What is American Culture?

“Diversity – United States, despite petty internal political differences is very uniform and homogeneous to an outsider. The culture (or lack of it) is same, the food is same, the language is same and the arts and style are similar. In Europe language, art, food, culture and politics are widely varied which might be overwhelming for an outsider but makes things interesting. A person visiting Scotland on a pleasure trip won’t feel like he could have done visiting England while a person visiting New Jersey and Virginia as a tourist would almost feel both are same states (except the differences in street crimes).” — Juan the “Liberal” on Europe vs USA – Lifestyle

Is not not quite the convenient how an entire continent such as Europe is compared with a country such as the United States? I suggest that his next “study” be done on Europe vs North America. He’d then have 23 very unique countries to do her “analysis” up against his 49 European “states” using his signature “us vs them” mentality.

Apparently Juan McDaniel (who calls himself a Liberal and an “Internationalist” of all things) must have been too cowardly to compare and contrast her own nation of origin (India) with the US. The only way he could slam a place where he’s never lived is by comparing Europe, a continent of 49 countries (if you include Vatican City) with a SINGLE COUNTRY, the US.

Lame.

Nice try, anyway. But curiously enough, many nationalist Americanophobes do this (compare countries with continents). It’s not just Juan. It’s very unfair and obviously used as propaganda to continue the cycle of hate.

(Disclaimer: If you call yourselves Europeans, will we note you as such and return the favor. In case you missed it, Americans call themselves “Americans” - not “North Americans”. We, unlike some Europeans, recognize ourselves as a country and *not* a continent.)

Today, I will display the other side of the story – the untold story.

I defined what America is in the glossary section of my blog. But what is an American?

An American can be English, or French, or Italian, Scottish, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek.

An American can be Mexican, Vietnamese, Hungarian, Kenyan, Ethiopian, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Canadian, Iranian, Asian, Arab, Pakistani or Afghan and more.

An American may also be a Cree, Metis, Mohawk, Blackfoot, Sioux, or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.

An American’s religious beliefs range from Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu or none. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The key difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses. Whether they have a religion or no religion, each American ultimately answers only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.

These are the people who built America.

Like Canada, in the United States, you’re allowed to continue your culture, eat your own foods, have your own festivals, read newspapers in your own language, speak in your own language and still call yourself an American. We like to call ourselves a “tossed salad”.

What is America?

We’ve got a country with over 300 million people, to begin with. And contrary to popular belief, we aren’t homogeneous either.

We are a multicultural society despite the Americanophobic belief that the entire United States is South Carolina.

There are 50 states with 30,000 incorporated cites therein. And even each city has it’s own towns, styles, and personalities. If you live in West Virginia, chances are that you’ll have a different experience from one who lives in Denver, Colorado EVEN IF YOU’RE A FOREIGNER! There are even cultural differences depending on the city you’re living in. I will give one example (although a general one). When you get married in some cities/towns in the south, the “proper” gift to give the newlyweds is a an actual tangible gift. Money would be considered an improper gift. It may even be considered as “lazy” if one were to hand over a check as opposed to actually going out and buying something. However, in NY, giving money gifts is more of the norm and said to be a convenience among those “just married”.

Basically, all I’m trying to say is that behaviorism and customs, like the above, vary from city to city – state to state like different countries do except not as dramatic.

I have lived in Miami, Japan, and California. I am now residing in Texas. I’ve been here for four long years and I’m still feeling “culture shock” in some ways.

Next, we have three different levels of government here: There is federal government, state government, and finally, local government. In some states, gay marriages are legal. In Nevada, prostitution is legal. (However, prostitution is legal nation-wide if you’re in the “call-girl” business. Just open up the Yellow Pages and see for yourself!) In Alabama, it’s forbidden to purchase a dildo! Marijuana for medical purposes is legal in California – yet illegal federally. The list is endless, really.

The scenery, cost of living, mannerisms, laws, crime rate, accents, dialect, ethnic diversity, food, fashion, flags, income, industries, tourism, weather, job opportunities, public transportation, and such differ depending on WHERE you live. There are some places in the US where people don’t lock their doors.

As you can see, this is why Americans can get so frustrated with over-simplified-one-dimensional views of the US coming from other tiny countries.

Why am I typing this? Because surprisingly enough, many people DON’T know this. I’ve heard people say it before that the US is a nation of “WASPS” where other cultures are “oppressed” and/or “forced to be American” and “forced to strip their own unique identities away” and this cannot be further from reality. America is still the most multicultural country in the world. The very fact that we don’t even have an official language says it all.

You will see literally ALL walks of life here (fat-skinny, poor-rich, ugly-beautiful, peaceful-violent, stupid-smart) in the US and diversity in terms of ethnicity, thought, sexual preferences, religion, upbringing, and values depending on where you live. Some states and cities are more diverse than others. There are plenty of Americans that are racist, but one thing that I find unique about the US is that we’re a bit less openly vocal about our prejudices. While there are stigmas and stereotypes attached to ALL groups of people, you will find that it’s a bit easier to be fat, dumb, ugly, ignorant, have poor taste in clothes, be unhygienic, to be driving around in a clunker, and in short, be as individual as you’d like to be.

You will be less judged here as opposed to being an American carrying those “socially unacceptable” quirks into another country. Try being a conservative fat American wearing a cowboy hat with a Texas accent in another country (outside Eastern Asia)! You won’t make it. I’d place money on that. At least in America, you can join all the self-entitlement-oriented, inbred, insular, nationalistic, inherently violent, unfashionable, paranoid, arrogant, unsophisticated, fat, lazy, vulgar, greedy, racist, spoiled-rich, ignorant, stupid, humorless, loud, obnoxious, gum-chewing, carbon-emitting, baby-killing, gun-toting, bible-thumping, flag-waving, and self-centered, globalizing, uncouth, swearmouthed and boorish non-human Neanderthal Americans obsessed with sex, celebrities and McDonalds that demand the entire world revolve around them, here. You’re more than welcome.

You can be whomever you want to be in America. Expect that not everyone’s going to LIKE you. This is NOT a violation of “civil liberties”. This is opinion. And Americans, like any other country, have them. Stewart Lee in the UK said it well in this video toward the end:

“…some of the things that are great about America, namely “freedom of speech” and a certain kinda social equality in that everyone there is allowed to say whatever they want no matter how stupid and ill-informed it is, and I think there’s something noble about that, genuinely”. — Stewart Lee (director of Jerry Springer, The Opera)

With that said, we also accept (with welcome arms) the slender, the intelligent, the intellectuals, the nerdy scholars, the hard workers, the polite, the humorous, the athletes, the hotties, the homosexuals, the tolerant, the socialists, as well as the demure, quiet, and shy.

America is a perfect blending of ALL these groups. This is what makes America great. I’m not saying that it’s the best country in the world, but in terms of THIS type of freedom, I’d say this is an amazing thing that makes us unique, grateful and proud to be an American.

Our first amendment also allows you to burn our flags and wave your own here. No problem!

The author of American Something said the following:

I can not forget the day when I arrived at JFK Airport for the first time. It was not better than other airports. There were many ticketing booths and it was crowded with people and luggages. Every one can see these kinds of things at airports all around the world. However, there was something different. There were many people who have different nationality and ethnicity. There were White people, Black people and Asian people. There were Italian, Japanese, German, Mexican, Chinese, French, Indonesian, etc. I was surprised because I could see and hear them at one place. At that time, I thought I could be so excited in this country. And, it was quite the same. I met many different kind of people from work and social community who came from many different country. I can experience many culture and many languages and it makes me feel happy.

Anybody who has lived in the United States alongside the average man in the street for a decent amount of time will realize this.

Oh immigration does happen in Europe too, you know, but perhaps for different reasons?

The False Promise of Immigration

How did the United States, which turned 230 years old in July 2006, get so big so fast? American growth has been fuelled by a combination of economic stability, high birth rates and immigration. Indeed, the United States is the largest immigrant-receiving country in the world. Some 50 percent of the 100 million newest Americans are recent immigrants or their descendents.

Europe, however, is also a magnet for immigration: It will attract up to 1 million newcomers this year. But the European experience with immigration is quite different from that of America. Part of the reason is that many immigrants to Europe end up on welfare, while in the United States, almost all immigrants take one or more entry-level jobs and work their way up the economic ladder. Welfare is simply not the American way.

Americans are not “cultured”?

Think again.

I must say that I find this accusation a bit amusing. WebPundit composed the below in light of this example.

Say America has no culture. When asked if there’s no such thing as “American Culture”, why do you always bitch about “Americanization”? Answer with 2 words: McDonald’s and Starbucks. Feign ignorance of American television, movies, music, books, politics, fashion, the internet… in short, most of what YOU do for fun on a daily basis. You don’t want to seem like a hypocrite who secretly devours American culture. So, it’s better just to tell an outright lie.

As far as the “‘right’ kind of culture” as in VERY old historical culture that the Europeans bash us for not having, allow me to gently remind you that America and British Canada are roughly the same age. America and British Canada are culturally similar as well. I’d be curious what “culture” was like for Europeans when they were only about say, 232 years old?

And while we’re on the topic of culture. In the US, the Metropolitan Opera in NY is one of the best – most prestigious opera companies in the world. The US has two première ballet companies. We’ve got NYC Ballet and American Ballet Theater. Symphony and NY theater? Nothing in North America exists that can begin to compare with the NY theater scene. Look at the number of fantastic symphony orchestras in the US.

American writers? Let’s take a look at Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe, Melville, Hawthorne, Henry James, Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, need I say more?

Piercing analysts like Theodore Dreiser, Upton Sinclair, Sinclair Lewis, Frank Norris, John Steinbeck, John Dos Passos, and Tom Wolfe are conveniently ignored. And never mind that American film and television are far more willing to confront sensitive social or political issues than are European productions.

America has a very rich influential and extensive cultural and literary history. Come to downtown San Antonio, Texas if you want to see some American rustic and raw history. And no. It’s not just the Alamo. Your sheltered and narrow-mind would hopefully wake up to the history that WE DO HAVE. Considering our 232 years alive, we have innovated and discovered more than any other country in the world. That’s a huge feat for a baby country, no?

And yes, I also know that we’ve committed crimes against humanity in our youth, but I’m not here to talk about that. That’s YOUR job. My job is to show the side of the story that is NEVER talked about.

It’s those very people who don’t want to hear the other side of the story who we Americans call “jealous”. Because what else would explain those individuals who continue to live so sheltered with their collective heads buried in the sand under the guise of being an “internationalist”, “a world traveler”, and “culturally aware and superior”? What else would explain the incessant comparisons to America as opposed to making juvenile comparisons to Japan, Colombia, Australia, Jamaica and the like? How else can you explain it?

Jealousy.

UPDATE!

This is something you’ll never find in America.

This is also something you’ll never find in the US.

Anti-Semites, anti-blacks, anti-Americans… what else?

Only in Europe? What do you think? All I know is that if you’re going to peg an entire nation as homogeneous and/or racist, look in the mirror first. What you’ll see is even uglier if you’re open enough to spot the ills of your own.

No thank you, Government. Please never tell me what a “family value” is.

One particular thing that annoys me about Neo-Conservativism is this so called “family values” being forced down one’s throat. Why do I need the government or my fellow “conservatives” to tell me what a “family value” is? Do YOU believe that a government should dictate what a “family value” is or should it be up to the individual?

Having as many kids as I can pop out, my husband and I working 16 hours a day while the kids are at day care and bible school, never spending quality time with the husband and kids — while the kids go absolutely nuts without having parents around unless they are with a paddle with spikes on it, and then the kids becoming mentally ill and start committing crimes and/or becoming just as depressed, bitter and as neurotic at their parents just to rinse and repeat into future generations? All under the guise of being a “good Christian” and going to church two times a week? Apparently, this is why the so called “conservatives” like to keep the Mexicans here illegally (work hard – have family values)? Misery loves company? Naw. That’s not for me, folks. And that’s not “pre-Gingrich” Conservatism either. That’s living miserably and expecting everyone to fall into the dirty puddle with you – making the same stupid mistakes in life.

The Radical Conservatives have hijacked Conservatism. What a family value is, should always be protected under the first amendment.

I prefer what the French call “family values”.

What I find particularly weird is that some people who call themselves “family-oriented” have the most jacked-up and dysfunctional family. The thing is that they are clever enough to hide it well. They attend all these superficial “family functions” just to be there – just to say they were there – just to say that they “value the family”. However, being physically there at a family gathering and being emotionally there in peace and in love are two totally different things.

Call me a liberal. But I don’t owe homage to anybody or anything. Respect is earned, in my book. And if you are in a toxic relationship and don’t distance yourself from it, you’re just as stupid as the abuser. Of course, “what is toxic” is up to individual interpretation.

