# The American Public is Fucking Gruesome **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 3, 2011, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550 "2011-05-03T05:58:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/161 "2011-05-04T08:55:53Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Ah, plagiarizing directly from Wikipedia, cool. I forgot to attribute that to wikipedia. My mistake, I certainly wasn’t trying to pass it off as my own. Hence the quote box. I chose it because the quote does reflect what the 5th November means to the majority of people. It was the foiling of the plot rather than the killing of the plotters. > [@](#): > > Rather obviously, burning someone in effigy is a tad different from simply celebrating a victory. But if you want to play that game, then people in America are only responding to OBL’s death so they can celebrate a victory over the single most murderous killer in America’s history. And if we did start burning OBL’s in effigy in one great big national celebration, it’d just be an ordinary, unremarkable party. > Fair’s fair, and all. > > Or, you Brits are a nation of bloodthirsty loons enacting immolation fantasies for almost half a millenium now. > Your call. yeah…well done…you have actually missed the part where I disagree with the burning of effigies and anti-catholic displays. Very difficult to remove hundreds of years of tradition at a stroke but were the plot to be foiled today I would be strongly critical of turning any celebration into the bigoted political expediency of 400 years ago. This being the 21st century and all. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/162 "2011-05-04T09:05:38Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > _Hijacked_ by anti-Catholic sentiment? I’m not sure “hijacked” is exactly the correct term, considering the original bill that established the holiday: Fair point. The bill was some months after the initial celebration. I’d suggest it was the drafting of that that enshrined the anti-catholic sentiment. Not the the UK at that time needed much prompting to be anti-catholic. Of course now, any sectarian feelings are lost. It is just a day for fires, fireworks and sausages. With perhaps a hint of “king didn’t die” ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/163 "2011-05-04T09:16:47Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Yes, but the important distinction is that when the English burned people in effigy for four centuries they did it with aplomb and class, and not with the tawdry bloodlust that possibly _hundreds_ of Americans are displaying now. As I have said consistently. I know it is a minority. It may not reflect the view of the country at large. I merely think that when that is the impression of Americans broadcast to the world it is regrettable, even if it is understandable. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/164 "2011-05-04T10:25:49Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Yes, but the important distinction is that when the English burned people in effigy for four centuries they did it with aplomb and class, and not with the tawdry bloodlust that possibly _hundreds_ of Americans are displaying now. “Tawdry bloodlust”- now that I can relate to. And that part of my nature which is gruesome and ghoulish eagerly awaits release of the real McCoy photos. I only hope nobody beats me to the punch posting a link to them right here. ---
**Author:** ![humanafterall](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/humanafterall/32/19654_2.png) [@humanafterall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/humanafterall)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/165 "2011-05-04T11:17:18Z")
Seriously, are we all psychopathic killers or aren’t we? ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/166 "2011-05-04T11:28:47Z")
> [@humanafterall](#): > > Seriously, are we all psychopathic killers or aren’t we? How do you think I decided on this user name? The entire human species is just animals with killin’ tools. I like us, though. It’s _good_ to be the super predator. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/167 "2011-05-04T11:35:50Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > The entire human species is just animals with killin’ tools. I’m not allowed killin’ tools :(. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/168 "2011-05-04T11:40:02Z")
Home schooled? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/169 "2011-05-04T11:47:15Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Would that we could make like a computer and reboot to about September 12 or even May 3 2002 when most of the world liked us A world that never was. Revise that to “some in the world who felt more tolerant towards the U.S. after it was apparently humbled by 9/11” and it’d be closer to reality. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/170 "2011-05-04T11:48:36Z")
I still think we should have killed Osama and released naked pictures of Natalie Portman. Who the fuck wouldn’t celebrate _that_? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/171 "2011-05-04T12:08:38Z")
