The Age of Informational Warfare – Propaganda

National Propaganda

First I want to have a look at Wikipedia’s definition of propaganda, to clarify the object I am going to deal with in this text and my following posts…

“Propaganda is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense presents information in order to influence its audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or gives loaded messages in order to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the cognitive narrative of the subject in the target audience to further a political agenda.

Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist.
—Garth S. Jowett and Victoria O’Donnell, Propaganda and Persuasion”

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaghanda]

I rather dislike Wikipedia for some of it*s failures, but for now I will bow my head before them… this is a nice and short definition! If I should intend to accuse anybody of propaganda, I had to show, that he:

1) Changes information (means a direct lie) to encourage a certain reaction and opinion
2) Reduces information (means to focus information) to encourage a certain reaction and opinion

I will not try to deal with the big media stations of our time – I*ll leave it up to you, to decide yourself, if your media is fulfilling one or both of these two options.

Just a word of explanation, to clarify my own intention and opinion. Propaganda is not an action, that can only be used by dictatorships, or similar forms of government – this is the everyday option to lead the masses in the correct direction in every form of system and in every nation.

To add some more precise information: Every war is in need of an propagandist action, as war never is a popular step, you have to find ways, to MAKE it a popular action – you have to create an enemy. The easiest form of propaganda is to focus on all well known (by your people) negative information about the enemy – partially to recherche new negative information to add it and (as the most aggressive form of propaganda) to spread lies about the enemy and sell them as the one and only truth.

The standard way of dealing with information, that threatens the perspective you wish to create, is to censor them, to bring them down, to damage their reputation or to accuse them of being a collaborator of the enemy.

—> Information: I encourage you to do your own research and to compare the use of propaganda in the different forms of systems we know up to now – I would enjoy your opinion on this topic and would be pleased, if you could point out mistakes in my explanations.

Spoiler: You may for example compare the propaganda done by Nazi-Germany, communist Russia and the USA after, before and during WW2 – I found this piece of information to be very interesting. <—

Non-national Propaganda

What you read above is more or less my standard definition of propaganda, that never has been something special to me, as (I think) we all got – to a certain degree – used to it and knew, that this happens.

Especially during my experiences on the internet I found, that this definition is solely focusing on national propaganda and for this reason incomplete. If you simply watch big media sites like YouTube, you will find nearly all forms of propaganda, spread by nearly all forms of religious groups, all forms of political groups and sometimes – even by persons without any direct extraordinary orientation.

I found myself thinking, that the most common form of propaganda is non-national propaganda – used by common people.

You could say, that these persons are simple carriers of the information given to them and I encourage you too, that you point out that this is true – but I myself compared the official given information of the mainstream media (concerning this and that topic) with the thinking and actions of these individuals and found the following:

A lot of the information is indeed based on excerpts of the mainstream media – these excerpts/quotations/information are selected precisely to focus the message (for example of the video) on a clearly layed out conclusion… Every form of information, that does not lead to this conclusion (even if it is directly linked to the original message) will be ignored.

Many of the propagandists tend to use direct lies, where the truth is not leading to the wished target (compare for example the conspiracy theories on 9/11).

I also found the fact interesting, that individuals, that will add a comment to these videos, which is not providing the wished form of information, will be marked as spam – deleted or be accused of not knowing anything about the truth – being for example accused of supporting the true enemy.

You may agree, that this is more or less according to the definition above – but let me point out again, where this is propaganda:

1) Focus on “bad news” – bringing “bad news” which are not well known to attention.
The difficult thing to divide propagandist efforts from journalistic material, is the natural purpose of propaganda to look as if it was, well researched and entirely based on facts. But a clear sign for me is, that the information, that is given, is not just a journalistic effort, but leading to a certain conclusion, or trying to encourage strong emotions… The second and more obvious sign is, that the given information is not containing any contrary opinions – if a video is repeating the same information again and again and serving a certain purpose instead of providing knowledge, it*s time to examine it (for me).

To focus information on a certain target or opinion is the most common and basic operator of propaganda.

2) Direct lies – Spreading false information – taking original information out of context
is the most extreme, but even the most dangerous form of propaganda. One has to chose the lie carefully and has to think about the possibility, that people will try to examine the information, to show that it is not true.

The easiest way to deal with this is (already said this) to throw some dirt on them, but as this is also the most powerful tool to modify the thinking and feeling of other persons, one should be careful to not lie too obvious – there should not be any doubt, that he/she is speaking the truth…

You are used to that too, as all of us lied in our lifetime, but when acting as a propagandist you have to be even more careful.

3) Shocking audio and video content – modification of text, audio and video material – The use of media in another context – creating a threat through music and images
These is not new at all, but as the abilities of media have grown, the tools for this task have also. The basic target of propaganda is to invoke emotions… besides the intellectual information, you will find music, pictures and excerpts of speeches, which emotionally are creating a threat – this is serving a certain issue… it is to prepare you to believe the information. To make you believe, that you have to defend yourself through the new given knowledge and against the new enemy.

The message itself CAN be believed, but doesn*t have to be believed -

Whether you, for example, believe in the 9/11 conspiracy or not is not interesting – If you FEEL threatened after watching such a video – in fact threatened by the USA and believe them to be the enemy… the mission of the video is accomplished.

To be fair and to give an example for the American reader too… If you heard about the weapons of mass-destruction in Iraq… did you believe it? I say you don*t have to. The basic message is “Iraq is a threat!” if you believed that one – the task of the information is fulfilled.

And to calm down both groups… I don*t judge these, or you – one has to think about this him/herself – Whether you like it or not is your decision – what I want to say is, think about information very hard before you believe it.

My thoughts:

Some of the commentators will defend this information, as if they were defending their own life, they will get angry, thread or insult every opposition.

Indeed some of the videos I am referring to, even made it to encourage myself to feel in a certain way. I would recommend, that this is not underestimated, as some of these are true masterpieces of their art (if you can think the same way of these is up to you).

To give an interesting example (without providing too much material myself) – you may for example compare:

As this movie is taken down very often, I will add the name here, which you have to search for, to find it on Youtube.

[Zeitgeist - the movie]

A very good example, as it is using every operator I talked about. (You may have fun to watch it with this thought in mind – you may even have fun to examine my own text to find out if you can identify propagandist material – and I*m sure some of you will do that (if this text will get any comments anyway) )

My Personal Disclaimer:

These are MY thoughts on certain topics, but I don*t claim, neither that I am the first one to realise it, nor that I am speaking THE TRUTH – as this term is abused in so many ways…

I strongly encourage you, to distrust information, until you’ve examined it yourself. This is including MY information. I welcome you to point out my mistakes and to share your opinion. But I hope, that you will be fair on me and will not insult me for my perspectives.

However – there is no doubt for me, that there exist more intelligent persons on this planet than me, who know more about these topics – If you are one of these persons… I would feel honoured, if you could share your point of view with me.

I allow you to use excerpts of my texts for your own projects, if you wish to, but I don*t allow you to change my message (means to ABUSE my texts.)

The Future:

As I am very interested in these topics, I am planning to add posts where I will try to examine Anti-American (AA) propaganda and my understanding of the “Age of informational warfare” more closely.

Thanks for reading Cern4m (My blog can be found here.)

PEOPLE WHO THINK THAT AMERICA IS A CONTINENT NEED TO DIE!

Who thinks that America is a continent?

Both Americans, and non-Americans. Here are some examples below.

A classic example of pseudo-intellectualism flexing its muscles:

“Let me clarify that when I say America, I mean the United States of America, as a majority of people often do. Most people overlook the fact that America is actually a continent with a large number of interesting and varied countries that are not in the least bit as horrible as the USA….”

Interesting, coming from a British person who also claimed that the history books in the US were flawed and that only the best education can be taught in Britain. In fact, this entire group touts British superiority (on every possible level) over America.

More idiocy from the the compassionate and “worldly” left:

Why exactly is it that only US citizens are called Americans when Canadians, Mexicans, etc. all live in the Americas? We don’t refer to citizens of the Union of South Africa as Africans to the exclusion of the rest of the continent, nor are the Saudis exclusively (or at all) called Arabians. We just steal everything from everybody, even the name. –Antinous (reply #54)

According to this elitist scholar, this is why America is hated:

I hate America and Americans. More to the point, I hate the use of those terms in reference to this country and its citizens. Calling this country “America” and those of us living in it “Americans” smacks of the most vile and despicable arrogance possible and a self-centeredness that is an underlying cause of the hatred that many of the people of the world have against this country.

Another one tries to inform the “ill-informed”:

I would like to add that, to a lot of people, the term “American” does not just refer to US citizens, but to citizens of all of America – that is, North, Central, and South, not just “United States of”.

Sometimes it seems that people forget that it is the United States *of* America, and think it is United States *is* America.

Also, I lived in the USA for 6 years on an H1B via and it is most definitely required to have a passport to travel within the USA. Also, in practical terms, everyone does need some form of identification almost all the time – usually a driver’s license.

In any case, it should be confirmed that the statistics actually do refer to only US citizens.

From a misguided American defending America:

By the way, you probably don’t realize that when you speak of the Americas, you include several countries on 2 continents and several island nations, some of which are British, French, Dutch and Spanish in origin. I think based on ignorance and not stupidity you are confusing the United States with “America”.

Wow. It’s not just American education. WESTERN education is going down the toilet.

So, here we go…

AMERICA IS NOT A CONTINENT!

Here is a list of all the continents for your review:

Antarctica

South America

North America

Europe

Africa

Asia

Australia (Oceania)

I circled North America to show that it’s called “North America”, and I circled North and South America to show that they are a part of “The Americas“.

In North America (psst… yeah – that’s the continent, HELLO!), there lies 23 countries. Let’s explore them.

NORTH. AMERICA
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Canada
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Grenada
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
St. Kitts & Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Trinidad & Tobago
United States

I refuse to apologize to the Americanophobes and to other Americans for calling myself “an American” and *not* a “Unitedstatesian”. Some of my fellow compatriots have been given virtual black eyes online for claiming to be *gasps* “an American” (or even worse… “from America”!) and are often smugly corrected and pointed out that “it is arrogant to assume that you own all 23 countries…. bla bla bla [insert more pseudo-intellectual rhetoric here]….”

I’m not making this up. I could never be this inventive. Seriously. I’ve just gotten to the point where I’m sick and tired of hearing that America is a continent. Really tired.

If that elitist Brit was correct that America truly was a continent, than why is it then “OK” for …..

