??? about Patriotism in the U.S.A

[xcakid]

Well if you can't see anything wrong with your situation Mr Punch then I guess it would be like arguing with the wall.

[BruceSteveRoy]

i am not usually in the habit of quoting redneck stand up comics but whenever anyone brings up the deathpenalty i cant help but be reminded of ron whites bit about execution.

"if you kill somebody in texas we'll kill you back. most states are trying to abolish the death penalty, we're putting in an express lane."

and shortlee learn to be more tactful. unless you are a troll which is fine but if you are going to be a troll than i suggest hone your skills elsewhere first. troll fu is a precarious art.

[BruceSteveRoy]

mr punch is my hero

[Scott R. Brown]

I think shortlee is just a newbie and not a troll. He hasn't learned the BB culture/etiquette yet.

I made a comment to him on another thread starting out with something like, "Here in America we don't....."

It is possible this was the source of his questions. It seems to me he is trying to understand American culture. His misunderstanding of how to ask questions should not be held against him yet.

My brother-in-laws father coined an apropos maxim:

"Do not attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetence."

In this circumstance we might restate it as; "Do not attribute to malice what can be explained by naiveté."

[BruceSteveRoy]

either that or he is intentionlly being inflammatory to get a rise out of the americans on the board in an attempt to see if we are intrinsically patriotic when people challenge our values. for instance calling the american flag a rag. but i would have to say that the opinions that shortlee has of the american populace are at best myopic and at worst sterotypical.

[Scott R. Brown]

Yes but perhaps we all have stereo-typical views that we may not be aware of. He sounds like a college kid who is trying to understand things to me and may not have mastered the BB etiquette yet. He has very few posts so far.

His original comments were replied to with vitriol so I think it might be understandable that he would reply with like words if his original intent was misunderstood to be trolling.

I am just saying it is too soon to make a definite judgment based upon one thread.

[BruceSteveRoy]

In this circumstance we might restate it as; "Do not attribute to malice what can be explained by naiveté."

i would agree based on the first post but the second one seems like he is either dense or rude.

personlally i think that it is a more interesting topic to look at americans that feel patriotic to their own culture or culture's nation. i grew up in NJ. huge italian population and everyone had italian flags in their yards, tatoos of italian flags etc they are american but they identify themselves more readily as italian.

or the irish. all the irish i knwo are very proud of being irish. i am part irish but never really identified myself as being irish. other than i like to fight and drink lol jk. but almost all of my irish friends would identify themselves as irish as easily as american even though they lived here their whole lives and so did their parents.

or the puerto rican flags, mexican flags, dominican flags, greek flags, etc etc my neighbor back home has a huge british flag in her yard. the point is american patriotism isnt just about saluting a flag evidenced by most americans identifying themselves as something in conjunction with american. the point of america and the "rag" as you called it is a unifying banner for all of these groups. its not a perfect system (not by a long shot) but i challenge anyone to find one that is.

my problem is with people that can't appreciate their nation, their culture or whatever without trying to put down another.

[Scott R. Brown]

Hi Bruce,

Your points are well made.

Think of it like this:

"A" makes a seemingly (to himself) innocent comment.

Everyone jumps down his throat about the comment.

"A" doesn't understand the vitriol because he meant no offense and thought he was asking a sincere question, albeit crudely stated in the eyes of the audience. He therefore feels defensive and reacts with anger. that is return the vitriol with more vitriol. This is a rather common scenario i think.

The putting down of other cultures in order to puff up ones feelings of ones own is just human psychology. It is no different than putting down another football team that is an opponent of your own.

It is that humans are inherently tribal in their attitudes.

[BruceSteveRoy]

point taken.

[AJM]

Americans are programmed to be non tribal individuals so that we will never agree on anything, particularly our problems sothat by the time anyone comes up with a solution it will be decades out of date and fundamentally useless.
This message was brought to you by the multinational corporate states of Amerika. Drink more soda, drink more beer, watch some telly and STFU.

[golden arhat]

Sh!t, I was wrong.

Shortlee just posted this thread as a prelude to airing his cliched ill-thought out Yank-bashing before accusing others of not being level-headed. Those pesky kids.

Arhat, don't get me wrong, I love you mate, so untainted by common sense or insight, and yet so c0cksure. Sweet. English to a fault.

umm i dont bash yanks, i bash people who have differing views
its called an argument
i havn't been so smart recently i'l admit that
but i still dont get why you have to mock me
considering i agree with what most of you say (just havnt been so articulate recently) lol i hope your opinion of me will get better
and stop being so condescending

basically i disagree with black jack and rogue ( lol rogue is usually content with just being rude to me most of the time lol one time his entire argument consisted purely of copying my "about me" on myspace and calling me stupid) on most topics
this is not to say i am left or right i dissaprove of labels like that
just liberal with my thoughts (and stupidity)



its weird lol everyone talks about how nice and intelligent and nice i am in life

but on the web i can be a real pr!ck innit ?


anyway as for my views ask away in fact i'm sure u'd probably get a better understanding of me that way
instead of labelling me as a stupid mindless drone
so yeah i hope you will actually bother reading more thatn 20 of my words some times

i'll try to be smarter
thankyou

[rogue]

but i still dont get why you have to mock me

Some things are just meant to be Fred.

[rogue]

so why have a go at me then ? surely you wouldnt care or know what i was on about

and yeah how you decide i'm a pushover by not knowing me
and because i obviously have different beliefs is real mature of you

Everything one needs to know about GA. (sorry bro, you dragged me into this thread)

hi i am fred i live in oldham north greater manchester, i am originaly from north london.
ive been told im arrogant, ive been told i have a massive ego, ive been told i'm too head strong and over confident, ive been told i'm too lazy, but thats ok ,nothing phases me much,(and hey it might just be true)

i'm all instinct and impulse i don't plan anything

i know everything changes and nothing is permanent in this world, this saddens most but it gives me hope. i try not to cling to anything for that reason. i roll with the punches

make sense ??

anyway back to the main subject ME !! (whatever that is)

i can be quiet and unasuming, i can be LOUD and attention seeking, calm and collected some times, i can get angry and flip out at ppl at others,


I LOVE MARTIAL ARTS, and i love philosophy, ,
i try to judge ppl on merit and the choices they make often tho i get the wrong end of the stick, (innit aimee) i live in the now,

I'm a buddhist,
my friends are very important to me(tho i dont have many)

my girlfriend, aimee, means a lot to me. she's the only one i'd clean my room for.

i love everyone (well actually i dont i hate loads of ppl),
im very untidy,
im true to myself,
i hate grammar,
but love messing with words,
im opinionated but always open to new ideas,


i'm a peaceful enough guy within reason
don't push me (no joke)
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
and i have a weird sense of humour and music,
i ****in hate scene kids (there are exceptions) ,

i think into and about stuff way too much but dont usually stress myself out about it,
i think im quite nice,
u might think so too,

[golden arhat]

and that i think revealed a whole lot more about you than me

[@PLUGO]

hmnmm perhaps a bit of history on the Pledge of Allegiance and the criticism it receives, might be of interest.