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COMMENTS:
uuummmm.......Americans?
Voted : Misconceptions
Part of it is total misconception. Thanks to the internet, any story can take root and spread and people believe it to be true. Blogs are a great example. I've done searches on things people on here believe about the United States and the ONLY place you find reference to it is some Blog by some person who has no clue.
The other thing, as I've heard it explained, is that during the Cold War, there was so much rhetoric and conditioning of the world to have an enemy to focus on, that now that there is really just one "Superpower," attention is focused on the United States. I guess it's sort of like a Movie star or famous singer that has so much media attention that before you know it, they are so over-exposed that admiration and interest turns into negative attitudes.
And...because our current leadership is so agressive and full of Baloney. There was a media comparison done comparing public attitudes about the United States during the Clinton years and the Bush years and the overwhelming majority of people had a very favorable view of the USA during Clinton...all that has changed and people freely admit it has much to do with the Bush administration.
But there are so many wrongs about America and Americans that sometimes it's funny. There are people who have never set foot here that are so arrogant, they will tell US what life in the USA is like...even though WE live here and they have never even been here. It would be funny if their ignorance was not so ingrained in them.
Voted : Comment below
IMO, I can reduce the entire torrent of anti-Americanism to one single person.
Geo W Bush.
Yes, I went there.
His unilateral thought processes throughout his prosecution of the War on Terror (reg., TM, copy.) has managed to make him exactly what he swore he wasn't.
A divider, not a uniter.
His legacy to American history- indeed, *world* history, is to create a chasm of thought and process between people that may never heal.
Thank you, Mister Bush. You may claim your prize in the Seventh Circle of Hell.
"The protests against nuclear weapons, for instance, concentrate on American weapons."
Of course. Because a few people realized that just prior to the "end" of the Cold war, the United States AND the west, got Russia to get rid of their Nuclear weapons, while the WEST (and that includes EUROPE) modernized their nuclear aresenal. Secondly, one U.S nuclear submarine has enough weaponry to literally wipe out the entire nation of Russia. Each one carries at least 16 Multiple warhead Nuclear missles. No wonder they protest that. It was kind of "the winnners get their way." But Western Europe is so hypocritical because they were as much a player in the Cold War as we were. I think many Europeans forget that.
Not fully rid of, but you know what I mean.
Voted : People always hate the guy at the top
We're a world power, and Bush is a military activist.
Good question winston, anti-Americanism predated the US emergence as a superpower. "Let faraway America and its white buildings come crashing down", that was written back in 1925 in Europe. The US was also known as the "cold continent", inhospitable, where animals are smaller than on other continents,and men too. Where dogs do not bark (this is not a joke) it was a ridiculous image shared all over Europe. You would also hear about the "ungrateful yankee", arrogant, thinking only of money, no manners and the conspiracy of American businessmen and bankers to take over the world (sound familiar?). This was all written back in 18th and 19th century Europe. Then in the early 20th century America was considered a "viral threat that could destablize the established order in Europe."
What Patch says is very true. There are many misconceptions about the US. Just from some of the things I've read on blogs foreigners ideas of the US seem to be a mixture of reality, what you've seen in our movies with some conspiracy theories thrown in. People feel they know us because we are a high profile country.
I also feel that a part of anti-Americanism is a result of Europes feeling of a loss of power and influence in the world, at least among the elite of Europe. Also our current administration has been to aggressive and that has further fueled the problem. In either case anti-Americanism did not start with Bush nor will it end with him.
Voted : GW BUSH arrogance and stupidity has increased the Anti - Americanism...
without a doubt, plain and simple...
Obviously there are a number of reasons why a significant percentage of the global population ranges from disapproval to outright hatred of the United States in their opinions. Some of this is based on the actions of the United States internationally, such as deploying our military in lands we have no business in--or no apparent business in; some of it is natural when the world is under a kind of pseudo-dominion of a single country (any country, or countries) in the age of the atom; some of it is based on disdain or intolerance for our basic 'ways of life' (including capitalism or Christianity); and some of it is based on ignorance.
This has less to do with the United States specifically and more to do with the idea of living under vast forces beyond the control of the average person, such as globalizing capitalism--capitalism simply being the means of production du jour.
But really it would be best not to jump to conclusions about what (we) think people are thinking about us without some good, solid, accurate, and reasonably complete data to back that up.
Voted : GW BUSH arrogance and stupidity has increased the Anti - Americanism...
Deservedly so. I didn't vote for these criminals that have hijacked our country.
Perhaps we should take some of the blame for not doing anything about it. We'll spend hours watching the flickering mind programming box but won't spend five minutes to write or call our elected representatives to support impeachment of a war criminal from high office.
BBC, anti-Americanism existed long before Bush was in power. So what is it, then?
by aya on Thu Jun 28, 07 1:46pm
[+]
They are a superpower, sometimes they prop up dictators (like other Western nations), and it does have to do with our way of Life. For example, Islamists don't like our way of life, and criticize it as decadent.
by aya on Thu Jun 28, 07 1:48pm
[+]
There are many things that fuel anti-Americanism. We can't point at one thing alone. I believe that one of the greatest reasons for the growing anti-Americanism is American foreign policy. Face it, no one likes a country that installs and supports the world's most brutal dictatorships. Does Batista, Pinochet, UNITA, Contras, or even present day Pakistan ring a bell? I think so.
Of course, there are many causes to it, but this is a major one that many people ignore.
Voted : GW BUSH arrogance and stupidity has increased the Anti - Americanism...
Not to the degree and intensity since he became President Aya, trust me, there is a huge difference...
Voted : Misconceptions
What patch said, i think the internet spreads rumors like wildfire that people get confused about and makes people really hate america!
What Truth said also, i mean Bush really makes Americans look bad...he makes it look like we're a bunch of cowshit kicking war mongering rednecks, most of us are so not! lol
they were sweet on us after 9/11.. guess they're just fickle
by Jyl on Thu Jun 28, 07 8:13pm
[+]
Voted : the American electorate's repetitive choice of stupid asses???
Just a thought
I met a man that fought in WWII and he said there was anti-American sentiment even back then. When your on top you stand out. Be it a religious leader, world leader, CEO or even a country. Add the fact that people tend to remember the bad more than the good and leaders will be looked upon poorly. That's my take anyway.
*you're
Voted : Americans :o)
most americans are arrogant pricks
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