I’d like to think that we spend our precious time with those who truly (not love), but like us and make us feel good and special in our own skins. Those people you can truly be yourselves around. Those are the people that I like to pal around with.

Ch ch ch ch Changin’ and the Far Right Spin

The far Right keeps saying “Where’s the Change Obama promised”? They say this so much that I still hear them in my sleep.

As if they really, really want the far radical Leftist changes that they were expecting before President-elect Barack Obama won. I mean, c’mon…!! If anything, the Right should be HAPPY and OVERJOYED that he’s leaning more toward the center. No?

What ever happened to the lust for Mavericks? Isn’t that what the Right likes? (hint: Palin/McCain)

It’s all silly, really. If Obama makes no changes, that’s really a GOOD thing for the Right. Right? No. Really. Right?

For the record, the “change” that Obama speaks of (that everyone’s been twisting around to death and beyond) is change regarding the Bush administration. IF you go back and listen to Obama’s speech at the DNC – he made it …:::c-r-y-s-t-a-l c-l-e-a-r:::…, folks. That’s also where his “eight is enough” slogan came from. Change = the modification or the removal of Bush polices.

Some of you have taken his obvious and redundant explanation of change and have bastardized the hell out of it. Me thinks the far Right are pretending that they don’t remember what Obama meant by “change” so that they have an excuse to whine or “get revenge” on the Left for having complained about Bush for the last eight years.

Keep in mind that it is Obama and congress that are going to be calling the shots – not Hillary Clinton et al. She and other people who worked in the Clinton administration have no significant say in anything regarding the governing of this country. Obama, in case you missed it, will be THEIR boss.

Obama is a Democrat. It would be odd if he hired an all Republican staff, would it not? It would be equally odd if he hired those people with little experience and a bunch of no-names. We’re in the middle of two wars and a HUGE recession. Do you Republicans really, really want a bunch of no-names in Obama’s cabinet or worse the far left academia, Jeremiah Wright, Rezco, and Bill Ayers???

When people hire someone to do a job, they look at experience – not a rookie because that would be too big of a risk to take. Again, keep in mind what our country’s going through right now.

Anyway, these are some comments from JMK, a conservative, that I found to be refreshing and to represent what I can only see as coming from a true conservative:

So far, Obama’s been pretty centrist.

Rahm Emanuel is a pretty Conservative Democrat, his economic team is pretty market-oriented and he’s kept Robert Gates on as Sect’y of Defense.

So far, I’ve had little to complain about.

We’re in a very deep financial crisis right now and that’s probably going to limit the options of any team coming into office right now.

I’d be worried if this guy seemed reckless or radical, but at this point he seems neither, at least from my view.

If anyone should be hugging their teddy bears and crying themselves to sleep at night, it should be the far left.

They’ve already been bitterly disappointed in his initial choices – Rahm Emanuel (a relatively Conservative Democrat and former israeli soldier) as his Chief-of-Staff, keeping Robert Gates on the job, appointing the Republican Governor of AZ (Janet Napolitano) Homeland Security Chief, and bringing on a pretty market-oriented economics team have all pissed off the Left royally!

Now gays are “outraged” over his choice of Rick Warren at his swearing-in.

Believe me, the far-Left is going to be the bane of the Obama administration’s existence in short order.

Personally, I think this administration will be far more Centrist, “unacceptably Centrist” or “too Right-wing” to the far-Left.

Now THAT’S going to be fun to watch!

I LIKE Emanuel…I really do. He’s more Conservative than a lot of Republicans…sad but true.

This is just my tack, but I’m not going to complain until I have something to really complain about…and I’m sure that’ll come soon enough. Hell, I complained about Bush’s support for the “SHAMnesty Bill,” and for his excessive spending, so I expect even more bad news coming from this group….but I’ll wait. I’m not going in looking for it.

But that’s just me.

Remember? Your soon-to-be president is really a Republican. Isn’t putting your own convenient spin on issues and throwing kiddie fits over unfounded nonsense a liberal thing, anyway?

Pat Robertson criticizes Bush, praises Obama

NO!

PAT ROBERTSON –

ANOTHER AMERICA-

HATER?????!!!!!!!!!!

????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

A curious but ongoing trend among my radical readers…

While amusing, this can be somewhat annoying at times.

As most of my regular readers are aware, my blog is dedicated to bashing the fringe element of both the Right and the Left. With that said, I open myself up to a lot of criticism from both parties especially the radicals. I’m either loved or hated, but most of the time hated by radical groups – which attach themselves to my blog. (It’s all good though as I obviously do this because it’s fun.)

What I find to be an ongoing trend are the words used to describe other authors of this blog and myself.

I am characterized by those who call themselves “liberals” as

a self-entitlement-oriented, inbred, insular, nationalistic, inherently violent, unfashionable, paranoid, arrogant, unsophisticated, fat, lazy, vulgar, greedy, racist, spoiled-rich, ignorant, stupid, humorless, loud, obnoxious, gum-chewing, carbon-emitting, baby-killing, gun-toting, bible-thumping, flag-waving, and self-centered, globalizing, uncouth, swearmouthed and boorish non-human Neanderthal American obsessed with sex, celebrities and McDonalds that demands the entire world revolve around herself!

And I am characterized by those who call themselves “conservatives” as

a totalitarian intolerant libtard, secular jihadist, Hollywood parasite, Jew-hating, weenie, Nazi-appeasing-Hitler-apologist, hairy, smelly, tie-dye, tree-hugging, weed-smoking, homo-loving-marriage-destroying, lazy-welfare-mongering, acid-tripping, baby-killing, kool-aid-drinking, broccoli-granola-soy-tofu-eating vegan, treasonous, bra-burning, flag-burning, draftcard-burning, bleeding-heart, Jane-Fonda-loving and Charles Manson-admiring, constitution and freedom-hating, Anti-American incessant-whiner pinko commie A-rab-terrorist-sympathizer who has a hidden agenda to overthrow the American government and its people – especially those that are “accomplished females”.

…in so many words of course…

Does anyone see what’s happening here?

This is how I can spot right away whether one is coming from the lunatic fringe or not. They all seem to have these things in common.

Here are some more similarities:

—> They confuse dissent with radicalism.

—> They carefully filter what they read by “looking for things” as opposed to READING them.

—> They cherry-pick – thereby missing out on an author’s intended points.

—> They cannot distinguish light-hearted humor from an attack worthy of persecuted feelings.

—>  They don’t attack the points made by an individual – rather the group that the individual is “perceived” to be in (“perceived” being the operative word here).

—> Any form or indication of moderacy is frowned upon. For example, I dislike Bush’s policies, but I also dislike Americanophobia. The Radical Right perceives the disliking of Americanophobia to be disingenuous, and the Radical Left perceives the disliking of Bush to be disingenuous. So, they LOATHE the “in-between’s” in life. Little do they realize that life is LESS about the ends of the rope and MORE about the knots in between.

—> They are knee-jerk reactionaries and it’s obvious by their hyper-emotional comments which only lead a reader to believe that what they’re commenting on hasn’t been thoughtfully read in FULL.

Allow me to give some concrete examples.

“Proof” that I’m a Radical Leftist:

(1) Take this post. It was written, or at least posted on, September 11. Why would you post a piece about the American Dream on that date? There was NOTHING in this piece about the tragedy of 9/11. Why not?

I’m beginning to believe that people on the Left are uncomfortable with 9/11 because that tragic event exposes the stupidity of their worldview. The only way left-leaning people–and you seem to be one–can deal with 9/11 is by blaming America for it, hence the creation of the 9/11 conspiracy industry. Blame America, blame Bush; that’s the only thing the Left knows how to do. I find it both incomprehensible and frightening that the slaughter of 3000 of their fellow countrymen wasn’t enough to pry leftists from their anti-American narrative. If anything, 9/11 caused them to cling even more tightly to their blame America first doctrine. The fact that you are apparently blind to that phenomenon is disturbing to me. Your support for Barack Obama is also disturbing to me, considering your professed opposition to anti-Americanism.

Karen, how can you honestly claim to be against anti-Americanism while supporting for president a man who can accurately be described as a protege of the hate America Left? That would be like claiming to be against racism while supporting David Duke for president.

[SNIP]

If you are really against anti-Americanism, Karen, you have to oppose the domestic variety as well as the foreign. And unfortunately for you domestic anti-Americanism comes almost exclusively from the Left. It’s leftists who make movies smearing our troops; it’s leftists who pass ordinances calling Marine recruiters “unwelcomed and uninvited intruders”; it’s leftists who accuse America of operating another Auschwitz at Gitmo; it’s leftists who call 9/11 victims “little Eichmans”; it’s leftists who shout “God damn America!” from the pulpit; it’s leftists who trash, smear, denounce, and condemn America every chance they get. And I say once again, it’s on the Left where Obama has lived his entire political life.

Karen, I don’t know what you’re going to make of the above facts but I suggest you don’t ignore or deny them. I really want to believe that you’re a patriot, that you’re on America’s side. But some of your views are making me wonder.

[SNIP]

Please explain how supporting such a person doesn’t contradict your professed patriotism. I really want to understand. God bless.

(2) And here.

You are drinking too much left-wing, hate America Kool-Aid, my friend, for that assertion just isn’t true.

[SNIP]

So please do a little more research before making sweepingly negative claims about the country you say you love.

(3) Oh, and there’s more! Expat Texan was a frequent commenter on my blog, and he too implied that I was of the America-hating-radical-leftist variety.

As for your blog – perhaps it’s the overheated way that you write – but I’m starting to believe that this word “anti-americanism” doesn’t mean what you think it means. You say you have a lot of posts bashng the left – perhaps I need to see more of your archives – because I’m hard pressed to find that content in anything you’ve written since I’ve been a lurker. Look at what you’ve written over the past month – and show me where the balance lies. It’s your blog – you can write whatever you want from whatever pov you wnat. But writing a 1200 word diatribe about the evil and stupid conservatives with a little disclaimer towards the end of “oh, yeah, extreme leftists do this, too” is not balance.

And yes, when you use video from al jazeera tv to score cheap political points – then I believe the liberal in you trumps the american in you in that instance.

He also knee-jerked the following words into my mouth (if you scroll down a bit in that thread):

Obama’s great, all extremists are assholes, everyone on the right is an extremist while a few on the left are, Trig palin is Bristol’s son through incest, 9/11 was probably an inside job – what have I left out?

Is it just a coincidence that TWO times I have been linked to paling around with terrorists thinking that 9-11 was an “inside job” when I made no mention of it at all in the posts commented on? It amazes me! If these people had actually read the posts where I DID make commentary on 9-11, perhaps they would have their foot in their collective mouths… right about now.

OK.

So…. now, it has been thoroughly established that I am an America-hating Left-wing Radical.

You hear that, you Americanophobes that frequent this blog? See, after all, I am on YOUR side. How you people missed this is beyond me.

Alllllllrighty!

Now, let’s talk about where I am proven to be a hard-core Right-wing blind America-loving nationalist, shall we?

From my recent hate mail!

You indeed are an egoistical and blind nationalist, no matter what method of denial you use to console (sic) youself. It takes a little bit of reading you blog posts and comments for an experienced person like me to figure that out.

[SNIP]

You have shown that your views on anything concerning your country are typically nationalist and simplistic. For example, your claim that your country contributes the highest to developing nations is inaccurate and self-fulfilling, which can be debunked as easily as dropping a potato in a sack.

[SNIP]

Go and rant whatever you want about Canadians or any other country in your blog. Tell your American ‘friends’ how everyone who doesn’t worship Americans is a self-hating, ignorant Americanophobe brainwashed by the anti-American conspiracy around the globe.

More from Juan McDaniel who wrote the above in response to another post where I defend Americans:

If you feel that being an American entitles you to have an “we are the best” ego, then you must also be ready to handle the responsibilities that comes of being an American, even though they might feel discriminatory to your one-sided tastes. If you don’t like the criticisms, close down that American sense of entitlement and arrogance.

If you look at the thread in this blog entry after I enter the scene, after having been called “paranoid” and “laughable” for thinking that Americanophobia is a real phenomenon, one mentioned the following after having seen the stickers on the sidebar of my blog:

(Side note: after seeing evidence of Islamophobia on your site, I will not be visiting it again.)

Are you guys following me here? Funny how I can be an America-hating Islamophobe??? EH?!

(Never mind what I’m against is the radical Islamists – not the moderate Muslims, but that’s another topic for another day…)

This particular post was written to show how a knee-jerk reactionary friend of mine took my asking his view of WWII as being “a typical American” or “showing my Americanism”.

