Waging a War on Anti-Americanism

Anti-Americanism in Indonesia: What It Looks Like

Yella Ojrak — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 20:07:07 +0000

When George W. Bush visited Indonesia last year, thousands of us marched down the streets, with banners saying things like “Bush’s feet are stained with blood. Don’t let him on our innocent land and force our government to kick the President of USA out of our country.”

These people, we suspect, were the same people who had protested many times before — and who would protest again in the future — against US international policies and any bad news from Palestine (or ‘good news’ from Israel) regarding the conflict between the two countries. These people, claimed themselves anti-Americans. They burn the so-called star spangled banner, threw rocks and rotten eggs at the American embassy building …while wearing Levi Jeans and keeping a Motorola in their pockets! These kinds of people are usually not so anti-American and harmless on normal days. They love McDonald’s fried chicken. Only a few of them were true anti-Americans. And I can say is that an anti-American here is also a fundamentalist Muslim.

Anti-Americanism in Indonesia is almost always about Islam and non-Islam. That’s why whenever their brothers in the Middle East suffer from Israel and/or USA actions, they get angry, and they gather people to walk the length of all roads to express their resentment. It’s a good thing for them that most of Indonesian people would come with these Muslims (or any Muslim at all), for free lunch.

We Indonesians, actually, are not quite familiar with anti-Americanism. We’re never even anti to anything at all! We’re too lazy to think, to busy with our basic daily needs like getting something to eat, some place to stay, and some clothes to wear. We don’t have time for anti-Americanism. So if we joined the parade and burned American flags, we did it for free lunch.

In fact, in normal life, we respect Americans. I know many of us would rather live in the US than in Indonesia, if given the choice. What we commonly have in mind about Americans is that Americans are rich and generous, and that they’re nice and fun people to get along with. Thanks to Hollywood.

Moreover, there are many people who kept their head up high simply because they had an American friend. They talked about their American friend all the time, and tried to think and live like Americans do.

Me, I’m with most Indonesian people — not an anti-American at all. Only I’m luckier than my neighbors here. I don’t have to burn flags for lunch.

Okay, happy 4th of July! I’ll see you again next time.

What the 4th of July Means to ME!

virgomonkey — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 00:39:17 +0000

What’s the big deal with the whole 4th of July speech? “All men were created equal….bla bla bla….” Does anybody know who this was meant for and what it REALLY means??? Most of it doesn’t even hold true any longer as times have changed, and…. FOR THE BETTER!! How much do people really know about America? That speech actually degrades us and continues to make a laughing stock out of us. Not that we need too much help, but ya know…..

Here’s what is important. For several years, the Brits were bullying us around and taxing us like crazy. Being that the Americans don’t take being walked on very well, we stood for what was right, kicked some British arse and became independent from them! Now, that’s why we are as patriotic as we are - if we are. We got where we are today by fighting for what was right. Although I’m truly sorry we got rid off all that precious British tea (10,000 pounds worth was a lot of money back in the day). I’m not kidding. Take it from a SERIOUS tea drinker, as myself.

No. America’s not perfect. Read in my glossary how I define patriotism before the Anti-Americans come here with THEIR automatic weapons and laundry list of American errs.

As one of my German friends said, …

But it´s important to realise this: The basic experience of the USA as a nation is, that it had to fight for it´s freedom and independence (against Britain) and later in the american civil war… For this reason their believe in the USA and the strong patriotism of the american citizens are an expression of their pride, that they have survived and did not brake appart, and also on their strong believe in freedom and independence their fathers have fought for - and the strong believe that the USA is standing for these two qualities.

Listen to the lyrics of the national-anthem of the USA, it is all about this. Many Americans support their country, because it is assuring their freedom. Many Americans support the US-troops, because the troops are defending their country and the USA gained it´s freedom through war….

You may allow me to say… It is not that dumb to support your countries troops - it consists of your people and is fighting for your values and interests. (Let´s say - it should fight for your values and interests…)

[snip!]

Another thought on American patriotism: The USA is proud to be a separate and independent nation - it is proud, that it has become a wealthy and strong country (the Europeans predicted, that America would brake apart in anarchy and chaos) and it is proud to be the oldest democracy on this planet, that still exists…

Things one can actually be proud on. There IS a form of healthy and honest patriotism in the USA, which you should be careful to critizise. (some overdo it - but extremists are standart in human societies.) Be sure, that you understand what you are up to, before loading your weapons…

For those people who think you can’t be a liberal and love your country at the same time can stick it. And then kiss my natural born white and plump ass!

And remember people, if it weren’t for the French, chances are we would have never been able to have an Independence Day. There would be no “4th of July”. They fought courageously and helped us kick British butt! Give credit where credit is due. As SuperFrenchie says, …

If it were not for the French, Americans would be speaking English today!

