Well, you’re not all that wrong about Belgium.
My mother was Belgian (Flemish) and I’m actually in Belgium right now 
I’m also not such a “full-time student”. I do this research as my own headache providing braincell training choice.
It feels very odd because unpolite not to sign a post… so it is something I’ll keep doing for now.
Aldebaran.
Thank you, Captain Obvious!
However, when you post what you claim is evidence, that usually implies (pay attention here, this is the tricky part) that the facts you are using as evidence are correct. As has been amply shown by several other posters who are way smarter than me, this assumption has more holes than a slotted spoon.
In short, we’re not asking you to have all the facts right, or even most of them. However, we do ask, nay, we require, that you have the facts you are posting about correct.
I have a question for you:
How do you manage to be ever sure that any fact you report about is correct?
Even the facts you can transmit as an eyewitness and even those you transmit as someone directly and personally touched by the events, are couloured with your own subjectiveness.
And let me repost what I said about this in my Bible Wavers topic:
“As for your question for “sources”. I know many people have some form of dependency on “sources” available on the internet, yet for myself as historian that doesn’t count.
When I ever give a link to such “source” it is with great precaution and in the hope people will think of it that these are not “sources” but merely information reflecting personal experiences and/or opinions of the writer. And this counts also for websites of the Media.
Further I don’t rely on English languaged information, and come to my view on things relying on more then one of those reports, naturally. This implicates that even if I decide these or one of these as being trustworthy enough to give it as “source”, it shall come to you in a foreign language.”
Aldebaran.
Eh. Facts are a moving target.
Aldebaran, welcome to the boards. Try to keep your criticisms of the US focused, specific. I can’t speak for anyone in this country but myself, but I’m starting to feel a bit defensive and then some. Twitchy, anxious, jumpy, nervous, and bullshitted… First the president, now a Belgian. The horror. 
If you want to engage in debate, rather than coming in with both barrels blazing, state your case. I’ve found that one polemical sentence is all it takes to get a healthy debate going on these boards.
. . . which should be most familiar to all of you, having already experienced something similar while attempting to read my postings. -Ald.
:rolleyes:
Well, I’m very critical for the USA lately, for understandable reasons. That isn’t focussed on the US citizens as a people, but on the current president and government and all that is related with their policies.
And of course I’m critical for those US citizens who support that government and defend its actions. That is not to be taken as something personal, but as my impression that those people are willingly blind.
Yet all of these standpoints ares of course merely personal reactions and views/opinions and I can take and handle every counterattack. It would be a little naive to think you can post your opinions while excluding the option that people will reply as they feel they should, no?
What I do have objections against is personal attacks and the “group mentality” of the kind of attacks I saw coming here from several members in the line of “we are strong as group against one”.
It is not only inherently unfair. It is like I said in my opinion absolutely immature.
Maybe it is some sort of American tradition… I’ve never experienced it before, so I wouldn’t know.
Aldebaran.
President Bush, is that you?
I second Neurotik’s plea to do everything possible to keep Aldebaran around here. He’s a godsend!!!
[…GoHeels puts on his amateur profiler hat*…]
I suspect from his posts that Aldebaran is originally from somewhere from the MENA region. I think it’s been established that he’s posting from Europe, so maybe he’s an immigrant who has experienced alienation from Western/European culture.
Based on the astonishing ignorance of his posts, I think he gets most of his information from conspiracy sites on the Internet. Based on the tone and manner in which he portrays Christianity (and how the U.S. government is a mere front for the spread of Christain fundamentalism), I think he also solidifies his opinions from outlets like al-Jazeera, perhaps papers like al-Ahram or Okaz, or maybe that Arab-language paper based in London that prints communiques from members of al-Qaeda (I forget the name of the paper).
He seems to view Americans as “English speakers” and categorize Americans into Christian “sects”, perhaps because language and religion are the prisms through which Aldebaran views his environment, and America is the target of his ire (based on how America allegedly affects those prisms). I’m betting he’s never actually visited the U.S.
In other threads, he articulates a theme of the U.S. being a puppet of the Israeli lobby and a criminal colonizer (themes all too common in the MENA region and, I guess, Europe itself). Like many Arabs (both Christian and Muslim) and Muslims throughout the Islamic diaspora, he’s pissed about American troops stationed around the globe (fair enough complaint; many of us here in America are pissed about our current strategic deployment, albeit for much different reasons).
Being polite (or at least giving off the appearance of being polite) seems important to Aldebaran, as illustrated by his insistence of signing his name at the end of his posts as a gesture of politeness). I’m certainly not all that knowledgable about the customs of Arabs and Muslims, but one thing I noticed when I traveled to Egypt and Turkey was how important hospitality and politeness was to them.
I suspect he’s a youngish guy who has a decent level of education (perhaps high school or some college - and no, I don’t believe that he is pursuing a doctoral thesis in the socio-economic effects of the Crusades - but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he mentions the Crusades given his short posting history). I think he’s probably unemployed or underemployed, and posts from an Internet cafe. I think the dyslexia explanation for his uneven English is false.
Or maybe Aldebaran is a dumb kid from Brussels who enjoys fucking with strangers on a message board.
*If I’m completely wrong and off-base, I apologize in advance to you, Aldebaran, for my prejudgement, and beg your forgiveness.
But if I’m right, or at least close to being right, I think it offers a fascinating insight into the mind of someone who believes all this shit.
I agree with rjung that somewhere buried beneath that “one working braincell,” there is someone who yearns for knowledge. And if the SDMB is really committed to reducing ignorance, then Aldebaran is our chance.
Please, Aldebaran, stick around.
Oh, what sweet bullshit.
Someone who claims to have a Masters-equivalent in European History insists that all Christianity can be divided into Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox?
