# Twisting every discussion into US debate=exposng yourself as really fuckng ignorant about the world **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 7, 2010, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612 "2010-05-07T08:56:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/1 "2010-05-07T08:56:53Z")
My fellow Americans, do you realize that by taking, say, [discussions](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=561351) about the [Greek crisis](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=562045) and by post #3 creating an inevitable hijack about “This is JUST like the Teabaggers!” / “Oh yeah, what’s Obama doing!” / “Oh yeah, what about Bush” . . . . . . you are really starting to embarass me. It’s clear that you turn every debate into ALL ABOUT THE YOO ESS AYE . . . . . . because you _don’t have fucking anything else to contribute_. You can’t talk about what’s going on in Europe _because you don’t know jack shit about it_ but – ooh, bearing the pretensions of being a sophisticated crowd, you just have to say _something_, don’t you? And because everybody in the world hangs on every word of every podunk American politician, hey, let’s talk about that some more! Laugh at Sarah Palin? You _ **are** _ Sarah Palin, you bunch of ill-informed knuckleheads. Seriously, knock it off. You’re embarassing me. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/2 "2010-05-07T10:47:30Z")
It’s not really an American thing, people tend to judge other countries based on their own. In Ireland it is scary the amount of people who try to talk about the Greek banks, and then look shocked when you tell them their banks are fine. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/3 "2010-05-07T11:23:25Z")
**Koxinga** - I suspect many peoples’ responses will hinge on this question: are you American or not? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/4 "2010-05-07T11:25:32Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > **Koxinga** - I suspect many peoples’ responses will hinge on this question: are you American or not? Given that he opened his post with “My fellow Americans” I’d say it’s a given. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/5 "2010-05-07T11:29:49Z")
Ah, I missed that. My bad. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/6 "2010-05-07T11:35:41Z")
Kinda related: I was perturbed about was discussion about the nature of the Times Square bomb with complete disregard for the fact that three very, very similar devices were planted by Al Qaeda dickweasels in the UK in 2007. I was a bit surprised that the link wasn’t initially made by contributors to the thread - I would have hoped they’d have known about these events - but even after I mentioned this in two threads, the fact was largely overlooked. If we have a common enemy, it’s a pretty good idea to know what they are up to even when they’re not targeting the US. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/7 "2010-05-07T11:39:21Z")
Koxinga is correct but I think we have become used to it to some degree. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/8 "2010-05-07T11:42:43Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Kinda related: I was perturbed about was discussion about the nature of the Times Square bomb with complete disregard for the fact that three very, very similar devices were planted by Al Qaeda dickweasels in the UK in 2007. I was a bit surprised that the link wasn’t initially made by contributors to the thread - I would have hoped they’d have known about these events - but even after I mentioned this in two threads, the fact was largely overlooked. > > If we have a common enemy, it’s a pretty good idea to know what they are up to even when they’re not targeting the US. I’m far more up to date on current news than almost everyone I know (I pale in comparison to most people on these boards, however) and even I have barely heard about what’s been happening in the UK. I vaguely remember something involving one of the buses over there or something, but that’s it. So this ignorance is very widespread. Don’t feel too bad, though. If I mentioned the Times Square incident to most of my friends it’s likely none of them would have heard of it at all. These are the kind of people who didn’t know about Katrina until a week after the fact. ---
**Author:** ![Camus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@Camus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Camus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/9 "2010-05-07T12:34:00Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > You can’t talk about what’s going on in Europe _because you don’t know jack shit about it_ but – ooh, bearing the pretensions of being a sophisticated crowd, you just have to say _something_, don’t you? And because everybody in the world hangs on every word of every podunk American politician, hey, let’s talk about that some more! > > Laugh at Sarah Palin? You _ **are** _ Sarah Palin, you bunch of ill-informed knuckleheads. > > Seriously, knock it off. You’re embarassing me. That is all. It’s tough to say how much can be attributed to ignorance and how much is just simply the self-centeredness and conceitedness of American exceptionalism. I mean, after all, if the US is the best country in the world and the normal rules of the road don’t really apply to us, what’s going on in other countries matters even less than before. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/10 "2010-05-07T13:05:54Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > I’m far more up to date on current news than almost everyone I know (I pale in comparison to most people on these boards, however) and even I have barely heard about what’s been happening in the UK. Then you have an incredibly insular peer group then. What you meant to say was: ‘I’m not quite as completely insular as my even more insular friends are.’ ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/11 "2010-05-07T13:41:32Z")
It’s not about ignorance. It’s about relevance. If we can’t talk about how it affects the US, then everything left is irrelevant to us. Most people want to talk about what these events mean for their future. And most people here live in the US. So you’re going to get a lot of people talking about the US. Deal with it or join a European message board. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/12 "2010-05-07T14:10:58Z")
