NationStates Jolt Archive

This is the first time I have replied to anyone whose thread was deleted, so I beg the Mods' forgiveness in advance, but I think this reply is warranted because he asked for an explanation.

Can Americans read?! Seriously, though, that wouldn't be fair to the nice Americans (of which I am yet to meet one). Trust mer Eut, it's not xenophobia. I am a foriegner's whore, I love foreign cultures. I speak a smattering (some more than others) of Bahasa, french, italian, and cantonese. I am currently learning to speak Mandarin at night school. I love(not in the hippy way) everyone for their unique cultures, perspectives, and religious beliefs. Nothing riles me more than racism. However, despite all of this, no matter what I do, I simply cannot cool the blood in my veins over 2 (often overlapping) groups. Christians and Americans. Perhaps it is because I have been forcibly spoonfed their idiotic values since birth, perhaps not. In my quest for surcease, I have come here, to the source, to ask Americans why I (among most non-americans that I meet) bear this uncharacteristic rage with their culture.

So tell me Eutrusca, why you?
I know I'm going to be flamed for this, but that's nothing new, so meh!

Try to understand that America is composed entirely of immigrants from other cultures and nations. We have had to create a culture which spans all races, all religions, all cultures, while simultaneously building a nation from scratch. This has required great effort, great devotion, and often great sacrifice. It has bred a nation of people who truly believe that the way they have developed is the best way because it works ( most of the time ) for almost everyone. Unfortunately, this also generates an often unconscious attitutude of cultural superiority. And given that most Americans who have the wherewithal to travel abroad are rather well-to-do ( even by American standards ), they tend to see themselves as even more superior because they have money ( something that I honestly don't like about our culture: equating wealth with pesonal worth ).

Couple this with the deeply inculcated belief that "America is the greatest," and what I call "the cheerleader mentality," and it's easy to get the impression that "all Americans are arrogant assholes."

Do you see now why some of us are the way we are?

This thread is NOT intended to continue the controversy over Americans, but just to clarify one particular point.

I heard you had an enforced NS vacation, but I missed the whole thing happening.. What'd ya do this time?

Eut your reply is laugh-riot. Is the irony intentional? If so, absolute genius, if not....oh dear....er, um, well, that's about all I've got to say about that...

I heard you had an enforced NS vacation, but I missed the whole thing happening.. What'd ya do this time?
flamed a flammer, flame for flame. Heh!

Eut your reply is laugh-riot. Is the irony intentional? If so, absolute genius, if not....oh dear....er, um, well, that's about all I've got to say about that...
The irony was inevitable, if not actually intentional. :p

flamed a flammer, flame for flame. Heh!

And then you reported him? No?

'Twas good stuff sir.

The irony was inevitable, if not actually intentional. :p
Which was the ironic part?

You, sir, are a poopy head. :upyours:

What? You expected to be flamed for this. Here I am to oblige. :p

bets on this thread being deleted too?

Try to understand that America is composed entirely of immigrants from other cultures and nations. We have had to create a culture which spans all races, all religions, all cultures, while simultaneously building a nation from scratch. This has required great effort, great devotion, and often great sacrifice. It has bred a nation of people who truly believe that the way they have developed is the best way because it works ( most of the time ) for almost everyone. Unfortunately, this also generates an often unconscious attitutude of cultural superiority. And given that most Americans who have the wherewithal to travel abroad are rather well-to-do ( even by American standards ), they tend to see themselves as even more superior because they have money ( something that I honestly don't like about our culture: equating wealth with pesonal worth ).

Couple this with the deeply inculcated belief that "America is the greatest," and what I call "the cheerleader mentality," and it's easy to get the impression that "all Americans are arrogant assholes."

Do you see now why some of us are the way we are?

Some things in thispost make sense, but your main thrust leaves something to be desired. As a Canadian, I feel I should point out that Canada is also composed almost entirely of immigrants, and we also have "a culture which spans all races, all religions, all cultures," and we were also "simultaneously building a nation from scratch," with similar devotion, effort and sacrifice. So why do we, as Canadians, choose not to believe that it is the best system in the world, but instead believe it is the best system for us right now?

