Edi wrote:Then they wonder why the Muslims "hate America for its Freedom".
You know, until recently I never actually thought that Americans actually believed this to be the reason why people dislike them. Generally, nobody (let alone tens of millions of people) gives a flying shit about your freedoms and your way of life unless it adversely effects them.
Seriously, it is an awfully fucking self-centred view of the world.
"This statement, in its utterly clueless hubristic stupidity, cannot be improved upon. I merely quote it in admiration of its perfection." - Garibaldi
"Problem is, while the Germans have had many mea culpas and quite painfully dealt with their history, the South is still hellbent on painting themselves as the real victims. It gives them a special place in the history of assholes" - Covenant
"Over three million died fighting for the emperor, but when the war was over he pretended it was not his responsibility. What kind of man does that?'' - Saburo Sakai
Edi wrote:Then they wonder why the Muslims "hate America for its Freedom".
You know, until recently I never actually thought that Americans actually believed this to be the reason why people dislike them. Generally, nobody (let alone tens of millions of people) gives a flying shit about your freedoms and your way of life unless it adversely effects them.
Seriously, it is an awfully fucking self-centred view of the world.
A common retort by news anchors to politicians or other public figures who may defend foreign health care systems or who respect international law is essentially "But what about American Exceptionalism?" The idea that if we do something our way here then it must be better than other ways is taken for granted by far too many Americans.
"Man's unfailing capacity to believe what he prefers to be true rather than what the evidence shows to be likely and possible has always astounded me...God has not been proven not to exist, therefore he must exist." -- Academician Prokhor Zakharov
"Hal grabs life by the balls and doesn't let you do that [to] hal."
"I hereby declare myself master of the known world."
Edi wrote:Then they wonder why the Muslims "hate America for its Freedom".
You know, until recently I never actually thought that Americans actually believed this to be the reason why people dislike them. Generally, nobody (let alone tens of millions of people) gives a flying shit about your freedoms and your way of life unless it adversely effects them.
Seriously, it is an awfully fucking self-centred view of the world.
A common retort by news anchors to politicians or other public figures who may defend foreign health care systems or who respect international law is essentially "But what about American Exceptionalism?" The idea that if we do something our way here then it must be better than other ways is taken for granted by far too many Americans.
It is an extremely childish argument. I feel embarrassed for the people who make it.
"This statement, in its utterly clueless hubristic stupidity, cannot be improved upon. I merely quote it in admiration of its perfection." - Garibaldi
"Problem is, while the Germans have had many mea culpas and quite painfully dealt with their history, the South is still hellbent on painting themselves as the real victims. It gives them a special place in the history of assholes" - Covenant
"Over three million died fighting for the emperor, but when the war was over he pretended it was not his responsibility. What kind of man does that?'' - Saburo Sakai
Kanastrous wrote:Which is funny when you consider that Arabs represent a minority of Muslims. Even if they did set the whole sorry ball rolling.
Yup there is a racist undertone of what a 'muslim' looks like. For example when I was getting into the train at the airport at newark with my father, a white guy, and a Indian sikh with his head thing on the two guys in military garb pulled over the indian guy to rumage through his bag. Very obvious that it was racially motivated with the 'he is muslim look at how he looks with that head thing' attitude. Funny thing is that my father and I are the two with actual muslim roots.
Brotherhood of the Monkey @( !.! )@ To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift. ~Steve Prefontaine Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer are in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.
Well, yet another shining example of American under-educatedness with regard to the world. It's tragic that the maxim know your enemy has been so thoroughly forgotten.
I find myself endlessly fascinated by your career - Stark, in a fit of Nerd-Validation, November 3, 2011
Kanastrous wrote:Which is funny when you consider that Arabs represent a minority of Muslims. Even if they did set the whole sorry ball rolling.
Yup there is a racist undertone of what a 'muslim' looks like. For example when I was getting into the train at the airport at newark with my father, a white guy, and a Indian sikh with his head thing on the two guys in military garb pulled over the indian guy to rumage through his bag. Very obvious that it was racially motivated with the 'he is muslim look at how he looks with that head thing' attitude. Funny thing is that my father and I are the two with actual muslim roots.
That's part of what makes anti-muslim bigotry so effective with the movement conservatives. The stereotype hits all their tribalistic buttons, including the old dualistic stuff from the Cold War: evil, brown, non-christian people out to kill them and destroy The American Way of LifeTM. They've found their new "Enemy".
“It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.” -Jean-Luc Picard
"Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them." -Margaret Atwood
StarshipTitanic wrote:A common retort by news anchors to politicians or other public figures who may defend foreign health care systems or who respect international law is essentially "But what about American Exceptionalism?" The idea that if we do something our way here then it must be better than other ways is taken for granted by far too many Americans.
It's called American Exceptionalism because "America is Special" makes it sound like the nation is retarded, and we don't handle the truth very well.
Y'know, if we viewed 'American Exceptionalism' as a philosophy rather than a given or 'the state of things' it might just be a good thing- We should strive to be exceptionalin what we do' instead of taking 'We're exceptional/ the exception' as the norm. If a way of doing things is exceptional, we should do things that way, instead of thinking of how we do things as exceptional just because that's how we do them.
Alas, it's not, and folks have drunk the Jingo patriot KoolAID and make the all of us look like fucking morons. Especially those of us in the south who are anything but the stereotype.
Ryushikaze wrote:Y'know, if we viewed 'American Exceptionalism' as a philosophy rather than a given or 'the state of things' it might just be a good thing- We should strive to be exceptionalin what we do' instead of taking 'We're exceptional/ the exception' as the norm. If a way of doing things is exceptional, we should do things that way, instead of thinking of how we do things as exceptional just because that's how we do them.
Alas, it's not, and folks have drunk the Jingo patriot KoolAID and make the all of us look like fucking morons. Especially those of us in the south who are anything but the stereotype.
I think some people do, in a way. People who join the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Teach for America or anything like that strive for something better. That's my opinion, at least, as I know someone personally who joined one of those organizations.
Of course, if taxpayers were willing to pay for adequate services then we wouldn't need things like AmeriCorps and Teach For America to act like small bandages on a festering wound but that's my cynicism returning.
"Man's unfailing capacity to believe what he prefers to be true rather than what the evidence shows to be likely and possible has always astounded me...God has not been proven not to exist, therefore he must exist." -- Academician Prokhor Zakharov
"Hal grabs life by the balls and doesn't let you do that [to] hal."
"I hereby declare myself master of the known world."
