Here's the rant of the Ugly American by e-mail exchange:
(names have been changed to protect the guilty, no words have been changed.)
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No argument about that but this does not make them Saints either. I have already vented my disgust at our policies quite often and I retain the right to also be aghast at them as well. For those who sanction our policies, I will agree with you but I am not one of those people. I do not think excusing their behavior is any better than excusing are own. On that I disagree. I whine about just about everything and I am not going to exclude these assholes either.
We are on the same page with regard to the USA and it is terrible that we allowed our scumbags to be submissive to the scumbags over there.
We have Hillary, and Dick Edwards who voted for the war. Even Bill sanctioned as he said on TV that he supports our action over there. I saw it about a year ago. Bill Clinton was for the war and as he opened his remark..."this may come as a surprise to people but ...."
I always wished we would have opted to become energy independent long ago and isolate the Middle East and let them have it. I am not a fan of those idiots in Saudi Arabia. I have never been a fan of the idiots here. We really are on the same page but I never express myself I guess in a way for you to know this. Let's not excuse one group of assholes for another looking at it from either direction. The Middle East will continue to be a problem for us and the world even if we did have a paragon of virtues I think. I think if we do not recognize evil everywhere then we are being disingenuous and I try to be fair about it. I think it takes one to know one and it is not surprising that Bush and the Saudis are great friends. And all those people who are against the Middle East but do not understand how we made it all worse are even more disingenuous.
Placing people in jail and torturing them because they had a beer and danced among themselves is not to be excused despite our mutual feelings about our own policies. I guess my vision of them whipping people which may include women made me sick. Did we not defend Saudi Arabia from Saddam invading them? It’s a valid perspective to be pissed at them despite our failed policies. So they wanted us to defend them and financed it but whip us for drinking and dancing! Didn't the slave masters whip people? How would you feel if you saw a Saudi whip a black man or woman? I make the point only in that I think it would look similar to what the terrorist whites did to blacks. Color or ethnicity does not really matter here. Our failed policies do not really matter. It is simply disgusting for people to be whipped for drinking a beer or dancing among themselves period. No excuses for them.
Just making a counter point only because I know you would appreciate a good counter point from me!
On the Super Bowl. Great game! I saw it at the Korean bar. They have the best TV in town but no one outside of the Koreans knew that so they had little business that night. If they wanted to, I told them beforehand that they could pack the place with Americans but opted not to do so. They love soccer. I told them about you and how we went to soccer games. When they played the world cup, they really get excited. Then, their place is packed. Its fun to watch Koreans get into soccer. The bartender had his birthday that night and I doubled my tip. I explained some of the football protocol during the game so he could understand some of the finer points of football. The commercials were great. The few Koreans who did come to watch did enjoy the game. Sad to see such a huge screen go to waste when other places were packed. It is a theater size screen.
Most of the time, I am the only non-Korean there. I go there because I can't stand stupid redneck white people and we have them up here! Trust me, we are on the same page! I am impartial about all assholes regardless of color, creed, or nationality! I hate all assholes equally!
----- Original Message -----
From: _Argyle
To: D.
Sent: Monday, February 05, 2007 12:41 PM
Subject: Re: The Middle East
G'day, D.,
I took the day off after the Super Bowl.
Why do so many want to whine about how bad those idiots in Saudi Arabia when the US is hardly a paragon of virtue. Invading countries on fabricated pretenses, voting irregularities
http://www.sanduskyregister.com/articles/2007/01/25/front/147062.txt, to name a few.
There's plenty to lament here without having to look across the oceans.
In a message dated 2/5/2007 10:50:23 Eastern Standard Time, D. writes:
Hi _Argyle,
Reading this below just galls me.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16978938/?GT1=9033 Madeline told me of what Gov people say: "fubar"
Meaning: "fucked up beyond all recognition". We will talk.
Best Wishes,
D.
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You can read the exchange. He proved my point, and the point of most readers here: most white people don't get it, and will argue the point to death. What counterpoint? :eyes: The standard ugly American view that the USA can dictate terms to the rest of the world, and not look at the problems here.
The bad thing is that I can't get through to him, and I've know him for years. He a good man, but he thinks he's "diverse" because he has a good friend who's black and he hangs out in a Korean bar. As you can see above, the standard white American arrogance shines through.
I'm tired of trying to explain a rainbow to blind man who insists he isn't blind. I guess that our conversations, when we have them, which is me listening most of the time, will have to stick to the weather, local politics, and how he's doing home in N. VA.
The killer question I'll ask: Did you know about the vote rigging convictions in Ohio? I doubt it.