I think USian arrogance has more to do with equating financial wealth with value, military might with moral power, and manifest destiny with spreading democracy.

USian arrogance is a rationalisation. If you did not believe that you had the best system, you would have to ask yourselves some deeply troubling questions about your meddling in foreign affairs. But with this rationalisation, you can convince yourselves you are spreading democracy, the benefits of capitalism, and culture.

White man's burden.

Some things in thispost make sense, but your main thrust leaves something to be desired. As a Canadian, I feel I should point out that Canada is also composed almost entirely of immigrants, and we also have "a culture which spans all races, all religions, all cultures," and we were also "simultaneously building a nation from scratch," with similar devotion, effort and sacrifice. So why do we, as Canadians, choose not to believe that it is the best system in the world, but instead believe it is the best system for us right now?

I think USian arrogance has more to do with equating financial wealth with value, military might with moral power, and manifest destiny with spreading democracy.

USian arrogance is a rationalisation. If you did not believe that you had the best system, you would have to ask yourselves some deeply troubling questions about your meddling in foreign affairs. But with this rationalisation, you can convince yourselves you are spreading democracy, the benefits of capitalism, and culture.

White man's burden.

Superb. :D

To be honest Gift-of-God I still cant work out if the original thread post is ironic genius or moronic irony...

I'm not sure if you are aware Gift-of-God but Eut was replying to (and presumably knew he was replying to) an Australian....so, er surely Eut's response is one of intentional irony for comedic value, the alternative is too mind-boggling to contemplate....especially given the subject matter at hand...

Some things in thispost make sense, but your main thrust leaves something to be desired. As a Canadian, I feel I should point out that Canada is also composed almost entirely of immigrants, and we also have "a culture which spans all races, all religions, all cultures," and we were also "simultaneously building a nation from scratch," with similar devotion, effort and sacrifice. So why do we, as Canadians, choose not to believe that it is the best system in the world, but instead believe it is the best system for us right now?

I think USian arrogance has more to do with equating financial wealth with value, military might with moral power, and manifest destiny with spreading democracy.

USian arrogance is a rationalisation. If you did not believe that you had the best system, you would have to ask yourselves some deeply troubling questions about your meddling in foreign affairs. But with this rationalisation, you can convince yourselves you are spreading democracy, the benefits of capitalism, and culture.

White man's burden.
...

I can't decide whether I agree or disagree. Part of me wants to vehemently deny this, another part wants to shout "ABSOLUTELY" and the rest just isn't certain. Then again, I am only nineteen. Perhaps I'm simply not seasoned enough to decide.

And then you reported him? No?

'Twas good stuff sir.
LOL! As usual, I'm my own worst enemy on here. ;)

To be honest Gift-of-God I still cant work out if the original thread post is ironic genius or moronic irony...

I'm not sure if you are aware Gift-of-God but Eut was replying to (and presumably knew he was replying to) an Australian....so, er surely Eut's response is one of intentional irony for comedic value, the alternative is too mind-boggling to contemplate....especially given the subject matter at hand...

Well, considering all of Eutrusca's other posts that I have read, I would not say he was subtle or inclined to irony. I think he believes what he wrote.

I also believe that a great deal of USians, maybe even a majority, believe something similar. If you watch Hollywood movies about war or foreign conflict, the US is always shown as being morally superior, as well as technologically superior. The USians always save the world from the asteroid/terrorists/evil mastermind with a european accent/plague/etc. Try reading books published in the USA about the same things, and you will find the same storylines. The same holds true for depictions of the World Wars.

It's about creating a mythology, a truth that explains the USian position in the world, i.e. we are the superpower because we are the best. And people want to believe this because the alternative is to believe that the US is the most powerful country in the world because they (the ones who run the US) are the most ruthless.

bets on this thread being deleted too?
Perhaps, but I'd bet it's not real high on the Mod Deletion of Doom list. :)

Some things in thispost make sense, but your main thrust leaves something to be desired. As a Canadian, I feel I should point out that Canada is also composed almost entirely of immigrants, and we also have "a culture which spans all races, all religions, all cultures," and we were also "simultaneously building a nation from scratch," with similar devotion, effort and sacrifice. So why do we, as Canadians, choose not to believe that it is the best system in the world, but instead believe it is the best system for us right now?