With that said, …

Happy Independence Day!!!!

and

Thank you, France!!

What the Far Right and Far Left Have in Common

virgomonkey — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:43:46 +0000

Due to my recent theme being centered around Anti-Americanism, when I mention the “Far Left”, I’m talking about the Far Left in Canada and Britain (naturally some can apply to Americans). The “Far Right” will be the Americans. (Obviously this doesn’t mean that all Americans are “Far Right” and all Britons and Canadians are from the “Far Left” - I’m just mocking the extremists!)

Let’s begin!!

—> They both think their country is the mmm bestest in the worldest.

–> Sports is less about entertainment for these people and MORE about Patriotism.

—> They are both overly obsessed with politics. It’s all they think about, it’s all they do, it’s all they watch, it’s all they read. They live it, breathe it, milk it, and feed it.

—> They are both against porn and those who look at it.

—> They are both against swear words and look down on those who use them.

—> They both feel morally superior and above others. (Self-righteousness is a good word!)

—> They don’t travel. If they DO, it’s only because they HAVE to.

—> Neither one of these groups have a sense of humor. They are the kind of people that you have to explain everything to, and they STILL don’t get it! They both have a tight ass. The concept of “having fun”, kicking back, enjoying life or a laugh is like a foreign language to them. The Right is wondering why you’re not taking the Muslim terrorists seriously enough, and the Left is wondering why you’re not taking the starving S. Africans seriously enough.

—> They are both THE most intolerant and xenophobic people on earth.

—> They are both very preachy.

—> They are both boring to be with.

—> They are both very closed-minded (OKA “mentally constipated”) to any dissent, new ideas, and other possibilities. Their minds are made up for life. All researched information are those ideologies that entertain their own belief system. All contrary ideologies and dissent is purposefully misunderstood and twisted brilliantly to suit their own ongoing agendas.

—> They are both obsessed with food. The Right eat too much and the Left starve themselves.

—> While they can be admired for their political activism, they both tend to protest violently and resort to destroying property and symbols as well.

—> They both have very bad tempers, but they both exercise so much constraint that people on the other end of the conversation/text will admire them for their “stoic response”.

—> They will unashamedly accuse other people of doing the very things they have perfected themselves. With that said, they are well known for being the most hypocritical people.

—> They pretend to care about others when, in fact, all they’re concerned about is their agenda.

—> They are both religious fanatics. The Right believe that Christian Fundamentalism is the “religion of peace” whereas the Left believe that Islamic Fundamentalism is the “religion of peace”. - (Yes, even if they’re not Islamic themselves!)

—> They both believe in the most hypocritical version of the word, “peace”.

—> They both hate cigarette smokers — I mean really hate them.

—> They both have very strong mindless minions and backup.

—> They both think Scott Peterson is innocent.

—> They are both technophobes. They just get by on the basics, but frown on anything that is or appears complicated. For example, both of these groups hate iPods and iPod users. They would also never know how to take care of their computer by themselves in the most basic ways should they have technical problems.

—> They are both very grumpy, whiny and pessimistic.

—> They are both the PC Police and the Grammar/Spelling Police of the world (unless, of course, you’re on their team). With that said, they get offended VERY easily over the pettiest of things. Even the word, “fart” causes them to run and take a shower.

—> They both don’t believe in the separation of Church and State. The Right support Christian Politics and the Left support Islamic Politics even if they’re not Islamic themselves!!

—> Neither one of them believe in Personal Responsibility and blame other groups for all of their problems and life failures.

—> Both are gay. It’s just that the Right are still in the closet.

—> They are both seduced by power and like to be told what to think and do.

—> They both H-A-T-E Hollywood with a passion and are vehemently *against* televisions and anything that resembles entertainment i.e. music, film, comedy, etc…

—> They both go out of their way to take away the freedoms of the opposing party.

—> They are both paranoid watch-dogs. The Right are watching the Muslims, and the Left are watching the Americans.

—> They both hate happy people.

—> They both hate themselves.

—> They both need a little more of , , , some more of , much more of , and not to mention , and , and it couldn’t hurt to do more of , , and , and either!

—> And last but not least, both groups will be offended by this post.

The Age of Informational Warfare - Propaganda

cern4m — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:04:02 +0000

National Propaganda

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Non-national Propaganda

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My thoughts:

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

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

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

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

[Zeitgeist - the movie]

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

My Personal Disclaimer:

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

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

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

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

The Future:

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

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

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

virgomonkey — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:08:14 +0000

Seriously. Is it just Facebook or Youtube? Somebody please help. Is there a “dial-911 for retards” button? This is coming from both Americans, and non-Americans.

