American like Sam Shepard ( was guns and stuff)

Robert Morris (winboog@gis.net)
Thu, 13 May 1999 23:06:24 -0400 

>Irony Alert.
>
>Robert, obviously I can appreciate your concerns. Half my time on this list
>seems to be dedicated to trying to crush Australian stereotypes. Did you
>ever see the documentary Blue Eyed, about the woman who teaches people
>about racism by dividing up people into blue and brown eyed groups, one
>inferior, one superior, to show how ingrained our prejudices are? This is
>the sort of thing I was trying to touch on. I was trying to show by example
>how hurtful it is to be regarded stereotypically. Fire with fire if you
>like, or as my Mum puts it, `sinking down to their level'. I'm sorry if you
>took it literally, but again:
>


     I'll say that this is you copping out.  As I said previously, there
have been numerous times that I have bitten my tongue over your comments
concerning America. This is a subject that boggles my mind, how the rest of
the world seems to think they have a much better handle on what goes on in
American society, than we do. I meet students form all over the world ( I
live in Boston, we're overrun by them) who tell me all that I don't know
about my own country. The problem is,  they are usually basing their
observations on sitcoms and bad propaganda. I couldn't even imagine voicing
an opinion about  Austrailian society. Why is that the rest of the world is
so prepared to tell me about Americans? ( and I tend to think that Canadians
may be the worst of them all at this)

   When you pull this on a lot of Americans these days, they'll probably
agree with you, because we are losing our soul as a country. It's like folks
are guilty to be American. (But I think these people would be soulless
wherever they live. ) What you have run into here is someone who is
unfashionably proud to be American. I'm no right winger either, if you are
of the mind to believe that belief in our country is the sole domain of
Conservatives.

        I'm just tired of this US bashing and the many forms it takes on.
The fact that you are making your judgements here based on Friends and the
Simpsons should be startling, apparently it's not.


                   Robert Morris
                   winboog@gis.net