# John Mace Says: "Americans are too stupid to educate themselves..." **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 15, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703 "2010-11-15T04:02:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Le\_Jacquelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Le\_Jacquelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Jacquelope)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/1 "2010-11-15T04:02:12Z")
> [@"Companies still need talented systems designers and other well-trained technicians" LOL WUT?!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-still-need-talented-systems-designers-and-other-well-trained-technicians-lol-wut/560542/20): > > Yeah, because Americans are too stupid to educate themselves in areas with great employment potential and high wages. And when they actually are too stupid, we have thousands of foreigners dying to immigrate here and fill those slots that Americans are too stupid to fill. They bring a good work ethic, and become good citizens and contributors to our society. Nothing wrong with that, and those people are just as American as you or I, all of us being descendants of immigrants, too. > > That is one thing that makes Silicon Valley so great. This place is a hotbed of innovation, with people coming here from all over the globe. See my cite, above, as opposed to the plethora of hand-waving scare tactics from the Economic Creationists on this board. Oh dear God, this is comedy gold. The straight dope is that We the People are too stupid to educate ourselves in this or that. Therefore our viewpoints are cult-like and we’re “Economic Creationists”. Oh and good job describing Americans as being lazier and stupider than immigrants. A bunch of fucking WHINING. This is the kind of shit you do when your argument is not just being rejected by a few annoying members of a message board, but by increasing populations across the COUNTRY. Instead of learning how to make a better and more coherent, credible case, weaklings like this blame the country for not buying their rancid bullshit. Go ahead and keep thinking we’re too stupid. The problem is all of us ignorant Americans; it can’t possibly be that your argument has zero credibility and the more you push it into the light of day, the fewer people believe it. Nah, couldn’t be that. Could it? 😕😕😕 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/2 "2010-11-15T04:07:20Z")
Nope. We are pretty damn stupid, all things considered. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/3 "2010-11-15T04:09:07Z")
Americans are rich with resources, and that happens to includes lots and lots of dumbasses. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/4 "2010-11-15T04:20:55Z")
Am I the only one who thinks it’s hilarious that a Doper who chose a French user name is insulted by the notion that some Americans are stupid? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/5 "2010-11-15T05:01:37Z")
We’re clearly too stupid to put a link in our Pit OPs. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/6 "2010-11-15T05:17:56Z")
It seems as if the OP is annoyed by some of **John’s** political convictions. I am surprised to hear that he has any. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/7 "2010-11-15T05:27:00Z")
Half of us are subnormal. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Jacquelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Le\_Jacquelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Jacquelope)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/8 "2010-11-15T05:38:42Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Am I the only one who thinks it’s hilarious that a Doper who chose a French user name is insulted by the notion that some Americans are stupid? :dubious: Ever heard of the phrase “if everyone else is stupid but you, the problem probably is not them”? ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Jacquelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Le\_Jacquelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Jacquelope)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/9 "2010-11-15T05:39:47Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > It seems as if the OP is annoyed by some of **John’s** political convictions. I am surprised to hear that he has any. Oh I am QUITE sure that if I ran around saying “America is stupid because they won’t listen to xxx” you’d BBQ me something good for saying that. It’s a stupid statement no matter who says it. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/10 "2010-11-15T05:45:19Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > We’re clearly too stupid to put a link in our Pit OPs. Or, perhaps, too stupid to find the link that is already there? 🙂 Hint: click the little blue box with the arrow in the quoted section. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/11 "2010-11-15T06:00:14Z")
Oh, so that’s what that is! I thought it meant that \*\*John Mace \*\*is sponsored by Nike! ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Jacquelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Le\_Jacquelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Jacquelope)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/12 "2010-11-15T06:00:53Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Or, perhaps, too stupid to find the link that is already there? 🙂 > > Hint: click the little blue box with the arrow in the quoted section. _snicker_ ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/13 "2010-11-15T06:03:04Z")
Swooshed! ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/14 "2010-11-15T06:19:02Z")
This is a curious thread. It’s usually the lefties insisting that studies show people are poorly educated in general and that this needs to be fixed, while righties insist that every pure-bred American is a well-informed, reasonable, rational individual. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/15 "2010-11-15T06:27:08Z")
What gives you the impression that **John Mace** is a righty? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/16 "2010-11-15T06:28:50Z")
Poor education is bad enough by itself, but it renders our fellow citizens more vulnerable to lies. Lacking cognitive skills, they are more likely to emotional decisions, voting for the guy who wraps himself in patriotic bunting and blubbers about how much he loves his country, and why that love of his country compels him to hate so many of its citizens. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/17 "2010-11-15T06:45:43Z")
Wasn’t John being ironic in that post? He was responded to someone who said we need government programs to direct people towards technical degrees. John apparently felt these programs aren’t needed because people with technical degrees earn good money so people are already pursuing them. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/18 "2010-11-15T06:48:35Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > What gives you the impression that **John Mace** is a righty? I don’t. **John** ’s one of the more even-handed people here. But Le Jack is the kind of lefty that makes lefties look bad. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/19 "2010-11-15T07:07:20Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Wasn’t John being ironic in that post? He was responded to someone who said we need government programs to direct people towards technical degrees. John apparently felt these programs aren’t needed because people with technical degrees earn good money so people are already pursuing them. I’m glad i’m not the only one who thought that; i was beginning to think i was crazy or something. It’s not quite clear to me exactly what this the OP is aiming at, or whether s/he quite grasped what **John Mace** was saying in his post. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Jacquelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Le\_Jacquelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Jacquelope)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703/20 "2010-11-15T08:43:40Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Wasn’t John being ironic in that post? He was responded to someone who said we need government programs to direct people towards technical degrees. John apparently felt these programs aren’t needed because people with technical degrees earn good money so people are already pursuing them. Unlikely - but if he was, he is totally clueless about all the whining that companies do about there being a lack of tech talent. You hear it every time you hear about H1Bs for crying out loud. John Mace couldn’t possibly be trying to get that one by the readers… could he? He wouldn’t be claiming that there’s enough people pursuing tech degrees in the face of the fact that DARPA said as recently as 2010 that there has been a [significant decline](http://www.smartplanet.com/business/blog/smart-takes/darpa-significant-decline-in-us-science-tech-degrees-harming-national-security/3412/) in the number of grads in science, technology, engineering and mathematics… would he? Naw… really? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mace-says-americans-are-too-stupid-to-educate-themselves/560703.md?page=2)