Posted on 09/15/2005 7:12:41 AM PDT by Chi-townChief
As someone who travels pretty extensively outside the United States -- usually a couple or three times each year due to work -- I'm aware of the negative impressions many Europeans hold about us Americans. But having spent the past two weeks vacationing in Europe, even I was surprised by the increase in anti-American feelings expressed by German, Dutch, French and Italian citizens, especially at a time when you'd expect our European "friends" to be doubly sympathetic due to the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe.
Don't get me wrong. A great many Europeans I met during this vacation expressed strong, even emotional responses to the hideous plight of our fellow Americans down South, especially in New Orleans. And yes, most anti-American comments were directed specifically at President Bush, the poor initial government response to the crisis and the slow deployment of troops.
But I was taken aback by those who seemed to equate the bureaucratic screwups with "typical American behavior" or seemed almost pleased that some of our least fortunate citizens were suffering, since, as one person said, "Most of you Americans are so spoiled ... you don't understand suffering like we do."
My biggest shock: Comments made by several people ridiculing European and Asian countries contributing to the Katrina relief efforts. Statements like, "America is such a rich country, why should we give you anything?" really turned my stomach -- especially considering the billions we have handed over when others faced similar crises.
Of course, all of this is a totally unscientific survey, based on random conversations with various folks I met along my travels. But two things hit me loud and clear: Every European I spoke with was extremely bitter about our involvement in Iraq and was convinced that our failure to quickly deal with Katrina's wrath was directly tied to a manpower drain caused by the war effort.
Secondly, several Europeans I spoke with not only despise our president, they have come to transfer those feelings to all Americans for having re-elected him. When I explained Bush's second-term victory was relatively close, I was met with shrugs and dismissive looks of derision.
Don't know whether any of this means anything concrete, but yours truly -- usually a pretty happy-go-lucky, "glass-half-full" kind of person -- has come back home feeling a bit more like a "glass-half-empty" Neil Steinberg kind of guy today.
mailto:bzwecker@suntimes.com
Is that supposed to be a point of pride? "Our people suffer MUCH more than yours do!"
A media member is shocked that Europeans are anti-American after years of nonstop propaganda from the media on how evil America and President Bush are?
Well, to be fair, Euroweasels are still stuck in the Dark Ages of media monopoly. When BBC and CNN are your main sources of information, and you have a historical pattern of being willing sheep....
"Most of you Americans are so spoiled ... you don't understand suffering like we do."
True. We Americans refuse to live under ruthless dictators. So we don't understand the murdering and broken economies.
F--k 'em.
Let me see. They embrace corrupt monarchies that plunder and kill them, they dug the Inquistion, they really went for Fascism in a BIG WAY and it killed a few million of them, and now they allow Islaofascists into their countries unabated!
Methinks that they DESERVE to suffer.
"Most of you Americans are so spoiled ... you don't understand suffering like we do."
Thats actually funny coming from a Euro. We footed the bill for big ticket items like Defense while they built up a little socialist "utopia" that would survive 5 minutes in the real world.
But don't get angry. Euro's deserve your pity for the fate that is about to visit them.
We ARE spoiled. I just wish not spoiled ROTTEN (which I think half [Dems] ARE).
Forget the major-headline brutality.
Just look at their lack of well-stocked pharmacies, ice, or all-day TV.
No matter how much money you throw at people, it won't buy you friends.
"Most of you Americans are so spoiled ... you don't understand suffering like we do."
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The fact that Americans do not understand suffering, is a reflection of the effectiveness of our Constitution, our sucsess in capitalism, and about desire and ability to utilize technology to defend ourselves.
Remember who started America. People who were SMART ENOUGH AND MOTIVATED ENOUGH to get the hell out of Europe!!!
I'd rather not give the Euroturds the satisfaction of helping us, thanks.
Well said!
We helped get rid of the Nazis and they still haven't forgiven us for it.
Bill explained to his European friends that the '04 election was close.
I wonder if he also explained that it's the state governor's responsibility to deploy National Guard troops and she was slow in that, that it is illegal for Bush, without permission from the governor (which she refused to give), to deploy federal troops to restore order, and the Navy sent out a ship for humanitarian aid immediately. It just takes some time to sail around Florida.
Somehow, I doubt he did explain these pesky little details. After all, it's much more fun to pile on GW Bush with his European friends.
Who gives a freak what they think. Most Americans are spoiled? Yeah, and that's the way we like it and that's why we work the way we do. Jealously at the most extreme.
You can't get too far away from these people. The sanctity of distance is the only balm in Gilead for the USA. Our Declaration of Independence was a catharsis - a knee jerk reaction to European horsehockey.
That's because we aren't as decadent and stupid.
We can afford to spoil ourselves.
If they worked more than 35 hour weeks and took 2 week instead of 4 week vacations, they could be spoiled too.
SO9
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