Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Don't be Skeered

I'm so sick of America acting like terrorists run our everyday lives. This is getting embarrassing. The world heard our paranoia in the media when they revealed that the US World Cup soccer team was the only team that traveled in an unmarked bus, due to fear of terrorism. The Statue of Liberty, the very symbol of our national boldness, has her tail between her legs and is closed to visitors despite $20,000,000 of our money for bomb-detecting equipment. We empty our pockets in airports, and have our grandmothers spread eagle and take her shoes off because we're afraid. Our media won't show a cartoon of Muhammad, because it might provoke terrorism. I'm not hearing any arguments about offending people, either, because the media does that constantly without remorse. We pay $76 for a barrel of crude oil, because "terrorists might disrupt supply at any moment!"

I don't know who started this groupthink, but I'm getting sick of it. I'm not skeered. Who's skeered?

14 comments:

BigNewsDay said...

I hear ya brother. It seems like both the government and the media are forcing everyone into a state of fear. Why the hell should the most redneck country in the world be scared of a bunch of idiots who are willing to blow themselves up. Hell, I bet I could shoot Habeeb in the head before he hits the trigger on his boom vest.

The Automatony said...

A) They travelled in an unmarked bus because of the same reasons that tourists from America wear Canadian flags on their bags ... because the whole world hates us, not just terrorists. They probably would have gotten their asses kicked by a bunch of Swedish dudes, not muslim "terrorists".

B) It's not just our media that won't show an image of Muhammad (Mohammad -what ever his name is, I don't know, nor do I care) ... that is fucking global man. I think it was Dave Attel who said that the reason muslims are so fucked up is because they aren't allowed a sense of humor in their culture. It is somewhat true, but it's also because there just isn't much to laugh about when bombs have been falling from the sky for 50 years. (And before that giant boulders falling on their houses for 2000 more years).

BlackLabelAxe said...

Yes, the Redneck Mafia has no reason to be afraid of Habeeb or his bullshit tactics.

What's funny is that I prefer to shoot their beloved AK's and SKS rifles- I find them irresistably powerful with good accuracy and a reliability and affordability that even those dumbasses can't f*ck up. The ammo is ridiculously cheap, too. It ranges from free (Soviet surplus- crap) to cheap (Wolf steel jackets- supreme).

GC:

Foreigners are smarter than that. They know that not all Americans like Bush, and less than a third of the country voted for him in 2006 (52% in popular vote x ~60% voter turnout). I've got tons of beef with the President, but I don't like to talk shit about him or our military with foreigners in foreign lands. I much prefer to talk football or beer. Either football is fine with me, by the way.

The second question you get asked in Europe is "What do you think about Bush?", which is only preceeded by "Where are you from?".

Lefty Metalhead said...

We continue to let ourselves get scared. That is what the Bush administration and the extremely religious Christian right have seeked every since 9/11. We have to be afraid of crazy Muslim salafists, social security crisis, homosexuals, stem-cell killers, Mexicans, and threats to our freakishly-greedy capitalist system - a fair economic playing field free of corporate exuberance. I'm fucking sick of it.

Green Communist is right when he suggests most other countries hate us. They hate us because of our hypocrisy. We demand democracy abroad while letting big money dictate a large part of our system. We launched a war simply because we THOUGHT said country had WMD. We claim we are technologically superior, yet we couldn't forsee Katrina's potential hazard.

We are so fucking arrogant, thinking we always know best about everything. We bullshit the world by saying that our actions are for everyone's good while they actually serve a few peoples' interests.

However, what makes this country so fucking great is that all of this could change! We have to be a powerful nation by sharing power with our allies. We must crush our enemies by NOT creating more of them like in Iraq. It all starts with responsibility and competent governance.

Republicans have lost their persuasive voice. People will no longer acquiesce to their plans because they have failed. Democrats are finally getting a voice. The success of Ned Lamont has shown that the Democratic Party is no longer moving to the right just to pander to swing voters. The Dems seem to have a bold strategy in place. I hope they succeed, not just because I'm a Democrat, but because this country deserves a change of course. It's time to try something different. The conservative movement is over!

We have to be positive, but not foolishly positive like the people who think Iraq is making regular progress. What I mean is that we have to have faith in ourselves. We have to realize that we're not always right and that we will likely need our allies and organizations such as the UN from time to time. The media is awful, but what do you expect when we have a free market system? Money is ultimately more important for the media than is responsible reporting.

Let's give the Dems a try in 06 and 08. If they fuck up like the GOP, I call a revolution!

Bushwack said...

Blacklabel, I hear you about the way our country changed after 9-11. I agree we are acting like a bunch of wimps in the air ports and landmarks. However: If precautions aren't taken to ensure the safety of the public after the 9-11 attack, and something did happen, could you imagine the beating the Government would take?
9-11 is already getting blamed on Bush if we had another one?????

