By ignoring most of the international treaties (Kyoto, VN), having a biased vote at the The Hague war criminal tribunal, protectionismn, harsh comments on international affairs (Palestinian question), even having the Britons saying wait a miniute on the Iraqi problem:
Is president Bush killing the reputation of the USA ?
(or is he saying: f*ck off rest of the world?)
Er, reputation as what? A nation of shoot-from-the-hip don’t-gimme-any-guff cowboys? No, I think he’s actually doing very well at reinforcing that. 
The reputation is going downhill quickly in my eyes, for the very reasons set out in the OP.
President Bush is a jack ass. I mean, America already is viewed as the “epitamy of Evil” to the majority of the world. And now with this douche representing our country, we look like a bunch of close-minded, stupid, greedy lazy asses. I’m frigging sick of Bush. I was watching tv the other day, CNN I believe and the news reporter said “Now live on location with Mr. Bush with some questions…” and you see Bush on this beautiful green stating to the cameramen “My cabinet and I are doing everything we can, taking ever free moment to fight the war against terror. We will not let them get away with it, and I want America to rest assured that this will end.” A mere five seconds later, George W. teed off on the 14th hole. WHAT THE HELL??? I mean I know everyone loved George W, in the original elections because he “spoke to the people… He was a family man… America could relate to him. He was well spoken” Okay, Being well spoken, and connecting with the american public can be a good thing, yes, but in a time of crisis I don’t frigging care if he speaks my language. I’d rather have someone in charge of the country that actually has military experience, and someone who won’t make an even larger ass out of our country. Yes I believe he gives us a bad reputation, but even worse, the voters that put him in charge of the country, and the illiterate people who can’t punch a ballot give us an even worse reputation. CURSES!!! I can’t wait til this is all over, and I don’t mean the war against terror, I mean Bush’s term…
Good speaker? George Dubya Bush? Er…cite?
wha?
you maybe thought the US was a nice, thoughtful, caring superpower?
so sorry about your disillusionment
And Clinton did so much to improve the reputation of this country? For 8 years he made us look like a nation of dopes and buffoons. Hey look at America and their hillbilly president!
I’m curious PeppermintPatty85. What is the basis of your opinion that the US is considered the “epitamy of evil” to the majority of the world? Do you travel extensively? Do you know a lot of foreigners?
Do you think that if GW had military experience his foreign policy would be diferent? Do you think the War of Terror would be more effective if GW had been a rifleman in Vietnam?
Do you believe democracy is a good form of government? I ask because I just find it funny when people who are for democracy get angry with voters when their candidate doesn’t win.
I’m not really sure what ‘bad reputation’ we have. That America believes in putting America’s interests first? That we are not a nation to be fucked with?
Killing it? Nah. The foreigners who rail against Bush have hated the U.S. for years, for a host of reasons (some legitimate, some not).
Along the same lines as astorian… When was the last time the US had a good reputation exactly? I was under the impression that most countries on earth fell into four categories:
[ul]
[li] Those who don’t offer comment[/li][li] Those who like the US[/li][li] Those who hate the US because of religious/ideological issues[/li] Those who hate the US because it is fashionable[/ul]
I have difficulty imagining any U.S. president having much effect on world opinion of the U.S. He’s just not that significant in the grand scheme of things, and what makes up a nation’s worldwide reputation is half-bigotry and half-stereotypes anyway.
Besides, with a new president guaranteed every 8 years, no one ever knows the U.S. president long enough to identify him too closely with the country itself.
Now Kohl, that fat fuck, has made me think much, much less of the Germans as a whole…
Yeah that is the reason so many people are leaving our country and hardly anyone wants to come here to live. Electing George W. is only the last of many things that we have done wrong and it seems like we never can do anything right. What a horrible country we live in. :smack:
:rolleyes: [sup]Are you happy now?[/sup]
Bush’s warmonging “shoot first and ask questions later” and “The constitution be damned” attitute toward fighting terrorism doesn’t endear him towards other countries or any level headed freedom loving Americans.
When a president speaks and the markets goes to the toilet immediately after, that is not a good sign.
[QUOTE]
[ul]
[li] Those who don’t offer comment[/li][li] Those who like the US[/li][li] Those who hate the US because of religious/ideological issues[/li][li] Those who hate the US because it is fashionable[/ul] **[/li][/QUOTE]
I think there should be perhaps a 5th catagory, those who hate the US because of its image. Im a Brit and ive got an inbuilt dislike for the US even though the few Americans ive had the pleasure of meeting have been really great people.
