Anti-Americanism in Canada (and on internet message boards)

[NinjaBoy]

Since Diva closed the her thread since she didn't agree with people's opinions, I'm going to continue it, since I thought it was a good discussion.

Diva:

So Canadians will only be OK with America if they elect a government that is more similar to ours. Ahhh. I get it now. Thread closed. Question answered.

Thanks for simplifying and vilifying the point at the same time!



The current administration is despised world wide, and at home. This is true even at home, where the administration has a 19% approval rating. So pretty much everyone hates the American Government, especially the American people.

So yeah, it's not going too far to say that having a weak government that has a habit of insulting other cultures and not refusing to work with governments might be a little unpopular around the world.

It doesn't nessesarily have to be similar to ours (There are many conservative governments in power, but those countries don't like the US right now either...), in order for people to be a little miffed by it.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by NinjaBoy

So you come here to spout a side of the argument that you don't agree with or understand, and you get pretty much torn apart by people who argue points they agree with and comprehend?

Wow. You shit disturber you.

Your poorly worded and researched points have shattered my very core. Thank god you are here to fight the status quo. I was sick of having arguments with people who believed what they were saying or even had a semblance of knowledge on the subject.

But you are wasting your intellect here, there are many other venues which you must explore to spread your message of uninformed ideas that you only have a vague understanding of. To the university! To the Library! To the Theater! We simply cannot waste anymore of your time here.

Go now, for the good of the city!

Don't generalize. I stated 'I don't necessarily' meaning not always. Often I do strongly believe in what I write, and have ideas and facts to back my opinion(s) up. Obviously in comparison to most civilizations in the history of the world France has been successful. I brought up one aspect they have failed miserably in to generate argument, and it worked. You replied, and so did others. I was bored, so I brought it up.

To state that France has never held any power or done anything useful can obviously be disputed with ease. It's an opinion, but based on not much merit(i.e. an ignorant opinion). The argument started out with me insulting people on this board for insinuating anti-americanism is part of our culture, which I think is despicable. I could have argued in a rational and logical manner but I chose to bring up France, to get a shot in on the French. It evolved from their.

Now to say that I always am torn apart by people on this board who 'comprehend and understand' what they are talking about is laughable. I generally leave arguments when I'm faced with arguing the same point in different ways against ~5 people who all agree. The right to have an opinion that differs from the masses(in this case FNK lol) and to express it, is a freedom we enjoy in Canada(for now anyways boo to HRC's). To believe someone opinion is 'wrong' because it differs from your own and others close to you is such a repressive way of thinking it's unbelievable. I'm glad others have different opinions and theories than I do, it makes life interesting. Look at for instance the abortion debate. Both sides have very valid points and a strong case can be made for both sides. The majority on both sides hate the other side with a passion, and believe them to be wrong and ignorant. Neither side is fully right, or wrong. The previous stated debate has two sides, something like politics has infinite sides. As long as your opinion isn't based on complete ignorance it's valid. I've talked to hippies that understand the repercussions of their thoughts but still believe them, I respectively disagree but would never suggest they shouldn't have their opinions.

[NinjaBoy]

So glad I re-opened this thread :)

[ebbomega]

CLOSE THREAD PLS, CAN DO WITHOUT OPINIONS KTHXBAIl

[diva]

Originally Posted by NinjaBoy

Since Diva closed the her thread since she didn't agree with people's opinions, I'm going to continue it, since I thought it was a good discussion.

Oh fuck off and get over yourself. I didn't close the thread because ppl didn't agree with me. I closed the thread because that majority refused to be civil to the people who didn't agree with them. Grapes ridiculous "I'm giving Alex bad karma for every post he made in this thread, all because of that one painfully stupid concept." was one example. I don't agree with Alex's views, but I don't find it necessary to insult him.

BTW:There's nothing wrong with making negative comments about a government you don't like or agree with. I think it's small minded to label an entire nation, which is what happens when I hear people make comments like, "Americans are so..."

[NinjaBoy]

Originally Posted by diva

BTW:There's nothing wrong with making negative comments about a government you don't like or agree with. I think it's small minded to label an entire nation, which is what happens when I hear people make comments like, "Americans are so..."

Which the American Media did constantly during the Olympics when discussing the chinese.


Sometimes, weather positive or negative, it's easy to generalize about a country.



But for future reference which statement is correct when I'm at the bar:

A- American's are obese
B- Most American's are obese
C- 64.5% of American's are overweight.

People generalize when they talk about nations.

[NinjaBoy]

Originally Posted by diva

Oh fuck off and get over yourself. I didn't close the thread because ppl didn't agree with me. I closed the thread because that majority refused to be civil to the people who didn't agree with them. Grapes ridiculous "I'm giving Alex bad karma for every post he made in this thread, all because of that one painfully stupid concept." was one example. I don't agree with Alex's views, but I don't find it necessary to insult him.

Just as a side note, you shouldn't start a paragraph that basically calls us immature for "insulting someone" with the phrase "fuck off..."

[diva]

Originally Posted by NinjaBoy

Just as a side note, you shouldn't start a paragraph that basically calls us immature for "insulting someone" with the phrase "fuck off..."

You're going to get so much good karma for this one. w00t. w00t.

[NinjaBoy]

Originally Posted by diva

You're going to get so much good karma for this one. w00t. w00t.

