# Should the US bomb Agrabah? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 19, 2015, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818 "2015-12-19T00:08:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/61 "2015-12-22T00:33:44Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > How is carrying a pocket pistol in the pocket of swim trunks any more of a hazard than carrying it the pocket of shorts or regular trousers? You’ve misunderstood. It’s the concept that you need to be armed while doing the backstroke that’s bizarre. ---
**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:** [December 22, 2015, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/62 "2015-12-22T01:31:38Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > 30% of Republican voters think so, while 45% of Trumps supporters do. > > [It’s in Aladdin.](http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/18/republican-voters-bomb-agrabah-disney-aladdin-donald-trump?) > > No news yet on how many GOP candidates want to carpet bomb it. > > This isn’t Trump, this is a chunk of the US electorate. Do people in the US understand wht happens when you drop explosives on peoples homes because this doesn’t look stupid from overseas, it’s starting to look like collective insanity. And if I took a poll in the UK (or anywhere else) asking an equally leading and silly question, do you honestly think that the people there would answer any better? Think I couldn’t craft a poll for the UK that could get 30-45% of them to say something stupid?? Know why these ‘let’s make America look stupid’ polls always get asked in the US and not in the UK? Not because you guys are so smart, it’s because more people such as yourself want to feel superior to Americans so you can convince yourselves you aren’t the same blithering idiots we are, while really, no one gives a shit how stupid or uninformed a segment of your population is. 😛 It’s also why a poll such as this is even newsworthy…it allows folks such as yourself to strain an arm patting yourselves on the back and being able to look down at the US and be all smug and condescending. That said, I think Agrabah should be nuked from orbit…it’s really the only way to be sure we get that fucking parrot!! ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/63 "2015-12-22T02:41:32Z")
> [@XT](#): > > Know why these ‘let’s make America look stupid’ polls always get asked in the US and not in the UK? Actually I think the poll was done by leftwing Americans aimed at making rightwing Americans look stupid. The international giggles are just a sideshow. I agree with you overall that the poll was basically a trick question and doesn’t say much of anything. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/64 "2015-12-22T04:05:24Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > … leftwing Americans aimed at making rightwing Americans look stupid… Well, you know, it’s the _challenge_ of the thing. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/65 "2015-12-22T06:15:54Z")
This would be a totally awesome animation in the same vein as Godzilla vs Bambi. Aladin and the forty thieves doing what they do best, and in rolls the 555 squadron with some snake and nape. Have Rock the Casbah playing in the back ground. Declan ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/66 "2015-12-22T08:00:29Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > You’ve misunderstood. It’s the concept that you need to be armed while doing the backstroke that’s bizarre. > [@Lobohan](#): > > It’s more of a hazard, in that you do athletic stuff in trunks, I suppose. I don’t do any of that when I’m kicking it on the beach. And if I do go in the water a pocket holster in a ziplock bag in a zipped pocket is more than a secure way to carry. I don’t leave guns sitting around, thank you very much. **Ravenman** was just getting mouthy because he probably fell for the dihydrogen monoxide hoax I was talking about. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/67 "2015-12-22T08:28:25Z")
So, say you pack a .38 in your swim trunks, and the water’s cold, does it turn into a .22? ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/68 "2015-12-22T09:42:28Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I don’t do any of that when I’m kicking it on the beach. And if I do go in the water a pocket holster in a ziplock bag in a zipped pocket is more than a secure way to carry. Did you just admit that you take a gun swimming? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/69 "2015-12-22T09:53:06Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Did you just admit that you take a gun swimming? In case of pirates. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/70 "2015-12-22T10:21:55Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I don’t do any of that when I’m kicking it on the beach. And if I do go in the water a pocket holster in a ziplock bag in a zipped pocket is more than a secure way to carry. I don’t leave guns sitting around, thank you very much. > > **Ravenman** was just getting mouthy because he probably fell for the dihydrogen monoxide hoax I was talking about. Well, I’m talking to a crazy person. