That was one of the signs greeting Bush in Latin America. Imagine the reaction if a president from some country south of the border were to come to the United States and be met by a screaming loon holding a sign that said something like wetback go home. Outrage ofcourse. Why the UN might need to get involved.
I don't know if it would make a big difference if a Democrat were in the White House or not. I know Democrats say it would. They say the world would like us better. People would be more welcoming if someone like Hillary Clinton were President instead of the infamous Bushitler. Maybe, or maybe the left is just blackmailing us...vote for our guy or we will send out our global minions to act stupid. Yep, that'll show us.
Needless to say we do not have to look south to see that kind of behavior. We can see it here in the US or in Europe. AntiAmericanism is easy and cost free. But in one respect I think the Democrats might be out of luck here, I think a growing number of Americans look at those scenes and they don't just blame Bush {that is too easy}...they are thinking to themselves...right back at you moron. The Left sees the righteously indignant while a great many other Americans see thugs and ingrates and anarchists. After all, what did we ever do to Venezuala they say? The Sandinistas? They were not innocent, in fact they were murderers. And murder is not uncommon in that part of the world. Oh no, when it comes to murder they certainly do not need any help from us, they do a great job of that all by themselves.
In truth I am tired of Latin America and its endless crises. There were cities in Latin America when the Puritans landed at Plymouth Rock. What happened? Maybe the legacy of Europe in South and Central America will not only be the languages such as Spanish and Portugese, maybe it is also a feudalistic and corrupt society based on a caste system straight out of old Europe. But whatever the problems the tired old shtick of blaming the gringo is getting a tad annoying. After all it is not as if they are talking about building walls to keep gringos out of Latin America..no it is the other way around.
I have always been a supporter of comprehensive immigration reform, but needless to say hearing some Mayan priest say he will have to purify Mayan sites after Bush has been there because the president has persecuted our migrants is just the kind of thing to make the nativists go bonkers. Talk about bad PR. They love our money but they hate us. I for one am past the point of trying to make these people like me. This is a failing of Americans, the desire to be liked, and I think it is time we got over it. To hell with 'em.
7 comments:
quite right terrye, but i still think the softly-softly approasch you favor wrt illegal immigration fans this kind of contempt. as maggie thatcher taught us in the UK, sticking to principles is painful in the short run but necessary in the long run.
I'm feeling that way about large parts of Europe too. Well, thinks I, let us see how globalization and economic growth proceed, perhaps the left behind stories will take on a whole different interpretation. I just hope I live long enough to gloat. A small pleasure, true, but not to be despised.
Well said! Though one must also think of a Sheehan-type rallying her twenty minions in front of the White House. I.e., how the media depicts the act is not even close to the whole story. While abroad I don't know how many times a news broadcast has made it seem the American people were on the verge of storming the gates of the White House and at last holding that Bush guy accountable. Alas, 'twas but those wacky twenty one, all media-ted sound and fury. Reality--nothing. So what if some Mayan priest is holding hands with a Catholic Priest who is a commie "liberation theorist" and they're hearing the voice of Fanon tell them to make theater. Or a few thousand idiots, or even tens of thousands of idiots (more the merrier), can't understand the difference between Fascists and those who kill fascists. What else is new? These folks have always been and always will be. Bottom line: don't let how the media portrays the rest of the world to you get confused with a more balanced understanding of how that world inevitably is. Thankfully, in whatever culture for every few idiots there are also a Terrye, an Ex-Democrat and a Chuck. They're at home watching t.v. shaking their heads just like you do when Sheehan is down in Crawford. Bottomer line: Would you let the New York Times tell you what's up with Kansas? Evermore are they ignorant of what's up with Asia or the Middle East or South America. Not completely, of course: The media are selling a slice, tiny yet true, ain't the whole picture, or even the most important part of the whole picture. When a Republican is in office this slice is focused on intensely. When a Democrat is in office it is all but ignored. If Bush were a Democrat his speech in front of thousands of appreciative Georgians would still be getting play 24/7. Instead, that was ignored, as have been all his other diplomatic successes (Japan, India, etc...) and you get Bush is hated, Bush is in a bubble, the Bush is burning. Chin-up Americans. More confidence. You're not alone, not in the least, no matter how much the NYT and CBS try to tell you differently. Try to make it seem so. Just a media audible off of the Kerry "I had dinner with leaders of the world who think Bush is..." kind of CRAP. Dangerous crap. I think even the great Steyn is a little off in this regard. Bottomest line: Perhaps America has never been more hated and more loved in its entire history. And hated by all the right folks. Bravo Bush!! (Tho a little more feared might be helpful.)
tosa:
I have no doubt that the relationship between the media and the protestors is symbiotic. they feed off each other. And that of course means it is difficult to judge how much of what we see is about how people feel and how much is just pure bullshit.
exdem:
I don't really think of how I approach immigration as being soft. I think of it as common sense. I don't think the border enforcement alone will deal with the problem. We need certain kinds of labor and we need to take pressure off the border and we need to be realistic about dealing with the millions here. It has nothing to do with soft.
See, this is what happens when you visit Latin America and you don't bring a gunboat...
In the late 19th century, the British built the railroads and established the great meat packing houses of Argentina. To this day, an elderly person in Buenos Aires might assure you of the sincerity of his promise by pledging it to be palabra de inglés - the word of an Englishman.
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