Anti-Americanism...

[aakfish]

I think people in other countries have every right to bash the US government especially as they have such influence on our lives. I do however not agree with people talking crap about citizens of the US because even though I have only been to the US twice I found the Yanks to be very friendly and great people.

Oh and about the gay thing, I still think it is pathetic to disagree with their lifestyles. It's like saying I hate black people because of their lifestyles, I mean they choose to be black don't they? Gay people don't just wake up one day and say 'Oh I think I will be gay, it might be a bit of fun.' They are born gay.

[Princess Ember Mononoke]

Guest-Stal said:

Ember, I actually take offense to that myself.

Did you have any idea that if I were to do an unscripted speach that I would stutter through it, that I would mispronounce words, and so forth? Just because someone isn't eloquent with speaking does not mean they're dim.

True, but I'm not talking about the stuttering and mispronounciations. I'm talking about the time he decided that "peance and freeance" are words, the fact that he CONSISTENTLY says "suiciders" and "nuke-yu-lar," and his repeteated fantasies about how "if this were a dictatorship, it would be a lot easier - just so long as I was the dictator."

[Tahu]

Ember said:

True, but I'm not talking about the stuttering and mispronounciations. I'm talking about the time he decided that "peance and freeance" are words, the fact that he CONSISTENTLY says "suiciders" and "nuke-yu-lar," and his repeteated fantasies about how "if this were a dictatorship, it would be a lot easier - just so long as I was the dictator."

I agree with ember. Look at my signature for 3 more quotes...

[Deleted]

Aak said:

I think people in other countries have every right to bash the US government especially as they have such influence on our lives. I do however not agree with people talking crap about citizens of the US because even though I have only been to the US twice I found the Yanks to be very friendly and great people.

Oh and about the gay thing, I still think it is pathetic to disagree with their lifestyles. It's like saying I hate black people because of their lifestyles, I mean they choose to be black don't they? Gay people don't just wake up one day and say 'Oh I think I will be gay, it might be a bit of fun.' They are born gay.

1. Many people don't know this, but the terms Yank, Yankee, and Yankee-doodle were all originally meant as insults from the British to the Americans. Someone didn't realize this and decided to make a patriotic song, called "Yankee-Doodle Dandy," and ever since then people have thought that Yankee was a good term.

It's rather ironic, since when we use it as a patriotic term, we're only proving that the 18th century British people were right.

2. I don't think it's right to say people are born gay, but I also don't think it's a choice. However, this is being discussed on another thread.

[Princess Ember Mononoke]

TheComedian said:

1. Many people don't know this, but the terms Yank, Yankee, and Yankee-doodle were all originally meant as insults from the British to the Americans. Someone didn't realize this and decided to make a patriotic song, called "Yankee-Doodle Dandy," and ever since then people have thought that Yankee was a good term.

Actually, that's inaccurate. It WAS originally a British insult, but after a while, Americans started to take it as a compliment, the way that a rebellious teenager would take his parents calling him "difficult" as a compliment. So, one group of these rebellious Americans rewrote the words to the original "Yankee Doodle" insult song and turned them patriotic ("My father and I went down to camp/ Along with captain Goodwin/ And there we saw the men and boys/ As thick as hasty pudding") and it became the American's theme for the Revolutionary War.

[Crystal]

Oily said:

You're far too polite, Crystal

Am I?

Maybe I should be ruder...

Although, Stal's not entirely off - people, of any intelligence, are bound to stutter at unscripted speeches. But Bush has stuttered and screwed up on scripted speeches, as well.

Sorry, Buddy, too lazy to quote your post...

Since I screw up constantly while reading any story out loud in class, from my own seat (which my Malay teacher likes us to do) I really shouldn't be saying anything about this, should I?

[Stal]

Ninja said:

Since I screw up constantly while reading any story out loud in class, from my own seat (which my Malay teacher likes us to do) I really shouldn't be saying anything about this, should I?

I do it as well. I stumble and stutter even when reading aloud. I'm not an eloquent speaker at all.

[aakfish]

I know the term 'YANK' was offensive but it isn't anymore.

[Kiddo]

Ember said:

I'm sorry, Kiddo, but my reasons for question his intellect gos beyond my dislike of his policies. If you listen to his unscripted speeches and read his quotes, it's difficualt to come to any other conclusion that he is simply quite dim.

Take some sort of public speaking class. Rachel had to take one in a lecture hall and just about died.

