Posted on 07/06/2002 8:59:49 AM PDT by ginle
I've just moved from New York City to London, into a little house with a little garden - and it seemed a good idea to throw a Fourth of July barbecue. After years of cramped Manhattan parties, craning out of our air-conditioned apartment window to catch a glimpse of fireworks, I was determined to have the traditional outdoor feast.
My British flatmate loved the idea. "It's a themed welcome-back party," she exclaimed. She emailed invitations to our friends. I bought gourmet sausages, and then suddenly I panicked. Why would a bunch of Brits, anti-Bush and liberal Brits at that, want to celebrate our most all-American day?
Having lived in London on and off for two years, I've realised that young British people don't like America; in fact, now that Bush is waging his war on terror, they hate it. At a dinner party in the autumn, a boy I'd just met said: "You know, basically bin Laden is right." I began to cry. "America oppresses every other country, and really exploits them just to get richer and, you know, crushes them if they try to stand up for themselves. Bin Laden was telling America to mind its own business; it needed to be told."
And all this when my city was plastered with posters for loved ones missing since September 11; when I had just discovered that a friend had died in the attack. Knowing that one of the charges against Americans was that we "take everything too seriously", I apologised for crying.
Since September, most of my introductions to young Brits begin: "Oh, you're American." Then comes a barrage of questions and assertions about Bush and America's place in the world. If you can clear such political minefields, you find yourself with some friends for life, whose political attitudes about America do not extend to their opinion of individual Americans. "So really," I told myself, "stop worrying. These are your cherished friends coming to the party. You can make it through an evening without talking politics, and everyone loves a camp themed party, especially one with gourmet sausages and mustard in a squeezy bottle."
Then I read the "youth" survey in The Telegraph - a huge majority of young Britons thought America was "aggressive", "inward-looking", "concerned only with its own place in the world" and "not a good example to other countries". Thirty-seven per cent thought Bush was either "poor" or "dreadful". I accosted each new guest - even before they had negotiated the red, white and blue balloons that covered our floor - with interview requests. "Please will you tell me what you really think about Bush and America? I swear I won't get upset and really the more honest the better and I know that we disagree anyway." It worked, but not until we had more than a little drink. What a sight: BA literature students, photographers, actors and people in the theatre - all British but me - piling on to a sofa and talking tipsily about politics.
"Well, America," began someone, nestling into the couch and setting her drink on the table. "I really like America, but I don't think their political system inspires much confidence." "Bush is awful - a total idiot," broke in a boy from across the room, and the polite reserve was broken. "Yeah," nodded another friend earnestly. "Everyone in Britain thinks he's horrible; we were really gutted when he won. We wanted the other guy, what's his name? - Gore - to win."
Turning away from a conversation revolving around an Alabama-style chocolate cake that one of our friends had brought us, someone volunteered: "Bush is a homicidal megalomaniac; he wants to take over the world." My friend's boyfriend added a new sort of conspiracy theory: "The US is the world's biggest terrorist. They think that it is fine to go into other countries and pillage them for their own good, but when other countries attack them they call it terrorism. George W welcomed September 11. Look what it did for him. He didn't exactly engineer it, but he wanted to go into Afghanistan because of their oil resources. Do we really know Osama was behind September 11?" "Where did you hear this?" I asked, trying desperately to be impartial. "Well, I pieced it together," he replied. His paranoia was met with approval from some quarters: "Yeah, Bush wants to use 9/11 to start a world war." He was shot down by the others: "He's too stupid to do that."
I wondered out loud why they were convinced that he was so dumb. The answer was a bit feeble: "Our media has hyped him as stupid." But another friend, while pouring us more wine, came to the rescue: "He always messes up the speeches that are written for him and trips over big words." "He's a knob," yelled a friend as she went into the garden to partake of the sausages.
Finally, I went out into the garden to talk to my friend, the war studies undergraduate, who seems the exception to the rule. "There is less to worry about George W than everyone makes out," he said, lighting my cigarette with an "I Love NY" lighter. "He is a strong hand on the tiller and his responses are not wrong. The Republicans pick people for character traditionally and set up a really intelligent strong team behind them. I don't think we have to worry with Colin Powell and Rumsfeld." This inspired a boy who had been quiet the whole evening - "I am the most British person you'll ever meet," he confided, "and I am completely behind Bush and America. So I guess that I don't have anything to say here."