See how American I am!!

Anyway, some other left-wingnutter got all Katie-Couric on me for not recognizing that Bush was the cause of the sub prime mortgage fiasco and told me to learn my history.

Suffice it to say that any time that an Americanophobe pointed out to me that Bush or the conservatives caused the financial crisis, I always told them that it was a BIpartisan responsibility. And did so here as well. I defended Bush here, and other times on my blog against ridiculous and extremist views about him. As much as I DETEST the Cheney/Bush administration, they aren’t responsible for every crooked mishap on American or foreign soil. I give credit to Ted Bundy for saving a girl from drowning, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to forgive all the crimes he committed. Same thing with Bush.

Labeling one a radical just because they dislike Bush’s policies or labeling one as a radical just because they defend their people from Americanophobic attacks IS an actual phenomenon of RADICALS, themselves.

What I gather from the contradicting comments that I get both in my emails, other blogs, and in my own is that some people only see what they want to see, read what they want to read, and hear what they want to hear all too selectively versus grasping the entirety of what they are reading. Only extremists can be capable of such.

If you wonder why I dance between commenting on American politics and Americanophobia on my blog and/or think I don’t post enough on Americanophobic topics and/or don’t post enough about American politics, THIS will more than likely answer all of your questions.

If you disagree with a particular post, please point-by-point argue it. If you’re going to give me a review on my blog, I would like to think that you’ve made a thoughtful attempt to get to know it better instead of cherry-picking for particular buzz words here and there. This is a common annoyance for not only me, but many other bloggers out there. The entire top of my page has links with information as to what you’re getting into when you read my blog. Nobody has an excuse to be shocked or surprised at anything written here with exception to the inane incoherent comments I receive here on a weekly and sometimes daily basis.

I wrote this post today to display the silliness of the radicals on both sides, the comments that say I hate America and am a blind nationalist at the same time, that say I hate Islam yet imply that I love terrorists, that say I love and then hate Bush, and put all sorts of words in my mouth that can’t be further from the truth. It’s comedy.

Not only is America the most divided that it ever has been, but since Obama’s win, there has been even more hostility among the Americanophobes as well.

The only people who “get me” seem to be those people not meticulously aligned 100% with any party, like myself. I only call myself a Liberal because I lean that way. It’s most curious how the majority of my radical commenters refuse to read my political profile, but it’s all part of the ongoing trend I speak of.

I rail against the extreme Right and the extreme Left. What makes me write about one more than another at any given time?

It is simple.

If I am currently being annoyed by leftist inanity, I will lean my posts toward that nature. The opposite is true. If I am currently being provoked by GOPtards, I will focus on them.

If you’re from the Right or the Left and you say something outlandish to me, someone else, or to a TV camera, just know that you’re only encouraging me. My blog is about YOU.

To find out exactly how you all see me (just for shits and giggles), please take some of your time to answer my poll:

Could I make myself any more clear than that little box above?

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to Everyone!

Throw a Shoe, Bitches!

Alrightly folks, 28 more days (from today) of Bush in the White House, there are. Still got some pent up rage left? Wanna take it out on the RIGHT person who tore America to shreds the last eight years?

Just click the picture below, and have you some fun before you start baking those Christmas cookies.

Americans are an Open Book

Do you think we Americans take for granted how good we have it here in some respects? Do you think there may be a reason why some coming back home from other countries learn that Americans aren’t so bad after all?

Let’s explore why there may be a reason.

Says a group of narcissistic Euronationalists…

Unlike Europe, Americans seem to need expert guidance for everything, from how to wash clothes properly, cook an omelette, invest in shares or have sex. Every small aspect of their life seems to be guided by research findings, which are often doctored by the media to fit corporate and government interests. If they travel, they have travel staff and books giving them directions and guidance for every small aspect of their trip.

When I speak of Americanophobia and Ignorance, the above is what I’m talking about. It’s almost sad how grossly misinformed these people are. But I believe this is part of the “Americans are so spoiled, stupid and entitled” that they often speak of on their blog – hence my bringing it up here. And being that it’s so far-out-there and wickedly funny, I couldn’t but hesitate to share!

Maybe some of you can help me out – or bring perspective here in case I’m genuinely missing out on something.

What is “expert guidance”?

Expert guidance to do laundry? How can I get an expert to come to my home and show me how to make my husbands dirty socks from years ago look brand new? Any takers? A laundry expert? Let me check the Yellow Pages….

To cook an omelette? Oh, sorry… I forgot. In Europe, people are born knowing how to cook an omelette. Europeans don’t need instruction from anyone. It’s all innate. Damn they’re smart! Is there an “expert way” versus the traditional way that I’m missing out on here?

Surely, human beings from all over the world learn from their parents… But an expert guidance to cook? What in the world would that entail? I’m sincerely curious, here.  My mother, for example, loves to cook and she’ll watch some cooking shows on TV to get IDEAS, but she’s good enough a cook to be able to do it HER way. Even beginner cooks have to get some ideas from somewhere in the case that they didn’t have a mother kind enough to show them the ropes.

Has any American tried cooking Japanese Ozoni before? I taped my friend cooking it in Japan so that one day I can make it on  my own.

Oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit! I am guilty as charged!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am a stupid American!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Expert guidance to have sex? There are people all over the world that have problems with erections, having an orgasm, have performance anxiety, and have problems in that area in general. I know for a fact that *some* sexual abuse victims have a hard time enjoying sex again following the horrific event of being raped and need intense therapy.

I’m not stupid enough to believe that problems with sexual function is an “American phenomenon”. What are these poor people supposed to do? Stay a virgin or unsexed the rest of their lives as it would be “too American to seek help”??? That falls under psychological and sometimes physical problems.

I reckon that in Europe, there exists no psychiatrist, psychologists, proper doctors, self-help books of any kind, or knowledge of PTSD. No sex therapists? Sorry. I’m not gullible enough to fall for that.

Investing in shares? How do you not get expert guidance in doing so? Obviously the author of that blog has never 1) lived in the states, and 2) never needed to invest shares in this country. Most people that help are crooks, so without guidance, we lose our hard-earned monies.

Every small aspect of our lives need expert guidance? Really? How? Where? Why? When? And proof please that this is “all-American”? How compared to 194 other countries out there? Yoga started in INDIA. It is medicinal both to aid physical and emotional problems. There is ALWAYS a yoga pose that can be done for every little ailment one may have. And that’s no exaggeration! So, I suppose that citizens living in India are Americanized – all the way back from thousands of years ago before America’s birth???

When my doctor told my husband to cut his toenails from the top and not the sides, does this make him one of those “typical yanks” that need “expert guidance”? I’m genuinely confused.

Apparently we all research too much. We want to make the best out of our lives. We want to do things right. Perhaps, we don’t have the time to “guess at things” or can afford to play “trial-an-error” when we’ve got a family to raise and both mom and dad are working through the day?

Ironically enough, the above excerpt from the zany chauvinists puts Americans in a GOOD light, if you think about it.

It shows that …

• We are perfectionists, or don’t like to make mistakes
• We can get VERY passionate about our hobbies
• We are humble enough to seek knowledge and ask questions
• We are curious and have a deep thirst for knowledge
• Research keeps us broad-minded and away from having narrow perspectives
• We are critical thinkers and encourage opinions from other sources
• We are INNOVATORS because we always find the best ways to do things!

Yes. You can look at it that way too, you know. How is ignorance cured? By learning. This is as basic as breathing. Who knows? Maybe Americans are the most intelligent people around? Ok. That may be a far stretch, but it’s something to think about.

The most important lesson I brought back from high school and college is the importance of asking questions. This reminds me of a favorite Chinese proverb:

“He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.” – Chinese Proverb

If you read Bruce Bawer’s “Hating America”, it just reinforces how Americans aren’t afraid to admit to ignorance. The difference between an American and an Americanophobic snobby European is that while we are both ignorant, Americans are honest enough to admit it. Just because one hides their ignorance doesn’t mean they’re not ignorant.

At least where I have received my education, my teachers generally encouraged classroom participation as in answering “on the spot” questions from our teachers, being encouraged to ask questions, and being able to debate and discuss current events or whatever the topic at hand was. Of course, it depended on the class I took, but philosophy, psychology, history, logic, law, criminology and the like brought on mental stimulation. The mental stimulation comes from learning to think for oneself which in turn allows for one to use “critical thinking” over the “herd-mentality” or the “because she said so” thinking.

I don’t know how other country’s citizens are taught in school, but if classroom participation and raising your hand is an American phenomenon, than our education really isn’t as bad as made out to be. I’d rather become intelligent or a critical thinker than be good at solving a calculus equation, know exactly how long it takes to get from Mars to Venus, or learn how to memorize a lot of stuff that won’t be utilized later on in life. Priority and practicality is key.

Does anyone else not find it curious that we are criticised for not reading enough, and then when we do read, we are criticised? I mean, we read travel guides, travel books and carry them to Europe and other countries. But the Canadians, Japanese, Brazilians, New Zealanders, Moroccans, Jamaicans, South Koreans, Chinese, Mexicans, and Colombians don’t? I reckon the creation of tour guide services and travel books were created just for dumb Americans?

Actually, it is more common for the Japanese to use tour services when on vacation than Americans, but that’s a whole ‘nother topic.

I like Americans very much. In fact, I adore them. Americans are an open book. We wear our hearts on our sleeves. It is evident by this that we care less compared to other countries about what others think of us. We are confident. We are also down to earth. What makes me proud of my own people in general is the fact that we are open and don’t hide our weaknesses and ignorance. We don’t have as many airs about us, comparatively. There is a lot wrong with my country, but this is where I love this place so much. It’s a place where people are allowed and even encouraged to be human.

This is American-style freedom.

That totally rocks!

Speaking of what rocks, some of the best “expert advice” I received was when I was living in Japan. If anyone has lived in Japan for any length of time, people would realize that Japan and the US aren’t different in this regard at all. Actually, believe it or not, despite a lot of differences, the Japanese, S. Koreans, Canadians, the Chinese and the Americans share A LOT of cultural similarities when it comes to the so called “expert guidance culture”. Wanna bet that this includes Europeans too? That’s why it bugs the hell out of me to hear so much redundant ignorance coming from the flapping traps of the over-confident and self-aggrandizing Hitler sympathizers hiding behind a veil of puritanism.

Because of this blog, I am realizing how much I had been taking for granted in my country. Americans are honest. And I cherish honesty – even if its something I don’t want to hear. I am damned lucky to live among honest folk. (No, not our politicians, but the average man in the street)

So, Aby and co., thank you for this opportunity to make me even more grateful toward my fellow compatriots. It’s one of those benefits of Americanophobia that I speak of. You alienate us whilst bonding Americans and making us learn things about ourselves that we should feel proud of. Thank you for the cultural comparisons.

Alternatives to “American” don’t make sense

Occasionally, I read someone (who invariably has problems with Americans, or is obsequiously deferential to Canadians and Latin Americans) that says the term American should not be applied to the citizens of the USA, but to all citizens of the North & South American continents. They propose terms like “North American,” “USian” and other terms that don’t exactly roll off your tongue.

As pissed off as you might be about Americans, renaming us will not catch on, and what’s more, it doesn’t make sense:

1. The USA is not the only United States country. Mexico’s official name is Estados Unidos Mexicanos or United Mexican States (their term for the USA is Estados Unidos de America). So calling the USA “the US” is as egregious an error as calling it “America.”

2. The USA was the first sovereign nation in the Americas, and thus can lay claim to the name “America.” (Don’t like that? Should’ve declared your independence first)

3. No other country in the Americas has the word “America” in their name.

4. No other country national is called “American.”

5. People might say “americano/americana” in Latin America with respect to their residency in the Americas, but that’s in Spanish. Until we start, in English, calling Germans “deutch”, Armenians “hai,” and Croatians “hrvati,” I don’t see the point of adopting names in other languages into English usage.

6. “North American” is inaccurate since Canada is also in North America. (So is, arguably, Mexico)

7. “USian” could arguably apply to Mexicans. (See #1 above)

8. “Unitedstatesofamerican” is just stupid. (Even though it is the most accurate next to American)

9. Try calling a Canadian “American” and see what their reaction is.

10. I have a hard time imagining that the term “American,” which has become a dirty word worldwide recently, wants to be claimed by other nationalities in the hemisphere, who share nothing more with the USA other than the accident of geographic proximity and land bridge in Panama.

Post by JM

Related Posts:

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

What Unites the French and the Americans (UPDATED!)

There are two French bloggers that I know of out there that fiercely dispel myths and defend their people from the incessant insults courtesy of the American media and the far and sometimes not so far Right wing in the US.