Someone who claims to have his doctorate as an Arabist who did little more than laugh and say that Aldebaran is the name of a star and not an Arabic word?
You have no credibility in my eyes.
(Yes, I misspoke. “Aldebaran” by itself is not an Arabic word. Pretend I added “derived from” in there.)
If I’m completely wrong and off-base, I apologize in advance to you, Aldebaran, for my prejudgement, and beg your forgiveness.
Yes… Well that was the most funny post I’ve seen on these boards so far.
Ino,
Do I say you need to believe anything?
And since I already said that my late mother was Catholic… How come you continue with your unsubstantial rants about my “ignorance” considering Christianity.
Besides: Since you are such an expert in the studies I finished, you should know that Christianity and its history is part of both of them.
By the way, since you claim to be also such a fountain of knowledge when it comes to the Arabic language, then why do you talk about “derived from” instead of giving simply the root you want to refer to?
Aldebaran.
Aldebaran.Now that I think of it… Time to go brush my camel…
lno, not Ino
You may have misunderstood the purpose of this board. If someone who lacks credibility launches into opinion-laden rants, most people will brush it by as the ravings of a lunatic.
Oh, they’re quite substantial. You’ve claimed above that you have no interest or need in understanding American Christianity, but instead have a simple rule of thumb – if it’s not Catholic or Orthodox, it’s Protestant, and they’re all the same.
Yes, which is the reason why your ignorance stuns me.
What does that have to do with anything?
Your posts have no substance. You may be an effective demagogue, but certainly not an effective debater.
Alde,
Cut bait here in this thread.
Just friendly advice.
chique: From what I’ve seen of Aldie’s postings, he doesn’t seem to know all that much about Catholicism either!
Aldie: My church is neither Catholic nor Protestant. So, what denomination is it?
I don’t know, obviously Aldebaran has struck a nerve. I suppose he’s got to be taught that you’re not allowed to have opinions around here that are critical of the US, especially if you’re a foreigner. Well, not unless you’re willing to feature in a pile-on in the BBQ Pit. Heaven help us if we were to be exposed to extreme opinions that weren’t from right-wing Americans!
Yes, I said opinions and as such he’s posted his stuff in the wrong forum. But is anyone willing to cut a newby some slack? Apparently not. Throw that man in the pit and let the kicking commence! Plus the ‘let’s keep him’ patronising; lets just make it clear he’s the outsider here and we’re all in on some private joke. Aldebaran then makes the mistake of attempting to defend himself on issues he really should have passed on, and the second wave of kickings descends.
Welcome to the SDMB indeed. :rolleyes:
But by my reckoning his foolishness in this thread was ably match by the sheer assholishness of this response:
This enlightened comment straight out of the “Go USA! USA!” book of international detente brought to you by the same individual who was so keen to call this little pile-on: Neurotik.
You have an explanation Neurotik ?
<blind guess>I’d say French. I’ve nothing against the French, please don’t misunderstand my association. However, I have met several young men (I agree with that profile bit) who were French, and had the same sort of problems with English syntax (which you are doing relatively fine with, I’ve seen far worse), and the same sort of ‘I’m-going-to-say-things-that-I-think-are-correct-even-though-I-know-very-little-on-the-subject-then-call-those-who-correct-me-wrong-and-ignorant’ attitude. Nothing wrong with it, really, and with some of what you’ve said, you’re correct.
The problem is, there are educated people on this board. Who aren’t going to put up with listening to your blatantly bias, and ignorance being stated as fact. That’s why you got jumped on. It’s not your opinion. It’s your attitude about your opinion. Does that help clarify why you got attacked so quickly, Aldebaran? Just trying to help clarify the situation.</blind guess>
Oh, bullshit and more bullshit, Futile Gesture. It’s not that Aldie has opinions about the US–it’s that he’s got insane opinions presented in a pathetic and nearly incomprehensible manner.
Do you post on the Bizarro-World SDMB?
Maybe this sarcasm from you and I’m getting whooshed?
Maybe I’m just too ignorant, but I’ve a belief that I’ve seen a substantial number of posts that are critical of the US, (US foreign policy in particular). W/o those posts I think that the likes of December would be limited to Clinton bashing etc.
IIRC, no one, (or at most, barely anyone), is bashing him for his views, rather just for his “style” of presentation.
If I’m wrong, please point out the the posts that are bashing Alde because his opinions are critical of the US.
I could be very mistaken, but I thought that this comment was tongue in cheek.
Well people, I must say I’m very amused. I really am, because this is entertaining.
But: Do those who play the schoolkid game realize that they are the clear example of the Arrogant, Ignorant, Prejudiced, I’m Smarter Then The Whole World and the USA Is The World
American?
I’m so sorry, but you are.
You can’t even behave yourselves decently on a message board. So I don’t have to guess how you behave in real life.
In my opinion you do possess working brains and that adds to your frustration because of your own undereducation.
You know Fox News doesn’t bring anything that is worth bringing yet you can’t resist its flag waving attraction.
You are adherents of See Nothing News for the same flaw waving rethorics.
Your poor brains make overtime to keep up with absorbing all that patriotistic brainswashing while you pose yourselves as “independent thinkers” and “educated”.
I almost feel compassion. You have so much need in bashing others that it is obvious you don’t believe yourselves in what you think you (and in your opinion all Americans) are.
You poor addicts of “sources” on websites that are taken by you as “underscoring facts”. You have even no clue what a source is and what facts are.
I’m so sorry… You failed the test I set up here to see what you make of your silly group attack. You fit the picture I had in mind before I came in to keep you going.
When I first came reading these boards, this website gave me the impression there were decent people posting with a decent level of education. I must have overlooked your pathetic little club.
As for the others who are the people I came looking for: Shall we continue elswhere?
Salaam.
Aldebaran.