# Americans Who Think Differently Than I Do **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 10, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346 "2010-01-10T01:57:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/141 "2010-01-12T18:28:15Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > …Guess what? Sadly (for you), most Americans LIKE their insurance and are satisfied with it…or at least they tolerate it… Well, wouldn’t that mean, then, that “most Americans” would oppose any change to that system? Wouldn’t that therefore imply that someone who ran on a platform stressing such reform was doomed to fail? And yet, there he is… Perhaps a few cites might be appropriate, right about now. About how “…most Americans LIKE their insurance…”. You got, you bring? You got? ETA: ooops, forgot about that “tolerate” trapdoor, for easy escape. Well, yes, people will be more likely to “tolerate” Option A if there is no Option B. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/142 "2010-01-12T18:35:28Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > It’s good to know that Canada also has posters on the level of Curtis LeMay. I didn’t think of that. If **Zeke** is a middle school kid too, people are being kind of hard on him in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/143 "2010-01-12T18:40:53Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Guess what? What? > [@](#): > > Sadly (for you), most Americans LIKE their insurance and are satisfied with it…or at least they tolerate it. Myself, I’m perfectly happy with the level of care I receive, and I have my doubts that it would be better for me personally in Europe than what I get here. Or Canada. Or anywhere else. I’m not sure why you think that would make me sad. > [@](#): > > Much better. We’ll make an American out of you yet! 😛 No thank you. Can you arrange to have me made Swiss? English? French? Perhaps Dutch? I’d go for all of those. > [@](#): > > Well, you are sort of making my point. Conservatives who talk about how bad European health care is and how great our is are trying to spin things politically to score political points. Most Americans don’t really know (or care) what health care they have in Luxembourg, say…it is of militant unconcern to them. The lack of intellectual curiosity you champion is not for me. Maybe if more Americans were less militantly ignorant they might point at us or Germany or the UK and say “Hey, why can’t we get some of that action?” Last I read, satisfaction among insured Americans was on par with satisfaction among Canadians. Factor in the uninsured among you and satisfaction goes down quite a bit. My pointing out that many people concern themselves with the health care available in other countries doesn’t make your point anyway, it contradicts it. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/144 "2010-01-12T19:04:06Z")
> [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](#): > > Ummm, cuz it’s still happening, it’s still killing folks for no good reason and it’s a large part of the reason the if debts get called in America’s ass belongs to the Chinese. > > Of course, and I’m happy to be corrected on this, it was America that first did away with the idea of banks having a decent reserve and thus ushered in this joyous era of a debt-based economy. So in the end you can chalk China making the USA it’s chattel to American ingenuity. Or not. Correct me. The Chinese can’t ‘call in’ the debts any more than the Royal Bank of Canada can ‘call in’ your mortgage. US bonds don’t work that way. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/145 "2010-01-12T19:05:25Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > What? Chicken butt. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/146 "2010-01-12T19:13:16Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > Chicken butt. Good point. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/147 "2010-01-12T19:39:50Z")
I don’t think I’d be calling the American lack of interest in what is going on in the rest of the world a positive thing. ETA: Sorry, don’t mean to interrupt your intellectual discourse. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/148 "2010-01-12T20:04:40Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > The majority of people who think Bill Hicks sucked, are the ones he was ridiculing mercilessly in his act, so why should I care what you think, again? Because you’re a drooling pile of fetid dog shit. > [@tacoloco](#): > > Bill Hicks was a brilliant comic and an astute observer of human behavior. No. He was a cut-rate George Carlin imitator. Also I hear he used to lock housecats outside in the snow. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/149 "2010-01-12T20:24:29Z")
Well, sure, when they’re frozen, the pelt comes off easier. More than one way to skin a cat, you know. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/150 "2010-01-12T20:26:26Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] Well, wouldn’t that mean, then, that “most Americans” would oppose any change to that system? [/QUOTE] Not necessarily. I suppose it depends on the form of the change and how confident they are that the change will be worthwhile. WRT the current Change™, it seems that public approval is dropping slowly from a high last summer. You (probably deliberately) mistake what I’m saying. I’m not claiming our health care is perfect. Just that, by and large, the majority of people are content enough that change isn’t a priority for them. > [@](#): > > Wouldn’t that therefore imply that someone who ran on a platform stressing such reform was doomed to fail? How have people who have run on the slogan that they will institute complete UHC in America fared? Let me see… > [@](#): > > Perhaps a few cites might be appropriate, right about now. About how “…most Americans LIKE their insurance…”. In a Pit thread? No thanks. I’m not all that interested in beating my head against your brick wall at this point. Think what you like, and keep dreaming that someday all those little American workers and peasants (I’m SURE there are out there somewhere) will rise up and demand UHC. In the mean time, and in the real world, we’ll get Change™ that will probably be the worst of both worlds, and looks too me at this point to be a costly cluster fuck. Not that I’m opposed to cluster fucks, mind, but I like to be the fuck-er not the fuck-ee… > [@](#): > > ETA: ooops, forgot about that “tolerate” trapdoor, for easy escape. Well, yes, people will be more likely to “tolerate” Option A if there is no Option B. Always leave yourself an out. -XT ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/151 "2010-01-12T20:32:07Z")
