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I am backpacking Europe in Feb


Pete

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More hypocrisy.

 

Lets see....we got people saying its acceptable for people to mistreat foreign Americans who do so much as A) excercise a lot or B) Go to McDonalds. But I AM the !@#$ for challenging the double-standard that greets Americans in regards to how they treat and are treated.

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They, as a whole, dislike arrogant Americans. Going to McD's in France may cause some to roll their eyes, but they certainly aren't going to say anything. If one goes over there acting like some sort of cocky prick, then there's potential for trouble - same as a cocky prick at any bar or pub in the States has the potential for meeting up with trouble.

 

Europeans may dislike the actions of our government at various degrees from time to time, but they are capable of seperating the actions of the government from the individuals. A lesson that many Americans could learn. Case in point: The way some of the cavemen here treated "Olivier in France" was downright embarassing.

 

Bottom line: If you're another nation's guest, at least have the decency to behave accordingly.

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They, as a whole, dislike arrogant Americans.  Going to McD's in France may cause some to roll their eyes, but they certainly aren't going to say anything.  If one goes over there acting like some sort of cocky prick, then there's potential for trouble - same as a cocky prick at any bar or pub in the States has the potential for meeting up with trouble.

 

Europeans may dislike the actions of our government at various degrees from time to time, but they are capable of seperating the actions of the government from the individuals.  A lesson that many Americans could learn. Case in point: The way some of the cavemen here treated "Olivier in France" was downright embarassing.

 

Bottom line: If you're another nation's guest, at least have the decency to behave accordingly.

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Very good post.

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They, as a whole, dislike arrogant Americans.  Going to McD's in France may cause some to roll their eyes, but they certainly aren't going to say anything.  If one goes over there acting like some sort of cocky prick, then there's potential for trouble - same as a cocky prick at any bar or pub in the States has the potential for meeting up with trouble.

 

Europeans may dislike the actions of our government at various degrees from time to time, but they are capable of seperating the actions of the government from the individuals.  A lesson that many Americans could learn. Case in point: The way some of the cavemen here treated "Olivier in France" was downright embarassing.

 

Bottom line: If you're another nation's guest, at least have the decency to behave accordingly.

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Back in 98 I went to Basel, Switzerland for work (located where France, Germany and Switzerland all meet). Flew 10 hours to Paris, had to sit there for 6 hours for a plane. I got to the hotel about 6 PM. I was famished, had only about 3 hrs sleep in 24 and was too tired to try to translate the menu. I went to McD's and asked for the #3 in German while holding up 2 fingers. the girl said in English "What do you want- #2 or #3?"

In the week I was there, I only met one person who didn't speak English. I tried some German, but when they knew I was American who was using the phrasebook, they switched to English. All the menus had English translations and the the ATMs had a choice of French, German or English.

Got a sore throat on the last day and went to a drugstore. I asked for a cough drop or lozenge and the druggist didn't understand what I meant. Then the commercial popped into my head -Ricchola! I said that and she got them for me. I explained that I remembered it because of the alpenhorns in the commercial. She laughed about it.

Had a fine time there. No problems at all.

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Well I didn't have a problem in Germany while I was there for almost a week... in fact, telling them that the country is divided and that I didn't vote for Bush is a big plus. Being an American is all about having to educate others on what the REAL story is. There will ALWAYS be i*gnorant people in all places...I can imagine there are a lot of scarf-wearing Arabs in America who get the SAME treatment!

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Well, being one of them didn't hurt your cause any, did it?

 

as for backpacking Europe, especially Germany in February...

 

February? What a miserable month to pick. I spent 5 years living there. May can be cold and wet. February is miserable. Pack a lot of Gortex.

 

Next thing we'll be seeing is "American Werewolf in Frankfort" and Pete doesn't come around anymore.

 

I've been in France and Belgium fairly recently. French are stevestojantty on a good day, but mostly just superior and rude. Great food and wine, though. The Belgians are want to be French, but will drink with you. I personally didn't have any trouble.

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Guest RabidBillsFanVT
Well, being one of them didn't hurt your cause any, did it?

 

as for backpacking Europe, especially Germany in February...

 

February? What a miserable month to pick. I spent 5 years living there. May can be cold and wet. February is miserable. Pack a lot of Gortex.

 

Next thing we'll be seeing is "American Werewolf in Frankfort" and Pete doesn't come around anymore.

 

I've been in France and Belgium fairly recently. French are stevestojantty on a good day, but mostly just superior and rude. Great food and wine, though. The Belgians are want to be French, but will drink with you. I personally didn't have any trouble.

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It's refreshing to be an Old American, and not to follow the blind. You believe who you want to believe in, and I'll believe who I want to believe in. My Old America builds coalitions, represents sanity in an insane world, and acts against those who threaten us after INTELLIGENTLY leading us in that direction. These Old Americans include Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Harry Truman, men who were worthy of the mantle of leadership, and men that I personally find inspiring.

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It's refreshing to be an Old American, and not to follow the blind. You believe who you want to believe in, and I'll believe who I want to believe in. My Old America builds coalitions, represents sanity in an insane world, and acts against those who threaten us after INTELLIGENTLY leading us in that direction. These Old Americans include Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Harry Truman, men who were worthy of the mantle of leadership, and men that I personally find inspiring.

