The impact of anti-BUSHism

[lilithu]

well i dont beleive that for one minute because they are not american that is ( i am only replying because i dont know if you are replying to me or not)

I'd have to agree with kai here, NetDoc. It's not that they're not American. (I doubt you see many Brits or Aussies there for example.) It's that they're Arab and/or Muslim.

(Sardonic, right? )

 

[Matt]

David Hicks is an aussie and he has been locked up for 3 years without a trial. Our prime minister fully supports this. David Hicks has fought in Bosnia and Pakistan and freely admits this. He was caught fighting in Afganistan, which is what he is being detained for but funny enough, he denies this. Strange that the only fighting he denies, is the one he has been arrested for.

I'm not condoning the way the Americans have treated the prisoners, however the Americans have been forced to deal with a serious situation very quickly and were probably not prepared to deal with it so suddenly.

Most of us work with Muslims or live near Muslims, do you honestly think the Government just randomly selects Arabs to arrest. These people are involved in serious crimes, either plotting terrorist attacks or fighting for terrorist organisations.

 

[lilithu]

Most of us work with Muslims or live near Muslims, do you honestly think the Government just randomly selects Arabs to arrest. These people are involved in serious crimes, either plotting terrorist attacks or fighting for terrorist organisations.

No, I don't really think the govt just randomly selects Arabs and/or Muslims to arrest. I do really think that the burden of proof needed to arrest and hold someone for years is ridiculously low. And the reason why we're ok withy that is because at the moment we assume Arabs and/or Muslims are guilty of something, even if it's not the thing they've been arrested for.

 

[jonny]

In October of 1996, polls in Bosnia showed that more than 98% of Bosnian Muslims viewed the United States favorably. The number dipped to 94% by 1998, and rose again to 98% following the attacks of 9/11.

Since George Bush came to power, the number has dropped to 13%.

Similar changes are obvious around the world - from Canada, to South America, to Europe, to Asia, to the Middle East, to Africa. George Bush is the symbol of a new and more powerful anti-American sentiment that has crossed all cultural and religious boundaries.

So my question is - will this problem fade with Bush, or is it here to stay? Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and so on... are abuses of law that are shocking to Europeans. It's just shocking - but has it tarnished America in general, or just George Bush's America?

Can just getting rid of Bush make it all better, or is America ****ed in the eyes of the world for generations to come?

You're assuming that the reason the number has dropped is because of the United States. I believe that it has more to do with the media that filters information.

I used to care that these countries didn't like us. Then I realized that I don't like most of them either. For a country like France, it will take more than a change in leadership for me to have a favorable view of the country. It will take a complete change in the culture and attitude of the citizens. That isn't likely to happen, so my opinion isn't likely to shift.

The reason why many people dislike the United States has to do with a dislike of the culture and attitudes of the citizens...as portrayed by the information filter called the media.

Truthfully, unless someone has lived in a country and experienced life there, any dislike that someone has for the country most likely comes from biased sources with some sort of agenda. That's the source of my dislike for France...and Russia...and China...and Iran...and Korea...etc...

 

[Scuba Pete]

No, I don't really think the govt just randomly selects Arabs and/or Muslims to arrest.

Not being American seems to make the selection a bit easier for them.

 

[lilithu]

The reason why many people dislike the United States has to do with a dislike of the culture and attitudes of the citizens...as portrayed by the information filter called the media.

Truthfully, unless someone has lived in a country and experienced life there, any dislike that someone has for the country most likely comes from biased sources with some sort of agenda. That's the source of my dislike for France...and Russia...and China...and Iran...and Korea...etc...

Jonny, are you acknowledging that you're dislike of France comes from the way the U.S. media has portrayed it?

 

[Scuba Pete]

Confession is good for the soul!

 

[kai]

Jonny, are you acknowledging that you're dislike of France comes from the way the U.S. media has portrayed it?

are they misrepresenting the french?

 

[Booko]

Truthfully, unless someone has lived in a country and experienced life there, any dislike that someone has for the country most likely comes from biased sources with some sort of agenda. That's the source of my dislike for France...and Russia...and China...and Iran...and Korea...etc...

You can get some idea from meeting people who've lived there -- either natives who were born there and moved here, or natives of your own country who lived abroad for some time.

I forget sometimes just how unusual the circle of people I meet is. Baha'is move around a lot compared to others, it seems, so I meet people from all over without even leaving my city. And there's Atlanta itself. I live in the area where all the recent immigrants show up first.

I haven't met anyone from France or who has lived in France for some years now. But I've met plenty of people who've lived in Iran (especially), China, S. Korean and Russia.

 

[jonny]

Jonny, are you acknowledging that you're dislike of France comes from the way the U.S. media has portrayed it?

Not just the U.S. media - but that was a major source. There was also the time that the two French foreign exchange brats drove my white water raft off a waterfall and injured everyone on the boat (those proud French...always think they know better than the guide).

I lived in Europe for two years (in Germany). Much of my dislike for the European countries/culture in general comes from this experience.

 

[jonny]

You can get some idea from meeting people who've lived there -- either natives who were born there and moved here, or natives of your own country who lived abroad for some time.

I forget sometimes just how unusual the circle of people I meet is. Baha'is move around a lot compared to others, it seems, so I meet people from all over without even leaving my city. And there's Atlanta itself. I live in the area where all the recent immigrants show up first.

I haven't met anyone from France or who has lived in France for some years now. But I've met plenty of people who've lived in Iran (especially), China, S. Korean and Russia.

I agree, but how many people do you have to meet before you can get a good idea? I don't think you can really understand a culture by coming across people from that culture in your own culture. You need to experience life inside their culture to start to understand where people are coming from.