I think USian arrogance has more to do with equating financial wealth with value, military might with moral power, and manifest destiny with spreading democracy.

USian arrogance is a rationalisation. If you did not believe that you had the best system, you would have to ask yourselves some deeply troubling questions about your meddling in foreign affairs. But with this rationalisation, you can convince yourselves you are spreading democracy, the benefits of capitalism, and culture.

White man's burden.
I would have replied at length to this, but I always call Canada by its correct name and expect the same in return. You, unfortunately, choose to insult rather than be accurate.

Superb. :D
Quite the contrary ... inane.

To be honest Gift-of-God I still cant work out if the original thread post is ironic genius or moronic irony...

I'm not sure if you are aware Gift-of-God but Eut was replying to (and presumably knew he was replying to) an Australian....so, er surely Eut's response is one of intentional irony for comedic value, the alternative is too mind-boggling to contemplate....especially given the subject matter at hand...
It would help if you made actual, like ... you know ... sense! :)

I would have replied at length to this, but I always call Canada by it's correct name and expect the same in return. You, unfortunately, choose to insult rather than be accurate.

I did not mean to be insulting. If you feel offended by something I wrote, I have no control over that. Only you do.

...

I can't decide whether I agree or disagree. Part of me wants to vehemently deny this, another part wants to shout "ABSOLUTELY" and the rest just isn't certain. Then again, I am only nineteen. Perhaps I'm simply not seasoned enough to decide.
It would be far easier to respond to that post with a degree of rationality if the poster would simply chose to avoid insults. :(

I did not mean to be insulting. If you feel offended by something I wrote, I have no control over that. Only you do.
You surely don't mean that you don't understand what about your post was insulting??? :headbang:

Quite the contrary ... inane.

Oh my. I'll stay out of this Clash of the Titans. :rolleyes:

I would have replied at length to this, but I always call Canada by it's correct name and expect the same in return. You, unfortunately, choose to insult rather than be accurate.

What insult Eutrusca? The only thing you can possibly be objecting to here is the term USian. You would prefer USofAian? American refers to all of the people that live in the Americas, which includes me in Brazil and Gift-of-God in Canada etc.
The arrogance of wanting the adjective American to refer only to the citizens of the United States of America, disregarding the majority of other nationals that live in the Americas is typical of the problem that GreaterPacificNations was addressing in his own way.

I did not mean to be insulting. If you feel offended by something I wrote, I have no control over that. Only you do.

USian, I imagine, is what did it.

Eut doesn't like it when Canadaians use that term.

For future reference, I'm pushing for the term 'United Statesman'. It has a nice ring.

It would be far easier to respond to that post with a degree of rationality if the poster would simply chose to avoid insults. :(

Oh, the nasty poster called you a USian instead of an American. How insulting. Kinda like me being called British instead of English. Boo-Hoo indeed. How about you answer the question instead of avoiding it on technicalities? The word 'USian' is hardly insulting. An alternative word perhaps, but it cannot be seen as an insult, so put away the weepy emoticons.

You surely don't mean that you don't understand what about your post was insulting??? :headbang:

I believe you are referring to my use of the word USian rather than the word American.

Frankly, I find it somewhat insulting that people from the USA use the term American to identify themselves while those of us who have lived in several nations in the Americas, speak several languages spoken in the Americas, and are citizens of several countries in the Americas have to refer to ourselves by some convoluted self-identifier like Chilean-Canadian-Quebecer-Hispanophone-Anglophone-Francophone, rather than the more correct and simpler term: American.

But you know what I do? I choose not to be offended. You may call yourself what you want.

And you can simply choose not to be offended too.

But you know what I do? I choose not to be offended. You may call yourself what you want.

And you can simply choose not to be offended too.

