Thread: Syria

Since very few people in participating in this thread have bothered to fill in their location you have no way of knowing anyone's nationality. For all we know, our "top secret nationality" friend Eric might be a grammatically challenged Brit,

I don't see why that matters. You were talking to a Brit who is "enamoured of the Land of the Free etc.." Since no one in this thread, including Eric, has said anything that even suggests they are "enamoured of the Land of the Free etc.." your point falls flat regardless of anyone's nationality.

although that is not who I had in mind when I made my comment.

No, we got that, which is why I laughed when I saw you complaining about "... personal attacks or false accusations towards the person with conflicting opinions. Class."

Class, indeed.

Your problem, Hanna, is that you've taken a perfectly healthy scepticism and distrust of US foreign policy and reduced it down to some sort of simplistic binary world view where the US is bad by definition and therefore anyone opposed to (or by) the US must by definition be good; where any statement that doesn't contradict the US' official line must be a lie and any that does must be true; where everything bad that happens anywhere to anyone must ultimately be the fault of the US; where there are no other factors or self-interested actors influencing or attempting to influence events to any degree; and where anyone who suggests that you may perhaps be ignoring some potential nuance or shades of grey (to say the least), must logically be some sort of US stooge.

A world view that is, frankly, as fantastically infantile as it is spirit-crushingly banal.

Originally Posted by zedeeyen

Your problem, Hanna, is that you've taken a perfectly healthy scepticism and distrust of US foreign policy and reduced it down to some sort of simplistic binary world view where the US is bad by definition and therefore anyone opposed to (or by) the US must by definition be good; where any statement that doesn't contradict the US' official line must be a lie and any that does must be true; where everything bad that happens anywhere to anyone must ultimately be the fault of the US; where there are no other factors or self-interested actors influencing or attempting to influence events to any degree; and where anyone who suggests that you may perhaps be ignoring some potential nuance or shades of grey (to say the least), must logically be some sort of US stooge.

A world view that is, frankly, as fantastically infantile as it is spirit-crushingly banal.

You have completely misjudged my view of the USA. Your prejudice of somebody who dares to critisize your country, other than expressing a very polite "scepticism" is what's naive.

If your family members had been killed by drone planes in the name of "anti-terrorism", if you had a military base of a foreign country in your backyard, lost your legs in napalm bombing, inhaled Agent Orange while being carpet bombed by a country from the other side of the planet.... or your country had been set up and manipulated for years by a foreign power... etc ad infinitum --- then you'd probably feel a bit more than "healthy scepticism". You know perfectly well that your country are doing these kinds of things. Mine doesn't.

I currently have and have had, throughout my life, American expat friends and acquantances. I admire many things about the USA as I repeatedly mention. I normally see no reason to discuss this with them, any more than I'd discuss the excesses of Stalinism with a Russian aquantance. But obviously, if I am asked my opinion about it, I would not hesitate to express it.

However this is a forum where we talk about international politics so obviously this is the kind of topic that comes up, not what American artists, what American technology I admire or my respect for American history.

As an English speaking person with access to only, or mainly English speaking media, you are probably not aware that a good half of the world's population, including, no doubt, many people in Russia share my views - which are by no means extreme.

This is getting tiresome and a bit of a waste of time though. If you want to write me, and the billions who share my view off as nut jobs because they do not appreciate the foreign policies of your country, by all means do. But when it all comes tumbling down, or some *real* nutjob gives the USA gets a taste of its own medicine, don't say nobody warned you.

Originally Posted by Hanna

You have completely misjudged my view of the USA. Your prejudice of somebody who dares to critisize your country, other than expressing a very polite "scepticism" is what's naive.

If your family members had been killed by drone planes in the name of "anti-terrorism", if you had a military base of a foreign country in your backyard, lost your legs in napalm bombing, inhaled Agent Orange while being carpet bombed by a country from the other side of the planet.... or your country had been set up and manipulated for years by a foreign power... etc ad infinitum --- then you'd probably feel a bit more than "healthy scepticism". You know perfectly well that your country are doing these kinds of things. Mine doesn't.

I currently have and have had, throughout my life, American expat friends and acquantances. I admire many things about the USA as I repeatedly mention. I normally see no reason to discuss this with them, any more than I'd discuss the excesses of Stalinism with a Russian aquantance. But obviously, if I am asked my opinion about it, I would not hesitate to express it.

However this is a forum where we talk about international politics so obviously this is the kind of topic that comes up, not what American artists, what American technology I admire or my respect for American history.

As an English speaking person with access to only, or mainly English speaking media, you are probably not aware that a good half of the world's population, including, no doubt, many people in Russia share my views - which are by no means extreme.

This is getting tiresome and a bit of a waste of time though. If you want to write me, and the billions who share my view off as nut jobs because they do not appreciate the foreign policies of your country, by all means do. But when it all comes tumbling down, or some *real* nutjob gives the USA gets a taste of its own medicine, don't say nobody warned you.

Hanna, well said. I'm American, and nothing about what you just said offends me. In fact, I agree with you.

Originally Posted by Hanna

You have completely misjudged my view of the USA. Your prejudice of somebody who dares to critisize your country, other than expressing a very polite "scepticism" is what's naive.

If your family members had been killed by drone planes in the name of "anti-terrorism", if you had a military base of a foreign country in your backyard, lost your legs in napalm bombing, inhaled Agent Orange while being carpet bombed by a country from the other side of the planet.... or your country had been set up and manipulated for years by a foreign power... etc ad infinitum --- then you'd probably feel a bit more than "healthy scepticism". You know perfectly well that your country are doing these kinds of things. Mine doesn't.

I currently have and have had, throughout my life, American expat friends and acquantances. I admire many things about the USA as I repeatedly mention. I normally see no reason to discuss this with them, any more than I'd discuss the excesses of Stalinism with a Russian aquantance. But obviously, if I am asked my opinion about it, I would not hesitate to express it.

However this is a forum where we talk about international politics so obviously this is the kind of topic that comes up, not what American artists, what American technology I admire or my respect for American history.

As an English speaking person with access to only, or mainly English speaking media, you are probably not aware that a good half of the world's population, including, no doubt, many people in Russia share my views - which are by no means extreme.

This is getting tiresome and a bit of a waste of time though. If you want to write me, and the billions who share my view off as nut jobs because they do not appreciate the foreign policies of your country, by all means do. But when it all comes tumbling down, or some *real* nutjob gives the USA gets a taste of its own medicine, don't say nobody warned you.

I honestly have no idea how this has any relevance to Syria. I wasn't aware that this thread was about U.S foreign policy (which believe it or not, a lot of people in the U.S. don't agree with either).