# To Erasticity and his "Americans are stupid" sig... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 16, 2004, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509 "2004-02-16T18:29:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/21 "2004-02-17T00:24:41Z")
> [@Weirddave](#): > > The post I was replying to seemed (to me) to be saying that American involvement in the war was superferlous to Germany’s defeat. I assume you mean mine- and you got the wrong end of the stick. Hitler didn’t underestimate America; he misjudged its President. He never planned to fight _them_, after all. Remember, the majority of Americans didn’t want to go to war, and only FDR’s influence made them. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/22 "2004-02-17T00:40:30Z")
Never Rule Out Stupidity - _ **Bubbadog’s** second rule of life_ ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/23 "2004-02-17T06:36:31Z")
> [@gluteus maximus](#): > > Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people… > > but, oh, brother!.. you could get killed overestimating their sense of humor… > > not that there’s any connection, mind you… I could see such a statement as humourous if it was put in context with other statements that give one an idea as to it’s intent. But it’s not. Rather, it is decontextualized as much as it can be by the nature of it’s use of a signature. Without context, as a rule, I take things at face value. Clearly, in addition to having neither intelligence nor a sense of humor, I also am lacking the omnicience you possess to know that Erasticity is NOT a European that looks down upon Americans. Actually, now that I think about it, I doubt if there _are_ any Europeans that look down upon Americans. I apologize without reservation to the non-U.S. world at large, but most specifically to you, Gluteus, for posting a rant in a forum where it so clearly does not belong. But hey, I’m only American, what do I know? ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/24 "2004-02-17T06:55:10Z")
I am not comparing anyone to Hitler. I am, however, bringing to light that categorical assumptions that an entire group of people are idiots is a fallacy. Had I been able to think of something by Ben Franklin or Mark Twain off the top of my head, I would have picked them. The first thing I could think of was the quote by Adolf and how it ultimately proved untrue. Given that I was initially irked by a German poster’s signature, the German connection gave it resonance. I didn’t mention the brave Russian soldiers who stormed their way into Berlin, the hearty Londoners who courageously withstood night after night of bombings, the plucky French Resistance who fought the occupation from within, the distinction between war with a governmental body vs. war with the citizens of a nation or any of the other things that happened in the 30’s and 40’s _because they were a digression of the point I was trying to make._ ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/25 "2004-02-17T07:01:12Z")
> [@dutchboy208](#): > > …Remember, the majority of Americans didn’t want to go to war, and only FDR’s influence made them. Only FDR’s influence? I think you’ll find it was Isoroku Yamamoto’s influence that woke the sleeping giant. ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/26 "2004-02-17T07:31:31Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Maybe, just maybe, you could grow a thicker skin **Hey You!** > > I should make myself a new sig: One could waste a lot of time worrying about offending the terminally offended. Thanks for the [support,](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=238780) Biggirl. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/27 "2004-02-17T07:47:24Z")
**Hey You!** , oh yeah…I remember now. The Japanese! The war in the Pacific! So **jjimm** wasn’t exactly correct when he said that we were sitting on our asses before we decided to come and save theirs. We had been fighting another, more dangerous war for our troops for a couple of years. **Erasticity’s** sig is intended to be offensive, but when you consider how far removed it is from the eloquent original and how it has been done to death, you will see it for the flat and unimaginative tag that it is. He is participating in an American-based, ignorance-fighting forum and that’s the best he can do? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/28 "2004-02-17T08:12:56Z")
> [@](#): > > **Hey you!** : I am, however, bringing to light that categorical assumptions that an entire group of people are idiots is a fallacy. And where is this generalization made? By whom?