Seven Things You Can't Say About the United States

numan · Dec 30, 2016

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SEVEN THINGS YOU CAN'T SAY ABOUT THE UNITED STATES

1. The USA is dominated by lunatic, uneducated, hysterical dorks

That is obviously untrue. · · · :unsure:

2. The so-called "American Revolution" was a murderous, Terrorist Uprising led and financed by a gang of well-heeled thugs, who, mainly for personal gain, encouraged a spree of murder, torture, destruction of homes and property, and turning a large proportion of their countrymen into refugees fleeing to other lands for protection -- all over trivial and picayune taxes which were obviously merely the most transparent of excuses for their barbaric lawlessness.

This statement is outrageously untrue within the borders of the United States, and patently true and obvious in the rest of the world.

3. The United States Constitution defines an archaic, outmoded, sclerotic framework of government which is increasingly unworkable and dangerous.

Which is simultaneously divinely inspired and the highest political achievement of all human history.

4. The general culture of America is one of barbarism, where the values that make cultures important in history are systematically undermined and derided, and replaced by ephemeral trivia like sports, "music" which is just anaesthetic noise, and a kaleidoscopic flickering of vapid celebrities and instantly forgotten pseudo-news which serve the purposes of subliminal brainwashing and reducing the populace to a state of coma.

The "culture" of the United States clearly demonstrates why the term "popular culture" is an oxymoron.

5. The United States is out of step with the rest of the world -- very negatively so.

Americans can't even use the metric system!!
But that is nothing compared to harboring a militaristic cancer on the body politic, a military-industrial complex that sustains itself by fomenting wars, death and destruction all over the world and bleeds the American people white. It spends more on war than all the rest of the world put together.
The USA imprisons a greater percentage of its population than any other country, and incredibly more than any other industrialised country. It has replaced Russia and China as being the Gulag of the World.
Something even so elementary as a sensible medical insurance system, which every other advanced country has had no trouble in creating, is apparently beyond the political competence of the American system.

6. America is marked by corruption and lying in almost every aspect of its existence.

The very notions of honesty and truth seem to have disappeared -- except when they are mocked and despised.

7. American society is violent and lawless, and people are constantly brainwashed to live in fear -- they are easier to control that way. At the same time, the organs of political power are recklessly militaristic, and pursue a policy of brainwashing the populace to regard as "heroes" the minions of government who rampage in foreign countries, murdering and terrorising ordinary, innocent people.

Most of the population is so brainwashed that they cannot recognise blatant fascism when they see it.
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David · Dec 31, 2016

I mostly agree but the US has been on metric for decades. Its just not used exlusivly (except soda oddly).

ThirdTerm · Dec 31, 2016

2. The so-called "American Revolution" was a murderous, Terrorist Uprising led and financed by a gang of well-heeled thugs, who, mainly for personal gain, encouraged a spree of murder, torture, destruction of homes and property, and turning a large proportion of their countrymen into refugees fleeing to other lands for protection -- all over trivial and picayune taxes which were obviously merely the most transparent of excuses for their barbaric lawlessness.

I was educated in England but I first started off as a language student in California, which has made me familiar with the alternative views on American independence. It's similar to the issue regarding Japan's colonial rule over Korea. Some say South Korea is a developed country now because of the colonial era which transformed a backward country into an industrialised state. But this historical view is banned in Korea and Japanese colonial rule has to be overly barbaric when it's taught in Korean schools.

tecoyah · Dec 31, 2016

As with everything in History there is both Good and Bad to be found when one decides to look for it.

David · Jan 1, 2017

I've always wondered what the British view of Independence was in school. I'm an American (with the American education that entails) with a pro-British view so I can't imagine that the British view is anything but unpleasant.

numan · Jan 5, 2017

David said:
I've always wondered what the British view of Independence was in school. I'm an American (with the American education that entails) with a pro-British view so I can't imagine that the British view is anything but unpleasant.

Most Brits could not care less about the Terrorist Insurrection of 1776 (aka the American Revolution) --- after all, the major event of 1776 was the publication of Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

By the way, the general estimate of the percentage of colonists who supported the Terrorists is about one-third. One-third were Loyalists, and the remaining one-third were the real Americans --- they just didn't care.
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numan · Jan 9, 2017

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You should read the real history of the Terrorist Insurrection that founded the USA.