Dispel myths and defend: That’s exactly what I do on my blog (well, 20% of it at least) – except that I defend Americans. Superfrenchie (Frenchie’s adventures in French-bashing America) and Miquelon (Monitoring Anti-French Activity Since 2003) defend the French.

French-bashing is common in the US and synonymous with American-bashing. André Wernesson, a frequent commenter on Miquelon’s site, wrote the following to Comedy Central in response to bigoted French jokes. This is just an excerpt.

Since then, French-Americans, French expatriates, and French culture in general have been subjected to abuse on various levels, from large-scale, indiscriminate bashing to personal-level abuse such as insults, damage to property, being fired from work, &c.

I hope you will understand how painful it is for me, then, to see that these hateful feelings are alive and well, and being propagated through your site. It would do you much credit as a person of humanity and integrity if you were to see this as well, as there is no reason for which we French should be submitted to systematic abuse whereas replacing “French” with “Mexican”, “Jew” or “Chinese” would draw immediate backlash.

Anyone see the similarity? An acceptable prejudice is what it is. It is socially acceptable in the US to bash French people – just as it is socially acceptable and even encouraged to bash American people in Europe, Canada, New Zealand, South America, and Australia.

No repercussions. No backlash. No outrage. No blink of the eye.

This alone unites the French and the Americans. With one tiny exception, however…

What’s different is that when the French defend their people, they’re given a thumbs up, but when Americans do it, they’re called “blind nationalists” or are bullied into being silent because “America’s big – it can take it” or something like that.

Here’s one of many related examples. A French woman living in Canada who calls herself “Zhu” stopped by my blog many moons ago leaving me this message:

…in response to this thread. Very diplomatic, however, I am still “paranoid” and “overreacting” for noting Americanophobic attitudes. Right?

Then several months later, the same person, “Zhu” happened upon Superfrenchi’s blog who’s ENTIRE BLOG is devoted to Anti-Frenchism, unlike mine who’s blog is only roughly 20% devoted to challenging the Americanophobes and dispelling American cliches. And look at Zhu’s reaction to French-bashing.

Night and day difference, EH? Hmmm…..

That speaks volumes, and proves my point. Americans have to sit and suck it up while the French can scream, scratch, yell, rant, protest, or do whatever they want to counter act American and British Anti-Frenchism.

So, if someone asks you what unites the French and the Americans, just tell them that besides our friendship, we are both survivors of the last acceptable prejudice in the world.

Disclaimer: As always, I feel obligated to type up a disclaimer for the not so bright people who read my blog. When I say “American-bashing” I am talking about “American-bashing”, not American government bashing. Those are two totally different topics.

P.S. If you are French and reading this, I know this won’t make you feel much better, but please take note that American comedians bash Americans far more. The French only make up a fraction of all the bashing on Comedy Central and in the media in general.

UPDATE!

Despite some silly rumors circulating on some teenie-bopper website, I have never been Anti-French nor am I pro-French now. What have I to judge that by, anyway? I’m neither. I’m anti-Americanophobia. The issues addressed here are clear-cut. French-bashing and American-bashing are the last acceptable prejudices in the world.

How to create Propaganda in 12 easy steps

“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”

Here are some tips for those amateurs out there that are looking for more sheeple to join their cause.

>>>VIDEOS ARE A POWERFUL TOOL<<<

The below video says that the British are stupid:

Do you buy that? Do you really believe that Britons are that ignorant?

As you can see here, there are 4458561003396885 videos created to “prove” that Americans are the dumbest in the world.

And it works. It’s brilliant!

Here’s the recipe. (Please take notes – especially if you’re American because our brains are inherently tiny)

1. Buy a decent video camera
2. Find a large city or crowded area anywhere in the states
3. Be prepared to be on your feet for a long time
4. Interview *willing* Americans (Legally, I believe one must ask permission of those videoed if it’s okay to broadcast their humiliating bloopers to the world electronically)
5. Ask simple questions to make the dumb Americans look dumber when they make a mistake.
6. Ask tough questions like what is the location and capital of Olowitchawawa on the map when you start getting desperate.
7. Pay people to say and do stupid things if you’re getting more desperate.
8. Interview 200.
9. Pick 20 dim bulbs.
10. Post it on Youtube, Facebook, Bebo, Myspace, your blog, and mass-email it as well.
11. Send it to all of your friends on Youtube and encourage them to place it in the center of their main page.
12. If a random American says, “Hey that’s not fair, you interviewed 200 and cherry-picked the dumb ones to represent the US….bla bla bla I could do that to you too bla bla bla”, just call them a “blind nationalist”.

And PRESTO!

Your work is done.

You have successfully convinced other like-minded zombies who, in return, will tell their zombie friends and let that video cycle about the internet for decades to come.

One more tip. If you own a blog, be sure to comment multiple times under several different aliases in the comment section of said video to make it appear that the majority is in favor of the masterpiece you created.

RELATED POSTS:

So, you think only yanks are dumb, right? Let’s see for real

Canadian and American Nationalism Explored

Are YOU a Nationalist?

Since Nationalism is the center of a lot of cross-border debates, I find it important to introduce this article on Canadian and American Nationalism. While the focus is on relations between Canada and the United States, some of what is mentioned in this literature is relevant beyond Canada and extends to Europe and the rest of the world.

My personal comments will be based upon the text that I have bolded out.

On Nationalism

Nationalism unites people of different classes and ideologies. It can create harmony, link our past to our present and give a people a sense of identity. But nationalism is also a tool used by dictators, despots and power-hungry politicians alike. It can create violent and mighty forces as well as divide people from different geographies. It is used to exaggerate differences, foster generalizations and cause discriminatory thinking. These two halves of nationalism can perhaps best be viewed in the context of World War II. Churchill, Roosevelt and King used nationalism to unite their nations against brutal enemies for the preservation of democratic civilization. Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo exploited nationalism to fuel an expansionist voracity the likes of which the world had never seen before. Therefore, we observe from history that nationalism can be a force for self-preservation, heroism and honor, or for vengeance, conquest, enslavement and dishonor.

This is why I am beginning to learn that those people from other countries that are bigoted toward Americans (not critical of US policies, but bigoted – big difference!) are staunch Right-wing nationalists in their own country. Those individuals I had once thought were on the far Left, are on the Right with a few exceptions.

[SNIP!]

While nationalism is a strong force in both the US and Canada, the expression of it is quite different on people divided by the arbitrary border line. The difference is not due to ideology or culture, but should be understood in historical and psychological terms. In many ways, the imagined differences are more powerful and divisive than any true realities.

One of my major complaints about Sarah Palin was her divisive speech and politics. Whether she was aware of what she was doing or not, she was encouraging a more clear split down the middle to separate America into two Americas: Right America vs Left America.

Americanophobes are equally guilty of dividing the masses as opposed to uniting them. But what else can we expect from xenophobic organizations?

The author then proceeds to explain how Canada was born. Then a psychologist takes the stand:

“If you step back, it’s very hard in objective terms to plot out what are the true differences between Canadians and Americans… Humans have a strong capacity to construct identities for themselves. It’s largely a social process of construction. Some of it is taking small differences and making them seem bigger. A lot of it comes not from the differences, but from feelings of a sense of identity. It’s tough to find things on which to hang an identity for all the English-speaking Canadians. It’s not really a language that makes them distinct. It only makes them distinct from French-speaking Canadians. It makes them more like the U.S. to focus on language. Food doesn’t work very well because, by and large food in Canada is the same as in the United States. What are you left with? Well there’s geography. It’s clear that if you live in Canada as opposed to the U.S., there’s a border between the two. There aren’t a lot of things onto which you can pin a distinctively Canadian culture, other than growing up and learning that you’re Canadian and not American. It’s identity by negation rather than affirmation.“

Americanophobia is mostly about hyperbole. I’m sure you’ve all heard the expression, “You’re making a mountain out of a molehill”, right? Nationalists from other countries take little bits and pieces of their very limited experiences with Americans and create their own exaggerated reality out of it.

Here’s a good example:

They are real and based on years of interaction with thousands of real world Americans, both online and offline. This also includes a number of visits to continental United States, as well as working and living with Americans for more than a decade. It also includes a good friend getting drugged and raped by two American perverts, who were later sneaked back to the US by the American embassy, with no justice whatsoever.

1. How many years?
2. Thousands of Americans personally? Naw. Nobody with half a brain would fall for that. In my 40 years of being alive, I’ve never met so many people.
3. Visits to the US? Being a “captain” in the military, this wasn’t for pleasure, but for business. I wouldn’t consider that to be “seeing” the US.
4. Working and living with Americans for more than a decade? That’s very vague. And still, nobody will believe that all or even most of the Americans you met were these evil monsters that you make them out to be.
5. Rape is more prevalent in Canada and Australia. In the US, Americans rape Americans every day. Justice is not always absolute – anywhere in the world.

So, what is this guy’s point?

There is A LOT that Canadians should be proud of. There really isn’t a reason in modern times to identify themselves with negativity. Rather, the focus should be on the positives.

Pamala Sutton, a Canadian Expatriate living in the states tried to challenge her fellow Canadians in asking them if they could focus on a POSITIVE Canadian identity rather than the tired cliché “I AM CANADIAN because I’m not American” ho hum. It’s quite a challenge for some Canucks, you know?

Back to the original article:

There are of course many differences between Canadians and USAmericans, but there are few, if any, national differences that one can point to beyond the psychology of understanding that you are Canadian or USAmerican. As noted Canadian journalist and author, David Frum has pointed out:

“What we have here is one large, English-speaking North American culture with a number of components, of which Ontario is one, Western Canada is another. It’s true that you can get in a car at Anchorage and drive diagonally southeast until you hit Miami and speak the same language, use the same credit card, pump gas the same way. I think you’d be struck much more by the similarities than the differences. And the places where you would notice dissimilarities would not match the border.”

And more importantly…

While Canadian nationalism can often be described in these reactive terms, as largely an identity based on non-Americanism, the reverse is not true in the United States. As Canadian poet Margaret Atwood once said, this leaves Canadians looking through a one-way mirror into the United States, with USAmericans largely blind to on goings behind that mirror. USAmericans are far less likely to compare and contrast themselves and their country to Canada and Canadians. If they do, they are even less likely to look at Canada with contempt and righteous indignation. USAmericans largely look towards Canada with friendly feelings, and see Canadians as cousins or even as brothers and sisters, which of course was literally the case before the American Revolution.

This is what irks me the most about Americanophobia! The same can be said about Europeans as well. Both Europeans and Canadians are favored by the majority of Americans. Our media is generally good to them as well (with the exception of France on occasion). It’s really the case of “We’re nice to you, but you’re not nice to us”.

Try to imagine making this more personal. Think about being nice to someone because you like them just to have them be mean to you and all the people you know on top of it.

Since this second-class citizenship is undesirable, and since Canada could never match the United States in measurable terms due to relative size of populations, many Canadians often describe themselves as more civilized, peaceful and kind. Canadian historian George Woodcock notes it in this manner, “Canadians make up for their physical weakness by assuming an air of moral superiority towards the Americans, not unlike that which Scots assumed towards the English”. One example of Canadians acting out this idea is the strong Canadian belief that Canada is a nation of peacekeepers. According to the UN, Canada ranks 38th in UN peacekeeping, with 233 peacekeepers abroad working in UN peacekeeping missions as of Dec 2003, supplying less than 1% of international peacekeepers. Ghana commits about ten times the number of peacekeepers, at 2,306 while only having 60% of Canada’s population. Many will then go on to contrast their imagined leading role in international peacekeeping against the world policing of the United States. Even though Canadian soldiers have stood side-by-side with USAmericans in nearly every military action (UN-mandated or not) the US has taken. The only two notable exceptions being the Vietnam War and the recent Iraqi conflict, both of which were highly debated in both countries.

I really wish, not just Canadians, but everyone to stop telling Americans that they’re “peacekeepers”. People have really bastardized what that word means!

I would also like to point out that contrary to popular belief, Canada *DID* invade Iraq with the US. It’s amazing how many foreigners don’t know this.