I'm awesome.

[Pussy*Kat]

Originally Posted by NinjaBoy

Just as a side note, you shouldn't start a paragraph that basically calls us immature for "insulting someone" with the phrase "fuck off..."

+1 !!!

[ebbomega]

There's a time limit on how much karma you can give one person, so Grapes' comment is more a joke than anything.

When the hell have you ever known FNK to be civil Esi?

[Grapes]

Originally Posted by ebbomega

There's a time limit on how much karma you can give one person, so Grapes' comment is more a joke than anything.

To be fair, I had no idea about that.

All karma is obviously a bit of a joke. That much goes without saying.

But I was trying to get across how bafflingly shortsighted/narrow minded I found Alex's take on France to be. I think that came across.

(It occurred to me after the post that I hadn't even mentioned France's staggering contribution to the arts..)

Anyways I'm a bit sad that thread got locked because I was trying to raise some serious questions about this "anti-American" label that's cropped up now and again this decade. But to me it seems like we're getting to the point where the focus is off ideas and on the insults (whereas really the ideas should be the cupcake and the insults should be the delicious frosting).

[dabbler]

Originally Posted by diva

I think it's small minded to label an entire nation

rule No1. NO SENTENCE CAN BE ABSOLUTE (according to Diva)

[Courtney]

Originally Posted by NinjaBoy

Which the American Media did constantly during the Olympics when discussing the chinese.


Sometimes, weather positive or negative, it's easy to generalize about a country.



But for future reference which statement is correct when I'm at the bar:

A- American's are obese
B- Most American's are obese
C- 64.5% of American's are overweight.

People generalize when they talk about nations.

whether>weather

......call me on shit i'll call you on yours!

[ebbomega]

Originally Posted by Courtney

whether>weather

......call me on shit i'll call you on yours!

I think you're usually just called on it to point out the irony (ie your calling someone out for being stupid while missing on grammar)

[stephen_c]

wut's gramer?

[NinjaBoy]

Originally Posted by Courtney

whether>weather

......call me on shit i'll call you on yours!

When every single one of my posts has the grammar errors yours do then we'll talk.

Until then, make sure when you try to call me on a mistake like that you capitalize "I" in "I'll" otherwise the whole thing is moot at best.

[Some dude]

Originally Posted by NinjaBoy

This is true even at home, where the administration has a 19% approval rating. So pretty much everyone hates the American Government, especially the American people.

I challenge you to provide a reputable survey to support this. The Bush admin is not too far off the typical American "Fuck all y'all" attitude and I still maintain that their invasion Iraq was not a mistake.

All the "Operation Iraqi Freedom" and "Mission Accomplished" bullshit was a bit silly, though.

[Krusha]

how about a man who takes a multi-trillion dollar surplus and turns it into a trillion dollar debt in 8 years, basis a war initiated on fraudulent claims, bypasses of habeas corpus, makes a list of rediculous civil writes violations under the patriot act, sets up NSA wire tapping on the general public

do i need to go any further?

ninjaboy doesn't need a survey it's common knowledge and he just stated a recent popularity poll which has him ranked at 19%

go find the survey online yourself

man i think i might have to quit fnk soon again, too many tards on this site

[ebbomega]

Originally Posted by Some dude

I challenge you to provide a reputable survey to support this. The Bush admin is not too far off the typical American "Fuck all y'all" attitude and I still maintain that their invasion Iraq was not a mistake.

All the "Operation Iraqi Freedom" and "Mission Accomplished" bullshit was a bit silly, though.

19% as of the American Research Group poll, for September 16-19 of this year.

[Some dude]

I don't trust the ARG any more than polls carried out by the local news station. I mean, a sample pool of 600(taken from the poll at the top of their homepage, I couldnt even find the sample pool size for the poll you're all referring to)? Srsly? Not to mention that the poll was conducted during the controversial bailouts by the federal government, of course he's going to score poorly.

Say what you will about the Patriot Act, the americans still have more rights than Canadians (*cough*Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don't give it any value*cough*).

^ uh - you arent even registered to vote.

[mojo]

spill the beans Avana

[Courtney]

mojo were u dt last week

[decypher]

Originally Posted by Some dude

I don't trust the ARG any more than polls carried out by the local news station. I mean, a sample pool of 600(taken from the poll at the top of their homepage, I couldnt even find the sample pool size for the poll you're all referring to)? Srsly? Not to mention that the poll was conducted during the controversial bailouts by the federal government, of course he's going to score poorly.

Say what you will about the Patriot Act, the americans still have more rights than Canadians (*cough*Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don't give it any value*cough*).

cough, actually it's an enlightenment idea. John Locke: Life, Liberty and property anyone? Also a few other thinkers in there who honed these ideas and sparked revolutions such as the ones in England and France.




As with the anti-American thread, I didn't read that one so I don't know if this has been said. A lot of anti-Americanism from other countries, besides the obvious hate for the post-9/11 warmongering, is pointed at the culture and the American dream. Bigger is better, the urban sprawl model of living, the idea of endless dreams and no height to wealth and superficiality in general.

I don't think anyone should think twice about being critical of things like culture and governance. This is hardly ignorant but instead facing the facts and analyzing them. Directing that hate and stereotype against the citizens of America is when it's out of hand.