> [@Michael\_Ellis](#): > > Because you’re a drooling pile of fetid dog shit. Did your 6 yr old cousin give you that insult? > [@Michael\_Ellis](#): > > No. He was a cut-rate George Carlin imitator. Hey, you can have your opinion. Doesn’t mean it’s worth anything, but have at it. > [@Michael\_Ellis](#): > > Also I hear he used to lock housecats outside in the snow. Now you are just being random and silly. ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/152 "2010-01-12T20:35:18Z")
> [@Michael\_Ellis](#): > > Because you’re a drooling pile of fetid dog shit. > > No. He was a cut-rate George Carlin imitator. > > Also I hear he used to lock housecats outside in the snow. Did you get those big boy pants yet, Mikey? STFU about things you don’t know about. Like Bill Hicks. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/153 "2010-01-12T20:41:05Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > **Clothahump’s** pride seems somewhat injured because he isn’t receiving credit for all the cool things he and his colleagues did at any rate. Nope, just pointing out how ignorant the author of that post is. Would you like to be included in that? It sure looked like that whooshed right over your head. ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/154 "2010-01-12T20:41:06Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I don’t think I’d be calling the American lack of interest in what is going on in the rest of the world a positive thing. IMO, most people have a lack of interest in the rest of the world unless some aspect affects them in some more or less direct way. Most people are busy trying to make a living and get on with life. Or on a more personal level, I have more important things to worry about than the kind of health coverage Germans have. I don’t think Americans are any more or less disinterested in any other people. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/155 "2010-01-12T20:52:41Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Nope, just pointing out how ignorant the author of that post is. > > Would you like to be included in that? It sure looked like that whooshed right over your head. No, no whoosh. Your ego was bruised so you lashed out, taking pride in things that had nothing to do with you. I understand perfectly. Happens all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/156 "2010-01-12T21:20:35Z")
> [@Michael\_Ellis](#): > > No. He was a cut-rate George Carlin imitator You’ve got your timeline twisted. Early Carlin was into provocative, but ultimately (in his own words) goofy shit. It’s only in his later acts, around the time of Hicks’ death, that he really started tackling more serious issues with the same kind of rage and bitterness (at which point tossers accused him of having become an unfunny old man). Which, BTW, would not make Carlin a Hicks imitator either - they simply[respected and inspired each other very much](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKC90N59_sQ). Now Denis Leary, _he’s_ a cut-rate Bill Hicks imitator. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/157 "2010-01-12T21:29:43Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > You’ve got your timeline twisted. Early Carlin was into provocative, but ultimately (in his own words) goofy shit. It’s only in his later acts, around the time of Hicks’ death, that he really started tackling more serious issues with the same kind of rage and bitterness (at which point tossers accused him of having become an unfunny old man). Which, BTW, would not make Carlin a Hicks imitator either - they simply[respected and inspired each other very much](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKC90N59_sQ). > > Now Denis Leary, _he’s_ a cut-rate Bill Hicks imitator. That’s nice I don’t give a shit get lost. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/158 "2010-01-12T21:57:04Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > No, no whoosh. Your ego was bruised so you lashed out, taking pride in things that had nothing to do with you. I understand perfectly. Happens all the time. Tooth, your world view is distorted. I simply pointed out some simple facts that had been overlooked. How you got from there to ‘my ego got bruised’ is beyond me. And I really don’t want to know. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/159 "2010-01-12T22:03:10Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Tooth, your world view is distorted. I simply pointed out some simple facts that had been overlooked. How you got from there to ‘my ego got bruised’ is beyond me. And I really don’t want to know. I have a sneaking suspicion you were making another point. > [@](#): > > The point is - we did. Sooner. Can’t imagine where I got the idea you were making some other point. Oh well. Enjoy your Glenn Beck. Don’t forget tissues. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/160 "2010-01-12T22:13:22Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > I do have a question though. Why do so many non-Americans care that the US doesn’t have UHC? I mean, they don’t live here…so, why do they comment about it. Personally, if their health care is so great and ours so crappy, they should simply be kicking back smugly, safe in their iron clad knowledge of their obvious superiority over bad old America. > > -XT 2 comments XT: I’m a dual citizen, (US and Soviet Canuckistan) and I’ve had 3 different versions of healthcare: American Socialized, American Standard and Canadian Socialized. Here’s how I found it. American Socialized heathcare, aka The Military, was awesome. You go in, they fix you up, no problemo, thanks Mr. Taxpayer. American Standard sucked - you go in, they talk at you for hours getting your numbers and plans while you bleed, and, in the case of an uninsured buddy of mine, while he lied about his numbers, and then, eventually, they pay for part of it. Canadian Socialized also rocks, and is nearly as good as the US military healthcare, the major difference being that the military will by you birth control glasses and fix your teeth. Now, comment number two-o. Non-Americans care about US healthcare for the same reason Mac users try to talk their friends out of buying PCs, Honda owners try to talk their friends out of getting Saturns, and Leatherman owners try to talk their friends out of buying cheezie knockoffs and everybody tries to talk their kids out of listening to the Jonas brothers. They know that the other person is getting a inferior product, and they’re trying to get them to consider other options while they can. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346.md?page=9)