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/71 "2015-12-22T15:18:33Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I agree with you overall that the poll was basically a trick question and doesn’t say much of anything. I can’t agree with that really. It’s related to the Ted Cruz’s statement about carpet bombing civilian populations - like it’s just a casual decision you make. Of course he got pulled up on it but that’s not the point, any more than the size of this poll: they are indicative of the seemingly casual, easy way people in the US - and most definitely in Great Debates on this message board - look to bombing civilian populations as just another foreign policy option. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/72 "2015-12-22T20:23:19Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Well, you know, it’s the _challenge_ of the thing. I don’t know that the challenge has been well met when about 30% of 'Pubbies were made to look silly and about 20% of Dems were made to look silly. It’s a statistically significant difference, I guess, but it’s not exactly a major qualitative difference. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/73 "2015-12-22T20:25:11Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > I can’t agree with that really. > > It’s related to the Ted Cruz’s statement about carpet bombing civilian populations - like it’s just a casual decision you make. > > Of course he got pulled up on it but that’s not the point, any more than the size of this poll: they are indicative of the seemingly casual, easy way people in the US - and most definitely in Great Debates on this message board - look to bombing civilian populations as just another foreign policy option. We knew that already. But the poll became a sensation due to people being tricked by Agrabah. And IMHO it was trickery and consequently is not much indicative of anything, except that you can trick about 20-30% of people (Pub or Dem). Not exactly an earth shattering finding. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/74 "2015-12-22T20:26:21Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Did you just admit that you take a gun swimming? You never know when a good guy with a gun swimming is going to meet a bad guy with a gun swimming. ---
**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:** [December 22, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/75 "2015-12-22T20:37:55Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I don’t know that the challenge has been well met when about 30% of 'Pubbies were made to look silly and about 20% of Dems were made to look silly. It’s a statistically significant difference, I guess, but it’s not exactly a major qualitative difference. And you might get a reversal of those numbers if you couch the question as something like ‘Should we send more humanitarian aide to Agrabah?’ or ‘Should we accept more refugees from Agrabah?’ (or some other silly place)…something that more Dems would support than Republicans as a base position regardless of the silly place you tack on to make folks look stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/76 "2015-12-22T21:14:21Z")
Quite. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/77 "2015-12-22T22:32:01Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > We knew that already. But the poll became a sensation due to people being tricked by Agrabah. And IMHO it was trickery and consequently is not much indicative of anything, except that you can trick about 20-30% of people (Pub or Dem). Not exactly an earth shattering finding. I was sort of reassured to see that a majority of people said “no opinion”, aka, “huh?” Most people will assume a poll is relevant and about something real, and yet most heard this and recognized that they had no clue what the pollster was asking about. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/78 "2015-12-22T23:01:58Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Quite. Well, yes, given the minor distinction that one group supports generosity and the other is inclined to slaughter and mayhem. Outside of those quibbles, you are quite correct. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/79 "2015-12-22T23:56:43Z")
I believe I understand the point you are making but I’m not sure you see the (very limited) point I’m making. My point is this: a greater number of Pubbies than Dems reflexively support bombing whichever Ayrabs the government thinks should be bombed. But we knew that, and you and I didn’t need this poll to tell us that this is stupid. The fact that Agrabah doesn’t exist doesn’t add anything ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/80 "2015-12-23T02:41:38Z")
> [@XT](#): > > And you might get a reversal of those numbers if you couch the question as something like ‘Should we send more humanitarian aide to Agrabah?’ or ‘Should we accept more refugees from Agrabah?’ (or some other silly place)…something that more Dems would support than Republicans as a base position regardless of the silly place you tack on to make folks look stupid. The thing is - “Should we send MORE aid to Agrabah” presupposes that we are already sending aid, so it has already been decided that “aid for Agrabah” is a good thing When asking about “should we bomb Agrabah” it starts something that we weren’t already doing. On top of this, bombing is a “bad thing” - it’s not a decision that should be taken lightly, if you don’t instantly recognise Agrabah, and know why we should be bombing it, the correct response is to ask, not to support the bombing on the basis of “it sounding Arab” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818.md?page=5)