Originally Posted by Maxwell
When pressed, I sometimes reply: "I don't hate America. In fact, think it's one of the best countries anyone ever stole." But, after the laughter dies down, I have a confession to make: If by "America" they mean the elected/appointed officials and the corporations that own them, well, I guess I do hate that America-with justification.
Among many reasons, I hate America for the near-extermination and subsequent oppression of its indigenous population. I hate it for its role in the African slave trade and for dropping atomic bombs of civilians. I hate its control of institutions like the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World Trade Organization. I hate it for propping up brutal dictators like Suharto, Pinochet, Duvalier, Hussein, Marcos, and the Shah of Iran. I hate America for its unconditional support for Israel. I hate its bogus two-party system, its one-size-fits-all culture, and its income gap. I could go on for pages but I'll sum up with this: I hate America for being a hypocritical white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.
After a paragraph like that, you know what comes next: If you hate America so much, why don't you leave? Leave America? That would potentially put me on the other end of U.S. foreign policy. No thanks.
240M3SRT is correct about the original population of the Americas. They had been fighting with each other for maybe thousands of years and would happily exterminate their enemies if given the chance. Whenever a static, more primitive civilization comes in contact with a more dynamic, forceful, and - most importantly - technically superior civilization then it is going to be in trouble. If Europe had discovered the New World 200 years earlier than historically the original inhabitants would very possibly have been exterminated during the settlement process (look at South American for an example). And please stop calling the original inhabitants "Native Americans". Anybody born in America is a "Native American" and I refuse to give up my birthright title just because my ancestors weren't here an extra 10,000 years or two.
The African slave trade was not something Europe came up with on a lazy weekend 300 years ago. It had been going on for centuries and was principally orchrestrated by Arabs. Europe/America did become a major, if not the major, market but it was also Europe/America that ended it too. By the way, the Arabs weren't particular about skin color and were just as happy to enslave a white European as a black African.
The atomic bombings were responsible for maybe 200,000 civilian deaths (killed outright or died later from radiation poisoning). This figure is peanuts compared to the number of civilians the Japanese killed during WWII. Ironically the bombings actually saved civilian lives by ending the war before Japan was invaded. The Japanese military had plans for using the civilian population as canon fodder and there was even consideration given to killing all of the old and very young since these age groups were the most military impotent of the population and yet needed the most resources.
If this guy thinks that the UN is controlled by America then he has some really serious reality issues to deal with. He hates America so much. but what a cop out for not leaving.