But he cannot. It is an essential part of the USian culture that they have to decide and the rest follow.
That is one of the fundamental differences between say the Canadian or Brazilian cultures and the USian one. Certainly we in Brazil are not concerned with appearing to be the biggest, most powerful, richest, most important nation on earth, and I believe that the Canadians are not concerned with that either. We are much more interested in enjoying our lives and being welcome and respectful visitors when we travel than in being ignorant and laughed at.

But he cannot. It is an essential part of the USian culture that they have to decide and the rest follow.
That is one of the fundamental differences between say the Canadian or Brazilian cultures and the USian one. Certainly we in Brazil are not concerned with appearing to be the biggest, most powerful, richest, most important nation on earth, and I believe that the Canadians are not concerned with that either. We are much more interested in enjoying our lives and being welcome and respectful visitors when we travel than in being ignorant and laughed at.

You know that thing about all muslims being terrorists.

In any case, brazilians don't have time to be the biggest, because they are all too busy running around the beach in thongs, getting painful body waxes and dancing topless for carnival.

You know that thing about all muslims being terrorists.

In any case, brazilians don't have time to be the biggest, because they are all too busy running around the beach in thongs, getting painful body waxes and dancing topless for carnival.

You mean they don't do that? :confused:

You mean they do stuff that everyone else does, namely dead-end jobs for little money, bringing noisy kids to the mall to shop for groceries and spending too much time on NS General?

I was planning to go there dammit.

You mean they don't do that? :confused:

You mean they do stuff that everyone else does, namely dead-end jobs for little money, bringing noisy kids to the mall to shop for groceries and spending too much time on NS General?

I was planning to go there dammit.

Relax. It's exactly what you think. Brazil is just one huge sexy party..

And when I was in Argentina, it's exactly like you imagine too.

In BA, everyone spends all night at cheap brothels doing the tango. The pampas only has gauchos working the estancia, and the highlands are full of hidden ex-nazis put there by the odessa group.

It's all completely true.

Also, everyone in Germany is fat and wears lederhosen. Unless they are Nazis.

And the french all wear striped jerseys, berets, sell onions and say "ooh la la".

You mean they don't do that? :confused:

You mean they do stuff that everyone else does, namely dead-end jobs for little money, bringing noisy kids to the mall to shop for groceries and spending too much time on NS General?

I was planning to go there dammit.

As far as I am aware, I am the only Brazilian resident that posts on NS General, and I am an ex-pat Brit. So no, they don't do stuff that everyone else does all of the time.

If you get the chance do come and visit, but avoid Rio - a tourist trap that is not representative of Brazil at all.

It would help if you made actual, like ... you know ... sense! :)
Eut are you serious, seriously?:confused:

An Aussie makes accusations about US people that the poster makes clear are US specific (ie doesnt apply to their fellow Aussies). Your 'excuse' predominately rests on traits the US has in common with Australia...

unless you were being ironic/satiric, it's hard to see how anyone could have done more to prove their point better than you appear to have...

Congradulations...I think.....:confused:

I was actually enjoying that thread, and was saddened when I found it had "gone missing", then saw it was deleted. Why do people have to be so thin-skinned? :( :confused:

Relax. It's exactly what you think. Brazil is just one huge sexy party..

And when I was in Argentina, it's exactly like you imagine too.

In BA, everyone spends all night at cheap brothels doing the tango. The pampas only has gauchos working the estancia, and the highlands are full of hidden ex-nazis put there by the odessa group.

It's all completely true.

Also, everyone in Germany is fat and wears lederhosen. Unless they are Nazis.

And the french all wear striped jerseys, berets, sell onions and say "ooh la la".

I never thought that seeing the word "Nazis" twice in a post would nearly kill me with laughter.:p :p :p

*Must breathe...*

The only people I cant stand are xenophobes. I never met one that had even half the sense required to stereotype people properly. I really hate them more than anyone else. I never met one that was even tolerable much less civil. I doubt I ever will meet a decent xenophobe either, the way I flame them. I have every right and reason to though.I like being right in their face for fun because they are sooooo horrid to me.
They are all the same. Except the females. They are higher pitched.

