Perhaps playing Gears of War on Xbox Live with people from the U.K. is a terrible litmus test, but I see an ongoing trend that they really despise Americans. And it certainly seems like the hate is much more deeply rooted than opposition to the war. Any thoughts?

5/9/2007 2:07:36 PM

My thoughts would be don't base your opinion on a bunch of game playing freaks. I mean come on, are Gears of War players really representative of the population over there?

5/9/2007 2:24:07 PM

They're still pissed about their tea ending up in the harbor.

To be fair though, a lot of modern english people today have an inferiority complex because their country is a waning superpower. The British empire doesn't really exist outside of the UK anymore.

Oooh, except for the Falklands. GG England.

[Edited on May 9, 2007 at 2:30 PM. Reason : .]

5/9/2007 2:29:00 PM

Quote :

"My thoughts would be don't base your opinion on a bunch of game playing freaks. I mean come on, are Gears of War players really representative of the population over there?"

Quote :

"Perhaps playing Gears of War on Xbox Live with people from the U.K. is a terrible litmus test"

... and not everyone that happens to play Gears of War, or any video game for that matter, are "freaks."

5/9/2007 2:34:14 PM

they don't like us for the same reason you made this thread in the first place......the opinions of a small and insignificant sect of the population are taken as the opinion of the population as a whole.

5/9/2007 2:34:19 PM

Eh, I disagree.

5/9/2007 2:44:39 PM

I don't really concern myself with what our previous tyrannical government and people have to say


they're jealous of our dental care!

5/9/2007 5:19:07 PM

People love to talk shit about other countries, Americans included...look at what we say about the French. but honestly, who would be rude to a French person to their face soley because of the country they are from?

5/9/2007 5:20:46 PM

I would be rude to a parisian to his face, but not necessarily a frenchman....i think they're cool for the most part

5/9/2007 5:26:31 PM

I had some jobless fucker on welfare argue with me about how bad america is when I was at a bar in montreal

I was like, for real, stfu your opinion means jack shit

bitching about wealth redistribution and people charging high prices for stuff


but this jackass was selling black market cigs in a bar

5/9/2007 5:30:04 PM

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6613861.stm

Supportive view of our country and ideas.

Didn't realize we needed support one way or another or that anyone cares, but nonetheless thought I'd pass on.

5/9/2007 5:37:45 PM

Almost every region of the world in conflict can be traced back to the British, Dutch or French.

5/9/2007 5:53:01 PM

You got it all wrong.

Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.

5/9/2007 5:54:43 PM

^^ good point

5/9/2007 5:56:10 PM

http://www.americanpopularculture.com/archive/politics/cowboy_myth.htm

[Edited on May 10, 2007 at 1:45 AM. Reason : .]

5/10/2007 1:44:38 AM

Every English speaking country hates every other English speaking country for exactly the same reasons.

5/10/2007 12:34:48 PM

^ I have nothing against St. Vincent & the Grenadines.

5/10/2007 12:58:34 PM

Since when did America as a whole ever care what the rest of the world thinks of it?

Quote :

"People love to talk shit about other countries, Americans included."

Basically. Everybody hates everybody. Well maybe "hate" is too strong a word; everybody always finds something to gripe about everybody else.

5/10/2007 1:20:34 PM

Quote :