—> those from Canada to call themselves Canadians

—> those from Costa Rica to call themselves Costa Ricans

—> those from Mexico to call themselves Mexicans

—> those from Jamaica to call themselves Jamaicans

—> those from Cuba to call themselves Cubans

but it’s “arrogant” or “ignorant” for a person born in the states to qualify themselves to be an “American”. What  is so very wrong with these people?

Once Canadians, Mexicans, Costa Ricans, Jamaicans, Cubans and etc. start to call themselves, AMERICANS, maybe I’ll start to listen. By the way, do Italians, the French, Germans, Brits, Polls and etc call themselves Europeans first? (However, when making comparative analyses with America, then they use the word “European”).

Interesting.

To the illiterate over-confident self-loathing imps foaming at the mouth, we call our country “America” for short (contrary to the belief system that we are trying to annex 2 continents!!) Yeah. It’s shorthand for the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

—>TO THE SPANISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES, FOR FREAKSAKES, I AM AWARE THAT IN SPANISH YOU CALL US “Unitedstatians”, but my blog entry isn’t about that unless you consider Canada and GREAT Britain to be Spanish speaking countries.

Next, I DO connect the politically correct name for America with mindless Americanophobia. Why? When a Brit or a Canadian pretends that they “don’t know” which country that you’re talking about at the mention of “America”, they really DO know that you mean the United States. They just pretend that they don’t understand which country you’re talking about as a means to intimidate and to intimidate only. The reason why I’m 100% sure that when “America” is mentioned by an American in regards to it not being mistaken with any other country is because if Americans WERE speaking of any other country, they’d NAME that country (i.e. Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Jamaica, etc).

Additionally, there are still people living in countries all over the world who call people living in the US, “Americans”. What to do about them? For example, the Japanese call us アメリカ人 (Amerikajin) and our country アメリカ！(Amerika) How are the elitist left going to recondition them?

So, please fellow Americans, don’t fall for the “We are all Americans” line. They hate us. If they were neutral, they’d never PRETEND <—(that’s the operative word here) to be so “confused”. To put it frankly, the Americanophobes are full of cow pie and full of themselves. And any American who falls for their intimidation tactics to no longer use the term “Americans” to refer to *sighs* —> “Unitedstatesians”, is nothing more than a pussy-whipped lap dog that shouldn’t even be living in America.

I am American, and I hail from America. GET OVER IT!

———————————–

UPDATE!!

You can see here, and on many other websites that many agree to the “politically correct” Americanophobic substitute for America and Americans.

We are becoming less and less American everyday. There are more and more official instances of the term USAians, Unitedstatieans, and USians being used to replace “Americans” as a result of Americans being bullied online and wanting to appease the Americanophobes and give themselves up to Political Correctness.

Some examples:

If you look at sites on the internet, more and more are using these Americanophobic politically correct (yeah, I know that’s an oxymoron) terms everyday:

USA-ians (google) USA-ians (yahoo)

Usaians (google) Usaians (yahoo)

Usians (google) Usians (yahoo)

Unitedstatesians (google) Unitedstatesians (yahoo)

United Statesian (google) United Statesian (yahoo)

So, … take your pick.

UPDATE 2!!

I have taken down the map that I had up here due to complaints about the circle not being meticulously aligned around the entirety of Canada and Mexico. Never mind that Florida was left out as well. Never mind that I had and still have all 23 countries that make up North America spelled out for the knee-jerk reactionaries in the list above. So, I have taken the map down. This entire update is in essence, a dumbing down for the dumb.

Leave it up to teenagers to be too lazy to read an entire post.

RELATED POSTS:

Alternatives to “American” don’t make sense

America – From the Eyes of a Foreigner: Edition III (Troy)

Hi,

I for one am sick and tired of off the wall Anti-Americanism. I’m also a Canadian who happened to live in America for a year. Contrary to the stereotype of brashness and rudeness I found Americans, in general, remember their manners and are, in general, good Samaritans.

I flew down to Logan Airport from the Maritimes to make a connection flight to Albany and a family from New York state not only offered me directions but offered to buy me dinner as well. Man, woman and two kids. I took up their offer and they were really sweet people. It’s one of the few acts of random kindness I ever received, not from my fellow Canuckleheads but from those “evil” Americans.

In Albany one of those “evil” co-worker Americans took an evening from his schedule and helped me move from a smaller apartment to a bigger one and expected nothing in return.

When I was back home going to university an American from the South stayed in the room across from me. Nice guy with no pretensions. And, ummm, good manners.

I find some of my fellow Canadians give me a bad name, sure there are ignorant, rude Americans, but I’ll bet on a per capita basis there are way more rude, ignorant Canadians.

I have also travelled extensively through the USA and never once felt personally insulted. Canada, uh, a lot.

You see, when Canadians aren’t bashing each others’ regions they are busy bashing their guarantor of protection…the USA.

I think a lot of Canadians would rather speak Russian or German than English because of it wasn’t for being in the backyard of the US of A, Canadians would most likely be speaking one of those languages. There would be no Canada.

I just want to say that America has done some stupid things…we ALL do stupid things. It just so happens when you are a country that is as powerful as the US, stupid things get noticed.

But what about when Americans offer Atlanta-based CDC services. When Canadians got sick from SARS, who did they call first? Ottawa?

When someone needs to be rescued from thugs, who can get aid there the fastest? Canada?!!!!! Only if they hitch a ride with…American equipment.

This is one Canadian who will always consider America a friend. I am grateful to live beside a country who values the individual and who produces a good and kind people for the most part. If the US is as evil as some Canadians say, well we’d be singing the Star-spangled banner right now.

- Written by Troy (Reproduced with his permission)

AUSTRALIA has Officially Become the Fattest Nation in the World!

America can’t always be number one.

Australia has just officially kicked some Yank ass on this one.

AUSTRALIA has become the fattest nation in the world, with more than 9 million adults now rated as obese or overweight, according to an alarming new report.

The most definitive picture of the national obesity crisis to date has found that Australians now outweigh Americans and face a future “fat bomb” that could cause 123,000 premature deaths over the next two decades.

If the crisis is not averted, obesity experts have warned, health costs could top $6 billion and an extra 700,000 people will be admitted to hospital for heart attacks, strokes and blood clots caused by excess weight.

Read the rest of America’s defeat here.

As of now, Mexico and Amerikkka are tied in the “Fat Wars”. (Psst… beware… it’s Faux News, so they’ve probably got it wrong anyway, hey?)

My feelings about Obesity can be found here.

Viva le MacDonalds!

Viva le….. Australians may need to paaaaty a little more?

What the British and the Canadians want YOU to know

After reading this, I feel even more proud to be an American. And no matter how more awful my country becomes – even if matters here result in unfortunate situations for me, I will always be proud and not want to live anywhere else. (It is said that if there’s a HUGE terrorist attack in America, that Canada will open it’s borders to allow Americans refuge. No way. I’m staying here even if it means I have to die.) I find Americans to have much better class, a much better education and are capable of more complex critical thinking and views that go beyond one dimension. And these feelings come from the link posted above.

If these clichés and bullying tactics were just coming from one, two, or even three people – or even a handful – I’d let it roll to the thinking of the individual. But this is a result of group think – a very sour and collective prejudice that Americans are moving beyond in the present. I find some other countries to be a bit back-dated when it comes to tolerance and acceptance. We are moving forward while I find other developed nations moving backward. The fact that you elitists don’t find Anti-Americanism a form of xenophobia is more than half the problem.

I would say Americans are more mean to each other than to those people that come from other countries. It’s true. We hate each other more – most likely because we don’t all think the same here. We are more critical of ourselves and each other than you are of us. And when we DO hate other ethnic groups, we don’t make as big a public spectacle over it like you do to us.

I know that I’m going to receive a lot of hate mail/comments because of this post. But ya know what? I really don’t care! If you’re pissed, it’s probably because you’re guilty of bullying yourself because usually your replies to me reflect the same old tired stereotypes and clichés that you refuse to grow out of. It’s always easier to walk to the beat of someone else’s’ drum than your own, isn’t it?

Here, where I talk about Americans, I’m not talking about the entirety of us. I’m talking about my version of the “average American” based on my experiences over the last 39 years:

—> Americans don’t make hundreds of groups, videos, and websites all over the internet depicting their hate for Britons and Canadians.

—> Americans don’t burn British and Canadian flags.

—> Americans don’t go out of their way at every chance they get to insult Britons and Canadians.

—> Americans don’t hold grudges over wars that happened 60-200+ years before we were even born like the Americanophobic Brits and Canadians do.

—> Americans ask questions and admit to their own ignorance when they’re not sure of something compared to Brits and Canadians.

—> Americans are the most critical of their OWN country (more than ANYONE ELSE! – We are our own worst enemies) and don’t hesitate to point out their OWN flaws. But I, on only very rare occasions, see a Brit or a Canadian admitting to a non-perfection about themselves or about their own country. As far as I am to know they are “perfect” or “near perfection” and have a shiny-clean past.

—> When Americans are young and in Jr. high school, high school, and in college, we spend our time studying and out having fun as children/young adults (at least that’s the way it was back in my day) instead of looking for nations to hate and obsessing over evil-run governments and people.

—> Americans make stupid mistakes confusing London with England or not being able to find something obvious on a map, thinking Canadians live in igloos…. BUT (!!), they don’t pretend to be smarter than Britain and Canada. On the other hand, Americanophobic Brits and Canadians ACTUALLY say they are smarter and better, but make the most outlandish and embarrassing mistakes in geography, history, and politics… all the time. Another HUGE cultural difference here!!

—> Americans don’t dance in the street and celebrate when we see others being attacked and blown up, even if they are the enemy.

—> I have always found myself to be very humble about my own country. Hell, more than half of this blog you are reading right now is aimed at pointing out the flaws in America! There are over 282 posts written here, and you can see for yourself my own America-bashing. This is why a lot of conservatives dislike me – because I expose where my country is WRONG.

—> When I lived in Japan and met Canadians and Britons for the first time, I had EXCELLENT relationships with them. We didn’t see each other as Brits, Canadians, or Americans – we saw each other as people living in Japan and nothing else. I liked you guys more than Americans back then. I used to think that you guys had us beat in terms of civility and intelligence. But since I have been connected to the internet, I no longer see that civility and intelligence. I see intolerance, hate, revenge, hyper-patriotism (yes, you guys are worse – especially the Canadians!), ignorance, narrow-mindedness, and simple-mindedness. (And it’s not just Facebook and Youtube. Many of your own people are complaining about the mindless and ignorant Americanophobes out and about in your own countries causing a huge decline in tourism!) But the hate, intolerance, and disregard for other people’s feelings stands out to me the most through your online and offline bullying. And NO! Hardly any of you have attacked me, personally. But you attacked my people. And when you attack Americans, you are also attacking my family, friends, all my loved ones, me indirectly, and innocents who have done NOTHING to hurt YOU.