I believe you are referring to my use of the word USian rather than the word American.

Frankly, I find it somewhat insulting that people from the USA use the term American to identify themselves while those of us who have lived in several nations in the Americas, speak several languages spoken in the Americas, and are citizens of several countries in the Americas have to refer to ourselves by some convoluted self-identifier like Chilean-Canadian-Quebecer-Hispanophone-Anglophone-Francophone, rather than the more correct and simpler term: American.

But you know what I do? I choose not to be offended. You may call yourself what you want.

And you can simply choose not to be offended too.
If you lived in the "Canadian Territories of America" then you would be quite welcome to calling yourself an American. The word does not refer to the continental landmass and to the best of my knowledge never was used to describe everyone from North & South America. It refers to one very specific nation, America. Calling someone an American is the same as calling someone a Canadian or Brazilian, it’s the name of our Goddamn nation, and it simply so happens that the continent bares the same name.

Please notice that calling someone a USian or United Statesian is approximately the same as calling someone from China a PRian or People's Republican. Just. Not. Done.

This is the first time I have replied to anyone whose thread was deleted, so I beg the Mods' forgiveness in advance, but I think this reply is warranted because he asked for an explanation.


I know I'm going to be flamed for this, but that's nothing new, so meh!

Try to understand that America is composed entirely of immigrants from other cultures and nations. We have had to create a culture which spans all races, all religions, all cultures, while simultaneously building a nation from scratch. This has required great effort, great devotion, and often great sacrifice. It has bred a nation of people who truly believe that the way they have developed is the best way because it works ( most of the time ) for almost everyone. Unfortunately, this also generates an often unconscious attitutude of cultural superiority. And given that most Americans who have the wherewithal to travel abroad are rather well-to-do ( even by American standards ), they tend to see themselves as even more superior because they have money ( something that I honestly don't like about our culture: equating wealth with pesonal worth ).

Couple this with the deeply inculcated belief that "America is the greatest," and what I call "the cheerleader mentality," and it's easy to get the impression that "all Americans are arrogant assholes."

Do you see now why some of us are the way we are?

Hi Eut. Thanks for the reply. I think I knew the thread was to be deleted, I certainly was blowing off some steam when I wrote it. I actually really apreciate this appraisal. I would contest the multi-cultral thing (Australia is multi-cultral too, as is Canada, yet these two nations produced some of the most well-recieved travvels from the west). However, I can really see the logic in your economic conclusion. Now that you mention it, the answer has been in my face at uni. We are studying the birth and developement of capitalism, spearheaded in the US. One of the greatest cultral phenomenon in Western culture was the transference of social appraisals of virtue from relation piety (under the christian dominated culture) to affluence. In turn this continued developing in the US into a blame the poor attitude wherein (thanks to the myth of the self made man) people who asscoiated wealth with virtuosity, conversely asscociated poverty with deviance. "If rich people are rich because they earned it/deserve to be rich, then poor people mus be also deserve their poverty due to their character flaws".
I had never considered this to be responsible for US dick-waving, but you really hit the nail on the head. All of the logic-debits equal all of the logic-credits :p. Funny thing is,you would have been the last person I would have anticipated solving that one for me. Guess it is always worth collecting a variety of opinions before making a judgement after all.

Thanks Eutrusca;) not only have you provided me with a bit of clarity on the above issue, but you have also restored my faith in NS as a place where I can get something other than fire for some of my more difficult philosophical dilemmas.
Again, the sincerity of your extremely useful post inspires both surprise and respect for you. :confused: I seem to have misjudged you.

I know I am pushing the boundaries of verbosity, but you really must understand how useful that was. It's been bugging me for more than a year. Now that I understand, I will finally be able to relax with the American thing.

Thanks again;)

USian, I imagine, is what did it.

Eut doesn't like it when Canadaians use that term.

For future reference, I'm pushing for the term 'United Statesman'. It has a nice ring.
adopted

If you the the USA is a tricky one, what the hell are you supposed to call some on from New Zealand, (besides Kiwi)?