I'm one of the gifted few that can give impromptu speeches and pull it off halfway decent. Even then, I stutter on occasion and I revert back to all the mispronunciations that got me sent to speech therepy special ed when I was a kid. And on rare occasions I put foot in mouth and I'm ALWAYS about to die of nervousness.

Clinton was a very good public speaker. I'll hand him that - he was very good.

Bush is just like anyone else. You, me, Rachel. He's not good at speaking in public. He makes stupid mistakes like we all do. The only difference is instead of standing at the front of a 100+ lecture hall he's standing in front of the entire United States, a media out to make him look bad, and possibly other countries as well.

So no pressure or anything.

If the fact he's a bad public speaker is your reason for disliking him, then you need better reasons. Liiiiike, his platform for example? Not just what the media and paid ads say either, -dig-.

There is -always- a lot more going on then what the public knows. I got a whole lecture about that from the FBI agents last time I visited my aunt and they found out I was voting age. (my aunt is a support personal on the terrorism task force)

[Stal]

Superhero said:

Even then, I stutter on occasion and I revert back to all the mispronunciations that got me sent to speech therepy special ed when I was a kid.

Something else we have in common. I took speech therapy for years when I was younger.

It wasn't until I was about 11 or 12 that I was able to start pronouncing my r's and other letters with any sort of true pronunciation (I had been out of Speech for awhile then. They said I could stop when I was 7, saying I'd improved. Guess I reverted back. Don't have much memory).

And Kiddo is right. Clinton had this great gift for speaking. He also had something called Charisma. That's a major thing when it comes to public speaking and so forth, in my opinion.

[Stal]

Oh, I forgot to mention, the platform is the best thing to vote on, as Kiddo said. I take a look at what these people stand for that I stand for. The same values I hold dear that they do, too. Kerry doesn't seem to hold any on of my values. Doesn't run on a platform (speaking of which...what is his platform other than Vietnam?) that I can agree with...or not that I can see anyway. He may agree with me today, but he may change that by tomorrow.

I wish more people would vote based on issues and platforms instead of "This guy is just 'cooler'" or "This guy appears to be smarter because he's more eloquent with speaking."

...yeah.

Heh. A little off topic. Oh well.

[Kiddo]

Guest-Stal said:

I wish more people would vote based on issues and platforms instead of "This guy is just 'cooler'" or "This guy appears to be smarter because he's more eloquent with speaking."

Ahem.

"Why wouldn't you vote for Clinton? He's so much better looking than that other guy!"

Actual reason someone gave for their voting choice. Because Clinton was better looking.

[Oily]

Ember said:

Actually, that's inaccurate. It WAS originally a British insult, but after a while, Americans started to take it as a compliment, the way that a rebellious teenager would take his parents calling him "difficult" as a compliment. So, one group of these rebellious Americans rewrote the words to the original "Yankee Doodle" insult song and turned them patriotic ("My father and I went down to camp/ Along with captain Goodwin/ And there we saw the men and boys/ As thick as hasty pudding") and it became the American's theme for the Revolutionary War.

In fact, I read that just today ^^ It was a British song making fun of Americans.

As for US politics, I don't hear much on their platforms. But Kerry doesn't seem to have any politics except talking on Vietnam. And Bush does give off the impression of being dim. It's more than mangling the occasional word or stuttering. It's consistently inventing new words or making really obvious errors. Politics is a lot on how you present yourself, how you spin.
From what I've heard too, he sounds a little simple. I've read in the papers reports from people who were quite close to him. But I can't trust anything anymore, and I'm not getting dragged into US politics I don't think I have enough evidence for anything.

[aakfish]

I just found this quote and thought it was hilarious:

Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives. - John Stuart Mill

I have just been reading some Bush Quotes.

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

That is by far my favourite.

[Deleted]

Ember said:

Actually, that's inaccurate. It WAS originally a British insult, but after a while, Americans started to take it as a compliment, the way that a rebellious teenager would take his parents calling him "difficult" as a compliment. So, one group of these rebellious Americans rewrote the words to the original "Yankee Doodle" insult song and turned them patriotic ("My father and I went down to camp/ Along with captain Goodwin/ And there we saw the men and boys/ As thick as hasty pudding") and it became the American's theme for the Revolutionary War.

Really? I had always heard that they thought it was a compliment.

Aak said:

I know the term 'YANK' was offensive but it isn't anymore.

Tell that to the southern U.S. They use it as a derrogative term for northerners.