So the next time a proud fellow citizen tells you that Canada didn’t join the Iraq War, remind them of Mark Twain’s famous quip: “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”

To continue with the article…

Many other Canadians have attached themselves to the belief that Canada is “a kinder and gentler nation” (ironically a phrase taken from President George H. W. Bush). Yet, when put to the test in terms of philanthropy “Americans give over two-and-a-half times more of their income to charity than do Canadians”, according to a Fraser Institute of Dec 2003 report. The average value of charitable donations in the United States is $3,494 US; the average value of donations in Canada is $998 CDN ($760 US). An argument could be made that this difference is largely due to higher levels of disposable incomes in the US coupled with a less demanding tax burden. However, little can be shown to prove that in contrast to the United States, Canada is a nation consisting of kinder gentler individuals. Finally, United Nations ratings in Human Development have often been used in the past as a basis for Canadians to point out their superiority. Since the most recent report ranks Canada one spot below the United States, this sort of talk has subsided into sullen silence. However, it was not that long ago that many argued loudly that this mere collection of three basic indicators: Life Expectancy, Literacy/Enrollment and PPP, determined which was the greatest nation on earth. The same individuals who trumpet this sort of thing usually ignore reports done by other institutions that put Canada beneath the United States. Of course, this is not a phenomenon unique to Canada. Comparisons such as these, which match up countries often, help fuel nationalism everywhere.

Helping fuel nationalism: I’ve read through many, many blogs of all sorts and rantings from those all over the world. Is it not very telling that if you venture into an Americanophobic blog that you will, without a doubt, find “research” that compares…

• The Swiss to Americans
• The Brits to Americans
• The Canadians to Americans
• The French to Americans

What is this? It’s called Nationalism.

—>Will we ever find the Swiss being compared to Equadorians?

—>Will we ever find the Brits being compared to Canadians?

—>Will we ever find Canadians being compared to New Zealanders?

—>Will we ever find the French being compared to the Japanese?

Nope.

All foreign research is [Country A] vs [America].

That speaks volumes right there. This probably also explains why many Americans attribute this juvenile behavior to jealousy and/or short man syndrome.

In any event, why the need to compare and contrast cultures, anyway? I can understand comparing the health benefits of dark chocolate vs milk chocolate, but comparing cultures in quasi-formal “studies”? How is this useful other then intending to hurt the feelings of others?

Some Canadian nationalists will point to differences in medical care, gun control, capital punishment, drug laws and more recently gay marriages. But these differences are in governance, not culture. British Columbia and Alberta have made moves to offer privatized medical care, but this makes them no less Canadian. California and Oregon have tried moving towards more universal healthcare programs, but they do not become less USAmerican by doing so.

JFK once said, “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer.”

One could say the same about America and Canada when change is trying to take place. Just replace the words “Republican” and “Democratic” with “American” and “Canadian”.

Another argument offered by those who believe that imaginary lines draw real differences, is that Canada is more left wing than the United States. Although a large number of liberals reside in northern North America, describing Canada in ideological terms offers at best a momentary snapshot of an evanescent state of affairs. Just as in the United States, Canada has experienced several shifts from left to right and back again over the course of its political history. Indeed, Canadian politicians in the late 1800s touted Canada’s lower taxes in contrast to the tax-and-spend USAmericans.

People need to use caution when they brag because it will come and bite them on the arse later on. Remember when the Aussies denounced yanks for being fat, right? Well, guess who’s the fattest nation on earth now? Remember when Right-wing Euronationalists denounced Americans for being the world’s worst tourists? Well, guess who’s the worst tourists now? Remember when the Canadians touted to be the best in sports? Well, guess who kicked arse in the Olympics and does so consistently every time?

Anyway, yes, the US goes through political stages between Right, Left, and in between throughout history just as any other nation out there. Does not anyone remember Margaret Thatcher? How did Obama get elected by a supposed “right-wing dominant country” such as America?

Nearly all the lavish social programs in Canada, that some say define Canada today, were first created by the United States. Still, it is hard to dispute that today there are small differences between the attitudes of average Canadians and USAmericans.

[SNIP!]

All the major differences we find between Canada and the United States are regional. For example, the people of Arkansas when compared with the people of British Columbia are vastly different (in North American terms). They speak with a different accent; they have slightly different customs, cuisines and cultures. In short, if you put the average British Columbian in the middle of Arkansas, everyone would know that he/she wasn’t from there. But put that B.C.er in Washington State and it would difficult for a native Washingtonian to know he/she wasn’t a Washingtonian. One might argue Seattle and Vancouver are virtually identical, especially when compared to Little Rock. The same could be said when comparing Manitoba and Minnesota to Newfoundland, Ontario and Michigan to Wyoming, the Maritime Provinces and New England states to the Yukon, etc. Overall, the differences between the United States and Canada are best seen regionally, not nationally. We do not have thousands of years of differing histories; we do not have generations upon generations brought up to believe completely different societal values; and we do not speak different tongues or exist within confined communities unable to travel outside our own borders.

When will people understand that the US is way too diverse to pigeon-hole? We aren’t one or the other. We’re a little bit of everything – despite what the BBC, the CBC and trashy tabloids will brainwash you with.

One such region that does speak a different tongue, and one that some would describe as a nation unto itself, is Quebec. Quebec nationalism is perhaps the biggest irritant to Canadian nationalists, because without Quebec, Canada would be much smaller and much less culturally different from the United States, overall. Quebec is also often used by Canadian nationalists as an example of what makes Canada unique. Although most Canadians outside Quebec know little French, there is a strong tendency for English Canadians to attach themselves to French Quebec as a means of distinguishing themselves from USAmericans. This is directly related to the anti-American sentiments that many have. From time to time Quebec has risen up and attempted to separate from the rest of Canada, but each time the rest of Canada (and in the past Britain) has managed to quell the movements. English Canadians will vehemently argue that Quebec belongs in Canada. Yet, they do so somewhat hypocritically. They rally and cry that the differences between Quebec and English Canada are slight and we ought to be together, yet the differences between Canada and the US are too great, and we ought to be separate. It would appear that based on this view the true defense of the sovereignty of the political entity known as Canada is defined by “the narcissism of small differences” as Sigmund Freud would say.

Let’s once and for all set the record straight, shall we?

ENGLISH CANADA IS NO MORE BILINGUAL THAN THE UNITED STATES! Canadians speak as much French as do Americans speak Spanish as their second language.

Even Euronationalists that brag incessantly about being “multilingual” are full of toad poop!

Some of the positive aspects of Canadian nationalism include ideas such as freedom, democracy, peace, good government and multiculturalism. Of course, the same ideas also define the United States. Canadian multiculturalism is sometimes distinguished from US multiculturalism as being diversity vs. assimilation. This is reinforced in Canadian minds by the USAmerican habit of describing the US as a melting pot. To many USAmericans multiculturalism and melting pot are interchangeable. Certainly, there is quite a bit of assimilation within US culture. People are encouraged to learn English, and often find it most convenient to conform to North American norms. This isn’t really any different from Canada, where the government also awards learning English (and French) and helps people acclimatize themselves to North American lifestyle. A Farsi-speaking Iranian cannot move to Canada, work there and live a normal life without adapting to his surroundings, just as he would have to if he moved to the United States. Both countries welcome diversity.

This entire essay basically spells out Canadian ignorance.

Despite the large overall commonalities of North Americans, when contrasting USAmerican nationalism against Canadian nationalism, few parallels can be found. As mentioned previously, these are largely self-made identities created by the human mind. If one accepts this notion, it would be safe to assume that, for example, a US-born flag-waving US nationalist who has a propensity to embellish the greatness of his native USA, if born in Canada, instead would be a flag-waving triumphalist Canadian nationalist, and vice versa.

People all over the world believe that it is only the Americans that are nationalists. Yet, another example of the ignorance that stems from hate.

Contrary to what Juan McDaniel and his Nationalist Eurosociopath pack of wolves believe, I personally don’t think that America is the best country in the world. I don’t even know if there is a formula to determine such a complexity? But I will say that I am not ashamed or apologetic to give Americans credit where its due. I will be quick to passionately defend my people as well. I am an American patriot. I am grateful to be an American. This is not nationalism – this is patriotism. At the same rate, I will also call out America where she deserves harsh criticism. This is not unpatriotic as some of my fellow Americans would like to believe – either.

There is good and bad everywhere, and what separates a nationalist from a patriot is ignorance outside one’s borders and even within.

Feel free to read more about Nationalism here. I’m willing to bet that most Americanophobes don’t even know what that word means.

Related Readings:

Canadian Patriotism Linked to Americanophobia

Canadians *AGAINST* Americanophobia

Only in America

Saying I’m an exception just makes you sound more stupid

Post from JM at DailyCandor. You can find his blog here.

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This is a bugaboo that I found galling. It’s worthy of a post because it’s probably far more common among American expatriates than most realize, and it’s probably not considered annoying or offensive to those guilty of it.

What is it? After being forced to listen to a litany of insults about Americans, an American is supposed to not take it personally because, “Well, you’re obviously an exception.”

It’s as if these morons want to enjoy their asinine (and often very hypocritical) stereotypes about Americans, but don’t want to piss off the American they’re unloading them onto.

Here are a few examples off the top of my head:

• When I tell a Dutch man I’m American, he retorts, “But you’re not fat!” He expects me to chuckle along with him; I don’t.
• Even though I speak several languages, a Ukrainian woman (who speaks Ukrainian and Russian, as well as Polish) tells me that Americans never know any other language than English. When I point out my Polish is as good as hers, and I speak other languages as well, she mutters, “Well, you’re an exception.”
• A German I meet during my travels tells me confidently that Americans are a bunch of hyper-religious right-wingers. When I tell him I’m an agnostic left-winger, he says, “Well, you’re an exception.”

Depending on my mood, I find these sentiments (and there have been more) anywhere from amusing to really annoying.

First, I think it borderline idiotic to think the American caricatures that foreign (especially European) media delight in reinforcing trump live Americans that you actually meet. (It’s as idiotic as religious fundamentalists who happily ignore empirical data and fact in favor of the disjointed ramblings of a Jewish shepherd from a few thousand years ago – how’s that for an analogy?) I have even heard a Brit, living in London, say, “All the Americans I know are smart, but they must be exceptions to the rule.”

Second, at the end of the day, we’re still Americans, and you’re offending people that we know. Maybe it’s due to a sense that Americans are so individualistic, that we won’t be insulted when our friends and family are insulted. It’s wrong. If the majority of the people you know are bright, athletic and conscious of the world, you’re going to take issue to the contention that all Americans are stupid, fat, and ignorant of everything outside the U.S. I can only imagine a Brazilian’s reaction to “You’re smart and hard-working…are you sure you’re from Brazil? Well, I suppose you’re an exception to the rule…”

Third, sometimes the stereotypes that these people cling to don’t even make any sense. Do these people really believe a majority of Americans are obese, and that everyone voted for Bush in 2004? Does plurality mean majority, and does majority mean everyone (except, of course, the one or two Americans these people have actually met)?

When I’ve confronted imbecilic sentiments like these – supposedly softened with a “you’re the exception” – I’m always tempted to reverse it and say the same back. But I can’t. To do so would so ridiculous, that I’d be embarrassed for myself. The fact that some non-Americans can so brazenly do so is a sad reflection of their stupidity and provincialism — ironic, actually.

My Anti-Anti-American Quote of the Week (#3)

“Anti-Americanism is hypocrisy at its finest, You can spend your evening catching the latest episode of “24″ and then complain about Guantanamo the next morning.” –the Berlin bureau chief of Der Spiegel

It’s so true. The biggest users and secret lovers of all-things-American are those that can’t pop that big ole American zit off of their nose. They are in a perpetual state of waaaaa waaaaaa waaaaaaaaaa!

“But thank you Facebook, WordPress, Youtube, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Macintosh, Google, and such for giving me the platform to tell you how much I hate your guts and want you dead”. — Yours truly, the Americanophobes

By the way, what do Right-wing Americanophobic Euronationalists do when their nappies are really in bunches? How do they relieve their stress and find comfort again?

They go to McDonalds.

The Difference between an Americanophobe and a Humanitarian

Quite the tired yet common criticism I get from Americanophobes is the following:

“You (sic) discredit lump every criticism of United States to “Americanophobia”. – Aby “The Liberal – The Internationalist”

Doesn’t an “internationalist” mean that you’re culturally aware?

Anyway, what the Americanophobes do is bash Americans (even if done so cleverly and subtly), but when they get called out on their bigotry, you hear something similar to a ….

“NO, I DIDN’T!!”

I am the type of person that can read through veils and see right through all the smoke and mirrors. I can see the wolf beneath the sheep’s clothing. Well, most of the time.

Americanophobes all have one thing in common. They live religiously by the “Most Americans…..” Syndrome

• Most Americans do…
• Most Americans are…
• Most Americans will…
• Most Americans did…
• Most Americans believe…

How does one measure “most Americans”, anyway? If most of YOUR experiences with Americans were bad, I’d think that says more about YOU than the American people as a whole. You were probably an asshole and received asshole in return. And that’s completely justified!

All “facts and figures” prove very little knowledge, a gross exaggeration of the truth, not sharing the whole story, being culturally unaware of how other cultures/sub-cultures exist in comparison, possessing no intellectual curiosity, or just simply being an angry xenophobic person on a mission (militarily or not).