Vengeance isn’t the only ‘‘natural’’ human reaction, or else I and swaths of people wouldn’t be feeling the way we do. Maybe I’ve read one too many books like _Lord of the Flies,_ but I generally don’t believe these kind of things just stop here. Violence fucking creeps me out. Everything from social psychology to history demonstrates the way it spreads and is reinforced and corrupts the human mind. One corpse of one scumbag may not seem like it matters much in the grand scheme of things, but it will all contribute to the desensitization of humans to acts of violence. It will fan the flames of both terrorism and anti-Muslim sentiment and probably result in some fresh hell for the American people. I was appalled by 9-11, I was appalled by the war in Iraq, and I’m appalled by this. It doesn’t have to be about moral superiority. Some of us just want the killing to stop. While I don’t love the celebration of death, what disturbs me even more is how quickly certain people feel entitled to shut down the debate. Feelings of vengeance aren’t the only ones that count. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/172 "2011-05-04T12:13:50Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > I still think we should have killed Osama and released naked pictures of Natalie Portman. Who the fuck wouldn’t celebrate _that_? The world would be a better place if we’d killed Hitler and released naked pictures of Betty Grable. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/173 "2011-05-04T13:01:24Z")
> [@Tarwater](#): > > Why go through all the effort of trying to be clever when all you’ve got is a sophomoric false dichotomy? Because I find the OP to be stupid, tinged with a bit of unabashed America hate. Our culture can be violent, insensitive, ignorant, loud, over-patriotic, and full of bible thumpers among a billion other things anyone can pick on… So what? The post was a thinly disguised disingenuous opportunity to bash America for more of its annoying antics, rather than about the actual event at hand, and I’m calling bullshit on it. Being gruesome or morbid isn’t only an American thing… It’s a human thing, and fuck anyone for thinking otherwise. Get over yourselves. Our military finally brought justice to the leader of one of the most horrendous attacks on our soil in our history… Cut the overzealous some slack. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/174 "2011-05-04T14:24:30Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Nope, there’s a culture of gleeful violence that would be regarded as despicable in any other Western nation. I dont know where it comes from exactly, and I thought it had subsided. I was mistaken. They don’t play Call Of Duty in the rest of the Western nations? Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/175 "2011-05-04T14:37:49Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Bin Laden’s assassination was just That, sir, is a matter of opinion and not a fact, although I do acknowledge that expressing your opinions as fact is pretty much the only thing you do on this forum. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/176 "2011-05-04T14:45:41Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Yes, but the important distinction is that when the English burned people in effigy for four centuries they did it with aplomb and class, and not with the tawdry bloodlust that possibly _hundreds_ of Americans are displaying now. I like to think we’ve moved on as a people in the past four centuries. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/177 "2011-05-04T14:51:23Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Fair point. The bill was some months after the initial celebration. I’d suggest it was the drafting of that that enshrined the anti-catholic sentiment. Not the the UK at that time needed much prompting to be anti-catholic. > > Of course now, any sectarian feelings are lost. It is just a day for fires, fireworks and sausages. With perhaps a hint of “king didn’t die” Although I, as a baptised (but non-practicing) Catholic Brit, cannot be Prime Minister. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/178 "2011-05-04T14:53:46Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > They don’t play Call Of Duty in the rest of the Western nations? Interesting. We also played army in the school playground although, amazingly in both scenarios have we managed to realise that we were not actually killing real people. OBL was real, in case you hadn’t realised. So possibly there’s a difference. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/179 "2011-05-04T15:14:58Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > That, sir, is a matter of opinion and not a fact You do realize that you still sound like an ignorant, babbling, inbred idiot who’s inordinately proud of himself, even if you oh-so-cleverly throw in a disingenuous “sir”… right? Are you really quite so stupid that you think there’s a Justice-o-meter sitting somewhere (probably in Europe)? Do you truly lack the basic cognitive framework to understand that for all of human history, people have argued for what they viewed as right and just and were, perforce, discussing their own normative value judgements, no different in objective validity if they are from the School of Athens or over beers after work? Is your mind really so substandard that you think it’s somehow a cutting revelation that when someone argues for something being right and just that they’re discussing value judgments and not that they’ve performed mass spectroscopy and identified how many atoms of justicium and rightium are contained in the claim? Are you really that stupid? Or, should I say, is it Wednesday again? Now go start another ATMB thread where you cry about being insulted in the Pit and admit that you’re dishonestly trying to “get someone in trouble” because you are a giant retarded child. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550/180 "2011-05-04T15:20:22Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > Although I, as a baptised (but non-practicing) Catholic Brit, cannot be Prime Minister. yes you can. What gives you that idea? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-public-is-fucking-gruesome/580550.md?page=10)