Anti-Americanism...

[The Wanderer]

I am sick of hearing and watching other countries talk smack about the U.S. Everyday, I hear about it, read about it, see it on television, and I am tired of it.

I know alot of people are only trying to vent a little outrage at our government, and that's fine and all. But I even get to hear about how our government is "a cruel, heartless, warmongering bunch." If they really were cruel and heartless, they'd launch everything in the arsenal to shut you up.

So I guess I want to ask all of you, especially those in other countries on their thoughts of all the people in the world that get sucked into all that blind hate towards a landmass that is shaped by coastline and borders.

I dont particularly care for some of the things that the U.S. government does, but they haven't gotten in my face yet, and until they do, I can only be thankful that they leave me and the rest of the people here, alone.

[Torey]

I admit it. There are things I don't like about America. One fact is that the American's always try to be one step ahead of everyone else and they claim to be the best. I've seen this only on t.v and such though and so the American's that I don't see aren't like what the t.v portrays. However, there are things that I don't like about my country too. We're snobby, we're arrogant. All countries have their downsides. I think it's unfair to hate a country though and its people. You can't possibly hate the people of a country because you haven't seen all the people of that country. You've just seen a few. So how anyone can claim to hate a country is beyond me.

[Crystal]

I personally couldn't care less. The US is a country and I respect it no more and no less than any other country. Admittedly, I'm biased toward my own and I feel that the US sometimes doesn't have enough laws and such (as in, gun posession, etc) but that's just my own personal opinion derived from all the stories I've read and people I've met. No need to hit back at me on the subject. I also don't understand US politics and probably never will - those here are a great deal simpler. ^^ I disapprove of the people who bash a country simply because I judge on the person, not the country as a whole.

[belgiumardennes]

Some of the worst Anti-Americanism I hear is from Americans themselves. If people don't like their country, fine, that's a personal opinion and while I might agree with it, the fact that you have it doesn't bother me. What bothers me is when Americans try to use anti-Americanism as a way to make themselves seem morally superior, as if by putting down their own country they can completely clear their conscience of everything wrong with it.

I also hear a lot of putting down of the average American, which ticks me off. Usually when I hear the term 'average American' it is in a negative sense. The average american doesn't care about ... the average american doesn't understand ... its the fault of the uninformed average americans ... etc. It's become an insult to be called an average American, and yet this country stands on its farmers, factory workers, truckers, etc.

I guess that was more of a rant. I just think too often people take things for granted, whether it's their country or the people in it.

[ncwidt5895]

As an American, I'd like to say something about it -

It's not the people who put down the government that bother me. It's the people who hate the everyday citizens, the people like probably most every American on this forum. When people say "Oh, you're American. American's suck! They're all [insert something here]!" it angers me. Just because they don't like us being in war with Iraq or they think we're too power hungry doesn't mean it's the average citizen who's doing it. In fact, in polls, most people are AGAINST the war in Iraq. Most people are NOT voting for president Bush (in southern California at least). And so when people think that all Americans are stupid and arrogant, it ticks me off. Because you can't judge a whole nation by its leaders.

And that's my two cents.

[Kiddo]

Weewooclaw said:

In fact, in polls, most people are AGAINST the war in Iraq. Most people are NOT voting for president Bush (in southern California at least).

Yeah, that's southern California. It's the exact opposite where I'm at. Heck, remember when they pulled down that statue of Saddam? My school spent the entire day in a party atmosphere while that was going on. Didn't get a single thing done all day cause we were glued to the TV's watching and cheering. A lot of the registered Democrats I know are planning on voting for Bush because, "Kerry is an idiot." (Their words, not mine!)

Heck, if they ever re-instate the draft I plan to enlist... I am proud of my country and the military that protects it.

I'm not so sick of outside anti-Americanism as I am of inside anti-Americanism. I don't care what other countries think of us. That's their problem if they can't get past the surface stereotypes. Cause if I can get past them for other nations, then so can they.