If you the the USA is a tricky one, what the hell are you supposed to call some on from New Zealand, (besides Kiwi)?

New Zealander. What is the problem?

Relax. It's exactly what you think. Brazil is just one huge sexy party..

And when I was in Argentina, it's exactly like you imagine too.

In BA, everyone spends all night at cheap brothels doing the tango. The pampas only has gauchos working the estancia, and the highlands are full of hidden ex-nazis put there by the odessa group.

It's all completely true.

Also, everyone in Germany is fat and wears lederhosen. Unless they are Nazis.

And the french all wear striped jerseys, berets, sell onions and say "ooh la la".

Delightful! :)

New Zealander. What is the problem?
It's offensive. We demand our right to be referred to as Pacificans - never mind those other Pacific dwelling plebs, it's all about us...:p



Also would the citizens of the United States of America please stop eating us (or our flightless, endangered national icon) - if you want to call a Chinese gooseberry a kiwi-fruit go for it (after all we did start that, we can hardly blame you if you follow suit) but if I catch you chowing down on our endangered wild life, or any of the cousies, I'll be sending some bros from the whanau over for a wee State-side visit, and they wont be coming to do a kapa haka either.

USian, I imagine, is what did it.

Eut doesn't like it when Canadaians use that term.

For future reference, I'm pushing for the term 'United Statesman'. It has a nice ring.
What about the US women?

I think it's a bit persnickety to complain about the US calling itself "America" -- and USian is such a snarky-sounding title; makes us seem like space aliens, and with the unspoken "neener-neener" always implied -- but I'm willing to put up with it as a form of ribbing that my country has more than earned by its crappy attitude.

Please understand that we do it because we don't really have a choice. "America" is the only diminutive of our name that doesn't sound stupid and that refers to the physical place we're in/from. We're not the only country that has that problem. "The Czech Republic" sounds nice and liberated, but it's hell to build sentences around. I've heard a few isolated usages of the old-fashioned poetic "Czechia" as a nickname for the country. They're lucky. The Czechs are the native presence, so they can refer to themselves. Otherwise, they'd have the same problem because their country has always been composed of two states -- Bohemia and Moravia -- with no single place name to connect them. But what are we supposed to do? If you think we're arrogant now, how arrogant would it be to call ourselves after the natives we murdered to get this place?

EDIT: I suppose the Czechs could call themselves BoMo-ians, but I have a feeling they're not going to, and I don't think USian is going to catch on for the long term, either.

I would like to go on record at this point as an American saying, Eut, please, get a grip. I mean, honestly.

There is simply no denying that the US has been driven throughout its history by one of the world's most obnoxious attitudes. Blame it on the puritans with all that "city on a hill," "new Jerusalem," "Manifest Destiny," etc., bullshit. Ugh. :rolleyes:

The world should thank its lucky stars that our government was actually created by deists and rationalists who loathed puritans with an abiding loathing. Otherwise, there would be no checks on their bulldozing the world for God & Country (tm) attitude at all. Yes, that's right, kids, it actually could have been worse. Imagine all that ego, all that money, and all that military strength, but without even our typically childish level of ethics, without even wanting to do the right thing for others under any circumstances.

I recommend the big-giant book The Cousins' Wars by Kevin Phillips for an intriguing (if somewhat daunting) analysis of the extremely complicated historical trends that led the the US being such a massive pain in the world's ass.

It has a website (I haven't looked at this; it's probably just advertising):
www.cousinswars.com

This is a suitably upscaled equivalent of being 'understanding' when dealing with a school bully or a criminal, on account of a 'difficult upbringing'. Past personal circumstances do not excuse anyone from being a jerk. The same applies to societies, cultures and nations. But if one wants to adopt the fashionable liberal attitude towards such things, meh, they're only fooling themselves.

