Poll: Anti-Americanism: Does it make sense?

[JWAN]

for how terrible we are we still seem to be running in first place.

so, is it ok for Americans to harass for example France because of their pompous/stuck-up attitude?

Is it ok to make fun of Germany because of what they did in the past?


Is it ok to make fun of Russia because of the tens of millions of innocent people they worked to death in the gulags?

Can I laugh at North Korea and all of their failed missile attempts and their leaders terrible dress sense?

How about Venezuela? They claim to be better at everything especially anything that comes out of a capitalist nation and yet 95% of the people live in poverty and shit and straw huts.

How about Mexico and their corrupt officials who want nothing but to assist in dumping criminals on the border and let them go on the agreement that they never come back and then call the United States racist because we want to protect our borders?

Can I laugh at Switzerland for just sitting on its ass all day and contribute nothing to assisting the free world only the assurance that they wont go to way because they have our Rolex watches stored in banks?

I will agree on one point though, were so paranoid of being called racists we will elect a black socialist because hes black

 

[MagnumJoe]

I am a muslim from Egypt. And i could tell you, that there is considerable americanisation happening in my country and the region. But i don't blame americans or american culture. I blame the U.S gov. Simply, with their mass media(they don't own it, but they are brothers from the same father), they thrive to convince masses to endorse what they think, and thus justify it for themselves.

So the solution for this, is that americans should communicate with others, bypassing the "Gov-Filter" so they could see. And this is what i have been trying to do through the internet, to tell people to try to search for the truth of what's really happening in the world. And NOT telling them to oppose the Gov., no, just seek the truth in your own way.

So, anti-americanism isn't the solution. We are not against american culture, no, american culture is beautiful. But when it's imposed, with arrogance and obsessiveness, that is what we don't like.

 

[Kair]

Well, the unnecessary wasting of resources, anti-environmentalism, right-wing politics and ignorance found in the United States are some reasons to hate Americanism.

 

[JWAN]

Well, the unnecessary wasting of resources, anti-environmentalism, right-wing politics and ignorance found in the United States are some reasons to hate Americanism.

says the guy who has the symbol of a form of government responsible for 20 million people in Russia and who knows how many in China.

Communists made the Nazis look like amateurs

 

[IronManMan]

I am a muslim from Egypt. And i could tell you, that there is considerable americanisation happening in my country and the region. But i don't blame americans or american culture. I blame the U.S gov. Simply, with their mass media(they don't own it, but they are brothers from the same father), they thrive to convince masses to endorse what they think, and thus justify it for themselves.

So the solution for this, is that americans should communicate with others, bypassing the "Gov-Filter" so they could see. And this is what i have been trying to do through the internet, to tell people to try to search for the truth of what's really happening in the world. And NOT telling them to oppose the Gov., no, just seek the truth in your own way.

So, anti-americanism isn't the solution. We are not against american culture, no, american culture is beautiful. But when it's imposed, with arrogance and obsessiveness, that is what we don't like.

Bravo =)

 

[Booze Zombie]

I hate the capitalistic, God-fearing, gun-toting, frontier mentality they seem to revel in.
I don't know if that's all Americans, but it really doesn't seem like they care about what anyone else thinks.
So, fuck 'em.

And I'm not sure if Anti-Americanism is useful, but it's popular. I would dismiss most popular things as fads, but I don't know about this... Everyone seems pretty set on hating the yanks.

This might just be a thought, but... perhaps the clonial Americanization of the world is just "slightly" pissing people off? Just like England and Spain pissed off people? Nah... couldn't be.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

I blame a combination of the stupid media and the stupid people who believe it for our bad reputation. I'm American, and I'm proud to hate over 50% of my country!

 

[Same River New Water]

Anti-Americanism looks like a straw man to me. Just like "anti-semitism" is trotted out by some tiresome commentators whenever somebody criticises the actions of Israel, what is derided as anti-Americanism is usually in fact a criticism of a particular aspect of American culture or action of the US government.

On the other hand, occasionally people do express broad sentiments like "Down with America", especially at protests in Arab nations and developing countries. But if you look closely, they usually have a specific problem (or problems) with the United States that they're expressing in a clumsy and antagonistic way. I expect that for some people who present themselves as simply anti-American, a change in government policy (increased foreign aid, for example) would be enough to change their views.