But I have difficulty with people that act like being American is something to be ashamed of.

My roomate is immensely proud of the fact that they captured Saddam on her birthday. If you looked at some of what the mass media spouts, you'd expect her to be cringing in shame and forging up a new birth certificate.

For some reason, it is unpopular to take pride in America and what we do.

I have attended a wedding that featured a Chinese immigrant as the bride, a typical white guy as the groom, a person of Irish descent with flaming red hair as the maid of honor, and a black guy as the photographer. (he was a really cool guy. Got to talk to him at the reception) Oh yeah, we also had a translator so the wedding was in both Chinese and English.

And yet we have people telling us we should be ashamed of ourselves because we once held slaves and were bad to minorities and the like. *cough*ETHNIC STUDIES 101*cough*

I am going to college as a computer science major and can compete and outstrip anyone in my class. I am smart, I am determined, and I can do whatever I want with my life.

I want to be a mother and raise a family with a husband.

And NOW tells me that I'm weak because of that. In America, women who stay at home are letting themselves be subjegated by an evil society.

The only person who has kept in touch with my father through his illness is a Muslim who used to live in Iraq. He prays for him still, and always asks how school is going when I pick up when he calls.

Yet we're evil and are singling out Muslims for unfair treatment, right?

I've seen an entire class express overwhelming support for the war, only to have the nightly news soundbite us into being anti-war.

Frankly, I'm sick of it. I am proud to be an American, faults and all. Nothing is perfect but that's no reason to be walking around moping about how horrible the red white and blue is.

I wish I knew who started this trend of Americans hating America. I'd like to excercise my freedom of expression with a good smack to the back of their head.

[Oily]

*shrug* I don't really view America as much different from any other country. Nor do I view people on sole basis of their nationality.
Some things surprised me - the fervent Christianity, for one. (England tends to be kind of liberal. Douglas Adams said it best - "We drifted from wishy washy Anglicism to wishy washy agnosticism." And it's mostly true.)
I'm also surprised by how little some Americans know of the world outside. But I'm not saying that's true for a majority, or even a minority. I was just surprised to note it in someone (not anyone here )
I certainly wouldn't judge a whole country by the remarks of a couple of people over the Internet :/

Again, it annoys me when Americans are going "Our country sucks" You live in a country where you're free to vote as you like, to do pretty much as you like, where you are not hindered by race or nationality or gender (mostly.), where you get a free education. Be grateful for the roof over your head and the food on your plate, because a lot of peope don't even have that.

[belgiumardennes]

Superhero said:

Heck, if they ever re-instate the draft I plan to enlist... I am proud of my country and the military that protects it.

That's awesome. It means a lot when you say that you would join the military when help is most needed and, most likely, it is most dangerous for you to do so.

I was once told that everyone should spend at least two years of their life serving their country, whether or not it's military. I really agree with that.

Everyone's going to have something they don't like about their country or its government, so everyone should have a good reason to try to help out.

[Buddy]

I'm not ashamed to be an American in the least. We're not perfect by any means - but no country is. All countries have skeletons in their closet - every country has done things that are frowned upon by today's standards. England, France, Germany, Italy, Maylaysia, Japan. And yes, even the U.S. of A.

I'm not always proud of some of the things our country does or of the people the lead it and do those things. But that doesn't mean I'm ashamed of my country as a whole.

However, I'm not about to pretend that my country is perfect. We've done horrible things before, things we regret today and, in hindsight, wish we'd never done. And in all fairness, some of the anti-Americanism (but certainly, by all means, not all) is brought upon by ourselves. When we have people like Toby Keith and other country singers singing songs with lyrics like "We'll stick a boot up your ass, it's the American way!", how can you not say people have no reason to think we're arrogant?

Of course, calling a whole country (especially one run by so many people as ours) "arrogant" by the actions of a few isn't anywhere near fair and is true ignorance.

I think it's a lot like why people hate Wal-Mart - they hate them because they're so big. And when you're on the bottom, looking up at the guy on top, you can't help but be made and think of how unfair it is that he's there and you're not.

