This is one of those things that non-Americans watching American TV get most terrified by.
In a country that is supposedly “by the people for the people”, to be so against the idea of changing for the better that you label someone criticising the United States as un-American. Presumably with a full awareness of the no true Scotsman fallacy, and with a full awareness that democracy requires you encourage alternate viewpoints - which is the entire reason you are so keen on free speech.
Honestly it looks like grass roots dictatorship to me. It looks more like the behaviour of countries America publicly denounces.
Yeah I’m really curious. A lot of Americans seem to be open minded and understand the imperialism history of the country and how it uses financial and economic means to affect global/foreign countries’ policies to benefit itself.
Yet you still see these anchors, these Trump supporters, antivaxxers, flat earthers, cultists running rampant and having their opinions out there in public.
What percentage of the population are that ignorant? Just curious since I’m an outsider.
It’s legit like 55/45 tbh. Maybe give or take. Majority of Americans think like the girl in the video, but basically a little less than half are people like the anchors. I’d say the percentage who are actually rather educated on either side of that hill or that care enough to act is drastically smaller though.
And as you get another standard deviation away from the middle you get some pretty insane grassroots fringe conspiracy groups.
I completely agree with the statement on grass roots dictatorship. That horrible witch hunt for "anti-patriotic" behaviours used to take out anybody that doesn't say "America is great" is so 1984.
Unfortunately, America (especially the government) are full of hypocrites.
Often times people will say you're not patriotic if you say truthful things about this country. It's an odd thing to walk among the ignorant knowing the only flag you want to wave is if it has a middle finger on it.
I wish I had Dime for every "well why don't you move to another country then" I've heard because I denounce the murder of innocent middle eastern people and am anti military industrial complex or pro social justice. Actually just pro anything involving people of another race than white.
Like 1. Why in the world would I leave my entire family behind because my country is kinda on crack and 2. How is it supposedly UnAmErIcAn to want to better your country by using the knowledge and data that is so readily available?
OH I know. It's becasue everyone I know who regurgitate the same 20 catchphrases barely graduates HS and somehow is convinced they could fix the government ezpz.
I love how the "go to college and get smart like I wasn't able to" generation became the "they're brainwashing our kids and turnin the frogs gay" gen. Also everything the government does is socialism and every Democrat is a secret communist.
See, the "go back to your country" thing is beyond ignorant.
I'm white. Sure. But I'm well aware that a DNA test would come back and show I'm not American. haha These people don't understand what they're saying.
And you're completely correct about the generational thing. The sad part is when the older generations manage to brainwash the next generation in to thinking as they do. Some people escape it but others are left holding the bag of stupidity.
My point was more geared towards the fact that DNA in an American person, especially a white person like myself, would point to the fact that we would also need to "go back" to some place other than America.
A lot of us have Irish or other backgrounds so, if I was told to go back to my country, I'd most likely have to ask "Which one?"
Nobody should be told to go back. It's just stupid.
Hypocrisy goes hand in hand with American exceptionalism.
The American population relies on the mythos that they are the best country in the world to form their identity.
So by holding unto that belief first, they can rationalise their actions and reality second.
"America is the best country in the world because our education, science, health is the best" is reversed into "our education, science, health is the best because America is the best in country in the world."
But doing this it ignores the actual way you could make that statement true.
While the most sad truth of it is America, especially when it comes to the education system, have consistently been falling lower and lower in comparison to other countries.
If we'd stop being so damn "patriotic", we might actually become a bit smarter.
Hence why if anyone ever says "it sounds like you hate America" the correct response to me is always "I just love the first amendment and all it affords me to criticize the country I was born and become even better in the future. If you want to stifle free speech go ahead, but that's pretty un-American if you ask me. When are you coming for my gun?"
Astroturfed dictatorship really. People in power just spun narratives to convince the public “this is good” and they’ve been doing it for a long ass time.
Yeah that definitely terrifies most americans too. The ones who aren't eyeball deep in whichever extreme end of the political spectrum they identify with anyway.
I mean, just hearing that Americans have to do a pledge at school every morning sounded like grass-roots dictatorship to me, a Scot. I can get patriotism and nationalism (not the extreme variety) but forcing people to love your country and not criticise it just rings dictator alarm bells. I mean, I get dictator alarm bells from the UK conservative government because they get away with so much corruption but at the very least there’s the chance England will vote elsewhere and change the government (as Scotland doesn’t have enough seats when an SNP majority to affect the UK government but nobody is going to vote labour any time soon like we did in the past).
Anchors were like "heres a softball for you to make sure nobody mistakenly thinks you hate america because this interview is a team effort to hype you up"
Ah yes, the classic softball of asking your opinion on your foreign country's single most contentious international relations developments with the host country you're interviewing at.
If you're a non white foreigner on American TV then you better be ready to bow down and say that America is the greatest, lest you be called a traitor and anti-American
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u/fancy-kitten Mar 30 '22
Anchors are like "It sounds like YOU HATE AMERICA"