With that said, I am sorely disappointed. My past views that we Americans had a big brother or sister to look up to or take guidance from are in the trash bin now crinkled up and ready to be taken to the dump. This is why I feel more patriotic and jaded then ever. I don’t feel proud because of this. I feel it to be my way of dealing with all the slurs against my people and myself. I’m sick of it and I DO take it personally because it IS personal. I could understand better if the insults you hurled about us were true, but they are not (for the most part) and it is these points that I have problems with. Call me out on something I did wrong, I may think about it, apologize or correct my behavior. Call me out on something I’m not guilty of, it says more about YOU than it does me and my people and you should not expect respect back in return. And it’s those things I cannot forgive. Americans MUST stick together and bond against this type of sickness in society. No matter how “evil” you think the “average American” is, I don’t find you Americanophobes to be any better of a role model in society. Think about it.

If you find Americans to be assholes or becoming prejudiced toward the likes of YOU, at least I can say with confidence that there’s a good reason for it albeit a bit juvenile and non-productive. Oh yeah — we have home-grown assholes here who don’t need a reason to hate in order to hate – of course! Nonetheless, I still feel the same.

If ANY group at all needs to be mean to Americans, it SHOULD be the French, non-violent Muslims, and African Americans over the past slavery days. And it’s justified if they’re angry. And I don’t bat an eyelash because I expect it. HOWEVER, these groups have more class and they are nowhere near as childish and petty as the Americanophobes that are super-bred and brainwashed well in Britain and Canada.

While I will still continue to point out America’s flaws in my blog and off my blog, I do feel a sense of superiority compared to the Americanophobic sub-cultures that are clinically obsessed with Americans, hate speech, and negativity.

Before you elites start running here with your laundry list of American-made-evils, let me just tell you that I ALREADY know where American is wrong. What I’m trying to say here is that YOU are no “better” than us “as a people” in regards to the link I posted. And Anti-Any-ism is not only nothing to be proud of, it gives YOU no bragging rights and certainly nothing worthy of patting your collective selves on the back over.

Why Don’t Americans have Passports? Why do non-Americans always know “more”??? (UPDATED!)

My question: Has anyone collected data as to how many Canadians, New Zealanders, Australians, Chinese, Japanese, South Americans, etc have passports that was used to visit Europe et al? Isn’t it interesting how exclusively and carefully America is watched under the microscope while other nations are ignored all together?

The title of this entry is the all time biggest obsessed over complaint that Americans receive from the “morally superior” and “refined intellectuals” that come from Canada and Europe. Just as the “you’re the fattest” and the “you’re the stupidest“, the “Americans don’t have passports” argument in an effort to “humble” and “humiliate” Americans is equally weak and easy to debunk.

If you think that we’re insular and don’t care about other countries, think again. And think one more time.

I don’t think we Americans have more or less curiosity about the world and other cultures than Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, China and other non-European countries. The continent of Europe is VERY similar to the country of the US regarding travel and borders. In Europe, kids are practically born with passports. It’s a necessity! Let’s say for example, if you live in England, you can just hop on the chunnel and be in France or many other places in a jiffy (as what’s done state-to-state in America). A LOT of countries in Europe are about less than half the size of California and border several other countries that border even more several other countries. (This also explains the multilingualism, but not necessarily the fluency.) You can probably visit a few countries in a day without getting too exhausted. Plus you have the luxury of sitting on a train instead of having to catch a plane or drive a car! What a convenience!!

I currently am living in Texas, and it takes 12 hours just to get OUT of the state! It takes forever to drive through Florida and California too. If the driving gets too much, we have to spend money for a hotel!!

But what about Australia that is a VERY large country?

Americans also don’t get anywhere near the vacation time that Europeans, Australians, New Zealanders, and Canadians have the luxury of getting.

As Aaron Hotfelder puts it,

Americans only receive (or demand) about two weeks off in vacation time per year, compared to a month or more in many European countries.

Many Americans don’t have the money to spend thousands of dollars to travel across the pond despite the rumors that we are all “rich”. Sometimes, we really, really want to but just cannot handle the finances involved. It’s not just the plane ticket, but the lodging, the transportation, souvenirs, entertainment, meals and etc. And who wants to rush while they’re on vacation? If I were planning a trip to Europe, I would want to spend at the very least, 10 days there.

Americans DO travel to Mexico and Canada. We used to not be required to hold a passport to travel there and to the Caribbean as well! Mexico is VERY famous for their beaches, for American honeymoons, and some Americans take a cruise (who have money) to Cancun. Canada and Mexico are our only borders.  We DO travel to those places (including the Caribbean), but that’s the only variety we have unlike Europe (i.e. Germany shares borders with 9 countries.) And again, it’s about how much money and time we have to spare.

Furthermore, if you travel anywhere other than Mexico, the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa, you’re SOL if you expect to be treated like a person. The Americanophobes are somewhat notorious for ripping Americans apart in the street whether it be violently or verbally - you will get at least a few lashings (psst… yes, even if you voted for Kerry). If you just get one lashing, consider yourself lucky. Why do you think it’s so popular for Canadians AND AMERICANS (!) to wear the maple leaf on their backpacks when they travel to Europe? With that said, I find it quite ironic that Americans are bashed for not having passports. My question is… if YOU don’t like us, why would we like YOU enough to travel to your country? Some people have better experiences than others, though. Some even have 100% positive experiences. Lisa’s experience (an American from LLWorldTour) traveling throughout Europe wasn’t as bad as some others I’ve heard, and she shares her story here. She also debunks some common myths that the Europeans hold dearly about Americans.

Western nations are indoctrinated from birth to grow up hating Americans due to the grudges held over past wars (perhaps some to a lesser degree) – in the same way some people in the US are taught to hate black people, the Muslims and the French. (Some fall for the propaganda; some don’t.) Americanophobia has very little to do with Bush, Gitmo, Global Warming, Neo-Capitalism, Abu Ghraib, or the Iraqi War.

Aaron Hotfelder explains more about why Americans don’t travel as much. Please visit his site.

Last but not least, what’s wrong with Americans traveling WITHIN their own country? First you criticize us for not knowing enough about our own country, then you mock us because we travel within. I have done many cross-country travels in the US, and have lived in 3 different states. There is an extraordinary amount to be seen, a lot to be done, and a lot to be learned - something that an old textbook in grade school cannot begin to teach you. I guess some foreigners perceive the locals traveling within the US (that nobody has time to see in a lifetime) as yet another act of “patriotic arrogance”?

WHY DO YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT US THAN WE KNOW ABOUT YOU?

The British have taken this article and are having a field day with it in this group on Facebook.

The US is a superpower and we are involved with many countries in both good ways and bad ways. Our government’s decisions effect the people living in countries all across the globe. So, naturally your media will be monitoring our every move, breath, cellulite crease and heart-beat under the microscope. You simply cannot escape us. You turn on your TV, you’ll find an American TV show or the news talking about us. We are decorated all over your newspapers. For those countries that are particularity disgusted with our current administration, all the more you’ll hear about us on the news and in the print media. It’s only natural for the media to cover our dirt. Not only that, but it’s also part of your media’s job to sensationalize whatever wrongs we commit on the world stage and conveniently leave out the good stuff. You don’t know anything good about us simply because your media doesn’t cover it. If you don’t already know now that bad new sells (cha-ching!), you’ve been living under a rock all of your life. And here is something else to consider:

Sure, the US has very little international news when compared to China, but that’s mostly because it’s illegal to report on negative domestic news in China. The news in other major Asian countries is just as inward-focused as that of the US.

The above quote was in response to this article written by a Chinese Americanophobe. From having lived in Japan for 6.5 years, I can testify that this is correct.

As one of my Canadian commenters has pointed out,

I just want to say that America has done some stupid things…we ALL do stupid things. It just so happens when you are a country that is as powerful as the US, stupid things get noticed.

Additionally, American Globalization has a lot to do with your knowing more about us than our knowledge of you albeit it all being about stereotypes, mind you.

It is actually true that local channels (not cable) don’t cover as much world news as does Europe. But for the love of all that’s holy, there’s a reason why.

“USA citizens are not given world news in the same way as most the other developed nations, and may well be genuinely unaware that much of the world is as poor as it is. European news is highly world-centric, whereas due to its size most USA news does not have enough time to cover news in all neighbouring states, let alone news from around the world. ” –Vexen Crabtree

And finally, all of your “research” on “other countries” is …:::limited:::… to the United States (out of 194 independent countries in the world). Why? Because you’re obsessed with America and are looking for any reason and any flaw to put us down. It would be one thing if you had your facts consistently accurate about us, but even THAT is not the case! For the record, there are 193 other countries out there to explore – including your own. To avoid sounding hypocritical, you ought to study them too.

WHAT ABOUT OUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT YOU?

Only unless you make a move that will effect everyday American life, will we pay attention.

People, please be realistic. Everyone (and I mean everyone – no matter what country you’re living in) only listens to and learns about what matters to them and what effects their immediate lives. I don’t care how “intellectual” that you think you are or you want me to believe you are, this is the reality. Human beings, by their very nature, are a selfish species. Like it or not, nature dictates that our interests come first.

Ever heard of the Arkansas Mafia? It’s not very likely a Canadian or a Brit has heard of this. Urban legend or not, it’s just more proof that you only learn what your media and parents feed you.

Is “learning” about another country from the news media really learning about another country? Actually all media systems are responsible for four things:

• reporting the facts
• sensationalizing and exaggerating them to keep you focused, hot, and bothered
• twisting the facts subtly to meet a particular agenda
• and leaving certain facts (good stuff!) out that could possibly give you a balanced perspective.

Besides your obsession with tabloids, is this how you Americanophobes learn about the lives of all 300 million Americans?

It’s unfortunate to bring this news to you, but it is not just Fox news et al that are guilty of brainwashing and having political spins. Your media outlets are guilty of the same. Reporters across the world are only doing their jobs, and it is those 4 key points that I bring up – that is part of what they HAVE to do!