You will be called a “blind nationalist” and be accused of thinking that “Americans are above any form of dissent or criticism” should you dare to disagree and show facts in the form of linkage that contradict their convenient blunders.

However, there are people out there that passionately despise the American government, are truly progressive, coherent,  liberal-minded, tolerant, culturally aware, peace-loving, and pro-active regarding human rights.

I often talk about the bad on my blog, but today, I want to display the good.

This Canadian blogger tips VERY far to the Left of Center and mercilessly bashes the American government, yet has no perverted obsession with Americans. Additionally, he doesn’t resort to petty bigotry toward the American people, however, calling a spade a spade.

The blog’s name:

In Case You Missed it – Random ramblings on the rights and wrongs ’round the world

Any occasional knee-jerk reaction by the above blogger can be explained away by too much Vodka, but other than that, this blogger has lived in many countries, is culturally curious, and most importantly, he realizes that there is trouble and corruption to be found in places other than the United States.

I wanted to showcase the farthest to the Left non-American blog that I could find that wasn’t based on a nationalist militant agenda resorting to the redundant “We’re better than you and here’s why” mantra.

So, let’s look at the differences more closely. What differentiates a Humanitarian from an Americanophobe?

—>Humanitarians have financially contributed to humanitarian efforts; Americanophobes don’t donate.

—>Humanitarians recognize human suffering – even those suffering at the hands of non-American origins; Americanophobes only recognize the suffering at the hands of Americans.

—>Humanitarians acknowledge imperfections in their own homeland; Americanophobes acknowledge only imperfections in the US.

—>Humanitarians don’t try to act refined, polished, or sophisticated as they rely on content – not pseudo-intellectual jargon to get their message across; Americanophobes lack content and only score high in $3 words.

—>Humanitarians have life on their minds most of the day; Americanophobes have America on their minds most of the day.

—>Humanitarians are happy that Obama won but are still cynical as part of being a liberal; Americanophobes are pissed that Obama won because they can no longer continue saying that the monster American white man is oppressing the American black man (they never did see blacks as Americans, anyway).

—>Humanitarians display a sincere curiosity about the world; Americanophobes display no such humility.

—>Humanitarians aren’t afraid to be light-hearted and enjoy life every once in a while; Americanophobes are consumed by paranoid thoughts, delusions of grandeur, and too tight-arsed to let themselves loose (well, the Americans might be watching, right?)

—>Humanitarians enjoy debate; Americanophobes’ opinions are not up for questioning.

—>Humanitarians aren’t bigots because that defeats being a Humanitarian; Americanophobes are self-proclaimed Humanitarians on the outside, but a spiteful, vindictive xenophobe on the inside (some cleverly hidden – some not)

—>Humanitarians think two wrongs don’t make a right; Americanophobes think two wrongs DO make a right

—>Humanitarians care for others because they feel good in their own skin; Americanophobes are self-loathing and only pretend to care about others.

—>Humanitarians blame the perpetrator; Americanophobes blame America first.

Before I go, I would like to pimp another blog out there. Now, this one is an Anti-American blog,………… BUT, it’s based on a trying truth. It IS hyperbole, but it’s meant to be that way. It’s comedy. You know, I cannot really charge the author for too much as he is not only funny as hell, but is actually LIVING IN AMERICA and by reading his blog, you can tell.

With that said, the author of “58 Reasons to Hate America” doesn’t seem bigoted to me. It’s my personal opinion, but I think he just hates everybody. He seems to favor Muslims, though – but being that his “hatred” is PURELY indiscriminate and hilarious, I’ll sit back and laugh as we all have to learn to laugh at ourselves – something that true Americanophobes are incapable of.

One more.

This Irishman says he’s aware of the whole world. And he really is.

Just remember, if you call yourself a Liberal, act like one. Liberals do *not* resort to Neo-Nazi Collectivism.

Who Controls the American Media?

Are we a nation of organized fear-mongering propagandists to maintain the status quo or shall I say, to maintain our “global imperialistic powers” to one day be the “New World Order”? If you hear the American-Neo-Nazi march in the back of your head, ask yourself the following questions that challege the above. If God and Right-wing fascists rule the United States media, then….

• How do you explain this???
• How do you explain this?
• Why is America so bitterly divided?
• Why do the majority of Americans consist of liberals and moderates?
• Why does Bush have the lowest approval rating in recorded history (23%)? (In 2005, it was in the 30’s if I remember correctly?)
• How did Obama become the president?
• Why did Sarah Palin have the lowest approval rating compared to any other running VP in recorded history?
• Why are the conservatives always complaining that our media is controlled by the liberal elite?

Granted, many Americans were brainwashed to believe that there were WMD in Iraq and that the Iraqi government was truly a threat. No doubt about that. Most of us supported Cheney’s invasion from the very beginning for reasons to protect us as a nation rather than a sinister goal to “police the world” as some Americanophobes would suggest all too often.

In the years between 2001 and 2003, most Americans were vulnerable enough to persuade as we had just gotten attacked on 9-11. It was very easy, back in those days, to use the politics of fear to manipulate us into believing that if we didn’t “take care of business in Iraq” that we’d be a target yet again. That explains why 70% of Americans took the bait – in the beginning. Not because 70% of us were violent and just supported the invasion because we love blood, gore, and imperialism as suggested by those western countries that despise us.

But that didn’t last too long. Although not fast enough, information leaked out pretty fast through our press. Progressively, we Americans had come to find out that we went to Iraq under false pretences, hence year by year Bush’s approval rating was found to have been sinking, and sinking and sinking.

Forty-eight percent of our voices didn’t get heard in the 2004 election. That’s one year after we had occupied Iraq.

So, you can definitely say that a good 70% (in 2003) of us from the get-go fell for the scaremongering propaganda. Thanks to the liberal media in the US, we learned the truth thereafter so much as to get even Bush to admit in the end, somewhat indirectly, that we did make a mistake regarding the initial purpose to invade Iraq. And that invasion was organized and orchestrated brilliantly yet sinisterly by Vice President Dick Cheney.

Americanophobes consistently resort to hyperbole to attack the American people. Right-wing propaganda has been replaced by blind nationalists in other countries with their own Right-wing propaganda AGAINST the United States. And just how 70% of us believed that going to war with Iraq was justified, so are many citizens of the west believing so many lies about the American people.

What does this prove? It proves that most of us, out of fear and/or insecurity, believe what we hear if it suits us at the time.

Is this part of human nature? Or is it more part of human nature to question incoming information? We’ll leave that for the cultural anthropologists to answer. In the meantime…

One of my German friends wrote this post on propaganda. It’s worth a read.

The Age of Informational Warfare – Propaganda

What’s my personal opinion? With the exception of talk-radio (aside from NPR), our media is liberal/middle-of-the-road depending on what television station you are listening to in the United States. Our media, as evident here, is the least “controlled” media in the world.

Do Americans Have a Self-Entitlement Syndrome?

The first point I want to make I feel is the most important point. Americans don’t have any more of an arrogant self-entitlement syndrome than your average European nationalist or child abuse victim from any country.

In case you missed it, America is a Neo-Capitalist nation. (Not by my choice – not by my liking) In the USA, we are on our own. We must fend for ourselves. We grow up learning that we must WORK first to get what we want. And we work damned hard to get what we want. Yes, even harder than Japan. In other parts of the western world, the pressure to work is unmatchable compared to Americans. People of Europe, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia all have the envied luxury of being taken care of by their Nanny government. You can work if you want to or find any excuse in the book NOT to work.

Some Americans like myself started working since they were fifteen. Aside from Christmases and birthdays, as I was approaching my mid-teens, there was nothing that I was “entitled” to unless I worked for it even if that meant doing household chores. I got my first real salary from a company at age 15 washing people’s hair in a beauty shop, working in a rectory, babysitting, and doing other odd jobs here and there. I learned to appreciate the value of a dollar at a very young age. This is the life I have gotten used to – the norm. I wasn’t alone. Most families here in the states work very alike – not because we want to as much as because we HAVE to. Because we cannot fall into the erect nipple of Nanny Government anywhere nearly as easy it is to do in say, Europe.

Again, this doesn’t suggest I am happy with this way of life. Some on the Right connect this with national pride, but I digress…

A Euronationalist extremist group who seemingly has spent time looking for watching “American” tourists has come to the conclusion that Americans have a “sense of entitlement” problem. To quote this person who calls himself by multiple names – one being “Captain (Dr.) Alexandr Vasilevski”…

If you don’t like the criticisms, close down that American sense of entitlement and arrogance.

First of all, INDIVIDUALS should be criticised – not groups based on one’s origin unless you’re into Neo-Nazi-collectivism.

So… What is an “American sense of entitlement?” – I asked myself. And then I remembered something. I worked  for a major airline for several years. My customers were from all over the planet. I must say that some Americans got under my skin for being overly demanding in situations that didn’t warrant it. This made my job VERY hard. Being the “uncouth boor and wild savage” that I am, it took a lot of tongue biting to get through the inanity of it all.  However, being that I worked with international customers as well, I had also learned that there were certain other nations equally guilty of the “me me me” mentality. Those groups of people I will not mention. I will say, however, that the majority of these people came from third world countries.

And those from developing countries are ANYTHING but spoiled.

You see, the Americanophobes believe in some sort of a misconception that Americans are all spoiled and rich and that must explain how arrogant they act overseas.

I would like to take this time to challenge my Americanophobic and even non-Americanophobic audience on this particular stereotype.

Americans are all Spoiled and Rich, You Say? Think again.

Most people make the same mistake as they think of America as being one of the richest and most powerful nations. After reading my link up above, you’ll see that we are far from spoiled, and in all actuality, quite the opposite. Americans as well, also mistakenly think that we are the most spoiled, but that’s only because those same Americans don’t know what life is like in other 1st world countries.

I sometimes jokingly call the US “the most developed third world nation”, but if you think about it, we have been mirroring some similar qualities you’d find in a developing nation.

Which brings me to my point.

Those people who possess the “me me me” mentality are only that way due to not having been brought up in a loving, warm, and well-disciplined family structure. Some form of child abuse calls for this type of annoying behavior because truly happy and stable people aren’t self-aggrandizing and do not expect or demand waivers or favors in a situation where it’s not justified. This has nothing to do with being “spoiled”. This is neither a phenomenon of the “rich” or those that hail from the United States. This is a trait of a LARGE percentage of HUMAN BEINGS out in the world.

Having an abnormal sense of entitlement comes in all shapes, sizes, flavors, colors, and textures. Some Euroelitists may not see the ill of their own due to  “blind nationalism” – hence they put the blame on another nation. The one they love to hate:

America. At least when you’re in doubt…

This is one example of how reflexive Americanophobia results in confusing Australians with Americans.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you need any help or tips on how not to look “entitled” abroad or even on your own turf, just ask the Brits, Canadians, or the French.

The Mumbai Siege, and Traveling as an American

[Cross posted on culturepress, on November 26, 2008]

Culturepress is today’s guest speaker. You can find her blog over here.

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Today’s tragic terrorist attacks and hostage crisis in Mumbai got me thinking about traveling as an American. The terrorists are specifically targeting U.S. and U.K. passport-holders, after all.

I’ve been lucky in some ways. I don’t “look” like an American, so I can pass as a citizen from another continent and feel relatively safe when traveling–even alone, even as a woman (well… okay, we’ll scratch that last part).

When I was in Bangkok a few years ago, I found that being American may cost me, but only in the sense that I was exorbitantly overcharged for various goods and services. My American accent’s what did me in.

When asked where I was from (which was occasionally preceded by, “Why you talk like white-lady?”), I said that I’m Korean-American. “Korean” got me in worse of a state, as Koreans are often seen as gratuitous spenders by other peoples of Asia.

As I uttered the words “Korean-American,” I saw a Ch-ching, ch-ching slot-machine-type effect in the eyes of these Thai vendors and cab drivers. The prices went up even further.

I thought, maybe I can fake a Chinese accent? No good. I can’t even fake a Korean one for more than five seconds with a straight face.

So, I started telling the Thai people that I’m Chinese-Canadian.

Guess what? Cab fares were cut in half. I started getting those killer deals that Bangkok marketplaces are famous for. All because I was no longer “Korean” or “American.” Interesting effect.

My (non-Asian) American friends travel with elaborate stories of Canada prepared and memorized, not so much as to get better deals, but because it’s “safer” that way. Hopefully, over the next few years, perhaps, if our nation begins to spend more time and energy on humanitarian causes as opposed to imperialistic or militaristic ones, the world’s view of America will change, and we’ll no longer have to fake-Canadian in order to travel safely around the world.