\* I don’t think you understand Mencken’s _bon mot_, if you think it means “Americans are, as a class, mental defectives,” or is meant to make an unfavourable comparison between Americans and any other nationality. It’s an observation about the relative safety of pandering to particular demographics, and it’s repeated so frequently because it’s true. Why do publishers print so many Jackie Collins knock-offs? Why is the Top 40 countdown consistently crap? Why do most movies insult their audience? How did _The Littlest Groom_ make it to air? Why do people keep sending all that mind-numbingly stupid spam? Because it’s financially much riskier to court the intelligent folks. There are so many _more_ dim-witted folks, and it’s much easier to get them to cough up their cash. This is a universal. The “American public” part is incidental-- It just rolls off the tongue better than “the great masses of the plain people.” Behold: _American Idol_ was quickly followed up by _Canadian Idol_, and _Australian Idol_, and freakin’ _Hibernian Idol_. The maxim still holds. When people first make these observations, they tend to be thinking locally. You know P.T. Barnum was talking about his U.S. audiences, right? If you wanted to globalize _his_ famous words, you’d have to say “There’s a sucker born every five-and-a-half seconds,” which just isn’t as euphonious, somehow. People who use other currencies can be heard to say “the buck stops here,” too. (Note: I don’t know **Elasticity** ’s M.O., so apologies if you are making assumptions based on a history of digs against Americans.) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/29 "2004-02-17T08:34:27Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > **Hey You!** , oh yeah…I remember now. The Japanese! The war in the Pacific! So **jjimm** wasn’t exactly correct when he said that we were sitting on our asses before we decided to come and save theirs. We had been fighting another, more dangerous war for our troops for a couple of years. Nope. The British and French had been fighting the Japanese for several years before American troops showed up in _that_ theater too- protecting Hong Kong, Indochina, Siam, Australia, and all that. ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/30 "2004-02-17T08:38:16Z")
Here’s something that may cheer everybody up a little. According to [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4539068&postcount=486), **Erasticity** is American. According to [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4541991&postcount=3), their home state is Indiana. So they appear to be an American who lives in Germany. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/31 "2004-02-17T09:22:11Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > Behold: _American Idol_ was quickly followed up by _Canadian Idol_, and _Australian Idol_, and freakin’ _Hibernian Idol_. Behold: _American Idol_ was preceded by the original, UK’s _Pop Idol_, so you guys don’t have to beat yourselves up over that. And AFAIK there hasn’t been a _Hibernian Idol_, unless it’s a US program (or you mean _Eurostar_, the search for a Eurovision Song Contest entrant). **Weirddave** , I wasn’t insulted, just perplexed. The UK did try to mount land-based invasions of occupied Europe in both the 1st and 2nd World wars, but we were kinda underresourced/fucked 'em up. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/32 "2004-02-17T12:02:52Z")
> [@Hey you!](#): > > Thanks for the [support,](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=238780) Biggirl. Um, your welcome? Seriously. Huh? You tell me the name of a band and I have to agree with whatever you say forever? Is that it? ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/33 "2004-02-17T12:32:15Z")
> [@Hey you!](#): > > **Erasticity:** > It’s one thing for a an American journalist to criticize his peers but quite another when some German computer geek is so rapt with a statement to punctuate every post with it. > > Here’s another quote that categorically insults the intelligence of an entire nation of people: > _What luck for rulers that men do not think._ > > And if I recall correctly, the person to whom that quote is attributed underestimated the American people too – and got his ass handed to him as a result. > [@Kal](#): > > Here’s something that may cheer everybody up a little. > > According to [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4539068&postcount=486), **Erasticity** is American. > > According to [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4541991&postcount=3), their home state is Indiana. > > So they appear to be an American who lives in Germany. I interrupt you programming for a pregnant pause . . . . ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/34 "2004-02-17T13:09:38Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Maybe, just maybe, you could grow a thicker skin **Hey You!** > > I should make myself a new sig: > > One could waste a lot of time worrying about offending the terminally offended. Speaking of thicker skins… oh never my, **BG** , you did recant your last pit thread somehwat. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/35 "2004-02-17T13:10:46Z")
“oh never mind”, even 😕 ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/36 "2004-02-17T13:20:30Z")
