...moving my chair just a few more inches to the north...

[felis_ultharus]

It's always disconcerting when you're in some generally-easygoing region of cyberspace with otherwise intelligent, thoughtful, well-educated adults, and then one of them expresses an idea you'd sooner expect from the angry homeless schizophrenic you sometimes pass downtown.

This has been happening a lot the last few years with me, always with Americans and always with Bush's foreign policy. Hearing people I otherwise respect spouting the most flimsy excuses of that administration as though they were obvious is a lot like falling into the middle of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.

On one of my message boards, the American half of the posters have been having a Two Minute Hate over those evil French whose aid they won't come to when they get invaded next time -- because, apparently, the French won't protect them from Osama bin Laden and his terrorists in Iraq. And the rest of us -- the non-Americans -- just fell silent. I'm still not sure why, though I have lost online friends over this.

And montrealais's houseguest last month from New York (isn't that a blue state?) seriously suggested wiping out every man, woman, and child in the Middle East as a solution to terrorism.

I know it's not all Americans, and I've talked to a good number who are aware and sane. I guess I just deluded myself into thinking that Bush's supporters were the completely uneducated and sociopathic. It's sad when an idiot can fool the intelligent.

Comments

[infinitecomplex.livejournal.com]

Jen and I have at least one good friend in the US who is extremely intelligent, whose views on almost everything else I completely agree with, but who voted for Bush and supports his foreign policy. I just don't get it. Because this person is so awesome in every other way we were able to agree to disagree (like you, I've lost other friends over the issue), but I'm still absolutely baffled at just how the clockwork monkey and his key-turning administration were able to win over an otherwise intelligent human being. It disturbs me profoundly.

[felis-ultharus.livejournal.com]

It makes me worry for the human race.

It isn't just their opinions. It's that they express them as though no one could possibly disagree -- as if it's unimaginable that someone would be against this war.

It suggests a total lack of awareness of events outside the country. They're on the internet, they can't imagine they're alone there. And surely they must have noticed that all but a tiny fraction of the world is against the war...?

Again, something I might have expected of an uneducated person. But someone otherwise intelligent surely looks at news beyond their own country...?

[infinitecomplex.livejournal.com]

At least the person I mentioned is intelligent enough to be aware that not everyone thinks the same way he does, but you're spot on about how many people don't. There's a forum that Jen and I used to use that literally imploded due to the issue - it's still limping along, but only has a handful of regular users now and they all stay away from the general debate section of the site. There's one poor guy who continues the good fight by posting unfavorable articles about US politics, for which he usually gets called a traitor and a coward by four or five different people. It's deeply disturbing.

[melting-penguin.livejournal.com]

It's that "culture of fear" that has permeated so much of their consciousness. I suppose it isn't easy to accept that a homeland that you've been brainwashed into believing is invulnerable can be attacked as easily as any "insignificant" country in the world. Jingoism has a truly frightening on people.

[felis-ultharus.livejournal.com]

I agree.

Of course, it did used to be unlikely, since attacking the US, surrounded on two sides by water and two sides by allies, has never been easy. But easy air travel means they're in the same boat as everyone else, now.

[jc2004.livejournal.com]

I know a couple of otherwise awesome really bright guys in the U.S. who are pro Bush. I just have to ignore that part of things. If people start arguing about Bush, just post a picture of some really cute cats. I did that last time and everybody started joking about the cats and then it was fine. Now if only we could run a really cute cat for president.

[felis-ultharus.livejournal.com]

I know. I think we all do.

I guess I'm just torn between the need to speak up when the anti-Bush world majority is getting visciously tashed, and the need to keep the peace. It's frustrating.

As for the cute cat president, I'm not sure how well that would do. Just look at how Parallel Earth did with a small cute dog in the Oval Office (http://archive.salon.com/comics/tomo/2001/10/29/tomo/index.html) ;)

[jc2004.livejournal.com]

A dog was officially the King of Norway for 4 years a few centuries back and Norway seemed to do okay.

[felis-ultharus.livejournal.com]

I think King Saur I or Norway was only a legend...?

[jc2004.livejournal.com]

I've just cross-checked it with a few higher-quality education-linked sites and it appears that the dog really was the official king (though I'm sure that he was only a figurehead).