 

[MagnumJoe]

Bravo =)

Thank you

 

[CrystalShadow]

Is it useful? I doubt it.

It can be fun sometimes though. - But only as a joke.
And certainly not when dealing with individuals.
People are people. No matter where they're from.

My biggest hates are in fact nationalism and 'patriotism'... We cause so many problems because we let countries get away with things that people would not.

You can't go and beat up your neighbour because he annoys you... Or you want his property... And yet, that's the kind of behaviour we get from countries.
Think about a country as if they were a person, and suddenly you realise the 'personality' of most countries is not pleasant.
And it really doesn't matter which country you're talking about here. America is just an easy target because it gets involved in everything somehow...

 

[Agema]

Anti-Americanism can represent reasonable grievances with stuff the USA does, or it can be prejudice. The latter deserves contempt, like nearly all prejudices do.

The former is really about disapproval of stuff the USA tends to do and represent rather than the USA itself. Which is to say, if the USA didn't do those things, there would be no anti-Americanism, so it is not really anti-Americanism in the first place. I don't think many people opposed to US policies and actions would call themselves "anti-American", and may in fact be very fond of the USA and it's people in many ways.

However, defenders of American policies may well call such people "anti-American", because it implies prejudice. It's like saying the USA's critics and opponents are people have no rational reasons, they're just biased and hate-filled, and would object whatever the USA did. It also seems to be used within America itself, particularly by the right wing, to imply their opponents are in some way "traitors".

 

[Xpwn3ntial]

Anti-American thought is just a way for incompetent governments to keep their people from hating their government.

 

[Gashad]

Ultimately the reason for anti-Americanism boils down to that large part of the world expects the US to be "good". People expect countries like China to violate human rights and such(not to say that people support it, but it causes only occasional moral outrages). However when the U.S, violates the very core democratic rules as to treatment of criminals (Habeus Corpus, Torture...), authorize there president to invade Hague(they actually did this, wikipedia Hague invasion act if you don't believe me), and invade seemingly random countries, the rest of the western world naturally reacts in rage(which is perhaps really disappointment that a liberal democracy when given enough power will stoop to such levels).

Moreover the U.S tendency to ignore international laws and treaties which is has ratified (I have studied enough international law to know that "illegal combatant" is a term inherently against the core principle of the laws of war) while threatening to invade countries who do not oblige with there treaty obligations does not only seem hypocritical but also claiming to be above the law is a good way to get the rest of the world to hate you.

In conclusion is anti-Americanism a good thing; I would say so, in that all criticism of a country crossing the line of what can both be seen as morally acceptable and legal is a good thing. If the US is criticized for things many other states do without such harsh criticisms(unfortunately many states torture) it is because the rest of the world(or at least the west) still feels that the US should be morally superior to many other countries.

 

[minignu]

Right now the United States occupies the top slot of humanity militarily, economically, and ideologically

Eh?

I noticed that too.

Sorry, how is the USA's ideology strictly better than the rest of humanity's?

Anti-American thought is just a way for incompetent governments to keep their people from hating their government.

Uh, except that it's quite rampant in the Western world too. The OP seems to be reffering to more economically developed countries.

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

America doesn't have to be like every other powerful society. We can be better. We don't have to wage war and occupy foreign land. We don't have to interfere in foreign politics. We can live and let live, like Washington envisioned.

Hating America because it's trendy is a waste of time. Calling Americans fat, lazy, and stupid (I have seen those words in that order a million times) is a waste of time. But evaluating the impact our imperialism has on foreign populations is not only appropriate but necessary.

 

[cainx10a]

Well, the unnecessary wasting of resources, anti-environmentalism, right-wing politics and ignorance found in the United States are some reasons to hate Americanism.

says the guy who has the symbol of a form of government responsible for 20 million people in Russia and who knows how many in China.

Communists made the Nazis look like amateurs

And the Allie wouldn't have won WW2 without those commies.

 

[Korolev]

Everyone should be anti-everyone. Sure the US would befriend a terrible dictator if it made them richer in a heart-beat, and sure they wouldn't help anyone if they didn't benefit somehow - but like the first post - EVERYONE DOES THIS.

Sure, the US didn't help Rwanda, BUT NOBODY ELSE DID EITHER. And, sure the US used to be Saddam's Best-Buddy-Friend before he invaded Kuwait, but so was everybody else!

