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Yes. America is still a viciously prejudiced country. It's amazing to think that it was lecturing
other countries on better treatment of minorities when it was still practicing overt
state-sanctioned racial discrimination against blacks as recently as the 1970s. When Ronald Reagan
rejected calls for sanctions against South Africa, he noted that the white South Africans were
essentially just like people in the American South.
It's clear that prejudice is still a powerful force in America from the simple fact that politicians
choose to exploit it. The Republicans cynically stirred up anti-gay bigotry over the gay marriage
issue just before the 2004 election because they thought it would help them win. Gay marriage has
been introduced in Europe, even in conservative areas like Bavaria, with barely a word of protest
from anyone.
In addition, the whole course of modern American politics has been shaped by bigotry. Since the 1968
election, there has been a Republican president about 70% of the time. This dominance was brought
about by the Democratic party's embrace of civil rights for black people. After that, the whole
Southern region of the country switched political allegiance. It was previously almost entirely
Democratic (because it was a Republican who started the civil war) and now it is entirely
Republican.
Even today we still see racial prejudice being exploited by politicians at the highest levels in
America. It's quite clear, for example, that the Republicans have been engaging in vote caging
operations for example, deliberately targeting blacks to try and get them kicked off the electoral
register.
The Americans like to accuse countries like France of being anti-semitic. Where in France or any
similar West European country do you see high level politicians deliberately trying to deny ethnic
minorities the right to vote?
In addition to prejudices against ethnic minorities, the US continually exhibits an extreme
nationalistic chauvinism unlike any other modern country. When I occasionally listen to phone-in
programs on C-Span or some radio program, I often think that a phone-in heard in Germany circa 1937
would have sounded very similar. |
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I am a bi-racial, bi-sexual crossdresser so when I disagree with you on this point it says a lot.
While I agree that America is discriminatory I do not think we are as bad as others. If I lived in
another country I wonder if I would be living at all. |
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I'm going to disagree with this one because i don't think America preaches anything... They just
consume... They believe very little, and they tend to be quite unaware of the concept of belief...
Maybe if they preached a little someone could catch them in a lie but they just invade, just steal,
just smile for the cameras, and pay the cameramen... I mean I'm an American but i gotta be with
michelle obama on this one and say I'm pretty embarrassed about America right now |
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Racism, xenophobia and homophobia certainly exist in the United States and there is no shortage of
racists. I do not, however, believe that the US is equally or more prejudiced that the countries it
preaches to. You can ask yourself: If I were a homosexual, would I rather live in the US, Russia or
in Iran? The answer is really quite obvious, since you might face discrimination in the US, but you
certainly won't be hanged from a crane for your sexual orientation, as you would in Iran. This may
be an extreme example, but let's look at a more moderate scenario. If you were a visible minority or
an immigrant, would you prefer to live in France, in a Parisian banlieu, or in the US, a country
which has a longer experience with both ethnic diversity and immigration?
The US clearly has its own problems when it comes to discrimination and xenophobia, but to claim
that the US is just as, or more prejudiced than countries like Russia, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, many
continental European and Asian countries is clearly false. |
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25 Mar 2008 02:11
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