"Dear limey assholes" and other letters from the US to the UK

[sweetheart]

A UK newspaper sponsored the idea that citizens of the UK try
writing letters to the US hoping to pursuade people to vote against
bush. Here are the replies:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1329858,00.html

I am disgusted with some of these degenerate views... notice the
nastiest and most foul are all bush supporters.

[MatrixEscape]

1. Oh sure ...

If you go slumming in Freeperville, you can see that they are in a strong delusion that the rest of the world can go phuck itself. They have NO idea about what cooperation means or how important it is to create good relations ... yet they probably shop at Walmart where most of what they buy is made in China.

If that is their POV, you would not want to be their neighbor and they just don't know how to play well with others. They would probably love to isolate the US, (where would they get their stuff though?) and turn the US into Fortress America.

Hey, but wait! That's Bush's base! That's who puts the voices in his head. THAT'S why we all are so STRONGLY in opposition to the ship of fools who think there living in Biblical times. Freekin' Neanderthal Luddites!

Common sense ain't so common. You have to be someone who flunked Kindergarten to not get these basic social concepts.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. They hate us for our teeth

That much is clear from the replies. And the tea.

[Mizmoon]

27. ROTFLMAO! n/t

[OldEurope]

3. It would be interesting to read the original posts.

I, too, could get angry if someone from abroad is trying to influence elections in my country. And if some of those British posts were not decent at all, wouldn´t the recievers have every right to be angry?

I think this was a silly idea of that newspaper.

x(

[sweetheart]

4. Good point

I would presume that the letters were rather polite, as the culture
is that way, but there are freepers everywhere, and i'm sure that
some were indelicate.

I think it was a good idea, as i don't think that American's get that
the imperialism opens the country up to the charge of presuming to
govern the world without counting the votes; of being undemocratic
in a sense.

Especially the UK, that has troops on the ground dying and covering
for american troops in a war America started. They have every right.
Our world resembles roman times where a citizen of rome has more
power than any of the empire. I took my absentee ballot to the
copy place and put a bunch copies out for people to take at the
local scottish villiage, just so that people could hold in their
hands that elusive vote that they are all victem of.

I hope more people who are directly influenced by voters who don't
realize this world is interconnected.. i hope more of them speak
up and demand their franchise.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. 3 letters from 'famous' people here

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1326066,00.html

though I don't know if those actually went to individuals or not. They're publishing some written by the public on Wednesday.

I suspect all the mail they've had so far is from people who read the story, not returns from Clark County residents. I expect this was posted on Free Republic, so some of the replies (the ones all written in capitals?) probably come from there.

Personally, I think it was a bad idea - The Guardian admitted it might be in their original article, and I would regard a letter from out of the blue, from someone who doesn't live in the country (and so almost certainly doesn't understand everything about the election) as presumptuous. Maybe if they advertised in Clark County newspapers, saying they'd put Americans in touch with a Brit if they wanted, then it would be OK.

[TomClash]

6. Well, Tony Blair and Lord Falconer are . . .

. . . with their redeploymnet in Iraq. They are trying to get * elected.

When Tony stands for election maybe Charles Kennedy and the lib dems will get a little help from Dems here.

[mr blur]

7. Actually, not quite true...

The Guardian didn't urge people in Clark County to vote AGAINST Bush, just to bother to vote in such an important (for the safety of the world world) US election.

[mr blur]

8. The one that begins "My dear, beloved Brits,"...

rather defeats itself in the attempt at irony.

[mr blur]

9. Also...

I'm constantly amused by those right wing morons in the US who proudly bring up the "revolution" which separated them from England but who would be the first to advocate sending tanks and CIA "advisers" to help out any right wing regime which was being threatened by revolutionaries. In the past, Revolutionaries = freedom-loving white folks who refuse to be told what to do; these days Revolutionaries = Commie-loving anti-Amercicans foaming at the mouth at the thought of invading Texas and blowing up the local shopping mall.

[Stockholm]

25. But he conveniently forgot to thank the French! n/t

[sweetheart]

28. absurd mindless rhetoric of the ignorant

Clearly those folks lack education. They don't know how to be
polite, how to express themselves without vulger language, nor the
first thing about the interconnectedness of US history.

I am sorry for the offensive material, but indeed it is typical
of the new busholini's and i think that is why the guardian
published it.

[JP Belgium]

10. I 'd like to see a French paper doing this... (n/t)

[Ganja Ninja]

21. Maybe the French could write a few letter to the Brit's ...

just for a reaction. They would probably get a response similar to the troglodytes we see responding to this. Knuckle dragging nationalists reside in every country on earth. Given the right bait it isn't hard to bring them out of the woodwork.

[bpilgrim]

11. OMG

we are certainly living up to our image of the ugly american :wow:

"Consider this: stay out of American electoral politics. Unless you would like a company of US Navy Seals - Republican to a man - to descend upon the offices of the Guardian, bag the lot of you, and transport you to Guantanamo Bay, where you can share quarters with some lonely Taliban shepherd boys.
United States"

and they wonder why they hate us :crazy:

well, the world got their lot as well. my advice, just imagine the advice coming from a Simpson's character and it will at least make you laugh instead of wanting to cut us off ;->

peace

[DaveSZ]

12. I actually agree with this guy:

"I just read a hilarious proposal to involve your readership in the upcoming US presidential election. At least, I'm hoping that it is genius satire. Nothing will do more to undermine the Democratic cause in Ohio than having patronising Brits wander around Clark County telling people how to vote. Just, for a second, imagine if the Washington Post sent folks from Ohio to do the same in Oxfordshire. I'm saying this as a Democrat, and as someone who has spent the last few years in the UK. That is, with all due respect. Please, please, be rational, and move slowly away from the self-defeating hubris.
United States"


And this guy:

"I enjoy reading your paper and agree with your politics, but this is really too much.Your plan, if carried out, will hurt the Bush opposition TERRIBLY. We cannot afford to have this associated with John Kerry or anyone else. It will be; the press is going in for a kill, days before the election.
United States"

[asthmaticeog]

13. Interesting that

UK "interference" in our electoral process is beyond the pale, but the USA can do whatever it wants in Iraq.

