When They say "I hate America", what do you think They mean?

The US was hated long before Bush II, CI.

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cicerone imposter wrote:

It's the ignorance of our current leadership. I betcha things will change big time after November 2004.

I've got everything crossed ;-)

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dlowan wrote:

The US was hated long before Bush II, CI.

Yes, but Bush made that hate spread much wider.

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I have a minor disagreement with Diane's post.

She said: I think the hugeness of the US is what brings on such hatred and rightly so, because our power is overwhelming to almost every other nation on earth. Our corporations are only concerned with profit, even if it means that we support governments that are terribly oppressive. Do you think most corporations of the world don't do the same thing? Problem is, the US can cause damage and destruction

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Hugeness brings hatred, and rightly so...? We are bad because our profit-seeking corporations are bigger and more successful than others' profit-seeking corps...?

This is where a lot of Blame America types completely lose mainstream Americans. Hated, perhaps. Rightly...because of success...certainly not.

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Sofia, I don't know if fear is really in the "top 10", as it were, of reasons why America is hated by some nations. At least not in the manner you describe. I could see it in a nation such as North Korea, used to keep their citizens from fleeing their nation by espousing lies of the outside world and the crime-riddent, decadent U. S. o' A.

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It's not the hugeness, it's when it swaggers it around with absolutely no humility. The nation was built upon immigrants from other countries. In building on Capitalism, there have been some major growing pains that hurt a lot of people unable to defend themselves. Now we want to prove we can do it globally? Yes, let's prove we can start civil wars in other countries other than our own.

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Have you heard Europeans complain that the US was going to start WWIII, or muck up the environment? Isn't the very reason the EU came about? To usurp US economic/political hegemony?
{Punctuation for clarification. Still a grammatical nightmare.}
Why would Europe not be content to be the perennial distant second to the US?

It may not be fear of being enslaved physically, but mentally, economically, spiritually...?

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caprice wrote:

Although I don't agree with the outright hatred, I can see why those outside of the United States may have a dislike of Americans. I suspect the hatred is really more to do with the American government than the actual people of the United States.

You've heard the phrase "ugly American"? I think it describes those Americans who, outside their own country, conduct themselves in a manner that would suggest they feel entitled to continue behaving as though they were still in the U.S.A. Their belief that just because they are American, they should be treated differently (better) is part of it. And then there is the arrogance that accompanies citizens who feel their country is the best in the world and flaunt that feeling abroad. No one outside the U.S.A. wants to hear that because it is a put down of their own nation.

With that said, I don't believe there are many Americans today who conduct themselves in this manner and I don't believe that even during the time that phrase was coined that every American behaved that way. But the image remains.

With a history of military intervention in so many parts of the world, there is another image of Americans as being "bullies". I don't think the latest war is doing much for that image.

Oh, I forgot one other segment of America. Aside from government and people, there is corporate America. Think Union Carbide and what happened in Bhopal, India and you have another reason for resentment towards Americans.

Ceili, you also touched on the aspect of "loose morals". Given the global village our world is becoming, many other countries are able to access American pop culture, certainly more so than ever before. Many citizens of those nations who see their youth adopting western attitudes are more than unhappy about this change. I would imagine the feeling is if Americans weren't so morally corrupt, their influence wouldn't be so negative.

That's how I see part of it anyhow.

I'll weigh in quickly.

As to the reason why the United States is singled out for hatred, while other Western countries with similar values are ignored: I think the basic answer for this is twofold. First, and most obviously, the United States is the biggest and boldest representation of the Western world; it is the sole remaining super-power, and therefore, it is only natural that it will inspire resentment among non-Western societies. Secondly, the United States is the only nation that interacts with and influences every corner of globe, and its policies often have dramatic affects on other nations. Economically, politically, and even culturally, the world is shaped to large degree by America. So, in that respect, people around the world have a real reason for resenting the United States. For example, when the President warned Palestinians not to vote for Yassir Arafat a few years ago. Instances like that help spread the fear of American neo-imperialism. In many cases it is a fear grounded in reality.

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I was just thinking - that the US population is only five percent of the world's, but we consume forty percent of the goods and services produced, and we have the strongest military. That's got to rankle some folks all over the world. The EU is far from usurping the US in economics or politically, because the members of the EU are not all homogeneous. They're going to have enough internal problems that they must face before they externalize their efforts.

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It's not possible to be successful in a competitive enviroment without contributing to the losses of others.

On our way to success we have walked over many a person and made many an enemy.

Sometimes merely through healty competition. Sometimes through less noble means.

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Montana wrote:

It's the American government I've always had a problem with. I don't like the arrogance and the bullying that goes on, along with the super power attitude. They feed the rich and forget about the poor, so I had lost respect for the government a long time ago. They want to control everyone and they don't care who they hurt as long as they get their way. It's all about money and power with them and the hell with the people, unless they're rich people of course! I hate greed!

So America should stop handing out free food to drought stricken countries?

