Posted on 11/12/2004 6:34:35 PM PST by quidnunc
There was a moment when we Americans living in Britain, all 200,000 or so of us, thought we were home free. The years of being mocked and antagonised for our country's leader were coming to an end. "Actually, I'm voting for Kerry" was the simplest way of getting out of a difficult conversation. The truth is that many Americans in Britain probably voted for Bush, but have kept it to themselves. It's about as fashionable as admitting to having the clap.
"Every meeting I go to, every social occasion, even when I'm out shopping, someone hears my accent and challenges me to a debate," says Annie Ouroussof Jordan, an executive headhunter who, though American, spent years in France and the Middle East before moving to Britain 15 years ago. She did not vote.
"There wasn't a proper candidate as far as I'm concerned and I wasn't going to vote for Kerry just not to vote for Bush. The truth is that I would have voted for Bush if I had to make a choice. Many of us Americans feel this way because we don't know what Kerry believes in. He stands for nothing. I have gotten flak for it but part of being an American is speaking up. I am often provoked in social situations and have taken to avoiding the subject altogether." Still, this is nothing compared with French anti-Americanism. "It's pure hatred there," she says.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Yep. Now that eveyone knows who I am and what I stand for. None of them would dare bring up any anti US message or topic. They know only too well.
I;'ve got relatives who don;t like Bush, but in spite of the fact that I don;t want to hurt my realtionship with them, when the subject is brought up I don't back down. I would like to see all of us do that. Be respectful but put our point of view out there. Whether in England or anywhere else we shouldn;t be intimidated into silence.
Haven't you heard???.. the newly approved EU history schoolbooks don't teach that stuff.
Ronald Reagan was the best POTUS to come along in a long time, and he was hated by Europe too.
Its like Ann says about talking to liberals, if their not in a spitting rage then you're not doing it right. Having Europe hate you must be the standard by which our greatest Presidents will be judged. If the pansy-@$$ frogs and krauts and stiff upper lip brits don't like him, he has to be doing it RIGHT!!
This Buds for you GWB! I know you wont drink it but I'll have it for you!
Absolutely true and right. That's how I tackle it too. Offense, always. And they always back off. I have never lost one round. And I always give them some lessons too.
Wow! The depth of ignorance presumed upon the Right by their political/media 'betters'is astounding. And yet we conservatives still chuckle as we read their post-mortems. Why they lost is in plain sight. Because they don't or won't be grateful for what they have. And to be so ignorant of history and human nature. That the United States is the default Bad Guy. The left is supposed to be the sophisticated, the educated. They're not so much stupid, do not misunderestimate the opposition, but they are profoundly ignorant of history and street smarts. The left does reveal its sinister side when they hawk fraudulent Air Nat'l Guard documents during a hotly contested presidential campaign, when they say that the president addressed a crowd of the GOP faithful in West Allis, WI., to wish former president Bill Clinton well and a speedy recovery from heart surgery, and the AP reporter lied, saying the GOP partisans booed Bush! Despite the lies of the fraudcasters and their cheating, they've been dealt a soul searching blow. When they're done examining why they lost AGAIN, the SeeBS worms will still be trying to rehabilitate the image of Arafat... when is SeeBS going to do a non-fawning story on Kim Jong-Il and Jimmy Carter? For all of these reasons and more the Left lost big in '04! Thanks to the Internet their fraudmemes are being deconstructed as they spin 'em...
The best part was TRW seeing as they were implicated in a scandal to topple an Aussie PM (Falcon and the Snowman). I did in fact work for TRW and when I handed them my card you could see their color turn.
Are you living there now?
Lived in a village called Bloxham when station in the UK at Upper Heyford between 86-89.Never had a problem.The Pub I went to very very often was as conservative as I was and they loved Americans and America! This bicth is a POS.
No, in a more liberal country, New Zealand. I thought Aussies are usually pretty good, thought they are usually pro-American.
"Sometimes, I Pretend I Am Canadian"
Get some guts and patriotism and stand up for your Country, if not, then don't pretend to be American either.
Thank God!
I actually think that the UK has become more friendly to Americans since the 80's. As the EU has infringed more on their lives, the US looks better and better.
I thought Aussies are usually pretty good, thought they are usually pro-American.
Compared to the Kiwis they certainly are, but the Unions are pretty strong there and Aussies like to argue just for fun. I found the Kiwis to be much more like the British and the Aussies tended to be more American culturally. Most younger Aussies really wanted to come to America and I usually got a lot of questions about how life was here, from them.
Sometimes I pretend I'm a Canadian, too. Like when I make a stupid move in traffic. I'll roll down my window and say, "Sorry, eh! I'm a hoser from the Great White North."
Anti-Americanism is the default position of the European mindset. Why shouldn't it be? They don't have to fund their national defense because they still think they're not targets. The Europeans will suffer any and all indignities from terrorism, it's in their nature to succumb to that which is more aggressive... be it the United States in the 20th century, or their new fascist masters in the 21st... the Europeans are less than wothless in the GWOT. Once again, leave it to the United States to do the heavy lifting in defending Western Civilization from the depredations of Terrorism, barbarism, and voting for Democrats!
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