the irony . . . it burrrrnnss . . . . ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/13 "2010-05-07T14:15:51Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > It’s not about ignorance. It’s about relevance. If we can’t talk about how it affects the US, then everything left is irrelevant to us. Most people want to talk about what these events mean for their future. And most people here live in the US. So you’re going to get a lot of people talking about the US. Deal with it or join a European message board. But surely it depends on what measure you draw relevance? I mean, you could equally point out that such things effect humanity as a whole, and are thus relevant. Or that financial markets are linked, and thus relevant. Honestly, if it’s a matter of ignorance versus uninterest in non-American things, i’d much prefer the former. I’d take ignorance any day over _deliberate_ ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/14 "2010-05-07T14:24:34Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > It’s clear that you turn every debate into ALL ABOUT THE YOO ESS AYE . . . You do realize, I hope, that USA is an acronym for “ **U** s **S** tupid **A** sses”? ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/15 "2010-05-07T14:28:25Z")
No, it’s the **U** nited **S** tates of **A** merica, and just one of our aircraft carrier groups can kick the ass of the military of whatever country you’re from. (Unless you’re a Brit. In that case, 'sup, dog?) Please don’t mistake my complaint about my fellow Americans as disparaging America. We’re still the greatest country on earth, but we won’t be for long if we don’t pay attention to the rest of the world – most importantly, those events that patently _do_ affect us (Dow down -1000 points, anyone?) but we refuse to acknowledge 'cause it’s furriner stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/16 "2010-05-07T14:32:30Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Please don’t mistake my complaint about my fellow Americans as disparaging America. We’re still the greatest country on earth.. Except for Florida of course. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/17 "2010-05-07T14:33:08Z")
> [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](#): > > Except for Florida of course. Well, yeah. But you know what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/18 "2010-05-07T14:39:38Z")
Isn’t it really about the shameful state of mainstream news media? It’s, flat out, not covered on the news. Seriously, International News often amounts to a bomb went off here, this group is suspected, in Washington, blah, blah. Throw in an oilspill threatening a coast line, two wars going badly. Profits are increased with an open wound, political divide, to constantly throw salt in and cause to flare. It sells papers and magazines, makes people tune into the news. People talk about getting their news from the internet but the internet is also filled with all sorts of nonsense ‘faux’ news. It seems to me that people now seek out only news that feeds their own political bias, instead of something fair or balanced. News outlets defend their behaviour as saying that they are just giving people what they want. People want to know about Paris Hilton’s sex tape or Tiger Woods 14th mistress! Complete bullshit. They create the ‘need’ to know, that drives this celebrity culture, and they profit from it. As newspaper’s fall, and, I fear they must, it’s going to get weirder, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/19 "2010-05-07T14:52:56Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Isn’t it really about the shameful state of mainstream news media? > > It’s, flat out, not covered on the news. . . > As newspaper’s fall, and, I fear they must, it’s going to get weirder, I think. What I came to say. The myopathy of the US news media is partially to blame. It isn’t just that it focuses on the US only, it is that it specifically focuses on American politics. I remember seeing on TV awhile back how water was discovered on the Moon. The news was presented as, “Water discovered on Moon, how will it affect Obama’s plans for NASA?” I mean, shit, if any news is reported in the US it is twisted around into a discussion on presidential politics. Every damn time, no matter what the issue. If it is impossible to make a story about the American president the US news media just won’t run it. I hate them all. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612/20 "2010-05-07T15:02:31Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > It’s not about ignorance. It’s about relevance. If we can’t talk about how it affects the US, then everything left is irrelevant to us. Most people want to talk about what these events mean for their future. And most people here live in the US. So you’re going to get a lot of people talking about the US. Deal with it or join a European message board. I hate to tell you this, but this isn’t an American message board. Did you think it was? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twisting-every-discussion-into-us-debate-exposng-yourself-as-really-fuckng-ignorant-about-the-world/538612.md?page=2)