Posted on 05/17/2006 10:16:33 AM PDT by quidnunc
The United States long has been a source of irritation for the rest of the world, but the news is worse this year.
While Europeans and Asians and Arabs increasingly have disliked U.S. policies or specific U.S. leaders in recent years, Americans were liked and admired.
Polls show an ominous turn. Majorities around the world think Americans are greedy, violent and rude, and fewer than half in countries such as Poland, Spain, Canada, China and Russia think Americans are honest.
"We found a rising antipathy toward Americans," said Bruce Stokes of the Pew Global Attitudes Project, which interviewed 93,000 people in 50 countries over four years.
Few analysts expect more than marginal improvements, short of another Sept. 11.
"In my judgment, you're going to see a lot of this hostility disappear only when various countries really feel they need friendly relations with the United States, probably for their own security," said Richard Solomon, a veteran diplomat and negotiator who is president of the U.S. Institute of Peace, a federally funded nonpartisan think tank. "It will probably take some major event for that to take place."
The dislike is accelerating among youth, Stokes said. For example, 20 percent of Britons younger than 30 have an unfavorable opinion of Americans, double the percentage of 2002.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
Oh well, they can stay in their own wonderful countries then.
Jealousy.
Bad News, 'World': We the People Don't Give a Flip What You Think
Fk'em.
Then why do they keep coming here.
The antipathy of these people to Americans is directly proportionate to their envy of Americans.
"We the people...." are watching you!!
And they just thought cowboys and indians was interesting.
Another idiot poll. We have these things almost hourly now and I believe none of them. Mabe someone should start a new cable network...PollTV: All polls, all the time.
At least we're not French.
I just interviewed 93,000 people yesterday about this very same issue and I'm kind of tired.
Did I miss something? Is America enrolled in some kind of global "Idol" popularity contest?
I had heard about "The Ugly American" for years and then in the 70s and 80s when I did my international traveling, I was amazed at the French, British and German tourists who were 1) so much more rude and borish and 2) were mistaken for being American in many of the out of the way places we went. My husband and I always pointed out to the natives that they were not from the states.
"the world think Americans are greedy, violent and rude"
Eff 'em! If they get in the way of making my money I'll put a world of hurt on 'em!!
Polls are manufactured news, wherever they come from.
The test is how many people want to BECOME Americans.
Our population increases due to immigration, not birth rate.
What a retarded thing to write.
Normal Americans will react with annoyance to it, but in newsrooms and the DNC, people will pause and think "Hmmmmm, how could we get another one of those...?".
(Hillary in '08, that's how.)
Then "We The People" say "STAY THE F**K HOME!"
I don't like them either.
At least we have common ground.....
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