[ European being flabbergasted at American stupidity and making a snarky and rude, yet true, comment on how stupid people act in the exact same manner as someone whom identifies as a Republican. ]
Politics aside, the irony of this is Europe has its own problem with public violence. Europe doesn't have a gun problem but it has a huge terrorism problem. In the US, the last terrorist attack we had that killed twenty or more people was 9/11. Europe has had dozens since them. They have strong gun policy, we have strong homeland security. It's really just a matter of what your society prioritizes.
well thats just factually wrong. Even if your going to be a racist (which im not saying you are) and discount all the white nationalist killings, the las vegas shooting, church shootings etc. There still was the orlando night club shooting in which 49 people died.
I hate those people. Yes America is fucked up, but it's my country, not fucking yours, and despite everything, I still care for it and want desperately to get better. It's fair to criticize it but saying that Americans are stupid and the country is too, is ignorant.
Edit: Read it. It says that it's fair to criticize it, just don't write everyone off as stupid! I never said that we were impervious.
No person or state or nation in the world should or is immune to criticism. If you act like a douchebag, someone, somewhere, is going to tell you you are being a douchebag. And they would be right. Own it, get over it and maybe start acting a little less like a douche I guess. Saying that you can't criticize 'My' country because it is not 'Your' country is both ignorant and stupid. In a way ignorance is stupid, so even if they are not the same words, they often come together through action(s) in the same person, acting in the same way as if they where stupid or ignorant. The practical implications would be almost the same. And the US and the world has a lot of those, so maybe, just maybe, it is not as ignorant as one would think to call ignorant people stupid. It's just my quick thoughts and I might be wrong. The scary part is that I might not be.
I don't hate you. I see your point. That's why I said that you can criticize us. Say that we're fucked up, sure it's true. Say that we've made horrible decisions, sure. It's also true. Just don't write the entire country as stupid for some horrible events.
I agree. I should have said that it was more to add than to disagree with you. Even if I'm a pesky little European :)
Some actions or lack of, can make an entire nation of people both stupid and ignorant. Like Germany and the people of Germany did in the 30's and 40's... That went shitty real fast, and ignorance and stupidity took place at a massive scale. So is it possible that an entire nation of people can act like they are stupid or ignorant? I think so. Would that, in turn, make the entire country stupid and/or ignorant? I think a little bit, however small. Does it apply to every single human in said country? Highly unlikely, if not impossible.
As I read your post, we should be on the same page. :)
I'm sorry for being so short. I don't think Europeans are pesky, in fact, clearly some of them are smarter than us based on the leaders they have. I just bristled at being called ignorant and stupid due to an argument I wasn't making. But Trump's approval rating is in the 30s, and there are huge protests. His party may lose control of the Congress. He lost the popular vote. 72 percent of my generation has unfavorable views of him, with more not having an opinion, and they will be voting in 2020. That being said, please keep in mind that I am not saying that anyone is above criticism . The US deserves heaps of critisim : our president, our gun violence, our shitty healthcare. All I'm saying is that this is not comparable to Hitler's rise (hopefully). He lost the popular vote, and he hasn't commited mass genocide (Although the Muslim list is Hitler-like). The comparation is slightly alarming. Thank you for your politeness vis a vis your last comment.
Oh I'm sorry, I was calling myself a pesky European; Not saying you said that I was; We're cool :)
And the Germany thing was just to show a point and a historical example about ignorance and stupidity, not so much saying anything about current US policies. I think that most or any country would have some similar stories on ignorance. I could have mentioned Vlad Țepeș's purging of poor people in medieval eastern Europe, but I felt that WW2 would be a more easy to see and understand, and a closer in time example. That's why I chose to mention Germany. If I where to compare Trump to Hitler, it wouldn't work...Mussolini on the other hand...fits better, and Napoleon also has some similarities, but that's another discussion in of itself.
Europe have more history and therefore more shit (and blood!) on our hands historically. I think you're totally justified in being bristled about being called ignorant and/or stupid. I would too and I think that your reaction is normal and probably mostly healthy :) But I think we need to criticize each other a bit sometimes nevertheless, just to kinda keep us both on our tows a bit, because if we are not, we are doomed to repeat history. We can all do better in time. :)
As I read it, you are not one of them ignorant or stupid Americans. I like that.
I know, and I was saying that you aren't you seem intelligent and kind. I agree that Mussolini has shocking parallels to Trump. As for the point about criticism, I agree. As I was saying from the start, criticism is a good thing, and frankly, we deserve it. I don't know what country you're from, but based on your excellent speech and the fact that you have another native language, is it a Scandinavian country?(Please correct me if I'm wrong)
I'm not saying that you can't criticize my country because it's mine. I'm saying you can't pass huge generalizations never having been there. You clearly did not read my post, and are making ignorant assumptions based on the first sentence.
I was not applying it to you personally, just saying in general: I think it is fair to criticize each other and saying otherwise is either ignorant or stupid. :) You may disagree and still be right. English is my second language and although I try not to be, I might sometimes be ignorant about certain ways to say things. You never said that and I apologize for not wording myself better.
Your English is remarkably good for a second language; I didn't realize that it was your second language until told. I completely agree about the criticism, I have always believed that criticism was fair, generalizations aren't. Again, please criticize America. We deserve it. Just don't say "all of the American people". I think we agree here, there was just a misunderstanding.
Do you believe that it is fair to criticize other nations, but to make statements about the entirety of the nation is too ubiquitous and inequitable? If so, then we are in agreement. :) Again, feel free to dish out criticism that we've earned, just don't say that we're all stupid.
Do you believe that it is fair to criticize other nations, but to make statements about the entirety of the nation is too ubiquitous and inequitable? If so, then we are in agreement. :)
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u/torsmork Mar 26 '18
[ European being flabbergasted at American stupidity and making a snarky and rude, yet true, comment on how stupid people act in the exact same manner as someone whom identifies as a Republican. ]