My thoughts are with the people of Mumbai tonight. Happy Thanksgiving and be safe. (–culturepress)

Anti Americanism on Steroids

Hi. I am Patricksperry, and you can find my blog here.

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Seems that someone posted here that is well beyond personal anti-Americanism. The international liberal is nothing more, and certainly nothing less than a classic perpetrator of propaganda. After reading the third hate mail, and checking the blog linked to there this was a pretty obvious conclusion.

Yes, my bit of commentary in Russian was, shall we say casting the fly upon the water. No, it was not taken, but my instincts were apparently still working.

Being anti-American because of childish hypocrisy and / or prejudice is one thing, and usually can be written off to sheer ignorance of fact. Organized propaganda has a much more  sinister purpose though. That being the slaughter of innocent people at some point or other in time. Trying to lay the blame on the United States based upon a very tenuous connection to  some Afghan Mujaheddin that fought the Soviets quite some time ago at best deals in historical fallacy. At worst it simply seeks to stir up blood lust against the American people.

Lastly, I find that blog’s failure to note that it was international parties that found Soviet land mines that appeared to be rocks and other common things that children might pick up. Nor Americans that just sat around and left them in place.

This is hate America first at a professional level.

Europe, the Birthplace of Hypocrisy

Europe, the Birthplace of Hypocrisy

Written by: Lina Maria

Date: Tuesday, March 22nd, 2005

Link

“Europe irritates me to no end. I have been upset with European leaders for a long time, because they have welcomed with open arms the commanders of the armed guerrillas in Colombia that have besieged my country for decades. Europe is also home to numerous “human rights” organizations that constantly accuse the democratic government of Colombia of human rights violations but that conveniently forget to mention a word about the leftist guerrillas heinous crimes. However, the source of anger against Europe is deeper than that. I do not trust a group of nations that pretend to be all nice and peaceful, but that love to deal with other nations who are in clear violation of international law and that have been sanctioned numerous times by the UN.

What is it with Europe anyway? They pretend to be the standard bearers of peace and integration, but in reality they are war profiteers that integrate only with themselves, alienating the rest of the world and especially the United States. I understand that they would be mad with the Bush administration for going into Iraq against the U.N’s wishes and on false information, but they are bringing this act too far. They want to blame all the ills happening in the world on the United States. Now wait a second there!If there is anyone more guilty of the anger of the people in the Arab world and the rest of the third world that would be Europe. Let us not forget that not too long ago the European countries colonized good part of those areas and that the Spaniards exploited every bit of land in Central and South America. As a matter of fact according to this article, the French were in the Ivory coast and without a UN resolution I might add, as the war in Iraq was underway. Historical amnesia is what I call that. As far as I can remember, and please correct me if I am wrong, the United States did not hold any colonies that it exploited to the point of vanishing. But the hypocrisy is not only historical, it also appears to be rampant in the present.

While Europe yells and screams that the United States “invaded a sovereign country” that did not attack them first, the Europeans were making deals with Saddam Hussein, who was supposed to be under an international embargo. Russia, France and Germany were happily selling arms to this murderous dictator and apparently they don’t stop at Iraq either. They are profiting from arm and nuclear technology sales to rogue states that have all the intentions of using them to wreck havoc in the international community. I am specifically talking about Iran and Venezuela and its deals with Russia, as well as Spain sending Jet fighters to Fidel-wannabe Hugo Chavez.

I did and still do not agree with our reasons for going to war, which are not all that clear anymore, but I will not side with the European hypocrites who have been “free riding” on America’s back for far too long. As a matter of fact, I think the U.S should force them to militarize themselves and share some of the burden of keeping the international order. They are largely benefiting from the fact that they don’t have to worry about solving pesky problems like the North Koreans building nuclear weapons, because of course, they have always relied on the United States to take care of everything for them. It is time that Europe stopped playing “good guy” and took responsibility for some of the fall out of their own past mistakes. I don’t believe their pacifist act for a second.

Thomas Friedman wrote a very interesting article in the New York Times, that pretty much sums up Europe’s hypocrisy in one sentence: “there is nothing worse than a pacifist that sells arms – especially in a way that increases the burden on its U.S. ally and protector.”(read full article).”

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We’ve all heard enough about American hypocrisy. It exists. Most of us are aware it. However, some of us are tired of hearing that everything bad that takes place in the world is somehow “connected to the US”.  Our media portrays Europe in a good light, generally speaking.

It’s about time Americans hear the other side of the story as there are always two sides to every story.

Before you start accusing the American government for selling arms to dictators…

Eighty percent of Britons believe that between 1973 to 1990 the United States sold Saddam Hussein more than a quarter of his weapons.

This is a myth brought on by Anti-American propaganda.

Truth: According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s investigation, the US supplied 200 (0.46%) of Iraq’s imported weapons in this period, of a total 43,915 from all countries. The UK supplied 79 (0.18%) of Iraq’s weapons. The USSR, France and China supplied 57%, 13% and 12% respectively.

Link

Lina Maria is a Colombian living in the United States. Feel free to look at more of her essays on politics:

• Average Americans
• Things and People that Make me Want to Turn Republican
• Things and People that Keep me a Liberal

Aby & Captain V Sasha “the Liberals – the Internationalists” Commit Forgery!

A Right-wing Indian fringe group that finds my blog very offensive decided to forge my name on a comment that I didn’t make as revenge for posting their hate mail publicly on my blog, I am guessing. Some phrases were made by me in this post. The authors of the offending blog decided to copy and paste some of my words (out of order) and mix them up with someone else’s combined with some Valley-girl lingo.

Here’s the finished product. (Click the below to get to the source.)

If these Americanophobic teeny-boppers have to commit forgery to prove that Americans are dumb, … that indeed is a compliment to Americans!

I had to laugh at the ending, though, as Zontar had posted that in his comment reacting to the hate mail that I had received.

They have access to a thesaurus and a keyboard. What a feat!!!!

Who cannot laugh at the silliness of all this?

UPDATE:

The latest from Aby the “Liberal” and co.:

Once again, quoting things that I did not say. It’s not really that HUGE of a deal as those people that already know me know that I don’t talk like that. And people who don’t know me? Bring it on! They can just come here and read my site to find out for themselves.

Still laughing at the silliness!

UPDATE 2!

If that wasn’t hilarious enough, I took a screen shot of her commenting back to herself!

(Click below to access the source)

UPDATE 3!

Here is Aby’s latest instalment in her “testimonials” area of her blog (which is updated depending on her mood):

(Click below to access the source.)

If amusing people means challenging back with facts, then yeah… my blog is one hellavan amusement park. And will continue to be that way. 

UPDATE 4!

Yet, another desperado instalment from my good ole friends next door – except this time, they’ve dragged their criminal acts of forgery to an online message board dedicated to ME! I am so a celeb!!!!!!!!!

Click the screen shot below to access the source.

In case you’re confused, Aby’s “partner in crime” goes under the following names:

- Captain Sasha

- Sasha

- Captain V

- Juan McDaniel

- Captain (Dr.) Alexandr Vasilevski

- Karmen

- Amy

- Bridgette

and god knows what else.

I’ve met a lot of cooky Americanophobes in my time, but Juan McDaniel undoubtfully gets to wear the crown!

Who are the best and worst tourists?

Even the self-proclaimed foreign relations experts and the paranoid KGB can’t get it right. Little do they know that the British have the worst reputation abroad.

Yes, the British are the worst tourists! Americans come in 2nd place for being THE BEST TOURISTS.

Who wuda thunk it?

Research by online travel service Expedia suggests Brits abroad are the least well-regarded by foreigners.

They are the rudest, meanest, worst-behaved, most linguistically incompetent and least adventurous holidaymakers, the study published on Friday claims.

Categories included behaviour, politeness, willingness to learn the language, trying local delicacies and spending on the local economy.

And overall, the British finished bottom of the league table of 24 nations, which was topped by the Germans, Americans and Japanese.

[Snip!]

And (drumroll) interestingly enough, ………..

Americans were judged the most courteous and the British the rudest, alongside the Russians and Canadians.

The Brits also seemed to make least effort in speaking the local language, a quality excelled by the Germans, French and Americans.

Feel free to read the rest of the article here.

Another source says that the French are the most obnoxious tourists.

Naturally, everyone’s going to encounter different experiences abroad. It’s a matter of luck. It’s a matter of how YOU behave. And it’s a matter of whether or not you’ll encounter the 40% (my conspiracy) of snobby cultural elitists that will interrogate you in the streets, violently attack you, point you in the wrong direction when you get lost, discriminate against you, overcharge you, and make your vacation miserable.

The funny thing to look at here is the fact that it is only Americans and Jews that are expected to act like the locals abroad. AND! It is only Americans that are expected to act like the locals abroad even on their own turf! However, Australians, hypothetically speaking, no matter how loud, rude or obnoxious they are will get a FREE PASS.

That’s very telling. Don’t you think?

Even more interesting, in Europe, having a travel guide is one of the many reasons Americans are considered, “stupid”. This is part of the cultural differences between Europeans and Americans. Americans aren’t ashamed at all to admit or show that they don’t know something – whereas Europeans are too embarrassed to look like “they don’t know” and hide it. This isn’t about stupidity at all. It’s about being humble and honest. And in this regard, people who ask for help or learn tips from books, are the ones that I’d like to call intelligent due to their curiosity and ability to ask questions which, in turn, causes one to LEARN. Read the blog entry and the comments in this post to see where I’m coming from. Here’s a sneak preview:

The biggest problem (sic) thet the citizens of the US are confronted with is their mental isolation, geographical too; their knowledge of foreign cultures is limited and their manners are almost nonegsistive. One of my friends actualy told me that an american guest went mental when he found out that Jackie Chan’s movies aren’ sinchronized but just subtiteld. They also tend to be straped to their guides while others (especially Germans, Italians or British) spend hours walking through the streets of let’s say Trogir discovering them on their own. Another example: My homeland- Croatia is actualy called Hrvatska, Germany- Deutschland, Sweeden- Svenska, Spain- Espana, Italy- Italia, Switzerland- die Schweiz, and many more. Also there is a lot of countries and capital cities that americans don’t know how to read correctly: T’bilisi, Georgia; Moskow, Russian Federation, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico etc.

So, let me get this straight (addressing this entire blog post), if tour guides, tour groups, travel guides, and maps define what an American is, then why are there so many tour buses and tour guides in the United States? Why are travel books and guides sold in other countries and in the US to cater to YOU PEOPLE coming from your neck of the woods to America? Why do I continue to find Asians running around everywhere with cameras and travel books?

And wait a minute! I thought that Americans didn’t travel. It’s odd for me to see in every Americanophobic blog the following:

1. Americans don’t have passports
2. Stupid American tourists

You know, we’re damned no matter what we do! And this is what Americanophobia is all about. In my opinion, it’s very similar to the Nazi propaganda during and before WWII. If you are old enough to know anything about Nazi propaganda and are familiarized with Americanophobia, you will notice some significant similarities.

I would only expect that self-proclaimed internationalists would understand that a different country’s people would mean a different culture. We’re not all going to like, get used to, or be able to understand everyone’s unique culture and/or sub-cultures within. There are some things about Japanese customs that I don’t like. So what? I’m not going to create an entire blog devoted to how much I hate Japanese culture. I’m not going to obsess about how I think that Japanese are this or that all day and go out of my way to find them in the streets so that I can taunt them and write more about them in my blog so that I can feel better about my esteem-deficient being.

It’s human nature to fall victim to culture shock. We are all unique despite the fact that we all cry the same tears and bleed the same blood. People who are unable to appreciate the differences, more than likely, don’t even like themselves.

For more information as to how I feel about tourism and how to expect to be treated in certain areas abroad, you may want to read this before you pack your suitcases.

Americans are so meannnnnnnnn!

Look they even orchestrated the Mumbai terrorist attacks in India!!

It’s got to be true ‘cuz she said it. And so did they. True, we did warn Mumbai and they paid no attention. But hey, that was our strategy so that we wouldn’t get caught. Who wuda thunk that the KGB would be watching?

Americans killed almost 200 people in India. Do you think this must be because all Americans are INHERENTLY violent? According to these Right-wing Euronational propagandists, America is one of the most violent nations on earth, and inherently so!

Think they’re hand-pickin’ their “sources”?

Well, according to this site, it looks like they’re leaving out parts of their own continent.

But INHERENTLY violent? This must explain why I’m so meannnnnnnn too? And stupid. Did you also know that Americans are INHERENTLY stupid? Yes, you heard that correctly. We are all inherently “stupid”.

