Steve said:
General statements like this add nothing to any conversation. Could you provide details of the things that have nothing to do with Bush, or exactly why Latinos despise the US. Are you Latino or do you just have "friends"? Give some examples..
Uhh, Steve - you KNOW me. No, not Latino. But for example, my family has hosted and assisted Latins leaving their countries to set up shop here. It's always been a source of irritation to me that once they're established, they immediately bad-mouth their new country, and forbid their children to celebrate American holidays.
Steve said:
The thing I did notice during my travels, however, is the prevalence of "Americana", things like 7-11s, McDonald's, hotel chains, clothing, movies, etc. The governments and radical groups within these countries may be opposed to the US, but the people are far from it. I think the hatred that countries apparently hold for the US is one of simple jealousy of our freedoms, because that's the thing they lack most of all.
This is what is meant by "cultural imperialism" - the invasion of other cultures by our own. Personally I think a lot of it is crap, but this is one of the top complaints I get continually. When people were protesting the war, McDonald's in some of these countries got trashed (even though they are staffed by their own people). There's this love/hate relationship where, they love our movies, but hate the fact that it's all American, they have American biases, and in some cases, re-written history that favors Americans. (e.g. U-571).
They hate that we're the only nation, more or less, that shows no interest in their favorite sport. That we don't learn their language, when many of them learn English in grade school. That they're inundated with CNN, MSNBC and even FOX News, and know all about the U.S. - but that Americans don't give a hoot about any of their nations. That our papers rarely cover news of importance to THEM, such as international sports coverage or even something like a national election.
Now, there's admittedly more to this than meets the eye. Some years back, one major news outlet - can't remember which - did an opinion poll around the world, among the youth. In many nations we consider our *friends* - like Taiwan, for example - the majority had very poor favorabilty ratings regarding the United States. NOT with regard to our policy - but towards the people themselves. The common complaint was that we were an immoral and violent people. The follow up questions were even more interesting - an overwhelming number of those with unfavorable views of the United States did not know any Americans, hadn't MET a single American before, nor had any contact with an American. Where did they get their point of view? Movies and TV. Yeah. They dislike Americans because they think that crap on TV is accurate depiction of American life - well, plus their own media coverage with attempts to corroborate that view.
Varaints of the cultural imperialism charge is that, economically, we're bullies. We have the money and power, and we shove our weight around. Our policies regarding trade with Cuba make a good example.
Now, I'm not against the U.S. - I believe it is the greatest nation to ever emerge on this planet (even though many of my foreign friends get p*ssed even at THAT view, as if they don't have similar nationalistic sentiments of their own). But I do believe that international anger has less to do with George Bush and more to do with "America". WE care if there's a Republican in the White House. They care about as much as WE care which party is in charge of THEIR country. People here don't dislike France JUST because of Chirac.
And then you get the Americans who defend them and their beliefs. I would deport those people to France if I could!