On Sun, 2003-03-30 at 15:31, Net Llama! wrote: > > There's a very common misconception in this country that the primary > reason why Americans and/or the US is despised/hated (pick your term of > disgust) elsewhere is because their prosperity is envied. The fact of > the matter is many of the nations/peoples of the world that dislike us > because they don't want the things we have, and yet we, in one form or > another, force them upon their societies anyway. In both Western and > non-Western nations, they are thoroughly disgusted with the way our > Nikes, McDonalds burgers, and Pepsis are diluted their cultures, and > ways of life. That's not envy, its disgust. I'm not sure how many are > aware of the fact that a significant number of the foreign war protests > are occuring in front of McDonalds. People don't usually envy bullies, > they despise them. was both naive & foolish. > > ===== > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Lonni J. Friedman [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Linux Step-by-step help: http://netllama.ipfox.com
While some may dislike the US for its prosperity that isn't the real reason for the absolute hatred many feel towards the US. In my opinion those who really, really hate the US do so because they they firmly believe the US to be the Great Satan. They see the pornography, the drugs, the prostitution, and the crime as evidence that the US is truly in the thrall of Satan. They see it as their duty to fight this Satan and are willing to give up their lives to do so. Bush once used the word "crusade" when talking about attacking the middle east. It was probably the worst choice of words he's ever uttered. This is especially true in light of the fact he's well known as a devout Christian. Nike, McDonalds, Coke and Pepsie are merely symbols of the Great Satan. That's why protests are often occurring in front of McDonalds. The world equates McDonalds with the US. It's the same reason they burn US flags. Of course US foreign policy has played a huge role. Remember, the US armed the Shah of Iran (a rather brutal dictator). You supplied arms and intelligence to Saddam to fight against Iran after the Shah was overthrown. The media here has been showing Rumsfeld of all people shaking hands with Saddam when he was sent to Iraq as the "make things happen guy". You supplied stingers and other weapons to Osama when he fought against Russia. The US has fought in Cuba, Grenada, Vietnam, and Lord knows how many countries in South America. When Russia pulled out of Afghanistan the US lost interest in the place. It didn't have any oil or other riches. No one really cared whether the Taleban abused and brutalized the population. On 9/11 that all changed. The war in Iraq is being fought so that terrorists will not have the ability to use Saddam's WMD as a first strike against the US. There is now a new world order. Any nation considered a threat by the US will be attacked. By the way, I personally don't think Saddam is the biggest threat. North Korea has nuclear missiles capable of reaching into North America. They are totally paranoid and believe they're next on the agenda. Winning the war in Iraq was never an issue. What is at issue is what will come of the resulting instability. It's like using a flame thrower in a gas refinery. Gerry _______________________________________________ General mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.linux-sxs.org/mailman/listinfo/general