Once our presence in the world is usurped by another nation (and I can’t wait for this to happen so that everyone will STFU!), EVERYONE’S focus will be shifted. If history teaches us anything (keeping the British Empire and Imperialization in mind), it teaches us that the most powerful nation on the world stage is the most talked about, the most “learned” (<—notice the quotes) about, and the most hated. History has also taught us that everyone wants to be the most influential and powerful and that once that power is gained, it will be abused. This is life. Just open up a history book.

The media is a good starting place to learn about other nations, however, if you truly want a balanced and well-informed perspective on an issue, you need to do your research using a myriad of sources and literature. Ever hear the expression, “there are two sides to every story”? What ever happened to asking questions, critical thinking, objectivity, and open-mindedness? Yeah. This is why I’m outraged when pseudo-intellectuals have the colossal nerve to call Americans “ignorant“.

If what you people knew about us wasn’t distorted information, than I’d say, good on you! But that isn’t the case. Every time I speak with an Americanophobic Canadian or Euronationalist, I am met with the same clichés and ignorance. However, this Canadian who has lived in the US for 5 years seems to have a clue:

I’m a Canadian who has lived in the USA for the past 5 years, and I’ve also travelled throughout Asia during this time. In my experience, most people in most countries are most concerned with what is happening closest to them, and almost always think for some absurd reason their own news deserves to be heard around the world. The fact of media anywhere (including state run media like in China and Canada) is that it is an industry built to sustain those who it directly feeds. In the case of the USA, the fact is that Americans don’t look outside their own borders for media content because they simply don’t need to; there is ample sensational material at hand. In contrast, the fact is that, for example, in Canada, very little of the sensational nature actually happens, which makes for pretty boring television. Hence, CNN is popular with Canadians, but Canadians get pissed off because it lacks much Canadian content. Whatever.

And finally, there’s one more point that I want to make. The last time I checked, traveling is supposed to make one more open-minded and tolerant. Am I right? However, all these cultural elitist snobs that hail from other countries love touting their 955100258787 page passport while (ironically) having a fierce xenophobic attitude toward those simply being guilty of having been born in the United States. Not everyone who travels acts like snobs – only some do. But the difference between those people who travel and snobs that travel is one thing: curiosity.

There are just too many people out there that flex their passport muscles. But its pointless. These people haven’t learned from traveling. They are still small minded, petty, and ignorant. Traveling doesn’t make you a better person. Curiosity does.

As Annie Rhiannon states in her blog as an English citizen,

90% of Americans don’t even have passports

Why is it always the British who use this (greatly exaggerated) statistic smugly, as if it somehow proves us to be so much less ignorant than them? Um, it doesn’t. We need passports just to get over to France for 40 quid on the Eurostar — otherwise we’d end up camping in our own gardens twice a year.

All you Americanophobes have proven to me so far is one thing: you’re no different from us regarding ignorance, cultural awareness, and tolerance outside one’s borders.

————————————

UPDATE!

AMERICANS TALK BACK!

After reading the comments on this blog entry written by a Brit, there appears to be more insight as to why Americans are so… “insular” and “Amerocentric”.

Hear from the Americans here for the short-cut version.

Edited to add: TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT TO THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS CULTURAL ELITISTS WHO KEEP COMMENTING HERE, … YES, I HAVE LIVED IN ANOTHER COUNTRY AND HAVE TRAVELED TO SEVERAL PLACES AROUND THE WORLD. IF YOU’D READ MY BLACK BOX DOWN BELOW, YOU’D KNOW THAT. BEFORE YOU MAKE INANE ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT SOMEONE YOU DON’T KNOW….. R-E-A-D! If not, your own comments won’t be read in full and will automatically be deleted! I have no patience for people that comment on posts that they haven’t read, and no patience for those who haven’t read my disclaimer!

UPDATE II (courtesy of Phil Gyford)

Here is a source for the above figures, the Canada Tourism Commission research report ‘The Potential Impact of a Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative Passport Requirement on Canada’s Tourism Industry’ (500K PDF). They conducted “household surveys” in Canada and the US with the results summarised in a table titled ‘Passport possession in the United States and Canada’ on page 4:

2005 Survey Results	United States	Canada
General population (18 years and over)	34%	41%
Same-day travellers (transborder)	44%	60%
Overnight auto travellers (transborder)	50%	70%
Overnight air travellers (transborder)	67%	75%

The percentages of passport holders among those who travel between the two countries might help to make better comparisons with Europeans travelling between countries. (21 Nov 2005)

American Patriotism and Liberalism *UPDATED*

I have decided today that your average moderate liberal American is the same as your average conservative living in Canada or Europe.

I have found that other countries who (the Americanophobes) call themselves, “liberals” are really not, “liberals”. They are really leftist elitists (aka moonbats) who pretend to “care” about “the world”, “the people”, “the poor”, “the starving”, “the dying”, “the dead and wounded from wars” and “the earth”.

That is the irony. Leftist elitists put up a “because I care” veneer”, but underneath, they are only concerned about themselves.

This is why I like to make conservatives friends. Even though conservatives don’t really match where I stand on the political platter, I relate to them SO MUCH BETTER than those who “call” themselves “liberal”.

I find the term, “liberal” to be misused and abused – just like the term, “racism“.

This is how I see a “liberal”:

Note: Tolerance of the ideas and behavior of others? Pfft… this is why I cannot call myself a true full-throttle liberal because I am *not* tolerant of the leftists or any who subscribe to extremist or elitist views on both the right or the left. So, count me out. Broad-mined… yeah that’s me. A leftist is the same (to me) as a leftist elitist (see my glossary). “Liberal” is a loose term, though because there are conservatives who favor reform, open to new ideas, are tolerant and broad-minded. Those on my blogroll that are conservative fit the mold for being open and accepting. However, I think that the fundamental definition of conservatism lies more on tradition than anything else.

American Patriotism (or insularism?) is often misunderstood as well by the Americanophobes – as if defending one’s country is “unique” to Americans??? Just insult or mislabel the country and/or the people of any non-American, and see what happens. Watch how defensive they get. Sit back and watch the sparks fly!

American Patriotism is often confused with the type of patriotism that existed in Germany back when Hitler was running the show. This is why Americanophobic Europeans get offended by the term and “actions” behind “patriotism” – especially when they see how many Americans were led to believe that the Iraq war was justified back in 2003. This reminds Americanophobic Europeans of the German citizens hailing to Hitler’s command to exterminate the Jews. Americanophobic Europeans are seeing another Holocaust through the Bush administration in the sense that…

• Bush = Hitler
• The Iraq War = the extermination of all Arabs
• The American people = the Nazi’s blindly following their leader, cheering on and participating in the deaths of all Arabs

No! I don’t believe the above example even though I’m against the Iraq War. The above is a disgusting hyperbole at best and insulting at worst. But this is how Europeans see American Patriotism!! My German friend wrote about this very topic in his blog which you can read here.

This was my response to his post:

Yes, all things need to be in moderation. Hyper-patriotism, in my opinion, is an angry response – rather than one of *true* pride. Americans (including myself here) become more patriotic when we feel (well a lot of us) threatened in any way whether it be verbally or physically. Americanophobia just makes people feel more patriotic and then we start to sympathize with the conservatives. Americanophobia is destructive like that. Rather than helping Americans, it gives us more reason to… wave our flags lol. And feel more bonded to one another.

Neo-conservatism began as a backlash to the loud and noisy leftist response to the Vietnam War back in the 60’s. I don’t actually feel this is a rational response, but it does happen.

I think you already know my definition of patriotism, right?

In any event, I found your writing about European patriotism to be very interesting and informative!

Maybe each continent/nation/culture defines patriotism differently because I even see Canadians threatened by American patriotism as well. It’s very confusing yet curious for me at the same time. My gut feeling, however, is that Canadians just parrot whatever the British say. In my experience, I find Americanophobic Canadians to be just as patriotic or more (in a nationalistic way) than Americans.

The only way you can really understand American patriotism is by living here. Erik Svane posted a non-conventional argument in defence of the irrational fear of the American flag in this article, “Some Thoughts on American Patriotism”.

One common stereotype thrown at us is “excessive pride” to which one of my American friends responded to:

Excessive pride? Most of us love our country (the same way you do yours), but I don’t think its excessive. Most accept the flaws of our society and our government. Ever heard of Saturday Night Live, the Tonight Show, Conan, Comedy Central? we make fun of ourselves ALL THE TIME? Too little modesty? Please? Obesity and fat people, excessive use of energy, and the President himself get made fun of every day on some of the most highly rated shows on TV. Especially the president. According to most polls, about 4 out of 5 Americans dislike their president. yep.

Excessively religious, some of us, but in America’s youthful population, agnosticism and atheism are pretty widespread (and have been for 40 years), a trend that includes myself.

Our history may be short, but it’s full. And so what’s the problem with celebrating your nations history anyways? everybody does that.

And nobody carries a gun around. 1 out a 1000. and that’s in the south. in the rest of the US its more like 1 in 10000.

Sheltered! Relaxed! Gently and Calm! did you take American history? what about the frikin’ American Civil War! 600,000 dead in 4 years. battlefield sites spread throughout Virginia and Tennessee. 450,400 Britons died in World War II. (By the way, America had 418,500 deaths in WWII).

A lot of Americans don’t think we’re helping. there is no allusion at all. A LOT of people. how ’bout the entire Democratic Party (the most popular) and a lot of others too.

Don’t blame Microsoft and American automobiles for selling there video games and their cars. They’re just making a living. I don’t blame all those British manufacturers for falling short a making quality vehicles and going under (Jaguar, Rolls, Bentley, Lotus, do I have to go on?), its hard to make cars, and I understand those British companies and I understand GM, Ford, and Chrysler. Don’t forget, we can actually draw mirrors between the British and American auto industries. – Samuel Smith

…discussed in this topic, “My personal qualms with America” in the Facebook Group, “The British are Infinitely Superior to the Americans“.

This makes me wonder… do comedians and TV shows in other countries make fun of their own people, their own government, and their own leader like Americans do?

History tells us why American Patriotism exists as it does (reference: the Revolutionary War). But history also tell us why Europe hates American Patriotism (reference: the Holocaust/Nazi Germany). It’s about history. It’s about war. The PAST makes us WHO we are and WHO we hate.

