My theory is that people who grew up near mountains

[JVS]

have an angry, unyielding and violent quality. Hitler grew up in the mountains near the German-Austrian border and Stalin was from the Caucasus mountains. And I'm not just saying this because I'm from the foothills of the Appalachians. Maybe having to walk on steep hills pisses people off so much that they become terrors.

[MrSandman]

1. They get pissed off walking around the mountains...

Or they grow one leg longer than the other.

[leftofthedial]

2. yeah? Well f*ck you!

I grew up near mountains and I have ZERO angry, unyielding or violent traits. In fact, I oughtta kick your ass!

[atre]

4. LOL

hilarious

[GirlinContempt]

3. to the

gulag with you, comrade

[Fridays Child]

5. There ain't no mountains in Midland, Texas.

Your theory fails the B*sh test. :shrug:

[JVS]

6. Not at all

I didn't say that ONLY mountain folk have that.

Besides, Bush has had power handed to him on a silver platter all his life. I doubt he'd have the tenacity to go from being the son of a drunken customs officer or shoemaker to being the head of the German state or Soviet Union. He's a lightweight, these other guys are professionals.

[Fridays Child]

7. True. If B*sh weren't blueblooded, he'd be rolling old ladies...

...for their social security checks or whacking people for the mob.

[RPM]

16. there are in connecticut....

that's where teh asshead is really from.

[hfojvt]

8. as one who grew up on the plains of SD

I think that is a great theory.
Except my older sister grew up there too, and she is like a volcano! Switzerland is as mountainous as Hitler's hometown and the Swiss are not known for being war-like and violent, are they?

[DrDebug]

9. Tibet used to be known for non violence as well

The last 50 years it looks more like a giant gulag, but it has been reasonable peaceful before Chinese invaded. Just like Switzerland which is the world record holder as far as peace goes.

Just glanced over the AI report for Switzerland. It isn't perfect (Racism, Asylum, Police brutality, Violence against women), but these are not things on a governmental level, but more on a local level.

[JVS]

10. The Swiss keep a pretty big military

And don't let the long period of neutrality fool you. The Swedes currently play nice. But during the 30 years war they kicked ass all the way to Bavaria. Also in the early 1700's they got all the way to Poltava in the Ukraine before Karl XII was beaten.

[hfojvt]

11. kicking a$$ in Bayern is okay

but they tore up Schwabia, those accursed Lutheran Scandals. And people think the Germans are bad for killing six million Jews! Ten million Germans died in the thirty years war and that was in 1648, so the Swedes and the French must be worse. Germany had to be repopulated by Swiss and Huguenots. It was like a Walser's homecoming special.

[JVS]

12. Much of the 30 year war's deaths were German on German violence

Don't forget the Catholics' destruction of Magdeburg.

It is not an accident that after the 30 years war the Germans decided that if they were going to be involved in a war that they would fight it elsewhere

[hfojvt]

13. elsewhere? Tell that to Louis XIV and Louvois

Deutschland did not have the luxury of deciding where they would fight to defend themselves from France. Holborn writes of the invasion of 1689 "French armies broke into Swabia and Franconia, extracting heavy contributions by violent and destructive methods. From the outset, the French were set on spreading terror." When a German army was assembled to drive them back into France "Louvois sent orders tha in their retreat the French forces were to devastate and burn the Palatinate to the ground ..."

[JVS]

14. But in WWI they were unwilling to let the war continue to German soil

Also in the Napoleonic wars they really didn't put up much of a fight/

Why the hell were the French fucking up Swabia and Franconia?

[HEyHEY]

15. I grew up on a mountain

Near the ocean, and I am always angry :mad:

[NV Whino]

17. I grew up in the Colorado Rockies

And I'm nice as pie.... and don't you forget it!