And in that case, you'll find almost any reason to hate them.

[The Wanderer]

I don't think it's hatred. I think it is fear. The U.S. does still have a rather large nuclear arsenal, waiting to either be finally be disarmed, and stowed away, or used.

I remember hearing a man who was in charge of a nuclear weapons storage facility saying that now, with all the nukes and scientists that could be on the black market, any country in the world can have its own nuclear weapons program. That's why the U.S. is so reluctant to disarm.

So maybe the bottom line is that we are ALL afraid of each other's motives. One of humanity's many pitfalls: we lack trust, unity, cooperation.

[Deleted]

Well, when you hear that, you have to know, they're not talking about America in general, they're talking, like you said, about the government. Really, I think it's all Dubya.

Actually, I think it's all of the above, and, it's also stereotypicalism.... or however you say it. When I was young, in Grade 1, my Grade 1 teacher cracked a joke to another teacher about saying all American's carry a gun in there pocket. The whole class heard, and we all grew up thinking all American's carried a gun in their pocket. (although I don't believe that now, of coarse) Because of these few things, people are brought up thinking of America or other places in ways that aren't true, but, that forms into the thoughts of the person, and give America or other places reputations that aren't true.

Also, yeah, probably partially fear for some people.

And, then, there's the theory someone brought up that it seems like America is the center of the world, and all the importance seems there. I don't know if it's they think America is full of themselves, or jealousy, but, again, that's just how people are raised thinking, and it's not 100% true.

[althechia]

Recently, we've had a Japanese exchange student in the house. A few days ago, he came up to me with a strange topic.

He asked why American Men are so unfashionable. I was confused. He explained to me, in broken English (he's been attending an English language class at a nearby University), that he heard men who dressed fashionably, which I guessed meant flashy, were considered homosexuals here. He mentioned that he had gotten his hair cut shorter because someone told him it looked gay. He never had this problem in Japan, because it is natural for Japanese Youth to dress with more flair and style than it is here.

He also wondered why male celebrities had more leeway to look fashionable, and worried that his earring made him seem gay as well. 'Gay' was his biggest anxiety, because the people he was exposed to here in America thought fashion was wrong, because it was gay. He doesn't hate America. He dislikes gay people.

My father told me that, when he lived in Japan, there was a wide sense of racism. Japanese people had a sense of superiority above other nations. Naturally, he lived there fairly recently after World War II, when Japan had been involved in the war against America.

Now, back in World War II America, Japan was bad. Japan was very, very bad. Internment camps were built to pen in Japanese people. Songs were sung proudly declaring that we should 'bomb the nips.' Dead and mutilated Japanese bodies were shown proudly on newsreels.

And almost every American person was proud of their country. Everyone went with the flow, without question, because their hatred was deeply justified by the attack on Pearl Harbor. Sure, Hitler was being very bad and we would have eventually had to intervene, but we wouldn't have come in when we did unless Japan did what it did.

Before World War II and the events leading to it, America and Europe were fascinated with Japan. They loved their unique artwork, their strange culture, and they made fun of it, as well as most other places and people they had come in contact with outside their own world. We still do, to much less an extreme point.

It took two nuclear missiles and so much death for America to stop hating Japan, and start loving Japan again. Now, that a Japanese person could be standing here in my house, that I could have a Japanese father and a white mother, that's amazing. All that would all have been absolutely unacceptable a few decades ago.

I'm happy that America can recover from this kind of hatred very quickly. It's amazing, really, that neither Japan nor America are holding any strong grudges.

What I hate is that America still hasn't recovered from many grudges, some that it was born with. And a lot of those grudges are with its own people. There are Americans who hate gay people. Yes, if you don't think they should get married, you hate them, no question. But there are Americans who are gay.

You can no longer stand in the street and say that being American and patriotic means that you are a straight, white, alienated Christian who came here on a boat, slew the savage natives, and fought off other white Christians for the right to be free (Save women, slaves, and the savage natives. Oh, and witches.) and are proud of it.

