Louis Theroux - America's most hated family - Anyone see this last night?

[letthesunshinein]

Anyone see this? How bizarre was it to see such unhinged views expressed so nonchalantly??? This family are so extreme in what they beleive that they appear to have alienated and offended the whole of their country, and that's gotta be pretty hard to do! It was even more unbelievable to see how their youngest children were being brainwashed to say things they obviously didn't understand. Most shocking of all was that Louis Theroux actually stood up to their ridiculous comments with sustained logical arguments instead of going along with it for the sake of the show, a change of tact I think he should definitely stick with. As a result, I'm actually starting to find him quite sexy Is it just me???

'I thought most Amercians believed only those "saved" go to heaven and gays will live in eternal damnation. Isn't that the core US belief, at least for those masses of them in conservative Christian churches?'

Are you for real, Xenia?

I mean, isn't it bad enough you seem to have no idea that there's an entire geographical area outside London, collectively known as the UK, but you go and generalise about the beliefs of a nation of over 300m people?

Sorry, but if you're what typically comes out of so-called 'top' universities, I'll gladly give those a miss.

That's so twee it'd be funny if it weren't so pathetic.

This is a small cult people.

A cult.

With NO ONE agreeing with them but themselves, as witnessed by all the one fingered salutes and abuse they got from passers-by, and police presence around them.

This was classic Channel 4 programming on BBC2.

Not at all surprising anymore.

the one fingered salutes were because they were protesting at the funerals. the salutes weren't for them being homophobic.

Oh, really, Bizzy. So why'd someone lob that drink? That wasn't at a soldier's funeral.

Do you honestly buy that load of BBC nonsense that all Americans are homophobic religious zealots?

They're pretty good at that sort of spin, but up here we're used to it, because their bias is pretty easy to spot once you're out of Southern England.

I don't think you know just how extensive Christian fundamentalism is in the US. Even just on the gay army issue "55 percent of Americans ?think gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military,? according to a new Harris Interavtive poll. 19 percent said gays and lesbians should serve ?only if they keep their sexual orientation a secret,? while 18 percent said they should ?not be allowed to serve in the military at all.?"

76% of Americans are Christian for a start.www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html#religions

Have channel 4 broadcast a programme about them already? I looked on their website and they were so proud of the facyt that cahnnel 4 and the BBC were going to spread there message!

'I don't think you know just how extensive Christian fundamentalism is in the US.'

And you do? I'm sure the decades you lived there taught you that.

That's funny, Xenia, I lived in Texas for 23 years and Colorado (largely quite conservative outside Boulder) for another 8, I think I know pretty well how extensive Christian fundamentalism is there.

I don't deny it isn't a force, particularly in many Southern and Midwestern states.

But this show represents an extreme. It's a show designed to shock and so attract viewers.

Does it represent the views of the majority of the country's 300m+ population?

Does EasterEnders represent the daily lives of the majority of Londoners?

Over 75% of the UK's population considers itself 'Christian' - I had to learn percentage like this to pass the Life in the UK test.

Shall we make some extreme generalisations about the Christianity of most Britons then?

yes expat it is easy to spot, having been brought up in cumbria, moving to lancashire and now living in yorkshire.

is fox news still the most popular news channel in the US expat?

I'm pretty certain most Americans think gays go to hell. I think it's quite high. They think gay sex is a sin. I am sure they don't protest about it. It's like Catholics against abortion. Some hold the view but a few, very few will picket clinics. In a sense those who stand for their beliefs and do something about them are morally better than those who hold the belief but then don't live it through their lives and actions.

Go Expat!

Xenia, she's right, you have gone over the cliff on this one. Those are not main stream view you are typing.

Fox, the most popular channel?

Um, no, especially considering it's not a 'basic' channel and many households don't even get it.

I'd say NBC, if I had to guess.

Xenia, you are starting to sound like DominiConnor.

Are main stream American views not hard to define, as it would very much depend on where you were in the US? Where the diversity of opinion is much more extreme than here.

In some parts anti homeosexual thinking may be the mainstraem in others an unacceptab;e view.

I guess believing homosexuality is a sin is a valid belief to have, but it was the vile hatred that these people spouted that was really shocking. I didn't think Louis challenged thewm enough,as their argument is really quite flimsy.

Why didn't he say: God is Love. Jesus preached loving others in all circumstances and not judging others.

I've always loved Louis though. He's been awy too long.

But the programme wasn't trying to say that this family were at all typical of American views. In fact, the whole point of the programme was to show them as wacko weirdos with extreme and unpleasant beliefs. Did you watch the programme, Expat?

Psycho, it is extremely region-dependent, what is 'mainstream'.

And of course, there are a number of very large cities there, with a vast range of lifestyle choices, ethnicities, races, religions, etc.

I honestly don't think that can be underestimated.

My native city, for example, Houston, TX, is home to about 5m people.

You'll find some pretty big pockets where no one speaks English and the views there, the lifestyle that's accepted there, etc. are very different to what you'd find in other areas.

I mean, look at the NYC metropolitan area. That's almost an entirely different culture from the rest of the country in itself.

Yes, I did watch the programme, singer, and that's what my posts state this programme represented an extreme and a cult.

there's actually another thread on it already:
thefirstthread

So, ignoring Xenia's posts for a minute, it's clear that neither Louis T nor Channel 4 were trying to suggest that this family was in any way typical of American behaviour or beliefs.

Actually, I didn't think he really tried to interrogate them enough about the basis for their beliefs. I know they stonewalled him, but he was a bit wishy-washy. They were most unpleasant and completely barking.

Psycho, he did try that tack at one point, but they blanked him.

Oh,OK, just seen the other thread where Kezza makes the same point about Louis's interview technique.

There wouldn't have been much point in Louis pissing them off though. It would have been a very short programme. Better for him to do it the way he did, IMO, and be able to stick around longer so that we could all see what they were like and judge for ourselves.

(Which in my opinion is what makes him a good journalist)

Louis did seem annoyed at on point whwn he pointed out that Jeus was a Jew.

I think it was hard for him to hold back from arguing with these poeple as their views were obviously abhorrent to him, but he needs to do it, to get, and maintain the access in the hope of something enlightening about these poele emerging.

He didn't seem to get far on this one.

So you think this 'church' will disintegrate when the evil old man dies? How can it be sustained?