The trouble is with the USA. it is full of Americans It it were full of Swiss or Norwegians with guns it wouldn't be so much of a problem. They just have this explosive cocktail of guns + lots of drugs around + large differences between rich and poor + ghettoes + lots of ex servicemen all trained in the use of guns ( but mostly drug addicted) + a culture which glorifies the wild west + crap films like Terminator + a level of knowledge of the rest of the World which makes North Korea look educated.
I think I read somewhere that there are more guns per head in Canada. There isn't the same gun culture there, of course.
I do find it depressing that so many people in this country use what are genuine human tragedies to resort to American bashing. By all means criticise those in power and the NRA etc. for responses but it's just lazy to use it to mock 300 million people as being thick. It's also completely wrong as America's best contributions to the world over the last century or are as good as any one elses in terms of science, art, literature, music etc. Obviously there is the flip side in terms of some pretty disastrous global interventions but even on that score the good things it has done are often overlooked. And more to the point, people around the world could say exactly the same about us if they picked on the right targets. This isn't a pop at everyone on this board by the way - I just saw one comment that typifies what I mean and it created a good opportunity to have my moan.
Sorry Dan, but I wouldn't worry about what goes on in America were it not for the fact that the country has a missionary nature ie. their idea that they have a 'divine' right to give their values to the rest of the World. Which involves US military being stationed in around 100 countries in the World, with or without the wishes of the people there. They appear to have the right to declare who are the 'enemies' and the 'terrorists' of this planet and the rest of the west goes along with this and uses the same rhetoric. When are we going to wake up to the idea that the USA has not changed as a result of Trump - it was not his regime which killed thousands of civilians with drones, yet had the nerve to use the word 'cowardly' to describe the actions of others. As long as America thinks it has a divine mission to force it's politics down the throats of the World's population, then I have the right to slag it off, which I will continue to do.
So it's hard to disagree with a lot of that - it's more the stereotyping of most of the population I took issue with. Especially when others on here get called out for doing the same with France, Germany etc. And I didn't agree with that either.
On The Last Leg last night, they stated figures from NYPD that their specially trained marksmen, so those with more training than regular policemen, only have a hit rate of 18%. It may be that warning shots are included in the 82%, but I don't think that it would be much of it.
Was there a specific post that offended you? I thought most of the "generalised" anti US stuff on here was actually directed at supporters of Trump - and less than 63m voted for him. It is a bit like the feeling on here that most brexiters are thick. I am sure there were some intelligent people who voted for Trump - and the same for brexit - but you might question the majority of them.
Stereotyping is mostly based on ignorance Dan. I have never been to the USA. and most of the Americans I have met here I have liked - I can have no idea of what the rest are like only based of the image of their country abroad. Unfortunately there are not many people who are really neutral towards America - we are forced into an opinion, one way or the other. We all have an abstract idea of what eg. New York is like, without having been there - the same is not true of eg. Zurich or Hamburg. Maybe this is the problem - it is expected that everyone in the World knows what LA stands for - yet who knows what HH stands for ? This creates discord - why should a population of only 3% of the World's population have such importance ?
Not really a lot to go on here Arturo ! Difficult to know the thoughts behind this - is it a desirable state of affairs ? Is America's influence a positive one ?
They gave us Motown, Dylan, the Doors, Iggy, Lou Reed, Coppola, Scorsese, Pacino, De Niro, Copland, Gershwin, Hemmingway, Capote, Fitzgerald and loads more. Very shallow of me I know but I can forgive a bit for that!
I am not denying their contributions in some areas Dan. They also gave us Gregg Allmann, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hendrix and Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Russians gave us Dostoyevski, Tolstoy, Bulgakov, Chekhov, Ilya Repin and a thousand others - all countries have produced something. It does not change the fact that millions of US. schoolkids every day swear allegiance to the US. flag and actually believe all that nationalistic crap. If the Germans were to do that then the World would be up in arms.
Not intended to be a lot to go on. Just a simple answer to your question. You asked why a country with 3% of the world's population has such an influence and I gave the answer. (apart from not picking up on the fact they have 4.25% ). I do not claim it as good or bad but if you do not understand why they have such importance then the reason is population numbers account for little. Unlike you though Cologne - I suspect most of the world's population are proud of their country and are not ashamed to be nationalistic. You wish there were no countries, which I understand, but I doubt many people feel like that. I think even you will understand why your choice of Germany would be viewed in a slightly different light to say France or Italy.
I think you will recognize that taking the national flag in your hand and swearing allegiance to it goes beyond simple love of one's homeland Arturo. Love of country is one thing - thinking it is better than all others is quite something different. Not quite clear about the last sentence Arturo - I chose to live in Germany because of romantic reasons, and would have gone to *****lia, had she been of that nationality, but I'm not going into that further. Suffice to say that I can well understand anyone going to France or Italy instead.