I can personally say I am American and patriotic because I was born here, I'm happy here, I admire all those dead white Christians who founded it, acknowledge the mistakes we've made and are making, know only some of the good and bad we've done, and I'm proud of it.

Now, to get back on topic, anyone who hates America in general and is outside America certainly has a reason to say it, don't they? I mean, we've elected an idiot.

Oh, I'm so happy I'm free to say that.

[Kiddo]

Classic said:

Yes, if you don't think they should get married, you hate them, no question.

I don't want to turn this debate off topic, but I'm going to have to disagree with you there Al.

I have had that exact arguement thrown at me during Ethnic Studies 101 as a way of ending a debate about homosexuality.

It is a way of declaring that anyone who disagrees is a biased pig and should therefore not be taken seriously. For the rest of the year, we were disgusted with the teacher because of that one thing - her denial of our ability to voice our opinions by implying that we are 'untolerant' if we say anything.

And ya know what, that hurts a lot. I don't hate gay people - many of my friends are gay - yet I am immediantly lumped with a catagory I don't belong to simply because I disagree with some of the issues.

If you don't like stereotypes, please don't throw them around so quickly as well.

[Buddy]

Superhero said:

I don't want to turn this debate off topic, but I'm going to have to disagree with you there Al.

I have had that exact arguement thrown at me during Ethnic Studies 101 as a way of ending a debate about homosexuality.

It is a way of declaring that anyone who disagrees is a biased pig and should therefore not be taken seriously. For the rest of the year, we were disgusted with the teacher because of that one thing - her denial of our ability to voice our opinions by implying that we are 'untolerant' if we say anything.

And ya know what, that hurts a lot. I don't hate gay people - many of my friends are gay - yet I am immediantly lumped with a catagory I don't belong to simply because I disagree with some of the issues.

If you don't like stereotypes, please don't throw them around so quickly as well.

Warily, I'd have to agree with Kiddo, only based on what I've seen. Taking this forum, there are plenty of people here who disagree with gay marriage - I'll take Crystal as a perfect example. Yet, as she has said herself, she doesn't hate gay people - she just disagrees with their lifestyle.

If the whole world could live like that - disgreeing with lifestyles, instead of hating people - we'd have that much more of a peaceful world.

However, there is a vast amount of homophobia in this country. That may or may not have to do with people's opinons on gay marriage and other issues in relation (I happen to think that, on some more minute level, it does come into play).

But really, it's quite obvious that there are a lot of people who actually hate gay people. But not everyone who disagrees with gay marriage is one of them.

[stoneman3x]

Superhero said:

And ya know what, that hurts a lot. I don't hate gay people - many of my friends are gay - yet I am immediantly lumped with a catagory I don't belong to simply because I disagree with some of the issues.

If you don't like stereotypes, please don't throw them around so quickly as well.

The funny thing is... I agree with 99% of what Al said, and I agree with this bit that Kiddo said as well. But I guess in a way, I'm in the middle ground. The thing is, most marriages today exist because they are sanctioned by an official governmental document, and often people who are "legally" married today are not married in a church. In that respect, marriage has become a legalized domestic partnership. And any two people, regardless of what gender they are should be permitted, in our non-secular government, to have the right to a legalized domestic partnership. However, the right to a MARRIAGE, in the terms of a religious joining, should be a matter decided by whatever demonination a person belongs to. If your demonination forbids it, that's a religious matter that you should debate with them and it should not be dragged into a public courtroom.

The glory of the United States lies in our ability to strenuously, loudly and often obnoxiously object to everything that displeases us. In many countries, a discussion in an open forum of how lousy a government is would not be tolerated. And in many countries, homosexuals aren't simply treated as second-class citizens-- they are treated as criminals. I believe in the United States of America because we may be slow in doing the right thing, but we eventually do. Some countries will NEVER change their laws based on public opinion. In our country it's not only routine to do so, it's our collective right to do so.