"My scrutiny of editorials revealed a belief that Bush took on a largely self-appointed role, and Europeans (in particular the French and the Germans) disdained his will to action. Fernando Oaxaca writing for Latinola's Forum claimed there was a cultural gap between the 'French, the Germans and their liberal media sympathizers,' and those who understood cowboys. Vaqueros are the opposite of the wealthy and the elitists, says Oaxaca, and he believes his father, an 'old school Mexican,' would have admired Bush's plain speaking and risk taking. Likewise, Andrew Bernstein, a writer for the Ayn Rand Institute, claimed the American public admires the hardworking, courageous, and heroic cowboy. He said when 'European critics use the "cowboy" image as a symbol of reckless irresponsibility, they implicitly reveal the real virtues they are attacking.' Europeans, Berstein said, disdained the 'black and white certainties' and bluntness of the cowboy. They were 'worse than the timid shopkeeper in an old Hollywood Western' because they were afraid to stand up to evil and were afraid of anyone else who was willing to do so. Christopher Hitchens, a Vanity Fair writer and frequent analyst on televised news editorial programs, provided perhaps the most thorough analysis of the use of the cowboy myth and a provocative examination of the contrast between U.S. and European attitudes about it. After proclaiming how frequently Bush had been labeled a cowboy in the European press, Hitchens reviewed the meanings of the word 'cowboy': the tough, fatalistic cattle driver, the uncouth Indian fighter on the frontier, and the lone horseman with a six shooter who held up stage coaches or fought for justice. Hitchens clarified that in England the word 'cowboy' 'described a fly-by-night business or a shady or gamey entrepreneur' and that cowboys were especially connected to Texas. Hitchens stated, 'Boiled down, then, the use of the word "cowboy" expresses a fixed attitude and an expectation on the part of non-Texans, about people from Texas.' Regarding the European reaction to Bush's stance on Iraq, Hitchens stated, 'What we are really seeing, in this and other tantrums, is not a Texan cowboy on the loose but the even less elevating spectacle of European elites having a cow.' Hitchens' analysis made clear that how one defines 'cowboy' was significant in shaping perspectives of George W. Bush and the war with Iraq."

Quote :

"I believe the cowboy myth highlights a significant division in perspectives on U.S. foreign policy. Those who view the cowboy as heroic (more Americans than Europeans and, in general, those who adhere to Turner's version of the American frontier) tend to look at political problems in a sharply focused way and are willing to take big political risks in acting on their vision. Bush and conservative editorialists apparently adopted the cowboy myth in order to clarify their adherence to a no nonsense policy on Iraq. Like a sheriff of the Old West who clearly delineates the difference between good and evil, Bush as a straight-shooting cowboy declared the aims of the U.S. were good and those of Iraq under Saddam Hussein were evil. The president was justified, then, in leading the charge for good to win out over evil. Not everyone, of course, admires the straight-shooting keeper of the law who sees good and evil clearly. Those who view the cowboy as a bad man (more Europeans than Americans and, in general, the New Western Historians) are more comfortable with dealing in ambiguities and complexities and prefer to continue talking and delaying action. They observe the social and political world in a more nuanced way and find the president's unproblematic will to take action very troublesome. They are more likely to look for ambiguities in political and cultural issues and to see less black and white certainties. They view Bush as too eager to take action, and they deconstruct the good versus evil binary he promoted in his 2003 state of the union address in which he sets out his axis of evil."

http://www.americanpopularculture.com/archive/politics/cowboy_myth.htm

[Edited on May 10, 2007 at 2:11 PM. Reason : .]

5/10/2007 2:09:51 PM

i dont think americans have much of an opinion about other countries.
but i think there is a growing sect of people around the world, including england
that really really really dislike our country and lifestyle.
mostly cause were very powerful but we use our power recklessly and we're very arrogant.
and most of the time the only americans they ever see in person are american tourist.
tourist from any country can be annoying as crap, especially when they're in your back yard.

5/10/2007 3:16:53 PM

Also, Maybe because some Americans keep reminding them about WW2.

5/10/2007 3:20:31 PM

^^^ To that person's article:

The world's not black and white. It is far too simplistic and just reveals that a person that believes in black and white just does not understand the world. The closest we ever came to black and white was the Cold War and that's been gone for 18 years.

Even the old cowboy Wild West was not black and white. Ever heard of the Johnson County War?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_County_War

[Edited on May 11, 2007 at 9:49 AM. Reason : .]

5/11/2007 9:45:44 AM

Quote :

"i think there is a growing sect of people around the world, including england that really really really dislike our country and lifestyle. mostly cause were very powerful but we use our power recklessly and we're very arrogant."

I agree, but I think its more than that. Justified or not, we have become the symbol for globalization, industrialization, and by extention, all the painful transitions and trauma that are associated with it. Yes, the Europeans are just as involved in pushing forward these changes, but because of our sheer economic size and presence, we overshadow all the other players, both good and bad. As a symbol, people don't bother with nuance when looking at the United States.

