Germans blame 1/2 of Americans for US failures ...and spit on them.

[feistydem]

My friend, an American ex-pat living in Germany, wrote me that everyone he talks to there acknowledges that nearly half the voting population in the U.S. tried very hard to get Bush booted and put America on the right track. He also says that they send American Liberals their condolences. Apparently Germans want to know what side of the election he was on as soon as they meet him.

So now instead of traveling abroad with a Canadian flag on your pack, you need a AMERICAN LIBERAL ON THE LAM or a DON'T BLAME ME I VOTED FOR KERRY sticker on your forehead.

On the flipside, a Republican cousin who was recently in Germany, was spit on by the young woman serving him coffee when he told her that he thought Bush was on the "right track" in defending America.

Can we make Republicans wear a Bush/Cheney patch when they travel abroad? They all deserve to be spit on a lot.

[Catherine Vincent]

1. A co-worker of mine traveled to Europe for the holidays,

when I get back to work, I will ask him if it's as bad as they say it is.

[lib_1138]

2. This seems a little sad nt

[lib_1138]

3. This seems a little sad nt

[RandomKoolzip]

6. Yeah, well we did our level best to warn America, but they

wouldn't listen. We're ALL stuck with that shmuck now. And the republicans will reap what they have sown: Ill will.

[In Truth We Trust]

4. Now that is so good to read. I in my work I communicate with many European

people who are well educated and very well informed. Better in informed about American politics than the average freeper I would say.

These people are incredulous that we still have this fraWd in the White House.

[Mira]

5. I was in Germany in late November, and they think we are nuts.

I took my time, many times, to tell them that not only are we not nuts, we voted the chimp out, and that in spite of plenty of knowledge aforehand, the Democrats allowed themselves to get screwed, again, with underhanded fraudulent voting practices.

I found nobody who was surprised.

[Downtown Hound]

7. Good, let them reap what they've sewn

They go around the planet pissing everyone off, so they have absolutely no right to complain when they get a dose of it first hand. I've heard Republicans say we should bomb France, all because they wouldn't go along with our little imperialist war. They have that kind of attitude towards the world, either you're with us or you don't deserve to live. And they would no doubt be outraged by one of their own getting spit on like that. Oh, the savage Europeans they would no doubt whine.

Crybaby hypocrites, every last one of them.

[LynnTheDem]

11. Then they'll have to bomb 161 out of 209 countries.

Coz 161 out of 209 told bush HELL NO. Including both of the US's neighbors.

And none of the other nations who did cave in to bush had populations that supported bush's invasion of Iraq.

But imo this is THE most EXTREME HYPOCRISY I've ever seen; they chant on about "SPREADING DEMOCRACY", but the governments who EXERCISED DEMOCRACY by going with what the MAJORITY of THEIR OWN PEOPLE WANTED and said NO to bush...are the countries the rightwingnuts denigrate and want to bomb for not going along with bush!!!

The VAST MAJORITY of French citizens were OPPOSED to bush's illegal war of aggression. The French government should have IGNORED the VAST MAJORITY of their people to do what BUSH wanted?????!!

THIS would have been "SPREADING DEMOCRACY"????? :wow:

I mean HELLO YOU INCREDIBLY STOOPID RIGHTWINGNUTS!!!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. I've mentioned before that when I was in Japan in September,

every Japanese person with whom I had a substantive conversation (and that included translation customers as well as friends and chance acquaintances) wanted to know whether I was a Democrat or a Republican. When I said that I was a Democrat, they kind of relaxed, as if to say, "Good, you're a reasonable person then."

[Generic Other]

62. Yes! My mom took Kerry stickers and everyone wanted one!

They stuck them on their cars!

[LynnTheDem]

9. I blame 1/2 of Americans for US failures...and spit on them.

*SPIT*

[T Town Jake]

10. "and spit on them"...don't buy it for a second.

...this sounds more like the urban legend still current about Vietnam Vets being "spit on" when they got home.

But nice try.

[LynnTheDem]

13. Oh yeah I buy it.

We lived over a decade in Europe. When they have a bee in their bonnet, they're not very reticent about showing it. And WOWZAH do they detest bush.

Especially in Germany where Hitler is still very much a "national shame" felt by many young & old. And the Germans do see something familiar about bush.

[T Town Jake]

14. Uh-huh...

(n/t)

[LynnTheDem]

16. Well...

We lived there for 12 years until recently, but hey, WTF do I know.

You must know far better than I...how long did you live in Europe for?

[T Town Jake]

17. You misunderstand me...

...not only do I not buy most of what the OP is peddling; I don't buy a word of what you are either.

BTW, I lived in "Europe" long enough to know that Germans don't react like that in a social situation - and I suspect that if I'd spent ten seconds in "Europe" that'd be ten seconds longer than you did. eom.