I can only assume my dislike comes from the image the US puts out, from its image on tv and its seemingly OTT methods of dealing with the rest of the world.
the following is the image i have of the US, please note im quite concious (maybe hopeful) of the fact that these are big misconceptions:
[ul]
[li] the general population is made up rednecks (from tv and the election of the last 2 presidents)[/li][li] the american people are mislead by their government and media into believing the US is the big good in the world whilst the rest of the world looks on in amazement (just flick between CNN, BBC news24 (still biased mind you) and see the difference in how big stories get reported)[/li][li] the US military leaders are idiots (again from tv, they appear to have no imagination, cunning. if force cant do it theyre stuck)[/li][li] they are using the 9/11 attacks as an excuse to pick off any nation or person they wish without feeling the need to give people a good reason why. [/ul] [/li]
as i say, this is just my honest perception, im sorry for any offence caused.
m.
Or, you could just be a bigot.
No one who speaks German could be an evil man.
The population of Britain is composed of pale, plain looking women and men with horrible Austin Powers teeth.
Yes. BBC is slightly more boring that the test pattern.
-
Defeating the third largest standing army in the world in Desert storm with only a few American hundred casualties.
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Toppling the Taliban in Afghanistan in a few weeks with only a few dozen casualties. Compare that to the Russians 20 yrs ago and the Brittish 100 years before that.
Sheer overwhelming force alone does not accomplish this.
Movies and TV always portray military leadership as blundering, self absorbed, incompetant beurocrats. I am willing to bet that they are a lot more clever than you give them credit for.
What person or nation did we “pick off” that you feel didn’t deserve it?
I’m glad we are speaking in such broad stereotypes here. Apparently making wild sweeping generalizations is ok when talk of American but not Palistinians, Iraqis, Afghanis or Mulims.
Countries do not “hate America”. Some people in those countries do. Some people don’t.
What is the point of winning a world popularity contest anyway? Are countries going to all suddenly support us because we make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?
youve kind of missed the point, Im fully aware the statements i made above are innacurate to say the least. The point I was trying to get accross is whilst I question what im told and see many people dont, you know its rubbish, i know its rubbish but Im surrounded by people who dont know its rubbish because they trust what they are told and see.
Sorry if i didnt make that clear in the first place, i was just trying to explain why many people ‘hate’ the US for seemingly no reason…
m.
If you’d care to look, Mordib wasn’t attacking Americans as people, but the IMAGE that America projects. Ie, obese, self-righteous, uneducated fast-food addicts with no idea what’s going on in the world stage(see Jerry Springer for evidence). My brother’s lived in LA for over a decade now, and I know some shockingly intelligent Americans… but even they admit that the general American public projects the image of being pretty damn stupid. (case in point: the American man trying to sue fast food joints for making him fat.)
If thats the image Britons display, feel free to attack it. Not being an average British person and distancing myself from the average population as much as possible, I take no offense whatsoever to your stereotype.
Its what America is TRYING to do that I object to, personally. Saddam Hussein is quite possibly insane, but you can’t kill him because of what he MIGHT do at some point in the future… In an interview to the Mail on Sunday yesterday, he said he would be willing to let weapons inspectors in unhindered if all this ‘kill first, diplomacy later’ attitude were dropped. Sadly, Bush has taken the stance that Iraq is guilty until proven innocent, seemingly in the headrush from the spurious ‘success’ of the Afgan campaign. A war with Iraq would be an urban affair, with millions of casualties, causing major upheaval to diplomatic relations between the middle east and the west… is any one man really worth that much bloodshed? Saddam Hussein scares me, and I’m certainly not comfortable with him being in power, but that’s no reason to kill him and many, many of his fellow countrymen. Killing breeds hate. Hate can never lead to peace. This is so simple a schoolchild would know it. Unfortunatly, nobody seems to have told the Americans…
So by your own admission, you base your conception of Americans on TV and media influences and some ‘inbuilt’ feelings (whatever that may mean) rather than on your own personal experiences.
If the media told you day was night and night was day, would you believe it rather than trust your own eyes?
This board has a helluva long way to go :rolleyes:
So you deny that media has any influence in people’s conceptions whatsoever? You think people are in no way swayed by what’s drummed into them on TV, in newspapers, adverts, etc day after day from the moment their self consciousness begins to flower? If that were the case nobody would have any idea of whats going on. Biased information is better than no information, and getting information from several different media sources can often show up the glaring inaccuracies in both, plus dislodge something like the truth (see CNN/BBC News 24 comparison AGAIN).
Not having the money, the omniscience, or the several lifetimes it would take to get to know every single person on the planet and all their beliefs and viewpoints, people HAVE to rely on the media to get their information.
I hate the media. But I DO respect its powers.
If you’ll see Mordib’s postcount, he’s not exactly a regular.
I’ve had to repeat evidence already given AND point out the obvious here. I draw no conclusions, I’m just pointing it out.