A lot of it was like what happened in Iraq.
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tecoyah · Jan 10, 2017

Aufgeblassen said:
BTW: I am quite the Patriot! Just ordered a 13-star flag, and a DON'T TREAD ON ME one too! (along with a flagpole)

This does not a patriot make and generally speaking anyone who feels the need to say they are a patriot does not quite fit the bill.

numan · Jan 11, 2017

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THE GODFATHER
　
Boston Tea Party Historical Society ---- John Hancock - Smuggling Powerhouse
　

John Hancock did not directly participate in the Boston tea party. But he stood to lose the most from the East India Company imports of English tea to Boston. On the other hand Samuel Adams who led the Mohawks aboard the British ships was so close to John Hancock that Bostonians even joked that "Sam Adams writes the letters [to newspapers] and John Hancock pays the postage". You do the math.
　
John Hancock was a wealthy shipping magnate, who made the bulk of his money illegally by smuggling. Many colonials were smugglers, Hancock just happened to have a flair for it. Because the ever-tightening British policies that came about after the French and Indian War were aimed at his sort, he wholeheartedly took part in the call for Revolution.
　
It was a well known fact that John Hancock had made his fortune through smuggling Dutch tea, which was cheaper than East Indian tea. A commonly forgotten fact is that East Indian prices were cut before the introduction of the three pence tax, in effect making its price, even with the tax, cheaper than Hancock’s tea. Presented with this information, many loyalists did not wonder at Hancock’s involvement in the boycotting of East Indian tea and indeed, the entire war.
　
After he inherited a fortune in his mid-20s, this elegant dandy nearly single-handedly bankrolled the early protests in Boston.

　
He also pretty much bankrolled the Continental Congress [Remember his signature on the Declaration of Independence? -- disgustingly vain little traitor, much like Trump] ---- at least during the early stages of the Terrorist Insurrection.
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numan · Jan 12, 2017

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I doubt that the many thousands of Loyalists who were forced to abandon their property and flee from their native land would have thought it was not terrorism! Historians estimate that at least a third of the colonial population did not support the treasonous Insurrection, and no more than a third were in favor of breaking their traditional ties with the Mother Country. It is a matter of undisputed historical record that, in many areas, the majority of the population rejected the Insurrection and supported their traditional government.

The Insurrectionists reacted to this by killing peaceful, law-abiding Loyalists, burning their homes and farms, stealing their livestock and property, and driving them into exile. Perhaps you do not call this terrorism, but I do.

And is a rational person to believe that these crimes were justified because the East India Company was selling tea at a lower price than the smuggled Dutch tea from which the Mafioso of Boston, John Hancock, derived his illicit profits? Hah!

Moreover, the Loyalists were not compensated for their lost property, even though this was a provision of the peace treaty which the new American government signed with the Mother Country.

Every country inculcates national myths which are demonstrably false, but which the uncritical masses accept as gospel truth. The United States is no different in this regard than any other country. (Though falsehoods seem to be believed with greater fervor in the USA than elsewhere) ---

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numan · Jan 12, 2017

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Well, if you are intellectually lazy enough to rely on Wikipedia!! On the other hand....

What Actually happened to the Loyalists?

But what happened to the Loyalists was similar to what happened in Europe to the Jews during the 2nd World War and would have probably experienced the same fate, had the most venerable of them not fled, (mainly to Canada). The expression ‘Lynch Mob’ comes from the American Patriot Judge Lynch who hung anyone suspected of being a Loyalist with impunity. Such was the zealous behaviour of some rebels they not only forced mothers to witness the hanging of their Loyalist sons, rebel fathers would actually hang their own Loyalist sons. Black Loyalists were not only hung but their bodies were also publicly burnt.

The USA had even attempted to cut off a retreat for the Loyalists, by invading Canada with a large force, but a combination of the US troop’s long march through Maine’s wilderness led by Benedict Arnold, Carleton’s defensive tactics and a blizzard fortunately thwarted them.

Those loyalists that hadn't fled to the relative safety of British held areas e.g. New York hoping to avoid being dispossessed, ran the risk of torture or even murder.
At the formal end of the war at treaty of Paris, the British gave the Americans very generous settlement terms on the understanding that they would earnestly recommend that the Loyalists would have their land returned to them or receive fair compensation for such, the Americans reneged on this, with only South Carolina making any real effort to compensate them. Unbelievable excuses were given why they broke this agreement, e.g. there was no national government so the states had no need to accept any recommendations from Congress, despite it being the same people in Congress making the recommendations that when in the national government they rejected it – Another was: it gave opportunities to others, which is the same as saying a theft gives opportunities to others.

But the consequence of this mentality was pathetic wagon trains of Loyalist women and children moving north and a bigoted sense of freedom its legacy.
Any that returned to seek redress found their persecution was as fierce as ever.
So about 100,000 of them that would not live in fear of their lives or with no rights fled mainly to Canada to set up enduringly loyalist towns....

Most people in Vermont did not take part in the rebellion and wanted to remain independent or even part of Canada, but were threatened by Washington and forced to join the USA, so 8000 of its settlers moved just across the border into Canada, where they set up the eastern townships in order to escape the chaos, taxes and anarchy that had become rife in the new US.

An indication of what life was like in the new USA is an armed uprising took place in Massachusetts from 1786 to 1787 against crippling taxation which had caused most to fall deeply in debt and then as a consequence faced them with either imprisonment or their property confiscated for the state to sell. This popular rebellion led by Daniel Shays, was crushed when nearly all of its leaders were caught and sentenced to death, Daniel Shays died in dire poverty....

