# No, Americans are \*NOT\* a bunch of racist warmongers **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 23, 2002, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482 "2002-10-23T05:24:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/41 "2002-10-24T00:42:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ogre \* > \*\*Just giving him the benefit of the doubt, Tucker. The phrasing of his statements looked to me as if he were trying to avoid the impression that he was actually a combatant. Note that he doesn’t say he was a soldier, merely that he was there. I agree that it gives the impression he’d been involved in combat, but he doesn’t actually say it. > > He could have been in Iraq for any number of reasons unconnected to the military, and been caught in the wrong place, detained by or sympathized with the Iraqis, whatever. > > I don’t know the full story, so I was taking him at his word to that extent. It doesn’t really matter, after all. It still doesn’t mean Americans have a penchant for sauteed baby flesh. \*\* One doesn’t have to be a soldier to be a combatant, nor does being a soldier make you a combatant, i.e. medical personnel, armed forces bands, (though I have known members of both that have fought in combat) and clerks. And it’s true that **Dumbfuck\_the\_Crackhead** , _might_ have been there as a member of the Red Cross/Crescent, news media or some humanitarian organization, I sincerely doubt it. His posting style lacks the “feel” (for want of a better word) of someone who’s actually been there and seen such things as he claims. More likely, he’s some punk kid who’s afraid he’ll get drafted. (Psst! **Dipshit\_the\_Crankyanker** , here’s a hint: In desert warfare the side that has air superiority _wins_! It was a short war the last time we went over there and if we go in again, it’ll be another short war. Don’t believe the media, they’re wankers.) ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/42 "2002-10-24T00:57:31Z")
I agree in principle, Tuckerfan. I was just going with what I explicitly knew. ---
**Author:** ![Henry\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d78d45/32.png) [@Henry\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henry_B)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/43 "2002-10-24T01:49:34Z")
OP: “No, Americans are _NOT_ a bunch of racist warmongers.” \*\* Tuckerfan\*\*: > [@](#): > > In desert warfare the side that has air superiority wins! It was a short war the last time we went over there and if we go in again, it’ll be another short war. Just a note: First time the war was a “desert war”? Next time it is in the cities of Iraq. They have officially claimed that they will not put up frontiers in a desert this time. They will fortyfy themselves in the cities. Just watch from Your TV how Your air superiority is acting. Short war? Maybe some decades or so. Buy a TV with a big screen. Enjoy. ---
**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:** [October 24, 2002, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/44 "2002-10-24T02:21:42Z")
I swear I’ve seen stuff like what Henry writes on old, badly translated propaganda flyers. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/45 "2002-10-24T02:46:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Henry B \* > \*\*OP: > “No, Americans are _NOT_ a bunch of racist warmongers.” > > \*\* Tuckerfan\*\*: > Just a note: > First time the war was a “desert war”? Next time it is in the cities of Iraq. They have officially claimed that they will not put up frontiers in a desert this time. They will fortyfy themselves in the cities. > Just watch from Your TV how Your air superiority is acting. > > Short war? Maybe some decades or so. > Buy a TV with a big screen. Enjoy. \*\* Is that sort of like how the legendary caverns and defiles of Afghanistan would grind us into a morass of decades-long fighting, just like it did to the Soviets? Oh, wait. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/46 "2002-10-24T04:05:07Z")
Since everyone is so interested, I was a humanitarian non-combatant. Specifically I worked for the American Red Cross. I helped deliver mail and supplies to troops in Saudi. I did do some time in the navy before that but I got out as quickly as I could. I was not cut out for the military. I’m not a fucking kid, Tuckerfan, I’m 36 years old, and what the fuck should my posts “feel” like? Are you some fucking expert on textual analysis? What the fuck do you know? ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/47 "2002-10-24T04:10:33Z")
I thought you were done with this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/48 "2002-10-24T04:38:08Z")
I’m done now for real. ---
**Author:** ![Fang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/96bed5/32.png) [@Fang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fang)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/49 "2002-10-24T05:54:04Z")
LOL, this is like that _Seinfeld_ where Kramer promises he’s not gonna talk anymore, then every few minutes can’t help but blurt something out, and says “Alright, starting…NOW”. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/50 "2002-10-24T06:39:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\*I’m done now for real. \*\* And thanks so much for playing. Here are your parting gifts…: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: “have fun killing babies”??? You have lost ALL credibility. You lame fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/51 "2002-10-24T07:16:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\*Since everyone is so interested, I was a humanitarian non-combatant. Specifically I worked for the American Red Cross. I helped deliver mail and supplies to troops in Saudi. I did do some time in the navy before that but I got out as quickly as I could. I was not cut out for the military. > > I’m not a fucking kid, Tuckerfan, I’m 36 years old, and what the fuck should my posts “feel” like? Are you some fucking expert on textual analysis? What the fuck do you know? \*\* They should “feel” like they’re written by someone who can control their emotions when they type. You’ve already had a couple of people tell you that you’re going to have a stroke, and I find it hard to believe that someone with the hysterical posting style which you’ve exhibited in this and other threads are indicative of someone with a military background as you claim to have. If you are as old as you claim to be, and have done the things that you’ve claimed, and **aren’t** in therapy, I strongly advise you to seek professional help. As for what I know, hmm… that all depends upon how you define “knowledge.” I was a psychology major for a number of years (if you click on the link in my sig, you can read my resume), and while I don’t have a degree in that, I think that I certainly know enough about human behavior and actions by now (I’m 33 years old, BTW.), to realize when someone’s being irrational. You sound much like myself when I was in my early twenties and the Gulf War broke out. As a college drop-out who followed the media closely, I was _certain_ that the war in the Gulf was going to turn into another Vietnam War debacle and that I’d get drafted. Didn’t happen. After the war, I made a study of military matters, one of the most fascinating books I read was [Panzer Battles](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345321588/qid=1035441723/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-7683229-0073448?v=glance) by Maj. Gen. F. W. Von Mellenthin, who served under Erwin Rommel in WW II, it was supposedly one of the books “Stormin’ Norman” read during the Gulf War. It makes the statement that once air superiority is achieved in desert warfare, the battle is effectively over. None of this makes me an expert on war, of course, but I will note that I _did_ state that I thought the war to over-throw the Taliban would be relatively short. (You’ll have to search for the thread, I refuse to slaughter hamsters for a pissant such as yourself.) A lucky guess, perhaps, but I am not totally ignorant of military matters. Given that Saddam has released many political prisoners in his amnesty, and that according to [NPR](http://npr.org/) (a news service not noted for conservative leanings) many of them _still_ say that they’ll work for his over-throw (again, you’ll have to do a search to find that information), I’d say that the odds of the US meeting full-scale opposition if it decides to invade Iraq are pretty slim. In short, nothing you’ve posted thus far, has indicated to me that you are anything other than a hysterical bitch who is more concerned about saving his own ass than someone who has come to a rational decision against war. ---
**Author:** ![Henry\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d78d45/32.png) [@Henry\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henry_B)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/52 "2002-10-24T07:35:52Z")
**Ogre** When You quote me. use \ if You shorten my text. there is something about it in the rules somewhere. Thank You. If You read my whole text again, You might see what is funny between the headline of the OP and what Tuckerfan wrote. Your comments about Afghanistan and the Soviets… Do not put something in my mouth that I haven’t said. And what should I wait for? That You read my post three times and actually understand it? I spoke about a war in the cities. **Michael Ellis** wrote; > [@](#): > > I swear I’ve seen stuff like what Henry writes on old, badly translated propaganda flyers. If You could be so kind and be more specific on what You mean, I might maybe give You a site. Thank You. And where have You seen “old, badly translated propaganda flyers.”??? I am just curious. And to (almost all of) the rest of You: To jump on \*\* Diogenes the Cynic\*\* with Your “arguments”…, well it is just childish. I will come back here only if there is a post worth to spend some time with. And I come and go as I wish and so does the rest of us. You are hacking on a guy like old hens, when You know that the only thing he can do is to come back, and then You begin to hack him on that! Btw. I know that the average American is not “a racist warmonger”, but he is not a chicken-brain either. Enlist and be happy. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/53 "2002-10-24T08:21:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > \*\* > SPOOFE calls bullshit, Gary. By the time I responded, the ENTIRETY of Diogenes’ comments consisted solely of “Iraqi civilians are not legitimate targets either, but that doesn’t seem to bother us much.” Please learn how to read before posting. \*\* Sorry, but **that** is bullshit. You accused him of coffeehouse politics, with no understanding of reality. Diogenes, in the very next post, points out that he’s had actual experience of the Iraq bombings and their aftermath. You then criticise him for “appeal to authority” tactics. Call bullshit all you like, but that’s what you did. Hell, let me quote every damn post. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > \*\*Perhaps, in the midst of sipping cappucino in the Coffeehouse Of Omniscience, whilst trying to type out a haiku in iambic pentameter on his oh-so-sleek PowerMac (not to disparage PowerMac’s, of course) and reading Dianetics, Diogenes accidently slipped into an alternate reality where Dubya is a Democrat, black turtlenecks and berets are still stylish (oh, doesn’t he wish), and his trendy, goatee’d, “Oh, look at me, I’m so fabulously cynical” bullshit was actually accurate. > > Forgive him. It’s just a quantum flux in subspace. \*\* > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > **Have any of you cocksmokers ever BEEN in a fucking war zone? Well I have. have you ever seen a four year old with her arms blown off? Well I have. Have you ever seen kids digging through rubble looking for their parents? I have.** then to this forum > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > \*\* > So, because you have a little bit of post-trauma stress, you’re suddenly a fucking expert on the entirety of the U.S. military intelligence effort, war planning, and operations? > > Stop this appeal to authority bullshit, buckaroo. Some of us are well aware of how atrocious a war is, without having seen dead bodies strewn about. Some of us who AREN’T acting irrationally due to overstressed emotions recognize that the cost of NOT going to war can be worse than actually doing it. \*\* Seem clear enough? Or should I add an arbitrary insult about your reading abaility? ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/54 "2002-10-24T09:22:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Sorry, but that is bullshit. You accused him of coffeehouse politics, with no understanding of reality. Because the only comments of his that I had to work with showed no such understanding of reality. Or would you like to point out how his initial post was reasonable and rational? > [@](#): > > Diogenes, in the very next post, points out that he’s had actual experience of the Iraq bombings and their aftermath. Good for him. Hand me the keys to your time machine, and I’ll go back and, instead of taking a couple of creative liberties, simply state “Diogenes, you’re a dumb fuck”. > [@](#): > > You then criticise him for “appeal to authority” tactics. Yup. > [@](#): > > Call bullshit all you like, but that’s what you did. Feel free to point out where I claimed any authority at all, chucklehead. Do you know what “appeal to authority” means? > [@](#): > > Seem clear enough? It’s very clear. I still don’t understand why it’s not getting through your skull. Look at the order of events, my dear sir. First, Diogenes made a very pretentious, very idiotic comment. I responded by drumming up imagery that matched that pretentious, very idiotic post of his. He follows this up with further pretentiousness, further idiotic comments, along with an appeal to authority. I call him on it. But, since you seem denser than neutronium on this issue, Gary, I’ll spell it out very simply for you: Just because Diogenes was in a war zone, that gives him absolutely, positively ZERO authority to make declarative comments on the US war effort. > [@](#): > > Or should I add an arbitrary insult about your reading abaility? Go nuts. Just keep in mind that, whatever you say, I’ve been called far worse by far better. ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/55 "2002-10-24T09:55:58Z")
ouch…that’s gotta hurt! ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/56 "2002-10-24T10:09:49Z")
Spoofe, stop being an asshole. I wasn’t accusing you of “appeal to authority” tactics, I was reproaching you for criticising Diogenes first for not having any authority to speak on the subject, then criticising him for claiming authority. In other words, try for some consistency. Oh, and drop the name calling. It was an impartial observation, neither strongly worded or particularly damning, yet you responded as if I pissed on your cornflakes. Go read what I actually wrote, and then decide if insults were required. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/57 "2002-10-24T10:43:21Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic_ > **Have any of you cocksmokers ever BEEN in a fucking war zone? Well I have. have you ever seen a four year old with her arms blown off? Well I have. Have you ever seen kids digging through rubble looking for their parents? I have.** I’m sorry, but that sounds like bullshit. Hey, maybe it’s true. I have no way of knowing. Buy it sure _reads_ like it’s made up. Regardless, are we supposed to automatically believe and defer to him because he claims to have this experience? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/58 "2002-10-24T11:12:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spooje \* > \*\*Regardless, are we supposed to automatically believe and defer to him because he claims to have this experience? \*\* Since this is a message board, that’s all you can ever do. [hijack] BTW, I always get you and **SPOOFE** mixed up. Are you in any way related? [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/59 "2002-10-24T11:19:35Z")
About as much as you are to jjtm or I am to yojimboguy AFAIK ---
**Author:** ![Anahita](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9a28c/32.png) [@Anahita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anahita)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482/60 "2002-10-24T11:27:06Z")
Yeah, can’t you paddy blokes think up more original nicks? 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-americans-are-not-a-bunch-of-racist-warmongers/133482.md?page=4)