[LynnTheDem]

18. Oh really??? How I'd just LOVE to bet you on that, dear.

My military husband was with the 4th ID at the Pioneer Kaserne base in Hanau, Germany.

We first lived, for 3 years, in Bad Soden-Salmuenster, Germany.

We then moved to a house in Maintal--B'sheim.

I worked as CFO with K-Tel International GmbH in Kronberg, Germany.

I worked in Frankfurt, Germany, as CFO, with U.J. Mueller GmbH.

Any other proof you'd like?

This is a first for me! Until now, I've only ever had rightwingnuts calling me a liar.

[LiviaOlivia]

20. It sure is nasty around here lately.

I agree with you Lynn. :)

[LynnTheDem]

22. It really is nasty lately.

I'm still in a bit of shock; that really is the first time anyone other than a rightwingnut has called me a liar!

It wasn't a lot of fun, in 2003, when I was posting all over the net opposing bush's illegal war of aggression and MY GAWD the crap I got from rightwingnuts! I was called a "liar" and demanded I show proof that:

-my hubby was military
-he was in Iraq
-I was female
-I live in Texas
-I had lived in Europe & the UK
-I had US citizenship

Everything BUT what I was actually posting about (the ol' attack the messenger rightwingnut bullshit).

It totally freaked me out, the way they went after ME, personally, and to call me a liar! I've never been treated that way in my life.

And for me to now be called a liar by someone supposedly a progressive???!! WHY on earth would I lie about where I've lived, anyways????!!

I suppose some people have had a lot of bad experiences being lied to, so their response to anything anyone says is just to call them a liar. Well, there goes my previously held belief that only rightwingnuts acted in such a manner. :D

[mogster]

27. Please come back to Europe sometime, LynnTheDem :-)

We like gals that speak up and confronts the RW :-D

[LynnTheDem]

28. We never wanted to leave!

Damn US military made us go. :(

And when we found out hubby's orders were for Texas...a few tears were shed.

We never got to Norway. A colleague of mine (Germany) went every year for holiday; she was learning Norwegian, said it was very difficult. I wanted to see Denmark, too, and never got the chance.

12 years is not long enough to see everything!

We sure had a fantastic time though; on weekends whentwe had nothing else to do, we used to drive to Strasbourg, France, just for bread & cheese, and to feed the swans. One time we took a US military pal's wife with usand on the way home we decided what the heck, let's pop into Switzerland! LOL! So we did, had a hot choccie each. :D I still have the highway sticker on my car window.

We had a Brit friend rooming with us for awhile; one weekend we decided to all drive together to London. Hubby & I had always flown & wanted to do the Chunnel. I was using my Canadian passport (I have dual cit, US & Cdn) so here we were, my US hubby, our UK roomie, Cdn me, in my German auto. The guy at the Chunnel told us we had our very own UN going. :D

NEVER EVER again would I do that damn Chunnel! They came round, told us we had to roll down our auto windows & keep them down. I was dumb enough to ask why...coz the build-up of pressure, they said. That's when it really hit me that we were UNDER WATER...A LOT OF WATER!!! lol!

Our roomie was staying over in London, so it was just hubby & I driving back & we somehow missed our way. After awhile we stopped gossiping to each other & realized nothing looked familiar. Then we saw the sign "Willkommen...Niederland". Well OOPS! :D

On my first trip to Ungarn, scared myself silly! There I am, driving along, this is past Vienna, and it's all very flat land, no other autos around and the autobahn just goes on and on and on. Finally there was a road sign; Slovenia 29 km...! This was in 1998! I was so panicked, all I could think of was I'd missed my exit and now here I was driving right into a bloody WAR!!! rotfl!!! Another couple kms and my exit appeared. WHEW!


Anyways, we really had a lot of fun, made some great friends and really miss Europe. Maybe someday we'll get back! :)

[mogster]

31. LOL, it's short distances on the Continent

Me and some friends also almost ended up in another country once when driving in Europe :D

Ah, it's nice just to drive around and watch how other people live. And have fun.

Think I'm gonna travel to the US in a couple of years, and drive across the continent. Hopefully, this strange situation will blow over and we can all be friends like we used to. Doesn't look like it at the moment, but things will change, I guess.

Have a nice one!

[LynnTheDem]

34. Sometimes it's WAY TOO SHORT distances, lol!

Especially when there's a war going on. :D

You'll be shocked when you visit here, if you haven't been here before. It's just so HUGE compared to Europe. Every friend of ours who has come to visit has been stunned. Maps show it's big, but doesn't prepare people for just how big in person.

We're moving to Canada for good next year (hopefully! fingers, toes & any other crossable body parts crossed!) and at this point in time we're really looking forward to getting away.