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And this is a very different world than it was in 1948. I was afraid you'd go native. I don't know what you do there, but even being there you must pick up on things. That's what baffles me sometimes when I read your stuff. Thats also what sucks about working where you do. It's easy to become part of the group and forget about who's uniform you are wearing. BTW, you never checked in when you came through. Me and DC Tom could have given you a personal slapping, after you bought a few drinks, of course.

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Guest RabidBillsFanVT
And this is a very different world than it was in 1948. I was afraid you'd go native. I don't know what you do there, but even being there you must pick up on things. That's what baffles me sometimes when I read your stuff. Thats also what sucks about working where you do. It's easy to become part of the group and forget about who's uniform you are wearing. BTW, you never checked in when you came through. Me and DC Tom could have given you a personal slapping, after you bought a few drinks, of course.

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No, I didn't... my whole family voted for Kerry. My mother is so scared for our country because of the war. For her, like me, it was the single major issue of the election.

 

You misread me, I think. I'm not Euro-centric; I'm just a man who HATES this extremist ugliness and the people who will believe anything rather than read and learn more about the world.

 

Would there be any question if McCain would have won, because I would have voted for him. I would have voted for Powell as well, but in America now, centrist-leaning politicians don't win!!

 

Europe hates Americans because they are jealous or they hate our ignorance of world events... they hate us MUCH more now because of Bush, and I am NOT going to be bashed because he won in 2000 OR 2004. They can hate me for my wealth, or my superpower status, or my culture, or my country, BUT I WILL NOT allow someone to hate me because they think I voted Bush.

 

The MOST important thing is that I represent my country VERY WELL... I am very friendly, very respecting of others cultures, always learning, always willing to help, and I am ALWAYS the ambassador. In fact, I'm on the front lines here repairing the damage Bush has done in every legal and

legitimate way I can. People know who I am, and when I leave, they will think better of America because of WHO I AM, not because I am Euro-centric, or because I bash Bush(which I dont) or because I agree with them when they say something stupid

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It's refreshing to be an Old American, and not to follow the blind. You believe who you want to believe in, and I'll believe who I want to believe in. My Old America builds coalitions, represents sanity in an insane world, and acts against those who threaten us after INTELLIGENTLY leading us in that direction. These Old Americans include Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Harry Truman, men who were worthy of the mantle of leadership, and men that I personally find inspiring.

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I have a feeling if today's media was around then, you'd feel differently about those men.

 

The sig line says it all.

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Rabid and others,

 

I'm a "good American" where ever I go as well. I've never once had a problem other than occassionally having people try to kill me.

 

It might help to try to explain why we do some of the things we do, rather than agree with them that it's all wrong and you voted for Kerry. You don't necessarily have to agree to explain why something is the way it is. I do it all the time. Most people here don't get that. They think I'm one of the Republican party hacks. If Nader had a concept I believed in, through my knowledge and experience, I'd vote for him. I don't like a lot about the way much of this has been handled. But I know and understand the issues. I also know what needs to be done. You have to remember that most of the world would love to see us taken down a few notches or worse. They don't care. You should.

 

I read the lunacy that Ice posts, and shudder. Is that America? Sometimes dealing with problems pi$$es people off. Too bad. A lot more are going to die on both sides before this is over with. Sitting around the campfire singing Kumbaya is not going to solve it. Buying more firetrucks is not going to make us safer.

 

You have an idea of what I do for a living. I love my job, but the ramifications of my work are really very depressing sometimes. I know every day when I boot my computers that I could make the mistake, overlook something, not account for something that allows a lot of people here to die. Some days I have to go the other way, and do good work that causes a lot of people there to die. And to see so many so called Americans tearing it down day after day, making idiot rants over things they know NOTHING about...one learns to ignore their ignorance after awhile. But I have to tell you, it's really frustrating because this country has become so accustomed to things being a certain way. It's taboo to tell folks stuff that they don't want to hear. And to compound the problem, everyone wants to hear something different. We can ignore the threats, and everyone has cake and ice cream until it's too late to stop it, or we can deal with it, which is unpopular not only in the rest of the world but here within our borders.

 

I can only imagine the foam at the mouth outrage if I tried to discuss the planning concepts of acceptable risk.

 

It's often much better not to talk about politics at all, because a lot of this stuff really isn't politics. We had eight years of everyone basically hearing and getting whatever they wanted, and everyone loved Clinton for it, and pine for the days of his reign. The problems we now face were allowed to fester and grow, because to deal with them would have upset the Fleetwood Mack happy time we were supposedly living in then.

 

New guy gets in, and a few months after taking office, before people are actually sure where their desks are yet, in DC terms, the country gets nailed. This administration said, "Uh, no, we aren't going to have this stevestojan"

 

And now, everyone wants to B word and moan and rend their clothes because it's not happy time anymore.

 

If you guys want happy times back, quit bitching and let it get fixed. You don't like the way it's getting done? Tough. Too bad. You're going to have a lot more to B word about for awhile, because it's not happy times anymore.

 

Get used to the fact that that's the way it is. It ain't changing, and it's not going away.

 

V/R

 

Paul

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