I guess I'm looking at it like this; When does taking precautions for what might happen translate to fear?
You obviously know your weapons. Is that a hobby or because if something does happen you are prepared? I know mine too and I like my weapons and I'm a damn good shot, the motivation to learn was not 9-11 it was basic man law.
Am I concerned for our country? Absolutely, do I see anyone in 2008 that will fix the mess we are in?
Nope, Any ideas????

I'm not scared of anything but I'm prpared for everything (to the best of my ability)

Bushwack said...

I suck at punctuation I know, But spelling is usually not a problem.
*prepared*

BigNewsDay said...

Don't worry about it BW. We all slip from time to time. ;)

Wow, what a geat discussion. I think great points are being made on both sides.

The Automatony said...

Ned Lamont for President


lol

BlackLabelAxe said...

BW,

The great thing about Soviet firearms is that they are excellent for both hobby and armageddon. Of course, the survival part is as far-fetched as it gets, but if it's sitting there in hobby storage, then you're covered if the Red army lands in Nebraska tomorrow.

There is a very fine line between being reasonably prepared and being paranoid. Installing $20,000,000 bomb-sniffing hardware at the Statue of Liberty then not allowing people walk up to the top is paranoid. Asking people to walk through a metal detector at the airport is reasonable. Asking people to take off your shoes, belt, have grandma open her purse, etc., is paranoid.

We voted in 2004 on the basis of fear from terrorism. Both candidates are weak on domestic issues- but one is percieved as more effective against terrorism, so he wins. It wasn't a campaign of ideas, it was a matter of cashing in on fear. We campaign for ideas on our blogs, but this unfortunately hasn't been heard by our elected officials.

Learning how to maintain and operate a firearm is something I did routinely in college. I went to a military college that some of you may have heard of in South Carolina. It's the duty of every free man. If free men don't arm themselves with knowledge, wisdom, and weapons, the tyrants of this world will find a way to get the latter, then none of us will be free anymore.

The media may be awful, but ours in not unique. The media is as unique as all people are. Two people can watch the same event and have distinctly different perceptions of the same event. The freedom to make up our own minds allows us to find valuable information among a sea of lunatics. The pro-Iranian press is dressing up dead combatants as if they were civilians, just like most western media outlets show Israel doing nothing at all wrong. The truth is somewhere in between, and all of us know this.

spartachris said...

i have to agree with BW, i dont see the action of taking extra precaution due to a credible threat translating to fear. however, i do see the media shoving large bold headlines with red hues in front of my face. i say this is as much a vehicle of fear as the individual whose mind allows them to panic over it. im just as interested in what is occuring as anyone else, but if one lets these things run his/her life, i say they deserve it.

oh And i GoT kicKed off a kids show after an diffErnce of v iews led To a fistfight betweEN myslef and a mUppEt. i Think the local news headline "local man strangles MuppeT" may have comE off as a mastuRbatory eu7phemism.

Anonymous said...

the last time i traveled internationally was 2004. i was harrased big time at amsterdamns airport--this was entering, not leaving. first, they wanted me to declare everything. i just left croatia(where security pretty much grabbed my sack) and was gonna spend 2 days there. later, another security goon kept speaking me in german. i told him in german that i didnt speak german--and he was still speaking german! repeat scenario 3x. i asked him 3x as well if he spoke english--in english. ignored. on the 4th time, he asked me in english if i spoke english! i just landed there and was being given the 3rd degree.
everything else in amsterdam was great.(except a 17hr delay at the airport-after an 8hr flight) and leaving was very easy. no problems at all. both times i was well dressed. annoying? hell yeah, but what if they let that one person go who was a trouble maker?

Bushwack said...

Blacklabel, I agree that some precautions seem pretty idiotic, we seldom here of a grandma blowing up something, However due to the ACLU lawsuits and certian folks that are unwilling to allow profiling. We can't single out Muslim males so ALL passengers must be searched, so those of us that don't want to destroy anything not "US" have to deal with BS in the airports and certain landmarks

Bushwack said...

Ken, ROTFLMAO!!!!!

BlackLabelAxe said...

Yeah, I realize that the profiling issue is out of the question, leaving them to search everyone out of necessity. It's just ridiculous that you end up paying 42% of your airfare over to taxes. It's not like we're supporting a high-tech industry, either. We're supporting a gang of low-income metal wand wavers. I don't see how the airlines will ever reach solvency again with this kind of security.

It really pisses me off, because I go to Europe every year. The security over there is so much better organized and treats travelers with a respect that you won't find in any airport in the US that I've ever been to.

China Joe, I'm sorry you got to deal with the powertripping ass-hat in Amsterdam. I've been to that airport in Amsterdam, and found it very pleasant, even the security. Of course, dickheads exist on every continent on earth, and at least one wears every law enforcement uniform that has ever existed. My main gripe about Amsterdam is that you have to threaten somebody in English to get any beef to eat. Those wierdos eat nothing but bread and pork.