Have a nice one yourself! :)

[mogster]

41. True :-)

Civil Wars happened upon by unfortunate map-reading may be a tad more than you'd expect from a holiday :D

I'll drive the Route 66, I think. A huge country it is, the US. I'm looking forward to seeing it, both the north and the south.
Guess it's different when you live there, uh? ;-)

Canada and canadians have really turned out to be good guys, sticking by their cousins in the US, here's a toast to them :toast:
Hope you get a nice time there, LynnTheDem. Is your hubby in Iraq? If so, hope he gets back allright :)

On topic:
I had a meeting with a couple of Americans last week. Never thought for a second wether they were Democrats or Repubs, really. It was all professional (computer-related) and, well, nice. I wonder if this was an issue on THEIR minds?
On a practical level, like person to person, I don't think politics at all. As it were, I just droned on about the geeky stuff (You get me started and you're lost...), filled them up with Christmas cookies and coffee, and wished them a good journey home :D

[Bouncy Ball]

51. (I think one is.)

[TheWatcher]

48. And where exactly did you live in Europe?

[formernaderite]

38. Nothing new here either....

the Europeans have always looked for something to gripe about. During the Carter administration I had a job that sent me to live in Bonn, Berlin, and Munich, Germany. I was always irritated at how forward they were in asking if I voted for Carter. Then they'd proceed in making fun of the way he spoke english. Their favorite line, was that they needed two translators to understand him, one to translate his southern english into standard english and the other to translate into german. Bashing Americans has always been a favorite european sport.

[American Tragedy]

23. Well, some urban legends are based in truth.

Although not the widespread incidence that tends to be described, I would be willing to believe that there may have been an isolated event in both cases.

[Bouncy Ball]

50. Been to Europe lately Jake?

Why don'tcha hop a flight to Germany and start telling people you voted for bush and you think he's just PEACHY?

Try it!

[eSTIV]

12. I also had problems

Last time I was visiting in Brasil. I ended up telling people I was Canadian, from Toronto.

sucks, really.

[cire4]

15. No dose of sympathy from me...

They deserve any mistreatment that they get. By voting for Bush, they are giving the rest of the world the finger. They constantly bash other countries and spit on the opinions of the people of those countries. Then they expect to travel to those same countries, prance around their cities, and be welcomed with open arms. Good luck!

Do us a favor Bush-voters...keep vacationing in Florida. Leave the world travelling to responsible and open-minded liberals as we desperately try to salvage the image of America and Americans abroad.

[rfkrfk]

19. German anger, is understandable

Germany, once a proud country, unfortunately,
now has the international influence of an amusement park.
Sad, that their only effect on the world is by yelling at
the US.
.
There are times, when, you have to take matters
into your own hands. Somebody tell Germany.

[Oversea Visitor]

24. I rather tell you

I am an anti bush and what he represent is disgusting so there you are

YELL AT GERMANY ... keep up the goodwork

[Bouncy Ball]

52. Hey rfkrfk

How about a nice steaming cup of SHUT THE FUCK UP?

Oh and fuck you.

[rfkrfk]

54. With the decline of the Soviet Union

Germany is just another place.
'Leader' of Europe...
.
ya, whatever

[NuttyFluffers]

56. hmm, germany should still be 3rd largest economy.

right behind usa and japan.

but obviously they are still 'just another place.' :eyes:

i think i'd rather 'ya, whatever' you, as you obviously make no sense.

[American Tragedy]

21. I've never understood the point of pretending to be Canadian or whatever

Why should I be ashamed of an aspect of myself that was determined before I was even born? I am an American, I could never change it even if I wanted to, and I'm not going to fucking apologize for that. It's as irrational as being ashamed of my gender or the color of my skin.

In any case, I never had any problems in Europe. When I was in Germany just last year, not a single person ever came close to guessing which part of the world I was from, though I didn't try to conceal it. Even when I informed them of my origin, they gave me no trouble, although discussions of my political affiliation definitely worked to my favor.

[dutchdoctor]

25. I'd never actually spit on a Republican American,

nor can I imagine any other dutch person doing that.
Not that we don't hate Bush or fear those American religious fundamentalists, we just don't spit on people period.
Putting a DON'T BLAME ME I VOTED FOR KERRY sticker on your backpack is actually a very good idea though, it might get you lots of interesting conversations and a friendly welcome!

[mogster]

26. I agree with you, doc :-) n/t

[area51]

30. Welcome.

Welcome to DU, dutchdoctor.

[Kahuna]

36. Welcome to DU, dutchdoctor! We love..

having international members! :toast:

[tngledwebb]

29. Notice how little they travel these days?

Bush and this admin is hated everywhere.
Until coup 2000, the American public was often disliked overseas, ridiculed but tolerated and even envied, if we chose to leave our borders, but since the Iraq slaughterhouse began, we are more despised than ever.