Typical granola ignorant rhetoric:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wow. It’s amazing how many people have never opened up a history book or have made any efforts at all to try and independently study the past. What about “Great Britain”?, the GMT?, does anyone not have any clue of British and Spanish history…. and even the way things are now… if you REALLY want to talk about arrogance?

So, here we go…

AMERICA IS NOT A F’N CONTINENT!

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

Antartica

South America

North America

Europe

Africa

Asia

Australia (Oceania)

The WORLD sorta looks something like this?

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

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

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

Quite interesting how I find that this British princess notes that the USA is the “most horrible” compared to all the other 22 countries in the North American continent. Apparently, she’s lived in all 23 countries long enough to be expert enough to make that assertion? And even more interestingly, many of the above countries’ people MOVE to the US to live, make families here, and die here…… in the “horrible USA”. This is why when people say that Anti-Americanism is mindless and hypocritical, THIS is what they mean.

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

I’m not making this shit up. I could never be this inventive. This stuff can’t be made up, anyway. Seriously. I’ve just gotten to the point where I’m sick and tired of hearing that America is a continent. Really tired.

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

—> those from Canada to call themselves Canadians

—> those from Costa Rica to call themselves Costa Ricans

—> those from Mexico to call themselves Mexicans

—> those from Jamaica to call themselves Jamaicans

—> those from Cuba to call themselves Cubans

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

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

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

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

And cut back on that granola.

I’m approaching middle-age, and I’m glad to be leaving this world soon because if our youth is already this confident in themselves, what’s to become of the future? Worse than any damage Bush can do… I’ll tell ya that much.

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

virgomonkey — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:56:38 +0000

Hi,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- Written by Troy (Reproduced with his permission)

AUSTRALIA has Officially Become the Fattest Nation in the World!

virgomonkey — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:53:48 +0000

America can’t always be number one.

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

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

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

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

Read the rest of America’s defeat here.

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

My feelings about Obesity can be found here.

Viva le MacDonalds!

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

What the British and the Canadians want YOU to know

virgomonkey — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:18:39 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why Don’t Americans have Passports? Why do we know more about them than they know about us?

virgomonkey — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:41:13 +0000

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

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

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

I don’t think we Americans have more or less passports than Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, China and other non-European countries. In fact, the curiosity about other places expressed by Americans differ from no other. The continent of Europe is VERY similar to the country of the US regarding travel and borders. In Europe, kids are practically born with passports. It’s a necessity! Let’s say for example, if you live in England, you can just hop on the chunnel and be in France or many other places in a jiffy (as what’s done state-to-state in America). A LOT of countries in Europe are about less than half the size of California and border several other countries that border even more several other countries. (This also explains the multilingualism, but not necessarily the fluency.) You can probably visit a few countries in a day without getting too exhausted. Plus you have the luxury of sitting on a train instead of having to catch a plane or drive a car! What a convenience, no?

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

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

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

Americans DO travel to Mexico and Canada. (Again, it depends how far you are from the border if you’re going to drive, too.) Mexico is VERY famous for their beaches, for American honeymoons, and some Americans take a cruise (who have money) to Cancun. Canada and Mexico are our only borders. We DO travel to those places (including the Caribbean), but that’s the only variety we have unlike Europe. And again, it’s about how much money and time we have to spare.

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

Some Canadians and Britons are indoctrinated from birth to grow up hating Americans due to the grudges held over past wars (perhaps some to a lesser degree) - in the same way some people in the US are taught to hate black people, the Muslims and the French. Anti-Americanism has very little to do with Bush, Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, or the Iraqi War.

Last but not least, what’s wrong with Americans traveling WITHIN their own country? First you criticize us for not knowing enough about our own country, then you mock us because we travel within. I have done many cross-country travels in the US, and have lived in 3 different states. There is an extraordinary amount to be seen, a lot to be done, and a lot to be learned - something that an old textbook in grade school cannot begin to teach you. I guess some foreigners perceive the locals traveling within the US as yet another act of “patriotic arrogance”?

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

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

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

As one of my Canadian commenters has pointed out,

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

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

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

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

And finally, all of your “research” on “other countries” is …:::limited:::… to the United States (out of 194 independent countries in the world). Why? Because you’re obsessed with America and are looking for any reason, any flaw to put us down. There are 193 other countries out there to explore - including your own. To avoid sounding hypocritical, you ought to study them too.

No! This isn’t “American arrogance” to point this out. This is a fact of the Anti-American behavior!

WHAT ABOUT OUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT YOU?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

If what you people knew about us wasn’t distorted information, than I’d say, good on you! But that isn’t the case. Every time I speak with an Anti-American Canadian or Briton, I am met with the same cliches and ignorance.

All you Anti-Americans have proven to me so far is one thing: you’re no different from us.

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