[MisterP]

32. and Putin can endorse Chimpolini

[Donkeyboy75]

14. This smacks of baiting.

They knew they would get some vitriolic responses, and who knows what was in those messages sent to the Ohio voters? I would be pissed if someone from another country told me how to vote (although I wouldn't reply in the aggressive tone others used), and I would expect foreign citizens to be pissed if I told them how to vote.

I am certain that many DUers would find it arrogant for us to tell those in other countries how to vote.

[DaveSZ]

15. And this guy...

Dear Guardian folks,
While I empathise with your plight, this attempt to influence voters by sending letters from foreigners will have a negative effect on your ultimate goal. You will cause people to empathise with the president, not the other way around. People will read these letters and say, "John Le who? Never heard of him, but who is he to tell me who to vote for?"
Ohio

[Donkeyboy75]

16. I must say, though, that Le Carre wrote a very good letter.

I would simply think that this campaign would backfire.

[ET Awful]

17. I especially liked . . .

"If it wasn't for America, you'd all be speaking German. And if America would have had a president, then, of the likes of Kerry, you'd all be goose-stepping around Buckingham Palace."

You mean a liberal like FDR?

LOL . . . these guys are really lacking in . . . everything that requires more than one brain cell.

[SeanOhio]

18. Mine made it!

I wrote the 5th one down.

[sweetheart]

20. congratulations

You are a bastion of goodwill.

Godspeed to you!

:party:

[SeanOhio]

26. Thanks--and most like it

I really think it's a good idea. The local paper ran a lead story on this last week--most people here in Clark County said they would be pleased to get a letter from the UK (sadly, I heard a lot of "As long as it's not from France . . .") Plus my medium-sized county is the only place where I've seen "Blair for President" bumper stickers.

[aeolian]

24. many of them actually do have more than one brain cell,

they just don't talk to each other.

[Maiden England]

19. I"m a Brit living in the US.

and this actually made me cry. That is a prime example of why, in the rest of the world, Americans are largely viewed as a unruly bunch of arrogant assholes. The nice majority get drowned out by the three knuckleheads with the largest larynx.

[hiphopnation]

22. Not suprised.

Disgusted? Yes. But not really all that suprised.

[aeolian]

23. As an American,

I would like to apologize to any and all Englishmen reading this board for the incredibly ignorant statements of some of my countrymen. These sentiments would have been more understandable in, say, 1792, or perhaps 1813.

But, unfortunately, that's where these people's minds still reside.

Again, sorry. We know there's a problem over here, and we're workin' on it.

[billyskank]

30. I don't think an apology is necessary

but thanks all the same. I think we owe you an apology for a very ill-judged article.

[billyskank]

29. I cringed when I saw the original article

I thought the idea of an article encouraging people to interfere in another country's general election was crass and always bound to provoke an angry response. I am very embarrassed about the whole thing and I don't blame any American for getting angry. Although I'm sure you're right that most of the angry responders are freepers - liberals probably would just ignore it and not bother to write.

[sweetheart]

35. Why be embarassed?

Americans readily meddle in foreign elections, shamelessly, and
British soldiers are being asked to cover for the understaffed
american military sent to iraq by american voters... which seems
to enfranchise, by natural law, the british people to a comment
in this election.

Given that britain is a follower in iraq and has not chosen the
conflict, it is every right of a taxpayer who funds a criminal war
to ask that those in charge hold the criminals to account. In this
case, those in charge might be swing state voters.

As a general axiom:
When the ugly right screams the loudest, your doing something right.

[baby_mouse]

36. Yes, I think this was a stupid idea

So patronising!

Can you imagine it?

"Dear America,

Even though you are very stupid and ignorant and not as cultured and sophisticated as us Brits, we've always thought that there was some sort of a sense of decency about some of you, having watched all the marvellous films you make like 'Monsters Inc' and 'It's a Wonderful Life'. Please don't feel you have to have an inferiority complex about not being European, many of us really like you, really, we do, honest! Well, those of you that are nice.

Knowing that it's important to keep channels of communication open, we thought we'd write to you to explain that you have to vote, and preferably for somebody with a bit of a British feel, and that lovely chap Kerry does seem to turn the trick. He even looks a bit British!

So off you go and sort yourselves out.

Yours sincerely,

The UK

PS Her Majesty was rather put out by all the mucking-up of lawns in the palace grounds caused by your Marines' helicopters last time they landed there. Please fit the landing struts with styrofoam padding."

[Amigust]

31. Will the complainers to the Guardian also

complain about US interference in the affairs of other countries?

[Democracy Died 2004]

33. One day we will

pay for the hubris of these morans. Oh wait we already did 09/11/01.

[Cleita]

34. Apparently, his voter base are society's dregs.

In a way I'm kind of happy that we don't have them in our camp.

[RollergirlVT]

37. what is up with teeth thing????

Since we all know these idiots probobly couldn't find texas on a map much less an EU country what would they know about the brits teeth?
Is that a freeper thing. They love the brits when they fight by bushes side then bitchslap them when they have an opinion. Fucking morons.