This is why I believe learning History, as much as you can, is critical when it comes to appreciating where everyone came from and the cultural differences that come about through our unique histories and birth. After all, ignorance is one of the classic reasons for xenophobic attitudes, is it not? This is not to say I know as much history as I should (!!), but we all should at least be willing to learn little by little. And in my opinion, history is not something that can be taught solely by a grade-school text-book. Most of them are liars, anyway!

A common trend: Many Americanophobic leftists take much time out of their lives to critique America and Americans. However, they spend very little time (or no time at all) learning about America and Americans. In fact, they spend just as much time learning about the US as Americans do about other countries. It’s this type of hypocrisy that I like to talk about in my blog.

Back to the topic, I haven’t decided a fancy enough term to match my political standing. I sometimes alternate between calling myself a liberal, a moderate liberal, or a moderate. The last time I took the political compass test, my results basically required me to wear a tin-foil hat for the rest of my life.

I guess I just need more moonbats to piss me off, and then I’ll have my OWN M-16 and join the GOP!

Where is the Line Drawn between Discipline and Child Abuse?

For those that have known me as a blogger since 2005, also know that this is one of the few topics that I discuss here. And I have … a lot if you look through my archives under crime, bullying, etc.

I feel that this is a passionate topic for most of us, and it usually winds up being the liberals vs conservatives and/or the atheists vs the believers – where I don’t see a relationship, but that’s where it goes. And then it comes down to a lot of name-calling, swear words, that serve no purpose in the debate but to humiliate one for their views.

So, I approach the most daring topic! This one, at least for me, is what I consider a “touchy topic” more so than the abortion debate, the prayer in schools debate, the illegal immigration debate, and the list goes on.

Some reading this will know that I’ve been peering into other blogs, and found this being discussed! You’re right. I have an opinion on this too. I hope that this can be intelligently discussed. I will do my part as well to respect the opinions of others. Keep in mind, that there’s a big difference between a liberal and a leftist elitist. I’m not the later… at all. So, don’t shake my crib too hard, ya hear?

These are just opinions, anyway – and there’s no harm intended.

The reason why this debate is so hot-headed (my self-included) is because no line is drawn as to what “discipline” is as opposed to what “abuse” is. We’ve drawn these lines between marital partners and between friends, right? But not when it comes to children.

This is a debate that, unlike popular belief, has A LOT of gray areas. There’s no black and white… as least the way I see it.

Let me first just start out with the many questions I want people to ask themselves. You don’t have to answer them here.

- What is discipline? EVERYONE who spanks, beats or whatever… calls it “discipline”. This is true!

- How do we spank? How hard is too hard? Should the panties be up or down? What part of the body do we recommend? What instrument do we use? Is it only abuse when our instruments leave a mark? Do marks indicate more pain? Which is child abuse – which is discipline?

- What calls for it? What did the child do to deserve the spanking? Did he spill a glass of milk? Did she interrupt mommy while she was talking to daddy? Did he pee on the kitchen table or scream in the store to get his way?

- Why are the noisy brats that run around aimlessly in restaurants and inside planes automatically associated with the ” modern liberal no spank society” when we cannot see what actually happens in the home? How do we know that these parents aren’t just putting up a “project no spank” facade only because they’re in public? Heck, my mom showed one face in public and another one in the home.

- Are parents telling their children WHY they’re getting physically punished? Or are these parents assuming that the child is fully understanding what is going on?

- Does spanking provide TRUE strength for men or does it just turn them into guys like these?

- What is “being spoiled”? How do we determine what spoils a child? The term “being spoiled” can mean two totally different things:

1. The child is spoiled because everything they ask for, they get. “Mommy mommy, please buy me…” “Well, sure honey….”
2. The child is spoiled because from “too much” love and affection? Sure this can go to an extreme. But we all must come to some agreement here that a child needs comforting words and touch, encouragement, support, and feel safe and secure in their own home (you know the basic emotional stuff). No?

- Are a child’s feelings any less important because they’re a child, don’t pay bills, don’t know “true misery and heart break”, don’t have to work yada yada yada? I will tell you from my own personal experience that being an adult rocks! The best years of my life were my adult years. So, if any toddlers are listening, don’t pay attention to the hype. Being an adult ain’t so bad.

- Is child research and child-psychology a myth or a liberal “agenda”?

- The Freedom of Speech debate is often thrown into this topic by the “spankers”. Why? Conservatives claim that by the government ruling a “no spank” regime, they are taking away freedom of speech in the home and therefore “fascists”. But what about those people in Alabama that want to masturbate with dildos? What about companies dictating no smoking in the home because it makes insurance too expensive? Why can’t I smoke a joint in my own home when studies show that alcohol has a worse effect on my brain and temperament? There are liberals who feel, just as well, that the government is invading their freedom of speech too. It works both ways.

- Are you going according to your natural instinct to spank or are you literally going against your will to spank your child for their benefit?

- As a parent, do you ever admit to any wrongs? Do you feel there is room for improvement? Are you open to different styles of parenting? How do you feel when something new is placed on the table – new research development? Or do you just feel that all things coming out of a liberal’s mouth is incorrect by default? Have you ever taken the time to thoroughly research this topic looking at both sides fairly? Do you agree with medical advancements? If so, why do you disagree with any advancements in parenting or child psychology? What’s the difference between a medical advancement and a psychological one? At the end of the day, aren’t they both one in the same? Don’t they both affect each other?

- Do you feel that when a child or adult smiles that they are genuinely happy?

- Why can’t we hit adults or other’s children we don’t know outside school? Some will argue that we must spank kids at certain ages because at that time, they’re growing and need to learn right from wrong. My husband thinks that I misbehave sometimes, but if he strikes me, he can get into trouble for that, no? – especially if he hits me in public! If your child starts to annoy me at the dinner table talking way too loudly, and my hand just happens to be quicker than yours, can I whack him across the face? Can I do the same to your husband, brother, sister, mother, father etc if I feel they’re misbehaving? Is misconduct only specific to children? Is the necessity to learn proper conduct only specific to children? Should employers spank their employees? What about prison inmates?

- Do you ever stop to analyze why a a child is acting a certain way or even ask them to explain? Do you always feel that a child manipulates EVERY SITUATION to get their way?

- Do you believe that such things as “denial” and “repression” exist or is this more made up bologna from the liberals?

- What distinguishes one who can come out of a spanking home successful vs one who is non-successful in life?

What is “successful”, anyway? Having more money, two dogs, a good job, a Yale graduate, two cars, and mauve window blinds or being happy just getting by from day to day?

The successful ones were spanked and the non-successful ones were abused?

(Keep in mind again, EVERYONE calls what they do to their kids, “discipline”. EVERYONE! We NEVER get a chance to see for ourselves what ACTUALLY happens (!!) behind closed doors!)

- How do you feel after you spank the subject? Relieved, shaky, guilty, refreshed, like a good mommy/daddy?

- Why do both sets of parents on both sides say what they do works? Who’s lying? Who has a reason to lie? Is there such a thing as “trauma-bonding/Stockholm Syndrome” or do kids honestly say how they feel no matter how humiliating, scary and painful? Are adults always honest about their past?

- Should a child learn out of fear? If he learns something out of fear, is he/she really learning? Do you believe in such a thing to be able to learn a right from a wrong without fear? Is it even possible?

- Why do we sometimes sit in confusion when there’s a major shooting in a school, a mass murder, or serial killings? Is Criminology just more “liberal rhetoric” devised to take freedom from conservatives?

- Why do the conservatives blame crime and suicide on “not enough spankings”?

- Why do the liberals blame crime and suicide on “too many spankings”?

- Why do we think that crime and suicide is a “modern-day-trend” when it truly dates back to ancient times!!??

- Why is this such an emotional topic for most people? No. Really.

- Just because your parents did it, does that make it right? If it feels good, does it mean it’s right?

- Are parents … just because they’re parents exempt from any criticism because … they are parents? Should we just be thankful that they fed us, gave us a roof over our heads, clothed us, and anything else goes!?

- How do you judge your success in life – by your own parent’s doing or by your being able to think independently from them or a little bit of both?

- When someone says that they’ve never been spanked, do you believe them?

(Of course, we still have to determine “what is spanking”, and also consider “denial” + “repression” (understanding how dynamic this is in regards to survival) and be open to the fact that unless we’ve seen it for ourselves, we don’t know what happened in anybody’s home….ever!)

Is this person below just being a baby?

Let me tell you that I remember vividly getting spanked. My dad was ‘old fashioned’ and threw us across his lap, pulled down our pants and underwear. As a child I was petrified. Some would say well behaved b/c I didn’t even speak around my dad. I found it beyond humiliating and felt helpless. Even then I knew it was way overboard for teaching me not to do something. As an adult it makes me sick. It is very violating, particularly for a girl. And..no surprise..I like sex on the violent side. Psychologists could have a field day. Now when I see a child get spanked or hear a child get ‘warned’ it makes my stomach turn. Perhaps that is the key- a quick swat on the butt is one thing, but being held down, being violated by having your pants/underwear forced to be removed just to get the pain factor up a bit is sick and very detrimental. I am one adult that lives with those bad memories daily.

I actually wrote about this topic a few years back: the connection between being violated and wanted to relive this as an adult.

- Do people just talk about wanting a free country only when it suits them?

- Is it a coincidence that the crime rate is higher where corporal punishment exists?

OK. I’m done with the questions!

Some random thoughts I have on this topic:

In my opinion, time outs are unsuccessful when they are, because THE KID IS IN THEIR ROOM WITH TOYS, VIDEO GAMES ETC!!

There’s research all over the internet with actual PARENTS using non-violent means to raise their children with success. So, they say. I didn’t watch it happen, so….. I don’t claim to be a professional on this topic, either.

People say verbal abuse is WORSE than physical abuse. Really? I say that physical abuse IS verbal abuse – it’s action speaking LOUDER than words! Again, we have to define “what is abuse” because that’s going to be the core of this whole argument.

I don’t think liberals like being told how to raise their kids, either!! But we all have our opinions, right? It’s not like either one of our camps are enforcing our beliefs down the throats of others although secretly we’d like to. We both feel right. No doubt about that. We both have our fair share of “how dare you’s” to be tossed about. This topic is emotional for a very good reason. It hits us all V-E-R-Y close to home.