The final injustice was that the loyalists were made to disappear and what force of arms could not erase, US historians have so diligently buried, so that their persecution remains ignored and forgotten.

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numan · Jan 12, 2017

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Once again, they were not few: estimated to be between 60,000 to 100,000 persons, a considerable fraction of the colonial population.

And they fled for the same reasons that people fled from Iraq and Syria: TERRORISM !!
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David · Jan 12, 2017

And this is why the argument against the legality of the CSA always amuses me. Point this out and you'll get a 'might makes right' argument, all pretence of principle and patriotic duty abandoned.

numan · Jan 13, 2017

Denying Facts is a Cardinal Sin

Aufgeblassen said:
No, they fled because they didn't want to get INVOLVED!!!

The Revolutionists fought against the Loyalist Army. NOT against private citizens that did NOT take arms!-hello?!

Completely false. They fled because they were being murdered, tortured, and having their farms and houses burned down.

There was no Loyalist Army; there was a British army. Those fighting against the colonial government most certainly did attack private citizens that did not take arms.

No matter how many times you deny the facts, it does not change them.

I am not pointing out these facts because I want to rain upon your warm, fuzzy Patriotic feelings, but because you are denying simple facts, and everywhere people are denying facts, there the country is being destroyed.
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David · Jan 13, 2017

numan said:
Completely false. They fled because they were being murdered, tortured, and having their farms and houses burned down.

There was no Loyalist Army; there was a British army. Those fighting against the colonial government most certainly did attack private citizens that did not take arms.

No matter how many times you deny the facts, it does not change them.

I am not pointing out these facts because I want to rain upon your warm, fuzzy Patriotic feelings, but because you are denying simple facts, and everywhere people are denying facts, there the country is being destroyed.
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I guess he doesn't consider tar and feathering attacks. Never mind that the victims were horrifically burned and scarred for life.

numan · Jan 13, 2017

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Ripe for Mischief

The revolution was propagated at the grass roots level in part through vigilantism and varities of terror. Those who failed to follow fell afoul of local Revolutionary Committees for uttering the wrong words in the wrong places, for not celebrating the right victories enthusiastically enough or in some cases simply because they were disliked by their neighbours. The Sons of Liberty became self-appointed enforcers who appealed to patriotism to justify their barbarous behaviour and lawless rampages. Sons of Liberty, the radical extremists of the Whigs, created the terror which all mobs incite when they overthrow authority and take the law into their own hands. The brutish mobs included rabble from the docks and city slums who bristled with envy and hatred at anyone with wealth....

There are none so blind as those who will not see.

All you need to do is Google loyalists terrorized American Revolution to find unending reports and studies of the well-established historical facts.

David · Jan 14, 2017

They were nothing but fat cat tax evaders and a bunch of duped peasants willing to kill and die for them in the name of 'freedom' that only the fact cats actually enjoyed after independence. America mostly worked out after almost 2 centuries of 'The People' clawing away the rights of the elites (several civil wars were involved) but the Founders were almost exclusively criminal assholes. I'd say Jefferson (a classical liberal) and Paine (a [lower case c] communist) were the only Founders that actually believed their own propaganda.

numan · Jan 15, 2017

Aufgeblassen said:
The only so-called Loyalists (actually enemies of the United States) that were harmed, were undoubtedly ones that clearly were aiding the enemy (similar to current times when a U.S. born Citizen in the U.S. performing violent acts in the name of ISIS).

That is the logical fallacy of Anachronism.

At the time there was no United States, and hence no enemies to it.

There were colonials who were in insurrection against the established governments, colonials who supported the rebels, and there were colonials who supported the established governments and who did not think there were sufficient reasons to start a destructive civil war.

The non-insurrectionists outnumbered the rebels and their sympathizers two-to-one.

There is no way that the colonial traitors to the Mother Country would have succeeded in their insurrection if it had not been for the support of the French Monarchy.

At least two percent of the colonial population were driven into exile or voluntarily left the thirteen colonies rather than live under the control of the Insurrectionists. Rather a high price to pay for the British government giving the colonists a LOWER tax on tea than the slimy John Hancock wanted!

The percentage of Loyalist exiles was roughly comparable to that of Iraqis forced into exile by the American invasion of Iraq. Some of the violence perpetrated against the Loyalists was fully as vicious as that which occurred in the sectarian violence in Iraq.

My father's people settled in Virginia shortly after the founding of Jamestown. Southerners have traditionally been more sympathetic to the British cause than the Yankees have been. In the War of Northern Aggression, the South paid, and paid in full measure, for the disastrous victory of the French and their rebel hangers-on at Yorktown in 1781.

Loyalist (American Revolution)
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Seven Things You Can't Say About the United States

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