This is a suitably upscaled equivalent of being 'understanding' when dealing with a school bully or a criminal, on account of a 'difficult upbringing'. Past personal circumstances do not excuse anyone from being a jerk. The same applies to societies, cultures and nations. But if one wants to adopt the fashionable liberal attitude towards such things, meh, they're only fooling themselves.
What I anticipate is that I will not use this information to be understanding of the American attitude towards the world, so much as I will use it to understand the American attitude against the world. I will be no less harsh against them than before (because they do suck), however, I will no longer be upset with their attitude (because it makes sense). What was bugging me was the illogical nature of their reasoning. But now I can see why they hold these beleifs.

In terms of you bully analogy, imagine the worth of the information that your bully at school has a homosexual father, or is routinely beaten by their mother, or is completely ignored by his parents. While this information helps us understand, we do not neccesarily have to be 'understanding'. In fact this information can be a crippling weapon if used cleverly. Knowledge is the blueprint of your enemies weaknesses.

adopted

Great.

There are three people now who accept the nomenclature. We must work harder to get it fully accepted.

What about the US women?



Your point is well taken. But given that the English do not refer to themselves as 'Englishpeople', I assume that this is equally valid.

Your point is well taken. But given that the English do not refer to themselves as 'Englishpeople', I assume that this is equally valid.
Why don't you add the quest of sticking it to political correctness. Nobody cares. I was speaking to a Canadian yesterday, and he was shocked at how colloquial and politically incorrect the Aussie newspapers are. Seriously, the Australian culture isn't fond of BS (I am, but my family says that is cos I am half wog:p). F!ck this 'statesperson' sh!t. 'Man' is a synonym, on meaning refers to gender, the other refers to the human race. It is not sexism, it is just a word. Besides, as languages goes, english is prettly light on the gender discrimination. All of the Latin languages involve gender heavily. So what? It is just the language. All of this crap is a product of neo-penis-owning-hyper-feminism.

I also believe that a great deal of USians, maybe even a majority, believe something similar. If you watch Hollywood movies about war or foreign conflict, the US is always shown as being morally superior, as well as technologically superior. The USians always save the world from the asteroid/terrorists/evil mastermind with a european accent/plague/etc. Try reading books published in the USA about the same things, and you will find the same storylines. The same holds true for depictions of the World Wars.

It's about creating a mythology, a truth that explains the USian position in the world, i.e. we are the superpower because we are the best. And people want to believe this because the alternative is to believe that the US is the most powerful country in the world because they (the ones who run the US) are the most ruthless.

It's funny reading your comments and wagging your finger about arrogence and then I see your handle.

Now Hollywood......

You do realize their business is selling movies right?
You do realize that you sell more if the movie is entertaining right?
You do realize that a movie is not a documentary right?

The fact there are dumb americans that think movies are true does not speak for the whole. Movies are supposed to entertain. Give you a couple of hours to disconnect from life. I never look to Hollywood to discover the meaning of life. Why do you?

Now your book comments. Ok do list a book you have read and point out the lies.

And people want to believe this because the alternative is to believe that the US is the most powerful country in the world because they (the ones who run the US) are the most ruthless.

Now this is funny. When have you not heard some Americans bragging about the military?

Name a nation that dominated the world did so by being nice.

America does play hard ball but it also does some good things.

Why don't you add the quest of sticking it to political correctness. Nobody cares. I was speaking to a Canadian yesterday, and he was shocked at how colloquial and politically incorrect the Aussie newspapers are. Seriously, the Australian culture isn't fond of BS (I am, but my family says that is cos I am half wog:p). F!ck this 'statesperson' sh!t. 'Man' is a synonym, on meaning refers to gender, the other refers to the human race. It is not sexism, it is just a word. Besides, as languages goes, english is prettly light on the gender discrimination. All of the Latin languages involve gender heavily. So what? It is just the language. All of this crap is a product of neo-penis-owning-hyper-feminism.

I'm not really on a quest to stick to PC though. I just like the thought of being refered to as United Statesman. And since the name is up for grabs, I thought I'd put my bid in early.

Actually, I have a fair bit of sympathy with PC terms. Unlike the people in the USian thread, I don't think that you should call people by the name that you want, but instead - absent harmless misunderstandings - call them what they want to be called.

It costs nothing really.