(This Right-wing Euronationalist fringe group who call themselves “Liberal internationalists calling a spade a spade” from this blog swear that they aren’t Americanophobes and tell me that I’m just into “conspiracy theories”. (It’s not like anyone would admit that they’re prejudiced, though, right?) This is despite all the overwhelming material out there created by non-Americans living in other countries that proves Americanophobia is rampant, but I digress….)

It is just very interesting for me how all non-American evils committed are given a free pass. If that’s not an Americanophobic self-serving ideology, I don’t know what is.

Anyway, this all reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:

“As someone who takes human rights seriously, I’m appalled by the lack of sympathy the left feels toward the victims of any regime other than the Bush administration. Let’s shout it to prisoners everywhere: If you’re not harmed by an American, your suffering doesn’t count.” –Erik Svane

Patricksperry left this comment on my blog the other day that says it all:

These are things that myself as well as many others place into the “Hate America First” category. It doesn’t really matter what it is to the people such as referenced. Just so long as America will be found at fault. If we in America didn’t actually do it, why the CIA forced people from another country to do it!

Some reasonability is always necessary. The USA is far from perfect, but we are as a nation and as a people nowhere near the goons that the Americanophobic propagandists make us out to be.

You really can’t blame them, though. In their neck-o-the woods, it’s hip to hate Americans. And young kids want to be in the “in group”. Awww….. let them play in their little sandbox, no?

Or should we remind them that they may be just a little less than perfect themselves?

• Blunders Across the Pond

  • A Columbian’s Opinion on the Hypocrisy of European Anti-Americanism
  • A pacifist that sells arms?
  • AUSTRALIA HAS BECOME THE FATTEST NATION ON EARTH!
  • Australians Refused to Sign the Kyoto Treaty
  • British Football Hooligans
  • British Muslim ‘bullied’ for converting to Christianity
  • British Pupils STILL Wearing Nappies (diapers)!
  • Britons ‘ignorant of UK history’
  • Britons Ignorant about the USA
  • Cases of Christianophobia in Britain
  • EU Soldiers Accused of Torturing Civilians in Congo
  • Europe’s pious hypocrisy should be exposed for what it is
  • French Racism toward Black People
  • Is there Racism in Finland?
  • Jean Charles, innocent Brazilian citizen killed by British police in London
  • Neville Chamberlain’s Romantic Love Affair with Adolf Hitler (1869 – 1940)
  • One in five Britons don’t know how to use e-mail
  • One-legged war veteran saves mother and baby from thugs … only to be arrested for carrying a truncheon
  • Racism in European Football
  • School girls in Singapore violently and sexually abusing another girl
  • Shari’a Law Has Made it to Great Britain!
  • Shocking images revealed at Britain’s ‘Abu Ghraib trial’
  • Support UK Troops on Facebook (69,107 members – $835 donated)
  • Teachers drop the Holocaust to avoid offending Muslims?
  • The Rise in French Racism toward Jews and Muslims
  • The True Character of the European Left
  • Tourist wins damages for hotel with too many Germans
  • UK delays pulling troops out of Iraq!
  • War veteran, 96, has rubbish uncollected for two weeks for ‘crime’ of putting two jars in wrong bin
  • What the Hell is wrong with the British Justice System?
  • Who Does China Think That They are Fooling?

  • Oh! Canada!

    • (old news) Canadians choose conservative (Harper)
    • A Canada where no one must choose between paying rent and their medication: 1941 supporters
    • Animosity between French and English Canada
    • Are Americans the only ones that are Ignorant?
    • Canada’s “Secret” Contribution to the War in Iraq
    • Canadian Conservative Bloggers Being Sued
    • Canadian Immigrants Taking Over White Collar U.S. Jobs
    • Canadians Against Immigration!
    • Canadians did *not* invent Ginger Ale; The Irish Did
    • Canadians Support Canadian Troops in Afghanistan
    • Canadians who supported Stephen Harper!
    • Court overturns father’s grounding of 12-year-old
    • Doesn’t the US have many more guns and higher murder rates than Canada?
    • For Canadians, serving in Iraq is a source of pride
    • Freedom of Speech in Canada?
    • Going to Canada? Check your past. (If you smoked pot once 40 yrs. ago, forgettaboutit)
    • How the Canadian media exaggerates the “woes” of American Health Care
    • I’ll Never Let Canada Live This Down: Evil Carpooling Startup Fined
    • MILLIONS MORE GUNS IN CANADA THAN THE GOVERNMENT WILL ADMIT
    • No. Yanks aren’t the only Dumb People
    • Racism in Canada
    • The Dumbing Down of Canada
    • The Ugly Canadian
    • The Ugly Racist Canadian
    • Canada has some problems
      
    • Why are Canadians the world’s energy pigs?

Not to mention past wars provoked by them and of course, that most of the rumors that these sheeple believe in about the American people have already been proven to be false or heavily exaggerated.

The ludicrous accusation for causing the Mumbai attacks reminds me of children when their parents catch them doing something wrong and how they blame it on their sibling.

Ohhhh Wal, ah’s jest gonna take mah nashunalist an’ unsophisticated fat uncouth an’ boreish ass out an’ hoof it an’ shoot up sum varmints…

Americanophobia is Based on Ignorance

Simply put, Americanophobia is a chronic syndrome of The Pot calling the Kettle Black!

As some of my readers are already aware, one of the many inane stereotypes pinned to Americans is “dumb”. Oh, I’m not denying it. We ARE dumb. But who isn’t guilty of such a crime? America compared to herself is dumb. However, when you compare the US to other countries, you come to find out that we’re not the ONLY ones with a few screws loose.

OK. Now here’s the irony of all this. Those that have aggressively given us the “ignorant” label… well, only one is to assume that the Americanophobes are exempt from the same label, right?

Wrong.

Let’s me just put it this way. If Americans = dumb. Then we’re all Americans. Let’s have a look-see at the research, shall we?

Here’s just a tiny peek into minds of the Americanophobes:

Large numbers of British citizens consistently and inaccurately think the worst of America

Subjects researched:

• ARMING IRAQ
• POLYGAMY
• WARS AND ISLAM
• RACE AND ETHNICITY
• THE ENVIRONMENT
• EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE

And that’s not even the half of it. Sadly, there’s more. Download a PDF of the full twenty True Or False Statements they tested.

A poll of nearly 2,000 Britons by YouGov/PHI found that 70 per cent of respondents incorrectly said it was true that the US had done a worse job than the European Union in reducing carbon emissions since 2000. More than 50 per cent presumed that polygamy was legal in the US, when it is illegal in all 50 states.

The poll was commissioned by America In The World , an independent pressure group that launches on Monday and aims to improve understanding and appreciation of the US in Britain and around the world.

Tim Montgomerie, its director, said factual inaccuracies and mistaken assumptions have contributed to Britons and Europeans taking a hostile stance towards their most powerful ally, which often acted against national interests.

“We wanted to find out how British people understood America and found that there was an unbalanced view. Maybe there are good reasons but if we cleared a lot of that factual ignorance we would have a better understanding of what America really is,” said Mr Montgomerie, who also founded the influential Conservative Home website three years ago.

The survey showed that a majority agreed with the false statement that since the Second World War the US had more often sided with non-Muslims when they had come into conflict with Muslims. In fact in 11 out of 12 major conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslims, Muslims and secular forces, or Arabs and non-Arabs, the US has sided with the former group. Those conflicts included Turkey and Greece, Bosnia and Yugoslavia, and and Kosovo and Yugoslavia.

Read the rest from the British Telegraph here.

Interestingly enough, this person tends to think that the American media is responsible for creating Americanophobia abroad. Well, he just may have a point when you consider this. Some wonder if it’s the fault of the BBC. I personally think its both. America invented Anti-Americanism and we’ve perfected it. Well, in other words, the United States doesn’t hide her dirty laundry – rather she exposes it unashamedly to her people and those living abroad. Then the media establishments in other countries take the bait and over-sensationalize it on their turf. Ugly news sells.

To understand this dynamic, one must understand the purpose of journalism:

• 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.

America in the World.com is a British site that has additionally discovered the many MYTHS that Americanophobic Europeans blindly believe in.

Here is a comprehensive list of all the MYTHS debunked:

• Myth: America is not a truly free and open society
• Myth: Black Americans are held back in a country plagued by racism
• Myth: America refused any involvement in World War II, when the freedom of Europe was at stake, until the December 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbour forced her to participate
• Myth: Americans allow tens of millions of their fellow citizens who cannot afford health insurance to go without it
• Myth: Americans Aren’t Interested in the Environment
• Myth: America is exceptionally ungenerous in its aid to developing nations
• Myth: America is a violent, high-crime society
• Myth: America is dominated by intolerant religious zealots, to the detriment of everyone else
• Myth: The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 were committed by the US government

Feel free to read how they are debunked here. (The only one they were incorrect about was in saying that the 2000 Election wasn’t stolen. It was. Al Gore won by the popular vote. The Electoral system screwed him over.)

A viewer of all this blatant ignorance responded:

Edward Micheal George responds:

What a very pathetic lesson! That in clinging so unnaturally to an absence of value for our defining trait (that is: delighting in what we aren’t, rather than–what is more obvious–what we are), we have somehow come to embody that most boring of stereotypes about American folly: a crass and uncivilized propensity to dismiss, out of hand, a given group based on an untested and entirely superficial understanding of it.

Bravo, my non-American brothers and sisters! You’ve done yourselves unproud!

I have done independent research myself to myth-bust the Americanophobes. The proof that they are unlearned is endless, really. Let me just give you all a few examples:

Myth: Americans are the fattest in the world. —>Busted here. (Courtesy of news.com.au)

Myth: Americans get fat purely out of greed. —>Busted here. (Multiple sources)

Myth: Everyone likes Bush in the US. —>Busted here. (LA Times)

Myth: All/most Americans are jingoists. —>Busted here. (Multiple sources)

Myth: America has done no good. —> Busted here. (Multiple sources)

Myth: There is no “American Dream”. —>Busted here.

Myth: Only in America is the news, insular. —>Busted here.

Myth: Americans have no curiosity about the rest of the world. —>Busted here. (Multiple sources)

Myth: America has no culture: Busted here (toward the bottom).

Myth: America is the most violent (and inherently violent) in the world. —>Busted here and here. (Multiple sources)

Myth: Americans all think the same and every state is pretty much the same as the next. —>Busted here.

Myth: Americans against Americanophobia are all neocon right-wingnuts. —>Busted here, here, here and my blog is also proof of that as well.

Myth: All Americans are spoiled and rich. —>Busted here. (Multiple sources)

Myth: The America media is right-wing biased. –>Busted here and here. (Multiple sources)

Myth: Americans are the worst tourists. —>Busted here. (Courtesy of the BBC)

Myth: Americans are the laziest. —>Busted here, here, and here. (Multinational sources)

Myth: Americans are the dumbest. —>Busted here. (Courtesy of a multitude of sources)

Myth: Biased news only exists in America. —>Busted here. (The American media interviews Europeans)

Myth: American Jews are all right-wingnuts. —>Busted here. (By Jewish people, themselves)

Myth: American Democratic presidents are anti-war. —>Busted here.

Myth: America is a melting-pot, only country to commit slavery, and doesn’t allow dual passports: —>Busted here. (Multiple sources)

Myth: Only American whites are capable of racism and intolerance. —>Busted here. (Multiple sources)

Myth: Americans hate immigrants and are trying to stop them from entering the country. —>Busted here. (Courtesy of AITW based in London)

Myth: The whole world hates America and Americans. —>Busted here and here.

Myth: TV in America is shallow, superficial, and boring. —>Busted here (scroll to the middle).

Myth: Americanophobia will humble Americans, and then they will be like us someday. —>Busted here.

ANTI-AMERICANISM IN EUROPE IS FUELED BY IGNORANCE

Additionally, the British continue to bust more myths here.

Learn more here about what the rest of the world, including Americans, are saying about the aforementioned conducted research. More and more Americans everyday and learning that those who they once looked up to with high regard and admiration aren’t… all that.

Yes, we yanks are finally starting to wake up!

The only country left that we can look up to with some confidence would be Japan, in my opinion. They’re naturally not immune to criticism, however, they don’t stoop to the sanctimonious-holier-than-thou “us versus them” childish mob mentality like those I mention above.

Need more proof that Americanophobia is based on Ignorance? Aby the so called “Internationalist Liberal” shall be the poster child hall of shame in this category.

Moral of the story: So, before you Americanophobic zealots talk about ignorance, you might want to pick up a book and clean up your own act first (and as a country as well) before you start pointing fingers. You may become over-confident thinking that Americans aren’t watching. But we are. The Ugly Europeans.