This is intentional- BFEE wants us all to stay put in our giant ugly Gitmo between two oceans, and keep well away from other democracies that have true freedom of speech.

[radric]

32. "Germany once a proud country"?...

we talking about the same country that 60 years ago came up with the "Final Solution"? The same one that killed millions of Russians in their eastern campaign? The same one that invaded France, Poland, Belgium in 1939-1940? The same people who lined the streets cheering for Der Fuhrer? I'm sorry, I have a feeling the world will need more time before they look at Germany without thinking about it's recent history.

[tngledwebb]

33. I don't think you were responding to my post

but oddly enough Germans are not universally well-liked on the continent, and there are many lessons to be learned there.

[LynnTheDem]

35. Yes Germany was once a proud country...and the USA has a few splinters

to remove from its own eyes right now.

The world will need a lot more time before they look at America without thinking about our recent history.

[Kahuna]

37. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. That doesn't..

just apply to Germans following a loonatic. All countries should remember the history of Germany. The Germans are graciously trying to warn us that we are in peril of repeating their mistakes. I have a great respect for that. It makes me believe that they realize their mistake. And that they too are saying, "never again."

[Lydia Leftcoast]

47. I once heard a historian talk about Germany

He noted that before World War I, Germany was the world's top nation for science, medicine, social welfare programs, and classical music. German was the most popular modern language studied in the United States.

By getting into World War I and later following Hitler into World War II, they ruined their international reputation and are only just beginning to get it back.

There's a lesson here.

[Jesus H. Christ]

44. The Germans have honed up to their mistakes.

Unlike Americans.

[Bouncy Ball]

53. What a bigoted post.

[mare]

57. germany is also the country that

gave the world Martin Luther, Mozart, Goethe, Schiller, Beethoven, Schubert, Albrecht Dürer, Friedrich Nietzsche and lots of more very famous people.

I'm sorry, but I'm sick and tired of having my country been reduced to it's recent history. Yes, it was a terrible time and I would never try to lessen that. But it's NOT everything there is about Germany.

[Karenina]

58. Errraaa... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

was born and died in AUSTRIA. His father Leopold was from Augsburg but found work in Salzburg over a decade before his little prodigy popped out.

[Kellanved]

60. This is a moot point

There was no such thing as "Germany" in Mozart's time. However, even most Austrians agree, that Mozart would have described himself as "German". The nationality of Hitler is a totally different story -of course.

[GOPBasher]

39. LOL That's awesome. :-)

[Forkboy]

40. I feel like spitting on Repubs too

[genius]

42. Tell your friend "thank you" for making us liberals feel better.

[DemoTex]

43. GOPers should wear a scarlet letter.

"W"

[Withywindle]

45. Not Europe, but...

...my relatives in Brazil feel the same way. When I was there this summer Mom and I went off on this whole thing to them about how the 2000 election was stolen and this one might be too, and they just nodded sadly. Their own CIA-backed coup wasn't quite so sugar-coated as ours, but I think they were still glad to see that at least some Americans recognize the signs.

Indulging in naivete is a luxury. I'm glad people in other countries won't coddle Americans who wallow in it.

I'm also glad I have so many Kerry buttons and anti-Bush buttons. Very useful for traveling. :thumbsup:

[mtnester]

46. Friends of mine all over Europe are united in the following:

In 2000, they realized we had been duped, did not blame US citizens because they figured they would make sure it did not happen again

NOW, they blame US citizens....we let it happen again. And there is not much mercy in their thinking on this.

They also relay to me that this thinking is not limited to just them, it encompasses most all European and old continent citizens.

[Bouncy Ball]

49. Wow.

You'd think he'd have more sense than to go around telling people in Europe that he likes bush! LOL!

For any lurking right wingers, it might be good to remind you at this point that YOUR STUPID ASS IDIOT started all this acrimony with our ALLIES (former allies?).

SO THANKS A WHOLE HELL OF A LOT, ASSHOLES.

[ArkDem]

55. Germany has a long history of being loved by the rest of the

world.

[BlueStateGirl]

59. A good friend of mine went home to County Tyrone in Northern Ireland

for the Christmas holidys and came back with pretty much the same report. She said the mere sight of Bush on television was enough cause near riots in her local. People threw things at the TV, and she took no end of grief for living here.

[Warren DeMontague]

61. Wow. And the stupid freeper fucks wonder why women won't SLEEP with them.

Good. You can't give the finger to the rest of the world endlessly and then wonder why, gee whiz, "they don't seem so nice these days".

As for me personally, I'm not worried about that sort of thing. I don't even need a sticker; It's pretty damn obvious from the get-go which side I'm on.