It seems that america bashing is on the increase in russia.
April 10, 2002 6:17 AM   Subscribe

It seems that america bashing is on the increase in russia. The high water mark acheived post-perestroika seems like a distant memory.
posted by johnnyboy (17 comments total)
 
as an aside, the AP is reporting today that Russia has thwarted a CIA attempt at spying wherein agents allegedly posed as Embassy officials.
posted by zoopraxiscope at 6:34 AM on April 10, 2002


Hmm. So the Russians don't like us anymore. That makes...let's see...everyone in Europe except England (and that's a tenuous thing), all of Africa, all of the Middle East except Israel, and most of Asia. The Aussies seem to like us okay (even though they roll their eyes at our kitschy Aussie-themed restaurants), the Canadians are just too nice to say what they really think of us, and the Mexicans are so dependent on us for jobs and money that they'll say whatever we want them to say.

Does anyone still think that being the world's only remaining superpower is fun? Anyone else want the job? Maybe everyone will prefer the Chinese....
posted by mrmanley at 6:39 AM on April 10, 2002


It isn't about fun... and they can think bloody murder if they want... as long as they don't act on it.

Heh. If this nation is such a bunch of weenies that they can't take a bit of disapproval... that's when China deserves to win out. But I think you'll find life sucks when they have the upper hand...
posted by dissent at 6:50 AM on April 10, 2002


i like general gau's chicken and kung pao beef better'n hot dogs and macaroni + cheese anyway.
posted by zoopraxiscope at 6:54 AM on April 10, 2002


that's the rhetoric! but the reality is "Moscow has become unmistakably bourgeois" :)
posted by kliuless at 7:05 AM on April 10, 2002


Wow, synchronicity: Just yesterday the word Pamyat* popped back into my head from God knows where.

While it's not obviously related to the subject at hand, I can see how the same Zeitgeist that can produce that sort of movement can also harbor these sorts of feelings toward the US.

*Warning: it's a Geocities link with pop-ups-a-go-go.
posted by alumshubby at 7:24 AM on April 10, 2002


Just keep sending over your hockey and tennis stars, comrads.
posted by adampsyche at 7:45 AM on April 10, 2002


Does anyone still think that being the world's only remaining superpower is fun?

Oh come on now... The US hasn't been a super power for at least a few weeks now, and perhaps dating back to the last pres. appointment. As proof, I offer any major newspaper from anywhere.
posted by BentPenguin at 8:21 AM on April 10, 2002


thats general Tsaos chicken...Tsoas?...good chicken. i predict the death of a major russian star with-in 2 months. I will judge putin by how the russian mafia acts. i hope he controls them. if he doesnt, he running them...and thats bad...shit...worse...then..i thought...

could we have a 'what constitues a superpower"? thread wha...WH? at least 5 theme parks, 4 auto companies, 100 nuclear power plants, the latest APC and missle. nice tits and an I.q. of 221?
posted by clavdivs at 8:44 AM on April 10, 2002


I don't know why Americans get upset by anti-Americanism (of the non-terrorist type). Every country basically hates every other country. Humans are tribal.
posted by Summer at 8:57 AM on April 10, 2002


Summer:

It bothers Americans (at least, it bothers this American) because we think much of the world hates us for no particular reason other than ignorance or envy.

Let's fact it: the European dislike of the US is just an outgrowth of the old Continental belief that Americans are just freckled yokels with too much money. Americans are so crass, don't you know. The French (ungrateful bastards that they are) are probably the prototypes for this view.

America certainly is not guiltless; we have done more than our proper share of dirty deeds over the years. But name one single nation that isn't guilty of the same thing. Nations are not people (more's the pity) -- nations often do things that no sane individual would contemplate or endorse. But we've also done more than our share of good things, which no one seems to be willing to give credit for.

Personally, I kind of wish America would just "opt out" of the world scene for a couple of years: let all the petty squabbles, internecine conflicts, and other international catastrophes play out without any input from us. I think the rest of the world would start begging us to intervene again pretty damned quick (well, except the French).
posted by mrmanley at 9:30 AM on April 10, 2002


mrmanley, I appreciate what you're saying, but imagine being German. Or even British. We get it in the neck from everyone, including the bloody French.
posted by Summer at 11:07 AM on April 10, 2002


Summer, sorry to get even more tribal, but it's England that everyone hates. Most people like the Scots and hardly anyone's heard of us Welsh ;)

It must be weird to have the power to kick the rest of the world's arse and still not get it's respect. But that's due to history. I.E. we have some.
posted by fullerine at 12:28 PM on April 10, 2002


My concern is that the distaste is valid. In the last year, we've started to turn into everything we were taught to villify about the Soviets back in the 60s and 70s. Lawless in the international community, invasive, and weilding power instead of a just and moderate hand.

Does anyone doubt that there will be permanent US military installations, or at the very least, signed permissions to use Afghan bases when 'needed' before we pull out of Afghanistan again?

We are becoming what we once hated. And I don't begrudge the international community for finding this turn off-putting.
posted by Perigee at 12:41 PM on April 10, 2002


from the article:

"Tell people you're Canadian," I advised. "Canadians never hurt anyone."

I don't know why Americans should be surprised; Russia has never really liked us. John Tobin, anyone?
posted by somethingotherthan at 12:44 PM on April 10, 2002


It's just so easy to hate America, because it is so visible - just read the news, in any country. Plus, America seems to rarely have qualms about getting involved in the affairs of other countries. Not to mention that America is very eager to export some of its less flattering facets, say, mass consumption movies and music. Who else can possibly be blamed for all the evil in the world? Canada?

Though, I'll say this much, having traveled to and lived in a number of countries, I have never met anyone who I thought was well educated or the least bit thoughtful and who hated America. There are plenty who disagree with American policy, but that's a different matter. And if the masses have difficulty distinguishing between the two, well... such is life.
posted by epimorph at 4:29 PM on April 10, 2002


Hmm. So the Russians don't like us anymore. That makes...let's see...everyone in Europe except England

Quite a few European countries support the USA. Just that the left, anti-America media never relates those stories. Guess that doesn't sell copies.
(Czech Republic is a strong supporter, for one.)
posted by HTuttle at 8:07 PM on April 10, 2002


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