We should stop sending all the help in the form of free supplies, volunteer rescue and medical personnel and financial help when a disaster strikes other nations?

We should encourage all the private American relief agencies to spend all their time and money helping the marginally poor here in the states and ignore the devastatingly poor in other countries?

Montana, most of us are not blind to the flaws of our home nation but please get a clue about how much good that America does in the world without asking anything back for it.

Please realize that America isn't the 'font of all evil' that some nations want it portrayed as.

Perhaps we should just pull all our help back to home and watch our quality of life improve even MORE over other nations while theirs slips farther and farther into the toilet.

But we won't do that ... why ?? Because we care about those less fortunate than ourselves.

Oh yes ... thats the evil americans for you... Rolling Eyes

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Thanks for all the interesting answers so far, I have nothing to add at this point, I'm the proverbial fly on the wall.

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Fedral wrote:

Montana wrote:
It's the American government I've always had a problem with. I don't like the arrogance and the bullying that goes on, along with the super power attitude. They feed the rich and forget about the poor, so I had lost respect for the government a long time ago. They want to control everyone and they don't care who they hurt as long as they get their way. It's all about money and power with them and the hell with the people, unless they're rich people of course! I hate greed!

So America should stop handing out free food to drought stricken countries?

We should stop sending all the help in the form of free supplies, volunteer rescue and medical personnel and financial help when a disaster strikes other nations?

We should encourage all the private American relief agencies to spend all their time and money helping the marginally poor here in the states and ignore the devastatingly poor in other countries?

Montana, most of us are not blind to the flaws of our home nation but please get a clue about how much good that America does in the world without asking anything back for it.

Please realize that America isn't the 'font of all evil' that some nations want it portrayed as.

Perhaps we should just pull all our help back to home and watch our quality of life improve even MORE over other nations while theirs slips farther and farther into the toilet.

But we won't do that ... why ?? Because we care about those less fortunate than ourselves.

Oh yes ... thats the evil americans for you...

I was born and raised in the US and I was treated like a piece of **** simply because I was a single mother, so you're preaching to the wrong person!

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I didn't ask for handouts either. I worked my ass off and provided for my son on my own.

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Montana wrote:

I was born and raised in the US and I was treated like a piece of **** simply because I was a single mother, so you're preaching to the wrong person!

I didn't ask for handouts either. I worked my ass off and provided for my son on my own.

And so because some people treated you a bit shabbily in your single motherhood, you are ready to condemn a nation of 300 million as some sort of 'evilspawn' ?

The billions of tons of food we sent to starving countries don't matter because someone wouldn't 'help you out'

The millions of volunteer man hours spent by American medical personnel in treating the sick and injured of the world are negated because someone 'looked down their nose at you'

And the aide we sent to places that were in need have paled to insignificance because you were treated badly.

Yes I see the evil of America now Montana. Rolling Eyes

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I grew up in the Boston area. Before I left the country I owned my own taxi and the amount of homeless people I saw every day turned my stomache. I watched the elderly walking the streets with torn cloths while they went from trash can to trash can looking for cans and bottles to cash in so they could feed themselves. These people couldn't get assistance simply because they had no address. I also watched countless of single parents being harrassed by social services who thought they knew what was best for their kids. I also watched some of them lose their children to social services when they didn't agree with everything they had to say. Failing to cooperate with them was not acceptable. I was one of those parents who was harrassed for 8 long years, accused of medical neglect for refusing to drug my son with Ritalin and was dragged through the mud. I left the country for fear of losing my child, so my hate is a very personal one, and I was an American.

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Fedral, when you are overwhelmingly the richest and most powerfull nation on Earth, giving out free food (which is rarely done without ulterior motives anyway) does not qualify as heroic or benevolent - it is the minimum acceptable.

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Fedral wrote:

Montana wrote:
I was born and raised in the US and I was treated like a piece of **** simply because I was a single mother, so you're preaching to the wrong person!

I didn't ask for handouts either. I worked my ass off and provided for my son on my own.

And so because some people treated you a bit shabbily in your single motherhood, you are ready to condemn a nation of 300 million as some sort of 'evilspawn' ?

The billions of tons of food we sent to starving countries don't matter because someone wouldn't 'help you out'

The millions of volunteer man hours spent by American medical personnel in treating the sick and injured of the world are negated because someone 'looked down their nose at you'

And the aide we sent to places that were in need have paled to insignificance because you were treated badly.

Yes I see the evil of America now Montana.

You completely missed my point Fedral. I didn't need or want help from anyone. I just wanted to left alone to do what I had to do to make sure my son had everything he needed.

Also, I have nothing against the American public and I did make it clear that it's the government that I have a problem with!

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Fedral
People didn't treat me shabbily because I was a single mother, the government did.

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cicerone imposter wrote:

I was just thinking - that the US population is only five percent of the world's, but we consume forty percent of the goods and services produced, ... .

... and 25% of the planet's oil.

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When They say "I hate America", what do you think They mean?

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