tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29769707.post4162764235155899739..comments2024-02-10T18:19:36.406-08:00Comments on Newspaper Rock: Settling the West in the Inaugural AddressRobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478763837213733775noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29769707.post-64603572784213375882009-03-02T12:51:00.000-08:002009-03-02T12:51:00.000-08:00Re "I'm arguing that the entire American populatio...Re "I'm arguing that the entire American population are not ignorant": Are you really so dense that you don't understand generalizations? When I say something like "Americans are ignorant," it's a statement about Americans in general. It includes many or most Americans but not all of them.<BR/><BR/>Next time you think I mean all Americans, go ahead and quote me using the word "all." In other words, put up or shut up. Until then, stop wasting our time with this semantic nonsense.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, there's your critique of US culture for you. Feel free to post your apology here.<BR/><BR/>P.S. If you falsely claim that I said all Americans are ignorant one more time, I'll have to delete the falsehood. Don't bother writing unless you have something new to say.Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01478763837213733775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29769707.post-42683617962419954352009-03-02T12:43:00.000-08:002009-03-02T12:43:00.000-08:00Re "That's not a critique of US culture(s) that's ...Re "That's not a critique of US culture(s) that's an anti-American blanket statement": You couldn't be more wrong if you tried. Since you didn't understand me the last time I explained it, I'll explain it again.<BR/><BR/>Are you seriously arguing that Americans aren't ignorant about world affairs? That's pretty funny considering that most Americans <I>admit</I> to such ignorance.<BR/><BR/>Here, educate yourself on the typical American mindset:<BR/><BR/>http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070822064927.3gb131i5&show_article=1<BR/><BR/>Two-thirds of US adults admit to being in the dark about political issues outside the United States, and only a third are well-versed in US politics, the results of a poll published Tuesday showed.<BR/><BR/>"Well over half (57 percent) say they do not like learning about political issues in other countries," and 32 percent expressed a lack of interest for homespun politics, the Harris Poll group said.<BR/><BR/>http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200109/msg00385.html<BR/><BR/>"For decades we've been reading about how American schoolchildren can't find Mexico or Canada on a map, and yet nothing seems to change," says Ransdell. "These people who don't know the difference between Switzerland and Swaziland then become the main consumers of news. And in poll after poll they tell us that they want less foreign news and more of what I call 'selfish journalism'--which stocks to buy, sex and beauty tips, 10 steps to a healthier colon and so on. It becomes this horrible feedback loop where people are sent out of our schools in a state of complete ignorance of the rest of the world and then, maybe because they're embarrassed, clamor for even less information on something they know almost nothing about."Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01478763837213733775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29769707.post-50864454542630692552009-01-27T22:02:00.000-08:002009-01-27T22:02:00.000-08:00"Anonymous, you seem completely ignorant of the fa..."Anonymous, you seem completely ignorant of the fact that "immigrants" refers to people such as the Irish and Scots. Well, now I've alleviated your ignorance, and you're welcome."<BR/><BR/>You left out White minorities when you mentioned Blacks and Hispanics; but in that case my mistake. And you have left White minorities (Jews for example) and poor Euro-Americans out of the picture before for example:<BR/><BR/>"Whites have more opportunities than minorities to achieve the American Dream."<BR/><BR/>So I suppose I just jumped to a conclusion oh well. *Shrugs.*<BR/><BR/>"The sentence I wrote was, "I guess the people who cut down the trees, killed the buffalo, and stole the Indians' land are the ones we should admire, eh?" If you think that ignores America's genocidal actions against Indians, you must have a reading comprehension problem also."<BR/><BR/>Wrong, I was saying that I don't regard the logging operations that happened way back when to be a tragedy. Which isn't to say that we shouldn't oppose the deforestation that's currently taking place.<BR/><BR/>"Finally, it's not bigoted to complain about the documented problems in America's culture, genius. I suggest you look up the word "bigotry" if you don't know what it means."<BR/><BR/>I'm referring to such lovely statements as these:<BR/><BR/>"He confirms that Americans are ignorant or shortsighted about the world around them."<BR/><BR/>That's not a critique of US culture(s) that's an anti-American blanket statement which of course is an insult to Indians. You must have your head in the clouds if you can't see how harmful garbage like that quote is to Indians (and that's just one example I brought up because the focus of this blog is Native America).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29769707.post-80802000010915569882009-01-26T14:43:00.000-08:002009-01-26T14:43:00.000-08:00Anonymous, you seem completely ignorant of the fac...Anonymous, you seem completely ignorant of the fact that "immigrants" refers to people such as the Irish and Scots. Well, now I've alleviated your ignorance, and you're welcome.