Some related links:

• This really blows my mind
• Stop hitting.com (links galore on this topic)
• No evidence of long-term benefit from spanking
• More on true child abuse vs discipline

As a child abuse survivor myself, this is with no intention to belittle those who too have been abused. And no! I don’t consider a pat on the hiney “abuse”!! But I will argue that there are “degrees” or “levels” of abuse. We could all sit here and discuss our child life and past abuses, but that won’t solve anything at all. Why? Because then it will be a debate about who had it the worst, and when the conversation goes in THAT direction, it’s already ended. It’s stupid. Pain cannot be measured or compared. Let me give an example that’s already been over-done and tired: *yawns*

Person A says: “My mom used to light a match to each of my fingers for coming home from school late, so as an adult, I’m bla bla bla……..”

Person B replies: “That’s belittling true child abuse because when I was little, my mom set fire to both my legs, so as an adult, I’m bla bla bla…..”

We can agree that both of these experiences are horrific to some degree or another – even though it has nothing to do with spanking. All I’m saying is that we will ALWAYS, in our lives, find people who’ve had it worse and better! Child abuse is not a black and white topic as it’s very broad and covers many ranges – just as the word, “crime” has its degrees from petty theft to rape and murder.

Before anybody accuses me of trying to get a “no spank project” legislated in the United States, I tell you now, that I have not voted on this issue, I have not demonstrated, I have not picketed, I have not written to congress, or tried to take these “freedoms” away from you.

I don’t believe this issue has to do with freedom of speech, anyway.

I would be curious what you all think of this.

From “The Men They Will Become”
Eli H. Newberger, M.D.

Chapter 6 – Discipline and Punishment

Men can lead perfectly honorable lives based on observing norms of behavior they have learned from others and that are promoted by, others – by their families or communities, or by their professions or the religions or philosophies they adhere to. But there is always a question of how men will behave in a situation beyond the direct influence of those institutions. Some individuals revert to behavior that is unworthy of their usual standards when they believe they can get away with it. Others, however, have deeper resources that enable them to remain consistent with their publicly scrutinized behavior. They have internalized values; their self-disciplined behavior doesn’t depend on anyone’s reminding them what the rules are.

Perhaps there is no more confused subject in childcare than the issues that swirl around discipline and punishment. In relation to character development, the word “discipline” has acquired several different meanings. As used most broadly, it connotes training, which corrects, molds, strengthens, or perfects – in other words, character formation itself, particularly as it is guided from without by a parent or mentor. (“Discipline” and “disciple” have the same root.) The word is also a synonym for punishment or chastisement – he was disciplined by being denied permission to play outside. Still another usage points to the control gained by enforcing obedience, the control implied, for example, in the phrase, “military discipline.” Finally, the term can refer to rules or systems of rules that are meant to affect conduct. Except when used with the prefix “self,” all of these meanings point to something that is imposed on a boy from outside and that relies heavily on rules of conduct.

You can read the rest here.

Is spanking a biblical duty? Read here.

And Most importantly….

Spanking a child in the US is not violating ANY law by any means… AT ALL. So, why is the spanking crowd so worried about being called by Child Protective Services? Can’t you just defend yourselves by saying that you use spanking as a means to discipline? Wouldn’t that be the end of it? What about out in public? So what if someone sees you spanking your child? Why would you care? Let the “loony lib” call the police. How far can they really go considering that you “have done nothing wrong”?

To conclude, so long as people stay in the dark (whatever that means for you) regarding child rearing, the violence in the US will never stop. Is this to imply that everyone subjected to physical “tough love” growing up are going to be violent as adults? Nope. It IS to say, however, that …. isn’t funny how every violent crime committed or suicide involves a person from a violent background? And we know this didn’t come from taps on the hiney-bump because the child must feel the pain in order to learn, right?

In my opinion, I believe you just have to look at where in MODERN society there is less crime and less obesity and measure that with their corporal punishment laws, and you’ll get the answer.

My Site has been Hijacked ***UPDATE***

I found out today that someone has hijacked about 1/4 of my site (or more – but that’s all I have the energy to see right now). He’s not only not given me credit for my work, but has copied the entirety of my posts – one after the next (not excerpts or just links) and has also made it appear that I am responsible for posts that I had not even posted.

You can read more information about this here.

UPDATE: I read over here, that it is not a good idea to link to the blog scraping site as they can get more revenue from it! If you want any more detailed info about my stolen posts, just send me an email.

UPDATE 2: Victory!! The offending site was finally taken down after all my complaints to Google Adsense!

Thank you, Google!!!!

The French Are Our Friends

Despite criticisms going back and forth toward each other on occasion, on D-Day (which is today – I know … the day’s almost over), let’s reflect on the positive and see that they ARE our ally. They do appreciate us when appreciation is due. Give the French a chance please and let us open our minds a bit – even if it’s just a tiny bit (it’s better than nothing).

SuperFrenchie, a Frenchman of course, has a blog. The running theme in his blog is similar to that of mine in that he’s fighting against French-bashing / French stereotypes (he’s a lot nicer than me!!) so prevalent in the US media and in the US itself. SuperFrenchie is also dispelling common myths that many people are indoctrinated to believe. He sometimes criticizes the US as well in the form of “bashing back“. But naturally our government and its people deserve criticism as we aren’t immune or exempt from committing wrongs in the world, and he’s pretty fair and balanced about it too. After all, he’s been living in the states since the 1984 and has two kids going to school here! He has a big clue about American life!

SuperFrenchi sticks up for Americans where credit is due. I happen to find his blog very well-written, thoughtful, and also humorous at the same time. He, like Jean, is *not* Anti-American and just wants Americans to realize that we are friends, and also wants us to realize that the bashing of an entire people hurts them just as much as it hurts us. I stand up for their right to debunk myths and defend themselves and their country.

I was indoctrinated to fear going to France for expected arrogance, when it doesn’t seem that it is the case. It’s okay to be brainwashed. It’s a human thing. We are all guilty of this. But there’s a big difference between people that can listen to contrary arguments with an open mind and those that don’t. Of course, the argument has to be a compelling one, for me, at least. And the French have me convinced. You’d be surprised how much they really do appreciate our war efforts from reading this and this. I’d say it’s quite a refreshing change from hearing this on Memorial Day and this on D-Day.

Some notable facts that we have to remember about the French:

• During the Revolutionary War, France aided the United States immensely. Had it not been for their aid, we, most certainly, may have lost against the British!! (Hence SuperFrenchie’s quote, “If it were not for the French, Americans would be speaking English today!”)
• They gave us the Statue of Liberty that we Americans very often use to show our patriotism, right?
  
• In WWI, they fought VERY valiantly against the Germans, so it is very ironic that they are now known as “cowards”.
• In WWII, the fact that they surrendered to Germany is not an indicator of their courage or lack of. Hitler’s army vastly out-manned the French, and the German weapons were over-powering. It would have been an act of supreme idiocy to have fought against the Germans under these circumstances! To have done so, would have meant the needless deaths of thousands of Frenchmen. Even the US and Britain had to wait until 1944 before they could start their official assault against Germany on the same landmass.

In any event, let’s take today to recognize the French. Of course, every nation needs to be recognized in their own special way, but I feel that the French get the very least amount of credit, and it’s time we open our eyes!!

Give SuperFrenchie a visit!

Oh, and one more thing…

I think that there have been some misunderstandings? This is not an Anti-American post – nor is it an Anti-soldier post. Quite the opposite!! If you would have clicked the links inside, you’d know. It’s VERY hard to *NOT* be touched when reading this (from a French Association called “The Flowers of Memory”)

Peace is precious and it has a price, it is an effort, always it is of blood, and too often its price is paid by men’s lives. The peace we know in Normandy and France was paid for by the sacrifice of the young lives of Allied soldiers.

In the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer there are 10,944 brave Americans remembered; in the American Cemetery in Saint James the markers of 4,908 Americans remind us of the supreme sacrifice paid for France’s liberation from the yoke of the Nazis. Today we know the liberty and happiness of freedom. We can never forget those that are buried in our country. Two generations have passed that to do not know the horrors of war.

And this from SuperFrenchie:

Les Fleurs de la Memoire (the Flowers of Memory) is a French Association created to honor the memory of the soldiers, sailors and airmen buried in the American cemeteries of Normandy by placing flowers on their tombs.

Members of the Association commit in writing to lay flowers on the designated grave of a soldier, once a year, preferably on American Memorial Day. And to make sure the obligation is perpetuated, the family that takes responsibility for placing flowers on the grave is asked to pass it on to its children. If and when it becomes impossible, they are to notify the Association and try to find a suitable replacement.

As of last month, 8,648 graves were honored in that way.

On this D-Day anniversary, I couldn’t find a better way to say thanks.

H/T: SuperFrenchie

If you are American and are not touched by this, you will never be touched!

Fortunately for Anti-Americans, Love is not “Breaking News”

I am French and moved from Paris to Pittsburgh (you can find my blog here), Pennsylvania, two years ago. The relationship between our governments being quite tense at that time, I did not know whether I should expect a cold welcome or a strong rejection, but I certainly did not expect being invited – two years later – to write a guest post on a blog about anti-Americanism! Thank you Virgomonkey for giving me this opportunity!

It is a strong belief in America that France is a bastion of anti-Americanism. Especially since France did not support the invasion of Iraq, the country became chroniclers’ favourite archetype of the “anti-American attitude” worldwide, according to the wrong but easy-to-understand statement that “who’s not with us is against us”. As a natural reaction, French-bashing gained ground in the US, and here we are, trying to stop that vicious cycle!

I’m convinced that both French-bashing and Anti-Americanism have no other ground than misunderstanding and misinterpretation. Living in the US, I’m amazed by all the clichés Americans have about the French, and vice versa, I must admit that I believed in a lot of stereotypes about Americans that (almost!) all have revealed to be untrue. But more surprising to me is why so many Americans are regarding France as anti-American. I’m not saying that France would be America’s greatest supporter, but it is certainly not the anti-American caricature that some media like to show here.

Images of violence, fear and hatred are much more “breaking news” than images of love and smiles. This very blog features a YouTube video showing French activists smashing down a Mc Donald restaurant as an evidence of anti-Americanism in France (watch at 3′51). I was in France when it happened. What the video does not show, is that the activists were actually protesting against the legal distribution of transgenic food, that has been pushed by the American food industry and that they think may be damageable for both the environment and human health, but they did NOT protest against America as a country! The same video features an interview of a French journalist saying that no French politician would ever win a presidential race by presenting pro-american views to the people (watch at 7′44). Well, I’m sorry for anti-americans to tell that the French just overwhelmingly elected Nicolas Sarkozy as president, who is and has always been a publicly known supporter of America and the American values. On the other hand, what you won’t find on YouTube or anywhere else are the pictures of French veterans and families respectfully flouring American graves in Normandy. This is not “breaking news”… and is usually not even taped.