The problem is that the US likes to go around saying how noble and good it is, when in reality, they don't give a flying bucket of weasel waste about anyone else but themselves. Every war they've fought has either been for their own political/monetary/geographical gain or was imposed upon them (Remember, the US didn't want to TOUCH WW2 until Germany declared war on the US and Japan bombed Pearl Harbor). The US back dictators that are useful to them, organize coups against democratically elected governments (Operation Ajax anyone) that aren't useful to them and generally only care about one thing, and one thing only: Maintaining power.

And so does every other nation under the sun. The US isn't any more evil than anyone else, they've just got the most power and use it. Replace the US with any other nation and they'd do EXACTLY the same thing.

But anti-americanism, in my mind, started because the US had the balls to pretend to be something it was not.

Hate and distrust all nations. Even your own.

 

[Danzaivar]

Most people I know who dislike America just dislike it because of the American stereotype. The obsession with God approving of everything you do, the rampant flag waving, the obsession with being superficially perfect (Stereotypically you guys have blue-white teeth and think cosmetic surgery is perfectly acceptable for anything) and ofcourse the fundamental case of saying America and it's allies are Good and Right while everyone else is Bad and Evil.

The British Empire colonised half the world primarily to benefit Britain and spread the Anglo-Saxon race out. It ultimately helped some colonies and ruined other ones, kind of nice but as long as they kept the tea coming back home they didn't particularly care. Also their help in the World Wars went a massive way to returning peace.

The American Empire is a bunch of raving patriots thinking they're 'freeing the world' and spreading democracy, f@$£ yeah! It genuinely feels like sometimes, you go to war simply to justify the massive amounts of money put into the US military or something.


Don't get me wrong, personally I love America. But you guys (on the surface) can look superficial and very hubristic/self absorbed.

 

[HPoirot]

The problem is that the US likes to go around saying how noble and good it is, when in reality, they don't give a flying bucket of weasel waste about anyone else but themselves. Every war they've fought has either been for their own political/monetary/geographical gain or was imposed upon them (Remember, the US didn't want to TOUCH WW2 until Germany declared war on the US and Japan bombed Pearl Harbor). The US back dictators that are useful to them, organize coups against democratically elected governments (Operation Ajax anyone) that aren't useful to them and generally only care about one thing, and one thing only: Maintaining power.

In America's defense, Operation Ajax was not entirely our idea. Britain played a large role in creating the idea, especially BP.
The irony is still thick. We installed a pro-American leader in Iran, but it led directly to the Islamic revolution and our modern troubles with them.
Most modern American problems were somehow created by American actions.

 

[minignu]

for how terrible we are we still seem to be running in first place.

so, is it ok for Americans to harass for example France because of their pompous/stuck-up attitude?

Is it ok to make fun of Germany because of what they did in the past?

Is it ok to make fun of Russia because of the tens of millions of innocent people they worked to death in the gulags?

Can I laugh at North Korea and all of their failed missile attempts and their leaders terrible dress sense?

How about Venezuela? They claim to be better at everything especially anything that comes out of a capitalist nation and yet 95% of the people live in poverty and shit and straw huts.

How about Mexico and their corrupt officials who want nothing but to assist in dumping criminals on the border and let them go on the agreement that they never come back and then call the United States racist because we want to protect our borders?

Can I laugh at Switzerland for just sitting on its ass all day and contribute nothing to assisting the free world only the assurance that they wont go to way because they have our Rolex watches stored in banks?

I will agree on one point though, were so paranoid of being called racists we will elect a black socialist because hes black

Are you a troll? You look like a troll.



I myself, do not consider myself "anti-American". I disagree with a lot of their foreign and fiscal policies over the last.... forever, but have nothing against the American people or their culture. However, I do know a lot of people who, rightly or wrongly, take issue with America. For some of them, it seems to be a percieved culture of arrogance running through the USA - such as their foreign policy, which draws a lot of ire, or just that the vocal minority of Americans that we hear about over here are like my quoted friend above. Yes, it's a stereotype - a stereotype which is probably magnified by the fact America is so goddamned important in the world at the moment. Frankly, all this Anti-Americanism or whatnot is just an extention of stupid nationalist tendancies when you look at it - "my country is better than yours"/ "I hate your govt so I hate you" kind of rubbish. Hopefully, at some point we'll get past this pointless kind of dick wavery, but I ain't holding my breath.