I think another part of it is also a misunderstanding of the United States by your rank and file European citizen. They don't realize just how large the United States is, how diverse this nation is in all dimensions, how many constraints our government has because of both the Constitution and our economic model, and just how decentralized our government is as well. We move slowly because we have a system that was intentionally designed to move slowly and require broad consensus to get anything done. Broad consensus is hard to achieve because we have a huge ideological spectrum to cover over a massive population.

I dunno, just my two cents.

5/11/2007 10:26:05 AM

Quote :

"Also, Maybe because some Americans keep reminding them about WW2. "

lol.....That reminds me of the time I had a German foreign exchange student come over to a party one time and some dumbshit from our school asked him if his granddad was a nazi

5/11/2007 10:31:09 AM

Well, was his grand-dad a nazi? Why is that not a valid question?

5/11/2007 10:37:00 AM

Dude, the British are just as bad as Americans in this regard. If you've ever seen a British-German soccer match, the British love to use chants talking about how the British kicked the German's asses during "The War".

5/11/2007 10:42:04 AM

Well soccer culture usually dictates anything is fair game. Remeber the "Osama" chants we got when we played Mexico?

5/11/2007 11:16:37 AM

No one likes a selfish arrogant asshole that doesn't give a shit what other people think. Our country is just that.

Whenever I travel overseas I usually say I'm from Canada. Almost no one hates Canada (other than the US).

5/11/2007 12:02:01 PM

noone likes the limp noodle choad that thinks everyone has to like him or he is doing something wrong.

I dont really give two shits what europeans think americans are like. I have no prejudices against europeans, aside from the fact that they never work, but I get that from experience.

5/11/2007 12:04:25 PM

^If you really don't care about what europeans think then why would you post in a thread titled "European views of Americans". Troll away.

5/11/2007 12:10:56 PM

Quote :

"... and not everyone that happens to play Gears of War, or any video game for that matter, are "freaks.""

"gamers" are freaks.

If they weren't, they'd be out bending bitches.

5/11/2007 12:15:39 PM

^^ to comment about how im not concerned with it?

The thread title doesnt specify to only post if you DO care what their views are.

5/11/2007 12:28:41 PM

Quote :

"No one likes a selfish arrogant asshole that doesn't give a shit what other people think. Our country is just that."

You know what though, that describes most governments around the world. If they don't, its because they either have better speechwriters who know how to hide their intentions with diplospeak or have a more powerful country that would thump 'em if they said something out of line.

Believe me, if you think that Americans have a monopoly on the "selfish arrogant asshole" title when it comes to foreign policy, then you really need to read more international news.

5/11/2007 1:16:28 PM

Quote :

"Dude, the British are just as bad as Americans in this regard. If you've ever seen a British-German soccer match, the British love to use chants talking about how the British kicked the German's asses during "The War"."

Sadly, Pound for Pound, Britain would have gotten that ass PWNT^10 if it wasn't for the U.S. intervention and Germany's sudden decision to stop their bombing runs in the UK.

5/11/2007 1:39:26 PM

^ I agree with ya, I wasn't saying it's exclusive or anything. As far as international policy goes you aren't doing your job correctly if you aren't looking out only for yourself. When people see what a country as a whole does they think of it as if the country is doing it to them on a personal level. That's when the hatred comes in because in interpersonal relations, being a selfish arrogant asshole isn't a good thing.

As far as a monopoly on the TITLE of "selfish arrogant asshole" I would tend to argue we do have that for the most part. Like you said most countries hide it better by speechwriters and policy. Also most countries don't have the power of the US either, so their "selfish arrogant asshole"ness doesn't have much of an effect on other people and goes largely unoticed.

5/11/2007 1:39:27 PM

the UK isn't really europe. they consider themselves separate. i think it's a love/relationship with the UK. they love to come here for holiday and alot would love to live here, but they do think we are backwards, which is true in what is seen in the media and with our celebrities. europe is a little different as they definitely hate us more, but they also dislike the UK too somewhat.

5/12/2007 5:18:41 AM

The BBC is doing a program on Anti-Americanism:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/documentary_archive/6588603.stm

5/13/2007 9:55:06 AM

I know a couple british chicks (with good teeth) that like america, and really like american men

plus they're hot


they come over about 3 or 4 times a year

they're not hatin!

5/13/2007 11:29:33 AM