My point is not to claim that everything your hear about French anti-Americanism is wrong. But to prevent you from buying into every single sign of supposedly anti-Americanism. France is a “maternal country” and a common French reflex is to stand with the weak and the poor against the powerful and the wealthy (remember we beheaded our king!) Because they are powerful, French love to make fun of Americans and opposing the American “hyper-power” has become mainstream. But, as Virgomonkey wrote on my blog, criticizing the Bush Administration is not hating America. Back in September 2001, the French most respected newspaper “Le Monde” reported the French feeling after 9/11 by titling: “We Are All Americans”. America had been deadly hurt, and it was a French role – as a “mother” – to stand with the injured. Once Bush pulled out the guns, it turned into another story…

I’m not legitimate to represent the French as a whole and, since I have not been forced to move here, you can easily guess that I’m not representing anti-Americans either! But I sincerely think that bashing the French for being anti-Americans just does not make sense. One last clue: unlike the supposedly more “American friendly” United Kingdom and Germany, France NEVER went to war with the United States and inspired its constitution. “We are family, and like in many families, we sometimes have a fight!” President Sarkozy said in a recent speech to the American congress. Love and fight: that’s what families are about!

Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to blog here. I hope that my English was not too painful to read!

“Racism”: The most overused and abused term in modern society

A few people that will remain anonymous made a big stink over my definition of Anti-Americanism claiming that I was a “racist”!

I will drag my definition along with the video that sums it up over here for easy viewing:

Q: What is Anti-Americanism (aka Americanophobia?)

A: Anti-Americanism is *NOT* about the disapproval of Bush and the Iraqi War; it’s *NOT* about the disapproval of past wars and whatever our government has failed to do right, and it’s *NOT* about hating the Republican Conservative individuals in America. Anti-Americanism is the indiscriminate hatred toward the American people (the white folk only) as a whole regardless of any American’s political positions and voting preferences. For more clarification, watch this video. It defines Anti-Americanism in depth.

Now, let’s determine what “Racism” really means:

Racism is the belief that a particular race is superior or inferior to another, that a person’s social and moral traits are predetermined by his or her inborn biological characteristics. Racial separatism is the belief, most of the time based on racism, that different races should remain segregated and apart from one another.

Racism has existed throughout human history. It may be defined as the hatred of one person by another — or the belief that another person is less than human — because of skin color, language, customs, place of birth or any factor that supposedly reveals the basic nature of that person. It has influenced wars, slavery, the formation of nations, and legal codes.

Read this site for more information.

While I haven’t developed a solid opinion as to whether or not Americanophobia is a form of racism, one of my British friends, David wrote in his blog how he defines it as such.

So does Mish from New Zealand who wrote the following in my comment section – you may go here for the full story.

We can agree, perhaps, that “racism” IS an ambiguous term, but it’s hard to disagree (aside from those two cutting examples above) that it’s not overused and rather misused by insecure knee-jerk reactionaries as a crutch in an attempt to appear “morally superior” in front of the crowd because he really does feel “above all”. The formula for this knee-jerk reaction is simple:

I don’t like what you just said + you used the word “white” = You are a racist.

I don’t like what you just said + you used the word “black” = You are a racist.

Never mind the context in which the term “white” and “black” is used in. That’s irrelevant to one with an agenda. And ultimately, only HE knows what that agenda is.

However, what the mis-usage of “racism” really does is belittle those people who have actually been the target of racism and cause more friction between the masses (not less). The likes of Richard Warman automatically want to believe that someone is “racist” or “Islamophobic” even though they DON’T know what the word means! They are the cultural elitists/radical leftists, and in my opinion, the most INTOLERANT people out there! As a matter of fact, the same person that told me that I was a “racist” also unashamedly admitted to being an Americanophobic. They only care about themselves. Their “mission” to get the whole world undivided and all holding hands is disingenuous. Once again, we see the hypocrisy in Americanophobia. While Americanophobes may not be “racist”, we can all (free-thinking people) certainly agree that it’s prejudice, it’s bigotry, it’s discriminative and it’s *not right*.

Depending on where the Americanophobic person comes from, all depends on if they hate all Americans as a whole or just the white folk. My blog concentrates on the Americanophobes that live in Canada, Europe, New Zealand, and Australia. Why? Because I find them to be the most vocal about it. What about the middle east? They hate us the most. This is true. But we Americans expect middle eastern countries to hate us.

If you’re going to call me a “racist”, then you better call Michael Moore, in his book, “Stupid White Men” a “racist” too. Why? Because his principles are aligned with the Americanophobic sentiment that I speak of in my blog.

Yes, he DOES point out valid flaws within the US, however, a lot of his work has been based on LIES, LIES, LIES, so have his movies!

But why just the “white man”?

Leaving Michael Moore’s book aside, when Americanophobes make blanket statements about Americans, they ARE referring to the “white man”. Please keep in mind the stereotype that you use to describe us:

nationalistic, paranoid, arrogant, fat, lazy, greedy, racist, spoiled-rich, slutty, prude, ugly, ignorant, stupid, humorless, loud, obnoxious, carbon-emitting, baby-killing, flag-waving, bible-thumping, gun-toting, inbred and self-centered hicks

Now, ask yourself if you apply this to the “white anglo-saxon protestant (WASP)” or do you apply the above including the Blacks, Mexicans, Cubans, South Americans, Asians, Haitians and all those who’ve become naturalized citizens of the US?

Perhaps some Americanophobes DO wipe that big brush over ALL Americans regardless of where they came from or what their national heritage is. But will they a-d-m-i-t to even hating the minorities and include them too?… that…. is a whole different thing.

Americans have faces. Don’t treat us as a face-less nation.

Keep in mind, this is my opinion. While I may be wrong, I feel strongly about this issue that I bring up.

American citizens can be Asian, African, or Hispanic/Latino too. Heck, there are even naturalized citizens that have in recent times come from Canada, Australia, and Europe and the list goes on! These people are exempt from the wrath of Americanophobia because of the huge backlash (due to the strain of censorship in a politically correct society) that would result in public humiliation for the offender. They would be called a “racist” and that is the biggest nightmare of the holier-than-thou and “morally superior” multicultural elitists. The big fat greedy white American guy is always fair game because it is more socially acceptable. Remember the video that you just watched about how it’s frowned up on in Britain to slander a Chinese person? (it doesn’t matter if he’s Chinese or a Chinese American!)

In a recent conversation with a Canadian that is against Americanophobia, the following only reconfirmed what I had previously felt. She states…

In Canada, one cannot say anything derogatory about any other culture without being politically incorrect or racist. Save the natives and the Americans, who are fair game. This is so ingrained in the “Canadian” culture that Canadians cannot/ do not think for themselves. If I said “French men are rude”, then GASP – Jenny! You are so rude and judgmental and how on earth can you look yourself in the mirror stereotyping an entire country like that! Yet, someone from Ohio comes into town and all the Canadians are whispering “That fucking American. He probably doesn’t even know we have a different currency up here. He is so ignorant and rude.” There is a blatant double standard here and I get treated like a pariah when I point this out.

In my opinion, it doesn’t matter if he were a French Canadian or a French American.

The likes of Richard Warman and political correctness having gone to such an overboard extreme, prevents people from taunting Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians (that have become or are US citizens) in the streets of Britain and Canada (or even online – once their heritage is discovered).

Here’s a hint.

—> Because being “racist” is one of the most typical stereotypes handed to us, WHO, really, are being called the “racists”: The minorities or the whites?

—> When you call Americans “white trash”, WHO, really are you referring to: The minorities or the whites?

—> When you say Americans are “oppressed”, WHO really are you referring to as the “oppressors”, the minorities or the whites?

—> What makes Canada so great and American so bad? Canada is “multicultural”. Who do Canadians believe are keeping America from being as “multicultural” as Canada: The minorities or the whites?

—> What will you tell America if Obama isn’t elected as president? What will you say if he gets assassinated?

Think about it.

I received this message from a Canadian who shared the following with me:

(sic) Its the fact that the american people and government are to ignorant to be able to embrace their multiculturalism and try to make everyone the same fat, stupid, greedy, obnoxtious asshole american people that the world tends to HATE.

…which inspired this post.

A French TV comedy shows an interesting example of this.

At 9:50 (toward the end of this video), a reference is made suggesting that the American military is “out to destroy the commies and the blacks”!

Why is comedy so funny? Because TRUTH can be found through comedy. Yes, it’s funny. Yes, it’s a joke. But this IS the way the Americanophobes DO view us. They sympathize with the minorities and dodge the “white folk”. This evidently is not a reality that Americanophobes want to accept as, like I mentioned earlier, none of these self-righteous elitists want anybody to think that they are racist. What do I think? I think they are projecting.

But the radical left Americanophobes are damned either way. They’re in a really rough position as — if they really do hate all Americans meaning that they include literally ALL AMERICANS, couldn’t they be considered racist as they are including the minorities or those immigrated from other countries? If they are only talking about the “whites”, that is odd to me too because what makes America, America is EVERYONE – not just the white people. Come here and see for yourself.

Everyone makes this place what it is and contributes to any stereotype delivered to the “all American folk” determined by the Americanophobes.

This is why I define Americanophobia to be geared toward the white folk.

When Michael Moore did his research on “American Ignorance“, he evaluated indiscriminately, but named them in his book, “Stupid White Men”. See for yourself!

Do I feel like a target of reverse discrimination? Absolutely not. I’m just simply defining Americanophobia for what it is.

In short, the word, “racist” has been downgraded to mean anything, but “racism”.

FAMLOVE.CN is an Offensive Blog Scraping Site

Splogging, content theft, blog scraping, hijacking blogs, and ripping off blog posts is becoming increasingly popular, and an infamous site that does this is FAMLOVE.CN.

Take a look at Fracas’ post for more information.

More information about stolen content can be found on this blog that has a FAQ and tips as to what you can do if it happens to you. You will also see a list of other blog scrapers and sploggers that have been found guilty.

Make your own post about it to spread the word so that when “famlove.cn” is googled, people will see them for who they really are!

It’s good to get the word out about this, anyway!

UPDATE: DO NOT LINK TO THESE SITES AS THESE BLOG SCRAPERS WILL MAKE EVEN MORE MONEY OFF OF YOU!

To my humble friends… and friends of friends alike,

This is my Comment Policy/Disclaimer. I am making this into a sticky post as it appears these days people are conveniently missing it even thought I post a little sticker linking to it at the bottom of every post.

