmills to fight don't we Simon.
Realistthe leaders of the other countries already knew that the US gov. is full of shit. And they are full of shit too. Did Schroeder care about the iraqis? did chirac care? or putin??? the answer is within a 99.99999% confidence interval NO!
Actually Saddam and Chirac have a long alliance going back to the 80's. Do some research guy. The others had very lucrative oil and goods contracts with Iraq. Pleasuredome talked about the dollar/Euro issues and was ignored. Everything seems black and white with you. Bush is bad and the whole world is against the US (at least you hope.) Like I have suggested before the book "World on Fire" by chau will give you cannon fodder that no American can refute. But hey never mind, I'm a foming at the mouth Prowar, Bush Supporting Facist who will never be critical of mother America and incapable of critism (not even about me personally) don't listen to me.
BTW Did you know that the BBC reports about the looting of the Iraqi museum was a total fabrication? That's right Realist they lied to the world. 170,000 peices were not distroyed or stolen they were put in a secret underground vault. Geez, I wonder what eles might have been moved into a underground vault or another country?(Things that make you go hmmmmm)
-
blacksheep
Englishman:
"Most of the world is very alarmed at the US at the moment. Here we have a huge country, a super power that can actually defeat any other country or combination of countries in the whole world. Many of us feel threatened by this monolith with it's love of guns and it's love of capital punishment. It's almost as though civilised society is being threatened by the Wild Bunch."
“civilized society?” Does this include Saddam Hussein, Al Queda, and the Palestian/Israeli conflicts? How abour Northern Ireland?
“Many of it's citizens have no concept of a society outside of it's borders, nor will they show the slightest interest in anything that does not fit in with their own concepts of how life should be.”
Yes, Americans are funny that way. They didn’t like how Saddam was running his country. At least SOMEONE had the courage to do something. Not just sit back and talk about it. Or continue to TRADE with him.
“A difficult situation, certainly.BTW, Europeans are agreed upon one thing about Americans generally. We love you to bits, but mostly we like the one's who have TRAVELLED.”
Well I have traveled. Lived in the UK for a while. Other European countries as well. I wasn’t terribly impressed, esp with respect to YOUR claims, as above. And my view about the famous “toleration” that some Euro countries have is largely because as long as they are personally left alone, the don’t give a crap what anyone else does. Most of the European countries think their way is the best (not unique to Americans), and they basically tolerate other nations. If anything, THEY sit back if they cannot see some advantage to themselves. And talk about isolationist? The UK so embroiled in its own world that it continues its fierce grasp on making senible changes, including its failure to implement the Euro, or for gosh sakes, drive like everyone ELSE in that part of the world does. I talked to a lot of people from other countries, and they all felt THEIR country and THEIR way was, of course the best. And the made no bones about it. So, yes, you are entitled to your opinion, but I think it is strangely biased and debatable.
-
StinkyPantz
Blacksheep-
most Brits are happier with the US than with the UK...:)
If that's the case, why isn't there a new thread every 3 days about the UK and it's government?
Abaddon-
I'm not sure if this was a complement, but:
I would encourage and applaud posters like Stinky; I think it would be wonderful for Americans to show more interest in international politics.
There's no need to applaud me. This is the first thread about international politics that I've posted on. I had been told that Simon was being anti-US, and I wasn't interested in reading about it. Then I saw this thread and I'd figure I'd comment. The problem is not this one freakin' poll, it's the continuous threads about the same sh*t. No one minds criticism, but when you have to hear it from someone that you think cares about your feelings all of the time, it gets old.
I am young but I've been all over the world, from Australia to Africa to Europe. I know how people feel about Americans, and most Americans know this too. People are hostile to us, we got it! Do we need to be reminded every 3 days? No.
I equate this with the people that feel the need to remind me how much Black people suck. Our crime rate is high, the unemployment is high, etc, etc. I know all this and reminding me constantly won't do a damn thing to change it. I try on an individual level to help out my community, so to hear someone complain about a large group of people as if no one in that group cares or tries gets tiring!
We as Americans know that we have plenty of sh*t to work on, no gov't is perfect. We also help out a lot of developing countries technologically and financially. So to here our neighbors complaining makes some feel like the things we do do are unappreciated. In the words of Simon "it gets tiresome". You expect us to listen to you and respect your opinions, do the same for us.