Yep, I’m a real product of the American education system :rolleyes:
Perhaps next time you’ll look at my location field before replying.
Yep. Note the extra N in CNNN. It’s an Australian parody show of several years ago. It was very good, too - played deadpan the whole time. The interviews were done in the US (looks like California or somewhere), and the false country names were preprinted on the map.
The “Americans are insular and know shit about international affairs and geography” idea is widespread in Australia. Whether it’s entirely fair or not is another matter, but it makes for good satirical TV. Smugness does has that effect.
Maybe he doesn’t know where it is. 
It’s somewhere over by Australia, right?
D&R
I don’t think this is unique to Americans.
A few years ago I got into an argument with four guys in a bar about what the capital of Alberta (a Canadian province, for those who don’t know) is. They insisted it was Calgary. It’s not; it’s Edmonton.
The thing is, the guys were from Alberta.
They were all grad students. Engineers, mind you, but still.
Oh, no, you don’t! I remember that song. You trick us into bombing them for their magic kangaroo gold, and then when we turn the rock over to get it and it just says “peace on earth, mate” or some such crap!
France is an Enemy of our Great Nation. They think of themselves as an independent country capable of making independent decisions, and do not toe the line like a good toady (see Tony Blair). And they smell…many of them don’t shower…ever. Of course, France is a legitimate military target. Besides, we could use a quick, easy decisive win in our next military engagement.
I have nothing to add except that the CNNNN team did a few of these vox pop deals, including one where the same interviewer dressed up in a tracksuit and claimed to be John Howard, walking around introducing himself to random Americans.
Sure, it’s juvenile, but it had me laughing pretty hard.
“Hank: By the way, Homer, what’s your least favorite country: Italy or France?
Homer: France.
Hank: [chuckles] Nobody ever says Italy. [sets the coordinates of a giant laser gun]”
Fuck off you panzy assed fucktard. Whats pathetic is the fact that the people you cowards put in charge is as easy to manipulate as the average joe citizen in the US.
Once again, this is all we need to know…
They interviewed me for this. I saw that Australia was labeled “Iran,” so I rather sharply asked what the fuck was going on here.
They immediately left to find somebody else.
OK, that didn’t happen to me, but I’d be willing to bet that it happened to at least 75% of the people this cheesedick “interviewed.”
And RedFury is still a fucking idiot.
I know it flies in the face of a much loved stereotype but in my experience American’s are at least as well informed as Australians, British, Russians, and Koreans ( I have spent time in each place). Its easy to find a sample of ignorant people amongst any group.
If you want to test this go to Australia or Britain and ask 100 random people what country Alaska is in. A lot of them will not know that it is part of the US.
CNNN is an Australian spoof news show - its a joke show, much like The Naked Gun is a spoof of police movies.
What’s amazing is that people like Ogre get all offended by shit like this.
Y’see, the difference between Americans and the Rest of the World, is that when confronted with our ignorance, we’d just laugh and pick up another beer (or wotever) and say “Yeah? Tough shit dude!!”.
a yuck yuck them stoopid murikans a yuck yuck
:rolleyes: You just get stupider by the day, RedFury.
Let’s see you go your entire life with people talking about the “Ugly Australian,” and be rather constantly harrassed, even while traveling overseas, about how ignorant Australians are supposed to be, and how loud, and arrogant, and not get just a little offended.
As it is, I’m just annoyed at the show. I’m offended by RedFury’s constant, unjustified, uncontrolled America-bashing. He’s an idiot, and I have more intelligence in one of my farts than he has in his head.
It is annoying because it’s mindless inflamatory America-baiting.
How is this supposed to fuel debate or discussion? Or is this just about pissing folks off and trying to rile up some Americans? Hell, even after it’s pointed out that the video in the OP is a joke, redfury still wants to use it to slag on Americans.
And you’d think that after being on these boards, where conservatives often talk about how overwhelmed they are by anti-Bush folk, that he’d get it through is head that all Americans aren’t ignorant or pro war. Hell, even looking at the large number of convervative Dopers who are intelligent and factual, it’s not even fair to say that all Bush backers are mindless drones.
But I guess that’s not as good as pissing off a bunch of Amerians cuz it’s fun. A yuck yuck.
But we ARE loud and arrogant, especially as young backpackers travelling around o’seas. At that age, we are profoundly ignorant too, but we’re too dumb to realise it of course. If you watch Australian local comedy shows, much of it focusses on how damned stupid we are. We laugh at ourselves, and do not take it at all seriously. Fer’ christsakes…we don’t even take POLITICS as seriously as you lot do.
The difference is, again, that Australians laugh at themselves for their stupidity. They don’t get all righteous and indignant and claim it ain’t true. We wallow in it.
As a bit of an aside though, reports I have had from my (older) peers travelling in America is that we mature Aussies tend to be mistaken for Canadians or Englishmen, so we rarely get the Ugly Australian tag applied.
Unless you are my dad, in which case all bets are off. He’s like a caricature of the loudmouthed, beerswilling, fatarsed Australian Bloke. He displays some shocking ignorance at times too…although he’s too arrogant to admit it. He’s travelled the world many times over, and I feel genuine pain for the countries and the people he has made suffer his Australianess.
Does any of this offend me though? S’cuse me while I go pour another beer.
Oh, bullshit. We can take a joke just fine. We laugh at ourselves plenty, kambuckta. Much of our pop culture centers on the theme of “dumb American.” Ever heard of the TV show The Simpsons? Ever seen Jay Leno’s interviews on the street? The movie “Dumb and Dumber”? Ever seen George Carlin perform his act? All the commercials using the stupid husband as a plot device? Plus a million more examples I’m not thinking of at the moment (probably because I’m just another stupid American). All predicated on the “dumb American” theme, and - judging by the success of these shows/movies/comedy acts - we Americans don’t seem to find having fun poked at us.
It just gets tiresome after the 8,243,876,109th time you hear some one-trick pony puckered-up asshole like RedFury tells us how stupid we are as a nasty putdown, or to feel superior. It’s an old, tired, hackneyed stereotype, especially when it comes from somebody like RedFury, who isn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.
And incidentally, RedFury, you were at least tolerable when you were merely a loud-mouthed prick. It’s too bad that you’ve decided to take a left turn onto Raving Moron Lane.
I mean, Jesus, come up with some new material already, RedFury. Please, pull out a new arrow from that tiny little quiver you call a brain. Amuse us.