WELCOME!

Please, before commenting on my blog, read the below:

This is my blog, you are only a guest here. Participating in discussions at [Waging a War on the Radical Right and the Radical Left] are a privilege – not a right.

I am not all that politically correct, nor do I sugar-coat my posts. What you see is what you get with me. So, don’t tell me that I didn’t warn you. Feel free to challenge my views. That’s perfectly fine. I welcome it. I want people to be honest. Not only that, but I encourage a variety of people from all walks of life to share whatever they have on their mind as it may prompt me or others to think, re-think, learn from, or in return, disagree with. But attack the subject, not me. Should you resort to personal attacks (yes, that includes bigotry or stereotyping), your comment won’t be approved.

Please be mindful that I have several people contributing to this blog, and as common sense would dictate, the articles published in my blog, “Waging a War on the Radical Right and the Radical Left” represent the opinion of their respective authors only. You’ll know who’s talking by the introduction to their post. For most of them, English is their SECOND language. I correct/edit as much as I can without trying to take the spirit and uniqueness away from them – so some things I leave alone.

On my blog, the calling out of Americanophobic people is FAIR GAME. It’s bigotry and the lowest form of humanity. So, whatever I have to say about bigots is justified. I never heard from the Westboro Baptist Churh or the KKK that I was “stereotyping” them and therefore being “hypocritical”. If you stereotype and make sweeping generalizations about an entire nation of people, while you’re not on the same level of severity with the WBC and the KKK, the mentality is the same.

Americanophobics are *not* a race, culture, or a nation of people. They are, rather, a group of people that can come from anywhere including America who all think the same. Keep in mind, I’m calling out a “mindset” – a “way of thinking” – not a people of any nation!

Also, in my blog, I rail against radical conservatives, radical liberals, and religious fundamentalism. They, just like the Americanophobics, are a “mindset” – a “way of thinking”. I don’t agree with extremism and hypocrisy. So, I challenge their beliefs as well.

This is what it’s all about, folks: DISAGREE all you like. If you are going to take the time to comment, please also take the time to post WHY (I can’t stress this enough) you disagree in a manner that is respectful. Name calling and personal attacks against any of my readers or myself WILL NOT BE TOLERATED and the offending TROLL will be banned.

What is a Troll? LGF explains the meaning the best:

A troll is someone who only wants to stir up trouble, not have an honest debate. Some signs that a poster is a troll:

* Dodges questions from other posters
* Refuses to give sources
* When one of its arguments is shown to be false, either ignores the proof or moves the goalposts

Or

An Internet troll, or simply troll in Internet slang, is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat room, with the intention of provoking other users into an emotional response^[1] or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion.^[2]

If you’re going to take the time to comment, wouldn’t you think it would be a great idea to READ MY ENTRY IN IT’S ENTIRETY, FIRST? One would think that’s quite obvious. But midgets of the mental variety, neglect to *finish* reading, and consequently jump to irrational and simple-minded conclusions that suit their agenda. So, if you can’t do at least that much, don’t even bother commenting. Please. If it’s clear that you…

• haven’t read my guidelines for posting
• haven’t read the post you are commenting on,
• are condescending,
• resorting to personal attacks
• are a hit and run commenter
• are supporting bigotry or come from a blog that does
  
• not interested in a healthy debate, or
• are off-topic,

your comment won’t be approved, and don’t expect it to be read in full either.

(I do, however, believe in giving people the right to defend their political positions on whatever is being discussed in the comment sections of my blog. And with that said, I am not a Neo-Nazi (like most bloggers are) when it comes to links. Post as many links as you like. I don’t care where they come from. If it’s relevant to the discussion, post 10 links if you want. They don’t scare me.)

I expect to be called names. It’s par for the course. (No bigoted group of “people” like to be exposed for what they are, so naturally the little people will protest!) But this doesn’t mean that you get the stage on my blog to do so. Again, this is what YOUR blog is for. If you don’t like people acting like idiots on your blog, then make a comment policy of your own.

If you want to be ugly, do it on your own blog. Not mine! Nobody’s putting a gun to your head and forcing you to read subject matter that you aren’t interested in. Accept that and go on your merry way. Complain about the terrible person I am in YOUR blog. If you don’t have one, create one and dedicate it to me. Bring me some more visitors. I love the pings and extra hits. Bring me some more publicity. I love the attention.

If you have no sense of humor or don’t appreciate occasional sarcasm and hammy remarks, you better run for the hills… now! (Yes, it’s my blog – I get to do this!)

This is MY policy. You DON’T have to like it. And it doesn’t have to be fair!

And if you see a LINK, click on it. That’s what they’re there for! The reason I have links within my blog entries and quote sources is not for the sake of my health, but to give alternate substance to my post so that people can read opinions other than my own. When you’re making a point, I believe, it’s always best to have back-up so that people can do their own research. If you find commentary coming out in my text without back-up, then consider it an opinion. Everyone has one, don’t they?

Kindly read my “about me” section to get to know where I’m coming from, the purpose of my blog, what I have been blogging about for the last 4 years, and more about who I am as a person. Being against Americanophobia is often thought to be linked with neo-conservatism. Not Always! See where I stand politically here.

If there’s something you don’t understand, just ask. I’d be happy to clarify or provide further substance to back up my case… if you wish. Additionally, I define terms subjectively in my blog. Please see my glossary for further details.

Being that my blog is controversial, I get a lot of incoherent and impatient folk reading a few sentences, jumping to odd conclusions and then rushing to comment. To avoid you having a nervous breakdown because you’re too angry to read my entire post, first stop and breathe. Then, to get a better idea of where I’m coming from, I highly recommend that you read my FAQ section. Then, maybe you’ll understand and perhaps avoid wetting your bed tonight.

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Hitler´s Political Orientation

I have been invited by virgomonkey as a guest blogger.

She asked me, if I could post some historical information about WWII (a German perspective) and I´ll do my very best to answer the questions as correctly as I can due to the ongoing debate between liberals and conservatives in the US regarding Hitler’s political orientation. For further information on my person and background, visit my blog.

The first question I am asking:

“Was Hitler a right – or a left – winger?”

I want to start with some basic information on the German political system and understanding of the political constellation.

Basic information: In Germany we have many several parties, that are standing for different ideas and political orientations. (too many to mention them all – the most are unimportant. You have to get at least 5% of the votes, otherwise you´ll not even get a seat in the “Bundestag”. (-> 5% Hürde)

Political orientation:

Extreme Left – hates the democratic system and wants to replace it with – socialism/ anarchism/ communism etc… claims to be against authority/tradition and to stand for freedom and social justice.

known parties: Die Linke, PDS

—Here begins Democracy—

Moderate Left – liberal/social… Wants to improve certain aspects of the democracy – social issues, environmental protection, freedom. In this sector you can find: labour parties, environmental activists and similar.

known parties: Bündnis 90 die Grünen, SPD

Centered – SPD and CDU are the biggest parties in Germany, and they are the ones, that rule in Germany – I will only mention them to be right or left, because this is their origin… But in order, to win the elections they tend to be centered – to get votes from all political directions.

Moderate Right – conservative… they tend to support the economy and stand for “traditional morality” (Christian morality) for example for a stricter immigration policy, or against the manipulation of DNA.

Known parties: CDU, CSU

—Here ends democracy—

Radical Right – hates the democracy and wants to replace the democratic system with – a dictatorship these are the parties who claim to stand for our “national pride”, our national stability/tradition and most of their answers are simple: “remove ALL immigrants from Germany, and there will be no unemployment anymore…” Here you*ll find all that “intellectual” neonazi cowards and xenophobic, homophobic paranoids. This is the really conservative opinion in Germany, because they want back to our roots – and the whole world knows what that means.

Known parties: NPD, Republikaner

—Independent—

Additional there are some parties, that I would neither put in the right, nor in the left corner
- for example the FDP – they call themselves “liberal”… a pure party for the rich ones – they want an completely liberal economy (American style system).

—Unpolitical opposition—

- for example the “Autonomen” – It*s a mistake to call them a political group at all, but I*ll do it… they don*t have any party (they are not allowed to – because they are stupid enough to say, that they hate our democracy) – these are simple minded idiots – they are against globalisation, against the “system” (whatever this means), many of them believe in different conspiracy theories – most of them are completely anti/unpolitical (they say it themselves) and don*t know what they want, but they exactly know what they DON*T want and that is our system – culture – education – civilisation…. Right now I found a translation! chaos…

- for example the “Neonazis” – they are stupid enough to say, that Hitler was great and that we should start over again with this – conquer the world – thing. They don*t have any party for this reason. They are the militant part of parties like the NPD… but as there is no prove for it, the NPD itself can not be wiped. They are the ones that burn down houses and kill foreigners.

“Where to place Hitler?”

Let us have a look at the name of his party, first.

NSDAP – Nationalistic Socialistic German Workers Party

The first things you may realise are the words “socialistic” and “workers party”… you may come to the conclusion, that Hitler must have been a communist or socialist then. Hitler claimed to be “a socialist” to win the German working class for him as voters. He wanted to replace the SPD and similar parties, which are traditionally connected with the working class.

The sense of this is to “annex” the opposition as far as possible. The plan was to create the impression, that the NSDAP represented all classes of society and that there is no need for all the other parties – Hitler said this himself in a speech, but in short it is expressed in this slogan:

“One nation – one party”

In reality Hitler is far from being a socialist… His SA is fighting the communists and socialists in the streets and politically the left-wingers and the Nazis are direct rivals.

When Hitler reached his goal to become head of state, he used the “Reichstagsbrand” to declare, that all socialists are traitors and enemies – resulting in the first mass-murder and deportation in Germany.

Later when he established his dictatorship in Germany, he worked closely with the German companies and the last thing he would do, is to limit them – he needed the companies for his war plans.

He is a clear enemy of the socialists and supports none of the traditionally “left” ideological ideas. For this reason he can not be a left-wing politician.

The remaining words are “nationalistic” and “German”… This is closer to reality. Hitler wants to continue the war, that the “Kaiserreich” lost – WWI. He wants to start a military dictatorship again – an opinion shared by many german ex-militaries and conservatives. He believes, that violence is the only way for the “aryan” race to survive. He believes, what war will be the way to German dominance. His ideas can be described in three words -

imperialistic, racist, nationalistic.

the typical topics for a radical right and ultra conservative person in Germany.

My answer: “Hitler is an absolute right-winger”