I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member of the communist party!

Damn...I have...


Actually, I haven't. But I was in the Socialist Workers Party.

You guys have it, me anyway, all wrong.

I would never support that notion.

Oh please, you don't have a fucking clue.

Damm! So they never hung him? That evil Americika!

You're a bitter angry little man.

You have my sympathy.

You're quite right. I can only come to conclusions based on what you post in the cellar. It's a two dimensional picture, but it's all I have with which to reach such conclusions.

Please do not confuse me with someone who is not willing nor able to listen, read, debate and gain a greater understanding of the world. You quickly lumped me into a preconceived notion of yours which I find not only offensive, but completely wrong.
kthxbai

I am still trying to figure out how suggesting that we try understand that there may be resentment in Iraq against the US, in part, because of the horrific way a few of our troops treated Iraqi civilians, can draw a conclusion from you that:

"(my)opinion of the US soldier is as shitty and INCORRECT as theirs."

when I made it clear that it was not my opinon....it was suggestion that we try to understand their opinion

followed by the emotional:

"Well here is a hearty FUCK YOU to you!

"....will criticize and degrade the mean and women of our armed services????"

Who did I degrade other than the few specifically refered to as convicted or raping and murdering Iraqi women and abusing Iraqi prisonsers.

You got some 'splainin to do, dude or I would suggest the reaction to your post was appropriate.

I am prepared to accept I may be wrong. I certainly don't think you are incapable of listening or gaining a greater understanding of the world. I do get the distinct impression you have no wish to gain a greater understanding of why someone might hate Bush enough to throw a shoe at him and why others may feel the same way and consider him a hero. In the thread about paedophilia you said you don't care why someone is like that (whether they are sick, victims of previous abuse, just made that way).

Someone suggests that there may be a reason for these people to feel strong antagonism to America and points out that (as in any war) some of them may have witnessed and been victims of cruelty and violence at the hands of soldiers, in this case US soldiers, and you shout down his throat about his view of US soldiers: as if he believed them all to be rapists and murderers.

I based my assumption about you on what appears to be an unwillingness to engage in understanding and empathy in these two very difficult areas.

I apologise if that offends you. But I only have the words you type from which to draw conclusions.

Looking back on the exchange, I should not have made light of it and it certainly did not contribute to any further productive discussion with those of opposing views for which I apologize.

I simply should have responded by saying that I found your characterization of my opinion of the troops to be offensive and completely wrong...and the expletive to be offensive and unworthy of response.

Redux - I read your post as written not as you meant it. I thought we covered that in the explanation you gave previously. I apologize for what I "said" publicly. I thought - well you already know what I thought. - ANYWAY....

Dana, When it comes to "sex with children" and the attitude that "positive childhood sexual experiences with adults do occur" You are correct, I am not interested.

When it comes to other cultural beliefs, attitudes and political systems... that is a whole different discussion. If I wasn't interested in other thoughts or ideals or the discussion of these, why the hell would I be here on such a liberal-slanted site? Since you don't get it, I'll tell you - I realize that I am in the minority here with respect to my political views. One very important reason that I am here is to listen to, read, share and exchange differing views. Sheesh! You are such a manc tart!

To me, you seem like the type who would offer a reward to someone who threw their shoe at Qadafi or Ahmadinejad. You might even throw your shoe at one of them yourself. Am I mistaken?

Classic...thank you for your response.

Now I would like to know if you think it matters how citizens of other countries perceive the US as a nation and the president as a world leader?

While it is not the primary role of the president to play to the world stage and world public opinion, IMO, the perception is important and impacts us at every level....from anti-terrorism efforts to trade negotiations to tourism to the perception of US troops stationed around the world.

Look at a recent Pew poll on global attitudes about the US (and please dont go for the Merc cop-out on polls).

I would hope the results would give you pause for thought:
Even more striking is the perception and confidence of the US president as a world leader:

http://pewresearch.org/assets/publications/1289-2.gif

Does it matter to you what others outside the US think about us?

Could it be that these drastically more positive perceptions just might be in the US best interest..without compromising our own national interests in any way? Particularly in the regions of the world where we might face the greatest threat.

Beyond the general perceptions, look at it from the perspective of another discussion here, in terms of Iran (even though Iran is not included in the poll). Some dont see the value of one last attempt to negotiate with Iran and I assume would prefer a more belligerent US position. Is that more in our interest?

When did it become a bad thing to being liked AND respected beyond our own borders?