Probably this, not the paranoid anti-Americanism, was the most shocking comment. But it was a lovely evening, and no one got into an argument, except for two Brits about the NHS. The Telegraph poll said that 63 per cent of young Britons think America is a good friend to Britain, and that is what I most noticed at my party. For all their criticism of America and its supposed militant posturing, here were my friends, bearing wine, celebrating the Fourth of July and staying late, long after we wanted to clear up and go to bed.
After all, these were the same people who had called me and my parents on September 11 and sent flowers to lay at the site.
Sounds like this gal needs to get a new group of friends. These people have their heads up their arses.
Get a group of American lit students, photographers etc. together and you'll tend to find a huge amount of anti-Americanism, anti-Bushism and generally uninformed opinion, too.
The author is probably a nice lady, and she seems to at least support our President. However, I agree that she is doing a pitiful job of defending the U.S.
I'm currently living in Greece, the most anti U.S. of all NATO countries. Individually, I like most Greeks and they like most Americans (isn't it always that way). However, my Greek co-workers know better than to trash the U.S., and particularly President Bush, around me. I used to respond diplomatically, but not anymore. If they accuse the U.S. of killing innocent people in Afghanistan I respond that we haven't even begun. When 1,000 Muslim extremists have been killed for each innocent person killed at the WTC, then we will have made a good start. I say that with deadly seriousness and it usually shuts them up. I always make sure that my vigorous defense of the U.S. includes some viscious (but true) barbs headed in their direction. It's easy when you have 3,000 years of history in which to find incidents shameful to Greeks. I don't need to go any earlier than the start of the 20th century, but I do just to keep things interesting. If I really want to hit below the belt I point out that one of their heroes, Alexander the Great, was a homicidal queer who didn't unite Greece, but rather conquered it.
I hear very few anti-American comments from my Greek friends these days. I wonder why.
They are the descendants of the most oppressive empire since the Romans.
And pray tell, which countries have we enslaved?
The writer better grow a backbone. Otherwise, the sacrifice of those who gave their lives for the freedom the world enjoys now is diminished horribly.
We were in Ireland at the time and felt overwhelming sympathy and a strong sense of alliance with us. They recognize that America has been good to the Irish.
I think your equally positive experience in England, though, was probably provided courtesy of the older generation. The younger folks -- like so many worldwide -- are cynical and ill-informed. The western media can congratulate itself for a brainwashing job that Goebbels would have envied.
I'm certainly proud that you don't allow such comments to go unanswered.
She should have kicked their santimonious butts out the door instead of bowing down to them. Who needs friends like that? Those should just be mere acquaintances.
Have I missed something? Afganistan has oil ? I know we were thinking of putting a pipeline through the country but I didn't know they had oil.
I would tend to agree with you. We live part of the year in Thailand where to people are inclined to like Americans. When we were last there this past May, some friends said we should move and live there full time. When I asked why, the said that they understood from the newspapers that the USA had bombed their own buildings to get support for a war to take over the Mideast oil. They went on to say that they had read that a French book proved this. I then described just what I saw on 9/11,12,13,14. They accepted what I had to say as they had always been suspicious of Islamic propaganda but thought the Europeans to be usually accurate.
Interesting that those most inclined to like USA are questioning us. The quotes from our own left wing press do not help.
What do you expect from a bunch of people who think that Page Three girls, politicians openly having mistresses, open homosexuality, and unlimited abortion are the formula for a free society? So many Europeans have their priorities screwy. They think that being able to see a pair of jugs on the telly is the height of freedom, while all the while, they are handing over their lives to the government.
Second, why are you inviting these neanderthals with blood pudding for brains over?
What on Earth is an Alabama-style chocolate cake?!
I have a feeling that, normally, this gal writes those ubiquitous musings columns so prevalent among female columnists, detailing the events of her day, how hard it is to get a good seat on the bus/subway, why she can't find a good man who will do the dishes, scooping up her cat's poop, and on and on and on and on..............
Let's see if they like the tables turned, so to speak:
"You know, basically Adolph Hitler is right." I began to cry. "Great Britain oppresses every other country, and really exploits them just to get richer and, you know, crushes them if they try to stand up for themselves. Adolph Hitler was telling Great Britain to mind its own business; it needed to be told."
India conquered. Half of Africa subdued and Africans turned into slaves. Ireland conquered and the Irish massacred and trodden-upon. New Zealand Maoris slain. Australian Aborigines wiped out and all their lands stolen. The Carribean conquered; the local Indians wiped out and African slaves brought in to supply cheap labor so that members of Parliament and Lords could get rich. Constant war and meddling in European affairs. Yup, Great Britain deserved Hitler.
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