<BR/><BR/>The sentence I wrote was, "I guess the people who cut down the trees, killed the buffalo, and stole the Indians' land are the ones we should admire, eh?" If you think that ignores America's genocidal actions against Indians, you must have a reading comprehension problem also.<BR/><BR/>Incidentally, "United States deforestation has caused the destruction of virgin forests by 90 percent since 1600. At the rate of deforestation currently in the United States, only one-fourth of the forests standing today will be standing in 70 years," according to one <A HREF="http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/United_States_Deforestation" REL="nofollow">source</A>. Deforestation is a worldwide problem, in case you're ignorant of that too.<BR/><BR/>I didn't go into the personal characteristics of <I>any</I> of the people I listed. All I said is that they helped wrest power from the powers-that-be. If you think Malcolm X <I>didn't</I> do that, go ahead and explain why.<BR/><BR/>Washington and Jefferson helped wrest power from the British powers-that-be even though they owned slaves. Should we omit them from a list of Founding Fathers because they were arguably racists? No, and for the same reason, we shouldn't ignore Malcolm X's accomplishments either.<BR/><BR/>Finally, it's not bigoted to complain about the documented problems in America's <I>culture</I>, genius. I suggest you look up the word "bigotry" if you don't know what it means.Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01478763837213733775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29769707.post-11643454992972398022009-01-23T15:00:00.000-08:002009-01-23T15:00:00.000-08:00"He WAS a racist. But toward the end of his life, ..."He WAS a racist. But toward the end of his life, he shed the racism. He had also parted ways with the NOI to the point where the NOI called for his assassination."<BR/><BR/>I have sympathy for the man but at the same time I just can't admire him.<BR/><BR/>"I can probably pick nits about some of the names on his list. But he did name some great Americans too. I would probably say that most on the list are great Americans. It is hardly anti-American to celebrate their accomplishments."<BR/><BR/>Yeah I was talking about his cringe inducing 'essays' which include anti-American blanket statements.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29769707.post-43267151112310288152009-01-23T03:07:00.000-08:002009-01-23T03:07:00.000-08:00"Whoah whoah, Malcolm x? You do realize that he wa..."Whoah whoah, Malcolm x? You do realize that he was a racist right? ANot to mention the NOI is not an actual form of Islam"<BR/><BR/>He WAS a racist. But toward the end of his life, he shed the racism. He had also parted ways with the NOI to the point where the NOI called for his assassination.<BR/><BR/>"I hate to break it to you but your vile bigoted anti-American rants are not exactly credible"<BR/><BR/>I can probably pick nits about some of the names on his list. But he did name some great Americans too. I would probably say that most on the list are great Americans. It is hardly anti-American to celebrate their accomplishments.dmarkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07269773990064736457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29769707.post-60409452117085696652009-01-23T00:33:00.000-08:002009-01-23T00:33:00.000-08:00"The Indians were here before the European invader..."The Indians were here before the European invaders. African Americans were brought here against their will."<BR/><BR/>You seem completely ignorant of the fact that white ethnic groups such as the Irish and Scots-Irish came to the US to escape genocide and oppression. Plus the Irish and Scots were also slaves, I suggest reading a book entitled To Hell Or to Barbados. Seriously who the hell taught you history?<BR/><BR/>"I guess the people who cut down the trees"<BR/><BR/>Who the hell cares about a few logging operations? In the face of Indian genocide that's irrelevant.<BR/><BR/>"The brave but humble people--Indians, blacks, Hispanics, immigrants, and others--who have given the country its strength and dignity."<BR/><BR/>You left out the Irish, Scots and other white minorities who suffered discrimination and violence when they arrived here.<BR/><BR/>"We don't have a great country because the Great White Fathers gave it to us. We have a great country because people like Tecumseh, Frederick Douglass, Crazy Horse, Susan B. Anthony, Standing Bear, Jane Addams, Thurgood Marshall, Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Cesar Chavez, Harvey Milk, and Vine Deloria Jr.--along with a few straight white men --fought against the Great White Fathers. They wrested power from the powers-that-be and gave it to the rest of us. They made the American dream a reality and not just, well, a dream."<BR/><BR/>Whoah whoah, Malcolm x? You do realize that he was a racist right? ANot to mention the NOI is not an actual form of Islam. <BR/><BR/>"For more on the subject, see America's Cultural Roots and A Shining City on a Hill: What Americans Believe."<BR/><BR/>I hate to break it to you but your vile bigoted anti-American rants are not exactly credible. I expect that sort of nonsense from some 14 yro with a dim view of the world, but it's a wee bit disturbing when a grown man writes such drivel.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com