Americans

[tnf]

His Iraq war policy is starkly different from Bush, but his Afghanistan war is...well, not so much.

It is going to take a bit to set in that Bush is gone because we are going to be constantly reminded of the ruin he left things in for a long time to come.

But watching the festivities yesterday, including the concert on HBO that included U2, it was the first time I've seen that many Americans ecstatic about pretty much anything. Its a nice change from the norm. I was wondering what kind of attitude would have been pervading the country if McCain had won. I have to think that the group of revelers in D.C. would have looked very different and that there would have been outright devastation in many parts of the country.

[xer0s]

Dread.

I'm celebrating MLKJ Day and the Presidential Inauguration with a bucket of chicken and some 40s...

[plained]

so the heavy complainers are still unhappy lol

golly gee i wonder why?

[YourGrandpa]

Yeah, well... You'll never please those people. They're a lot like the terrorists. They'll always hate America and it's people no matter what they do.

[Doombrain]

Yeah, well... You'll never please those people. They're a lot like the terrorists. They'll always hate America and it's people no matter what they do.

jesus christ

[xer0s]

The terrorists part of that comment is a bit extreme. But he's right on some level. Look at GFY's comment in this thread. Prime example...

[tnf]

The terrorists part of that comment is a bit extreme. But he's right on some level. Look at GFY's comment in this thread. Prime example...

Then do people who always make racial insults about a black president racists on some level?

[GONNAFISTYA]

The terrorists part of that comment is a bit extreme. But he's right on some level. Look at GFY's comment in this thread. Prime example...

Prime example of what? The fact that now we're supposed to magically believe a fucking word your leaders say because you didn't elect a Republican? Please.

If you cannot see that Americans simply yearn for the days to forget about real problems and worry about Oprah's weight issues again then you're a fucking idiot. They only pay attention when they're personally going broke. Small changes will be made but the game will continue being played the way it's played long after you're dead and buried. Quit lying to yourselves. Fucking sheep.

You think the graft and lying will disappear? You think Americans will somehow change the fact half their economy is bomb making? You think the CIA will actually do anything different than fucking up other countries? All the progress that you people yearn for will be deluged and chug slowly in a shit-caked river of false-rage, political maneuvering and targeted hatred by the nutters who brought you this system...and they will not shut up or go away. Ever. And some their supporters are cleaning their guns.

Some of you need to put down the bong and look at reality a bit closer.

As for gramps, he's retarded so why bother listening?

[Doombrain]

What amuses me about =====!!!!@@@ 9/11 OMFG @@@!!!===== is even though (and we all should have seen this coming) it was very dramatic, they all act like they were the only country to ever have a terrorists attack and everyone need to pay attention boo hoo.
Now everything is terrorists this terrorists that, see YGP typical moron response.

[tnf]

lol

"Excitement"
"Hope"

Americans are basically euphoric to get back to the way things were during the days of Clinton.

How fucking sad is that?

Hey once you've been on hell's front door, moving back to its front yard doesn't seem too bad.

I am trying to keep a semi-optimistic outlook for a couple reasons.

I can't handle 4 to 8 more years of a president that works so hard to fuck over education, the environment, our position in the world, so I have to maintain some hope that things will get better. I am sure they will in some areas just due to the fact that Obama is appointing people with actual qualifications to some positions that affect me directly (i.e. education). I think this will help reinstate the separation of church and state that has started to vanish.

There is something to be said for the fact that this guy beat a 'war-hero' in a time when the administration was trying to ramp up the fear factor. Even if it wasn't a public landslide, I am hopeful it points to a shift in the public's perception of the 'war on terror' as it has been sold to us.

Lastly, given the choices we had, I don't see what else we really could have done that would have been better (some people's ideal candidate might have been Nader but he didn't have a better chance than me at winning). I'm surprised at how bitter some people still are at the Obama choice - or still so angry with the US that no realistic action could ever be undertaken to change the steady flow of criticism. As a candidate he represented a break from the prior administration (significant break in some areas, not so significant in others, but a break nonetheless). The frustration over the last 8 years has been enough. For my own psyche its time to put a bit of the cynicism aside and see what happens. No election will represent a panacea, so for now I'll have to be satisfied with even baby steps towards something different instead of going through a point by point list of everything where Obama isn't different enough and focusing on that. There will be plenty of time for that in the future.

And here we will also regress back to the one-size-fits-all categorization of Americans because we have, apparently, the only government in the modern world with problems including lying, etc. Anyone who likes the country they live in could be considered a fucking sheep in that respect, because all governments lie, cheat, steal, fuck over the citizens in one way or another...

GKY may be right, I may be another fucking sheep. But not one who has no idea of what is going on around him. Just one that realizes its a pipe dream to expect all the problems to end overnight - or ever. So I'll look to whatever positives I can for the moment. Maybe the shining examples set by the corruption free governments around the world will help.

[GONNAFISTYA]

I'm not disagreeing with anything you've said and it's always better to have hope than despair, but it seems to me that - because of Obama's election - that America seems to DEMAND that rest of the world respect them again and obviously gets miffed when people don't fall in line and suck their collective cock. That, more than anything, has turned me off and indicated to me that people still haven't learned a goddamned thing about what's really fucked up. Are you people forgetting McCain got a shit-ton of votes? There was no country-wide epiphany on election night...not even close.

I'm telling you guys to shut up and prove it before you go boasting again and because of that I'm a terrorist blaming America for everything and saying America has the only corrupt government on the planet.

