Racism

[Arealmanithink]

I'm American. .I see a helluva lot of people slagging off Americans.. People that usually proudly proclaim their non racist beliefs.. Sorry but isn't making assumptions about people from another country and stereotyping then .. racism??

How many people realize that the US is the same size as Europe..

anyone who has looked at a globe, I'd imagine. And they'd also realise that Canada is even bigger so not sure what your point is!

You think you have it bad luv. Come from Essex...... Tbh it would be nice to experience the leg pulling you get. It would be lighter....and probably with more love.

Commiserations and cheers x

I don't slag off americans... the ones I know are the most awesome people i've had the pleasure of knowing. I know some heed the balls as well in the same vein like but that can be said about the people I know in the UK.

People can be knobs no matter where they're from. In fact, aside from the amusing slating from an american unhinged wench.. the most abuse i've had are from people south AND north of the UK.

sucks being a geordie lass I think.. if it wasn't so damned funny

Once again.. the point is..why is it considered ok to slag off Americans but not anyone else? What are the rules?

Minnie.. My wife's Essex.. I understand.. Thanks tho.

I like Americans on the whole The funniest moment of 2013 was listening to some elderly Texans tasting marmite for the first time. Their faces were contorted like a bulldog chewing a wasp. They came to conclusion that anything that tasted that 'disgusting' must be an anti-oxidant. I pmsl listening to them

It's not ok to slag off all americans because Americans are different from one another. It is however ok to slag off all people who do certain things or the US government's policy on something or other.

I feel contempt for example for those people (we have some here too) who are trying to force creationism in schools.

Btw you didn't explain the size comment. Would it be racist of me to wonder if you meant "We're really big and important" ?

again {since you've asked again] why is it alright to slag off the English?

Talk about coming from Essex, not only do I live there now, but I come from New Jersey (the Essex of the US). Both are actually pretty cool places full of talented people but the butt of so many jokes. I better be able to laugh at myself having this geography.

Back.. I only meant.. Look at how different Europe is within the same square mileage as the US.. How many languages, cultures, religions etc.. Same size yet the US gets painted with the same brush whether it's San Fran or NYC..
Believe it or not , I like the UK.. It's a "Green and pleasant land"...But I also feel most Brits are "living lives of quiet desperation"..
Wow, 2 songs references in one sentence.. prize to the first to name both those songs!!

Many of us are becoming a lot more desperate under the Tories, that's for sure. Time to stop being quiet about it??

FSS OP.. stop your frigging meeping and get to the point.

Cote D'Azur LesMiss - You have totally missed the point of my post

Thank goodness for that!

Well I bloody love Americans, my DH tells everyone that I'm a 'wannabe Yank'

I've been over a couple of times, to Florida and New York, the people I met where so friendly, they would hear my accent and ask whereabouts in Ireland I was from (I'm English ) but where so lovely, told me to have a 'safe flight home' and 'have a nice day'

When I was in NY I was heavily pregnant, everybody would ask about the baby, I even had some NYPD officers come over and check that I was OK when I was sitting on a bench looking fed up (my feet where killing me)

Very lovely, friendly people. Walking around my local town centre people don't even look at you never mind speak to you, your lucky to get a 'hello' out of shop assistants never mind a 'how are you' and 'have a nice day'

why is it considered ok to slag off Americans but not anyone else? What are the rules?

I thought the rule was that both the Americans and the British were allowed to slag off the French ...

US Americans, Australians and South Africans are all seen to be fair game in the UK.

New Zealanders and Canadians don't seem to attract the same disapprobation. (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong in this.)

You're right, though. This kind of bigotry is similar to racism. But it is acceptable in the UK, and if you point it out, often you'll be told to go home if you like it there so much.

It would be racist to say this to a Jamaican, but not to an American. So that's okay then. So long as its not racism.

Arealmanithink fair enough about the different cultures. I've sometimes thought that you'd be better off without a federal government at all. That way each state could develop its own culture and style and people could move to a state that suited their views.

I feel much the same about the European Union.

SanityClause If we were just naturally racist in the UK why would we not be the same with New Zealand and Canada? It seems to me that I never hear of either place trying to bug my phone, force a regime change or otherwise force their views on other countries.

I've actually always had a certain admiration for the US in the way it created itself. The Constitution was a good attempt at setting in stone certain freedoms and principles. I think in recent times Americans have been cheated out of that.

Not that I'm that impressed about my own country. I spend far more time criticising the UK than I do the US.

it's hard to reconcile 'very friendly people' with drones. very hard to reconcile.

hence i stick with hating policy and being very alarmed by the ignorance that lends such support to that policy whilst remaining aware that not all americans agree with such policy.

that question you keep asking has been answered hundreds of times now arealman. i've just done it again.

the question i'd ask you would be what would happen if we did not speak up and complain about dangerous and frankly evil policies acted on by super power regimes? is not hurting the feelings of americans worth more than the lives of innocent civilians in other nations? worth more than the rights of a raped teenager to abort the pregnancy she's been landed with?

your point is equivalent to saying that hating tories is racism or slagging off the bnp is racist. people and political systems are different things. people who lend their support to poitical systems that result in the slaughter of thousands of children or to the stoning to death of rape victims for example are getting off lightly if all they get is a bit of ribbing imo.

OK Numpty.. I'll engage.. I don't agree with everything the American Govt does.. I don't agree with everything the British Govt does.. I don't agree with a lot of things that people in general do.. But I don't look at one classification of people and say they suck.. I try to take people as individuals. There's a whole world out there and a whole lot of individual opinions/attitudes.. If everyone agreed it would be boring.. The whole point of my original post was.. to state yet again.. is that slagging off a whole group of people, without realizing that they are made up of individuals, is wrong.. I don't see where that is controversial, or worthy of argument..

Sanity.. :)

"The whole point of my original post was.. that slagging off a whole group of people, without realizing that they are made up of individuals, is wrong"

No. The point of your original post, which was erroneous by the way, was that slagging off Americans is "racism". That is also the title of your thread, of course. Not "slagging off groups of people is wrong".

Yes and we're getting down to the basics now.. My original point was that Slagging Americans =racism.. Now we're defining racism and race.. I'm intrigued by the whole definition thing.. But I am a bit like that..

We are not defining 'racism' and 'race'.

You are learning about the definitions of 'racism' and 'race'. Those words already had definitions before you started this thread three days ago.

And you have already made a generalisation about Brits. Should I cry racism?