Hate North Americans?

[orwellian]

DA
Your first mistake was to assume that they do hate north Americans. They Don't.
Most assume i am north american(im not)ánd they have been nothing but decent to me in the six years that i have been here.
Now if you asked if most of them hated George Bush you would get a different answer.

Maybe they were "decent" to you because you are not American?
And also, there is a range of hatred. I could divide people into at least 4 categories:

1. People who only hate the US government
2. People who hate ignorant Americans.
3. People who hate you regardless, just because you are American
4. And people who just don't give a damn

 

[orwellian]

We can only be responsible for our own personal actions, not the actions of the country we come from.

As for what good the USA has done? Plenty, but just like everything else the media tends to focus on the negative, the art of distraction.

Yes that is true, but you are still being judged everyday here, which is the point of this thread.
And if there is so much good that the US government has done, please share some because I can't think of a single thing.

 

[citygirl]

Orwellian - since I find it impossible to have a rational discussion with anyone who sees things in such a limited and black and white view, I will refrain from responding and you can go on & tell me that the US is the epitome of evil and I am just a clueless person who has no idea about my country or what is going on there. Whatever makes you happy.

As far as being judged every day, well, you certainly seem to be doing so but it's not my experience here. Your mileage may vary.

 

[orwellian]

@citygirl
Yeah, or in other words; You're out of arguments.
But please, indulge me on what good things your government has done. I'm dying to know.

And maybe you should take iStar's advice:

Here's a suggestion.. the next time you go out in BA when someone asks where you are from, say you are from Canada. Their response might be "oh good you are not American" or "I love Canada but hate America". Other Canadians on the board here, I'm sure have experienced the same thing.

 

[jp]

“I am not one of those weak-spirited, sappy Americans who want to be liked by all the people around them. I don’t care if people hate my guts; I assume most of them do. The important question is whether they are in a position to do anything about it. My affections, being concentrated over a few people, are not spread all over Hell in a vile attempt to placate sulky, worthless shits.”

— William S. Burroughs

 

[iStar]

Yes that is true, but you are still being judged everyday here, which is the point of this thread.

Exactly... the issue is bigger than this thread. And being judged... it's human nature. Doesn't make it right or wrong, it just is.

And if there is so much good that the US government has done, please share some because I can't think of a single thing.

Americans are generous and possibly the least appreciated people on earth.

The US government has forgiven trillions in foreign debt. The US Space agency has done remarkable work, etc... These two examples may not directly effect any "good" on you personally but again, this is another issue that is bigger than this thread.

 

[velezbeisbol]

Like in every country, there are some people who are predetermined to think bad about foreigners, or rich people, or whatever. Every country has that predetermined hatred, which is mainly due to ignorance, or a poor education.

The only cases that I have witnessed of fact based hatred towards americans, being Argentinian, is the one that comes from US foreign policy.

US governments have supported many military governments in south america, most of them murderous and illegal. In fact, the worst violent government of our country's history, was supported by the US administration.

That is something that was engraved in Argentinians minds, and it will be really hard for some people to erase.

 

[orwellian]

The US government has forgiven trillions in foreign debt. The US Space agency has done remarkable work, etc... These two examples may not directly effect any "good" on you personally but again, this is another issue that is bigger than this thread.

The US government put foreign countries in debt so they could control them. That is not forgiving anything, that is writing of debt that can never be paid back. Debt that shouldn't have existed in the first place.
As for the space program, it was launched to be able to compete with the Soviet Union. Hardly something they did for the good of man.

 

[citygirl]

I'm fairly certain the purpose of the US government (or any country's government) isn't "the good of all mankind". It exists to govern , protect and hopefully improve the lives of its citizens. Or did I miss that somewhere along the way?

And really Orwellian - if you're too lazy to do your research, I'm not going to do it for you. But here's a hint: look up US contributions in the field of science, the arts, medicine, economics, philanthropy, etc. I'm sure you can come up with a few. And yes, many of those contributions have benefited people all over the globe, whatever the impetus was behind them.

Or wait - are we only supposed to post things that were created solely for the purpose of the good of all mankind and for no other reason. Well, that list would be very small I'm afraid, even if you opened it up to the entire world

And with that note, wishing you all the best. I'm about to take my undeducated, ignorant, imperialistic and apparently hated self to the parilla. I'll be sure to check if anyone is busy hating me in the corner because I'm American

 

[iStar]

The US government put foreign countries in debt so they could control them. That is not forgiving anything, that is writing of debt that can never be paid back. Debt that shouldn't have existed in the first place.
As for the space program, it was launched to be able to compete with the Soviet Union. Hardly something they did for the good of man.

Foreign countries put themselves in debt. And no country needs to forgive any debt unless they want to. Recently the American government forgave billions in African debt, Canada followed suit as did some European countries but Australia, Russia and ARGENTINA didn't. Does that make them evil?

You can't belittle the accomplishments of The US Space agency because it's in competition with other global space agencies. An accomplishment is what it is.