Poll: Anti-Americanism: Does it make sense?

[VladBlok28]

I agree with what you've said, every nation would do what the United States are doing, I don't think that's the main reason for anti-americanism. It's because they do all those things and try to convince us that it's just, and that they're actually doing a good deed, and they try to make the other nations (their victims) look like they're the evil ones and that they actually deserved it.

In other words: they preach about "freedom" and "justice" and whatnot, yet do the exact opposite. Thats what spurrs anti-Americanism.


Is anti-Americanism useful? Not directly. Maybe in a way that they will get less support from other countries, but thats all.

 

[Hedberger]

I'd like to think that civilization has progressed so much that we don't need to threathen with violence to get the resources we need.

What civilization? Humanity across the world still has slavery, ethnic cleansing, large-scale starvation, and mass exploitation of resources and people. If this is civilization, then we've been civilized since before we evolved into homo sapiens. People all over the world still use violence to get what they want. Talking won't get them to stop.

Sorry i was a bit unclear. When i wrote civilization i excluded countries that does those kind of things because i don't see them as civilized. To me it doesn't matter that they have moved out of their caves. I'm going to sound like an elitist prick now but by civilization i mainly meant europe and other places that has stopped doing things like that.

Are you trying to tell me that we should just let them be because everyone else does it? Or that we should invade them because you assume that we can't talk them out of it? Does this post contribute to this discussion in any way?

 

[Sparrow]

It is useful. Mainly because it allows me to vent and rant about the several reasons I hate America.

Call it childish if you will, I'd probally agree.

 

[sonidraw]

@Hedberger: Okay, you raise a good point. My earlier post was mostly an emotional response to yours, and not really contributing to the discussion as a whole. For that, I apologize.

My family comes from a non-European/non-American country, and many of the people I know agree that the United States government is like the world's bully. Many Americans I know say the same thing. One American I talked to said that he thinks the United States is an empire and it should be stopped, but the only way to stop it is if another country becomes just as strong or stronger.

Personally, I don't think it has to go that far, but I do think that in order to prevent the United States from being the bully of the world, the rest of the world needs backbone.

How did you deal with a bully in grade school? Did you talk to them, reason with them, yell at them, or run away? Or did you fight back or turn to a higher power? Personally, I fought back, and after we had a fight, the bully and I actually became friends. I spent most of my school life without getting bullied, because I showed some backbone early. Taking into consideration that most adults are just kids in big bodies that never grew up emotionally, it's inevitable that international relations play out like the schoolyard. You have a bully in the United States, but there's no higher power (like parents) to help. The rest of the world has to stand up to the bully.

 

[CBB]

Depends what you mean by anti-americanism.

It's too broad a term to say yes or no.

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

Eh?

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?

That was a poorly constructed sentence. I was trying to say that the culture, customs, and ideologies of the United States enjoy privileged status (similar to its current military and economic superiority) in media communications and popular culture worldwide-I wasn't trying to say that they're inherently better, only that they're being portrayed as so. Sorry for the ambiguity there.

Thanks for all the replies! This makes for truly interesting reading.

I like the idea of anti-Americanism as a starting point for critiquing the US' foreign policy-but I don't think it should stop there. The foreign policies of many countries could stand some scrutiny, too.

 

[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

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

that may be true, but the consequences of us not attempting to get Stalin out of power is one of the causes for 20 million more casualties that never needed to occur

we needed the troops not the communists, the soldiers were good, thier tanks were great, but any one of them who "saw the west" was sent to interment camps and worked to death

 

[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.

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 system you most likely support has been used by governments that have caused the death of over 5000 times that amount.

The Hammer and Sickle is the symbol of Socialism, not Stalinism.

 

[BIGB0SS]

I prefer a federalist and democratic country but the USA isnt just that they are imperialist too
and that why so manny people hate the USA