For those of us who grew up thinking of American culture as related closely to our own, it is quite hard to come to terms with the fact that there is a very substantial strand to US popular culture that makes it a danger to the entire world, and requires a dedicated worldwide effort at containment and reorientation.
If you have any doubt of that, just read the comments here in the LA Times. We know Perry is an arse, but look at what LA Times readers “think”. And remember the LA Times is at the liberal end of the spectrum, insofar as the US has one.
There are more Americans locked up in jails than citizens of any other developed country. Unfortunately, largely the wrong ones.
Ben, what is impolite or “savage” about what I wrote? You, presumably, consider yourself a magnet for “ad revenue”. What do you have against buses or porphyria? If you call yourself ‘Ben Franklin’, ‘Thomas Jefferson’, ‘Napoleon Bonaparte’ or ‘King George III’, perhaps you ought to expect a little polite ribaldry. Perhaps your image of “Brits” is somewhat quaint (“England swings like-a-pendulum-do, bobbies-on-bicycyles-two-ba-two…”), though I would wgare Benjmain Franklin would have had a quite different view of his colonial rulers.
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You are a new commentator here and yet feel able right from the off to pontificate on the sorts of people Craig Murray ought to have on his blog. So, tell me, how is Tom Paine these days? How are freedom, protest and the rights of man in the USA today? How is your Revolution faring, Benjamin?
Wendy, thank you so much for your honest, detailed and enlightening portrayal. I must admit, I always had you pegged as English (I don’t know why).
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I knew a lot of Americans who were against the Iraq war – but then, most of my contacts were/are in the arts/academe in NYC, DC and California, so that would have given me a skewed perception, I suspect.
@Suhayl…….that may have been a different Wendy. I suppose I should have chosen a name that was less generic.
@Macky……..it’s completely ridiculous to blame one act on the other. Come on. Really? If the Afghan soldier saw Americans do it and thought it was a good idea then there is something wrong in his head to begin with. I can’t believe that had to be said……
and I’m not condoning their actions – I never said that. Being the daughter of a physiologist, I can understand why it may have happened. I’m sure there are far worse things that have happened during this war and others that haven’t been caught on film. Unfortunately, I don’t think it will be the last time we will see this kind of brutality either. Everyone carries around phones w/ cameras these days.
“it’s completely ridiculous to blame one act on the other”
Really ? Would you like to try to explain that to the families of the dead French soldiers ?
In Science, Logic & Law there is the commonsense principle of Causality, aka Cause & Effect: if you drink under the influence of alcohol or drugs (the Cause) then there is a strong enough risk (ie it is likely) that you might kill somebody (the Effect), that it is made illegal. So are you saying that in a combat zone, there is not a strong risk (ie it is not likely) that desecrating the dead bodies of the local people, might trigger reprisals ? Perhaps you don’t recall that the strongest reactions to the reported desecration/burning of the Koran in 2010, was in Afghanistan, where at least 12 people were killed, including eight members of staff working for the UN.
If you really don’t believe in Causality, as you seem to imply, why do you think in Arab countries and among Muslim populations, there is such widespread anti-Americanism ?
Ah, that explains it! There are two Wendys! (as Peter Pan never admitted).