Seriously.....Fuck u rednecks.

Oh...and to further DB's post about gramps...xer0s is also a known retard.

[Peenyuh]

They only pay attention...

I agree.

Hey once you've been on hell's front door...

I applaud.

That being said, I couldn't care less if the rest of the world respects me as an American. I do the best I can and I'm the best person I can be. Being an American, when I'm judged for what my government does, I lose the ability to listen to any criticism because it sounds utterly hypocritical. There's not a government on this planet whos shit don't stink. If I judged any countries people by their government, I'd be for nuking the whole phuqin thing.

It may seem that America "DEMANDS" various things of the rest of the world to a lot of the rest of the world. Maybe the rest of the world should come down off of the soap box and stand with a few of us mortals? Just throwin that out there.

[Hannibal]

...but it seems to me that - because of Obama's election - that America seems to DEMAND that rest of the world respect them again and obviously gets miffed when people don't fall in line and suck their collective cock.

Where the fuck are you getting this from? Do you only talk to dumbasses/rednecks?

[GONNAFISTYA]

Unfortunately, yes. It's maddening and because of it Canada is not immune.

I've read waaaayyyyy to many emails, news articles, blogs, forum comments, etc to amass the feeling that I'm not supposed to poo poo M'uricuh because of the "past". lol

[GONNAFISTYA]

Maybe the rest of the world should come down off of the soap box and stand with a few of us mortals? Just throwin that out there.

lol

You're either blasted from smokin shit Mexi-weed or you ate the worm. That is the dumbest comment I've read in some time.

[YourGrandpa]

Hey GKY, just admit that you're an American hating asshole. It's ok.

I also find it very funny that someone who struts around like he has so much insight, also takes things typed on a message board so literally. Yes dippy, you're a terrorist who wants to bomb an American embassy, just because you hate America. LOL.

Grow a brain. I don't think that there are many Americans who think things are going to completely change when Oboma gets into office. I think that most of us have "hope" for a better future. What that future is exactly, no one can predict or realistically expect. But feel free to keep up your mindless labeling of the average American. It shows that you truely have your fingers on the pulse of our society.

[Peenyuh]

Maybe the rest of the world should come down off of the soap box and stand with a few of us mortals? Just throwin that out there.

lol

You're either blasted from smokin shit Mexi-weed or you ate the worm. That is the dumbest comment I've read in some time.

RE: emails; I understand THAT. I delete alot of that crap with merely a glance. Pride in yer country is one thing, but that stuff becomes like junk mail.

Also, it may sound dumb to you... but, maybe that just reflects your intellectual perception. see if you can percieve my meaning correctly.

[GONNAFISTYA]

If America begins cleaning up the world-wide mess they've made I'll be impressed. Granted it makes perfect sense to clean up their own back yard before tackling some of the global issues they've ignored for decades. Perfect sense entirely.

But...if America only focuses on healing it's own wounds and ignores the wounds it's inflicted elsewhere, then I'll have no choice but to continue disrespecting the biggest blowhard hypocrite in the neighborhood.

The world can indeed wait for America to tend it's self-inflicted wounds so I'll simply have to wait for the real change that I believe in.

[tnf]

I'm not disagreeing with anything you've said and it's always better to have hope than despair, but it seems to me that - because of Obama's election - that America seems to DEMAND that rest of the world respect them again and obviously gets miffed when people don't fall in line and suck their collective cock.

Yea, I really have no idea where this comes from, because everyone I talk to about the election is thinking pretty much the opposite - hoping that we haven't alienated long time allies too much.

No offense GFY, but some of these rants really don't reflect what is actually going on in this country right now on the large scale.

[fKd]

i dont hate americans, just ya government. you guys are ok... ya make good games/music/movies... for the most part. cheers for that btw

[YourGrandpa]

If America begins cleaning up the world-wide mess they've made I'll be impressed. Granted it makes perfect sense to clean up their own back yard before tackling some of the global issues they've ignored for decades. Perfect sense entirely.

But...if America only focuses on healing it's own wounds and ignores the wounds it's inflicted elsewhere, then I'll have no choice but to continue disrespecting the biggest blowhard hypocrite in the neighborhood.

Haven't we been involved with fixing every country that we blew up. We're also a big contributor to the fixing of countries we didn't blow up yet.

[Peenyuh]

[GONNAFISTYA]

This isn't the only board I read populated with Americans. Thankfully the members on this board are more enlightened but in a very clear way there is this sense of "ugly American" that I see in people's posts that make me ill. I tend to not post too often at those boards because the amount of sheer brain-fuckery I've dealt with is mind-blowing and makes me want to stab kittens. And it doesn't help that my own family tells me the same crap.

One thing that will impress me greatly and prove beyond most doubt that America is serious about "change we can believe in" is by dealing with the crimes/war crimes of the Bush Administration. If it slides and goes unpunished....well...who knows what real damage that can do for the future?

[tnf]

I agree totally about the issue of prosecuting war crimes. The US prosecuted for water boarding as recently as Vietnam IIRC. Going after war crimes would really help establish some credibility. Olbermann's special comment tonight will be about this apparently.

[YourGrandpa]

Well I can almost positively tell you that a Bush conviction of "War Crimes" isn't going to happen. So if that is what it's going to take to change your perception of Americans, you might as well call us all fucking no good, war mongering elitists, hell bent on world domination and be done with us.