Timeline: Sept. 1, 1939: Germany invades Poland. Sept. 3, 1939: Britain, France declare war on Germany. Nov. 4, 1939: U.S. passes Neutrality Act of 1939. June 10, 1940: Italy enters war on Germany’s side, declares war on Britain, France. June 22, 1940: France, Germany sign armistice. Sept. 27, 1940: Germany, Italy, Japan sign Tripartite Pact. June 22, 1941; Germany invades Soviet Union. July 23, 1941: Vichy French government surrenders Indochinese colonies to Japan. Dec. 7, 1941: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor. Dec. 8, 1941: Japan attacks Hong Kong, Malaya; U.S. declares war on Japan. Dec. 11, 1941: Germany, Italy declare war on U.S.; U.S. declares war on Germany. Sept. 8, 1943: Italy surrenders. May 7, 1945: Germany surrenders. Aug. 8, 1945: Soviet Union declares war on Japan. Aug. 14, 1945: Truman says holtilities with Japan have ended. It has been argued elsewhere that Hitler’s declaration of war on the U.S. was a major strategic error, as Americans viewed Japan as the main enemy after Pearl Harbor and there was by no means a consensus, at least at street level, that the fight against Germany should take priority. ---
**Author:** ![Hamadryad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6de8d8/32.png) [@Hamadryad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamadryad)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/37 "2004-02-17T13:52:17Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Well then maybe I should have called you a fucking moron. > > The OP didn’t say that **Erasticity** was a Nazi or that his point of view was Nazi like. The mere mention of Hitler does not invoke Godwin, a comparison must me made. > > Haj Well, technically, this: > [@](#): > > Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people was compared to this: > [@](#): > > What luck for rulers that men do not think. …which means that a statement not by Hitler was compared to a statement made by Hitler…which could, I think, be considered as comparing Mencken (as was stated in the OP) to Hitler. So yeah, **jarbabyj** was technically right, and you are, by extrapolation, the “fucking moron.” _I_ think you’re just trying (unsuccessfully in this case) to be pedantic, but I’ve been accused in the past of being “too nice.” \ ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/38 "2004-02-17T15:08:12Z")
> [@](#): > > Am I mistaken or was Godwin’s law enacted in the OP itself??? > [@](#): > > What luck for rulers that men do not think. I though it was the Kaiser who said that back in the 10’s? > [@](#): > > So they appear to be an American who lives in Germany. Burn the WITCHES!!!111 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/39 "2004-02-17T15:35:46Z")
> [@Hamadryad](#): > > Well, technically, this: was compared to this:…which means that a statement not by Hitler was compared to a statement made by Hitler…which could, I think, be considered as comparing Mencken (as was stated in the OP) to Hitler. > > So yeah, **jarbabyj** was technically right, and you are, by extrapolation, the “fucking moron.” > > _I_ think you’re just trying (unsuccessfully in this case) to be pedantic, but I’ve been accused in the past of being “too nice.” > > \ Well, let’s see. We have this from the OP: > [@](#): > > I am not comparing anyone to Hitler. I am, however, bringing to light that categorical assumptions that an entire group of people are idiots is a fallacy. Had I been able to think of something by Ben Franklin or Mark Twain off the top of my head, I would have picked them So, he wasn’t comparing the target of his rant to Hitler (i.e. invoking Godwin) and, as he says, he wasn’t comparing Mencken to Hitler (which really wouldn’t have been Godwin anyway). He was just contrasting a couple of quotes. Then you twist a bunch of shit together and say that “technically” **jar** was right. Then you say that _I’m_ being pedantic. It is to laugh. As for the “fucking moron” snipe. You may want to read for comprehension and see that I didn’t resort to name calling. **Winston** called **jar** a moron and when chucked her roll eyes at me instead of him I made a joke about that. You need a clue. Haj ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509/40 "2004-02-17T15:42:38Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > As for the “fucking moron” snipe. You may want to read for comprehension and see that I didn’t resort to name calling. **Winston** called **jar** a moron and when chucked her roll eyes at me instead of him I made a joke about that. > > You need a clue. > > Haj It’s almost like I need a sig about the underestimating the intelligence of people. THE ROLLEYES WAS FOR WINSTON,CHARLIE. That’s why I put it at the end, after a comment about Winston. And as for Godwin, I’ll admit I don’t have the 500 page rule book about internet discourse, but when someone juxtaposes a SIG LINE with a QUOTE FROM HITLER, it seems a bit of a stretch. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-erasticity-and-his-americans-are-stupid-sig/229509.md?page=3)