To: tolerance, understanding and democracy: please return to sender

[SwordsMaster]

Hey,

Stumbled into this one recently, and initially wasn't going to post it, but then decided to have my name associated with some controversy, so here I am.

Don't know how many of you watch Top Gear, but this is a recent episode.

<Edit: Video removed from host>

Sorry.

[The_Doctor]

LOL , I should watch Top Gear more often.

[BDC]

Yes, that was classic.

Watch as tourism and foreign investment in Alabama plunge (further?).

Althought the New Orleans ending was a bit more moving. Even Clarkson looked a bit put off by the devastation.

[Louis VI the Fat]

OMG, that was hilarious!

And there I was, thinking hicks in pick-up trucks and ready to crash onto the scene at any time were just a movie cliche.


Ah, I feel like going on a rant about the deep south now, but I'll just quote this YouTube commentary instead: I've seen what happens when someone wears a Rangers shirt and walks into a Celtic pub.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Heh, I wondered if someone was going to post this.

It certainly doesn't paint the south in a very good light.

[Vladimir]

Wow, how lame. Aussies and Brits shouldn't try to offend Americans, they just embarrass themselves (where the hell are these guys from). "Country and Western is Rubbish?

Oh dear, I want to shoot them myself.

Haha, the lady called them out! And who tries to put diesel into their car?

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

I thought that was quite endearing, actually.

It's a prime time show, so they couldn't write 'Country and Western is ****'.

[Stig]

Ah America, the most democratic and free country in the world

[Sasaki Kojiro]

haha, that was awesome.

[Fisherking]

I thought the slogans were brain-dead. If they really wanted to get one another shot I am sure they could have done better.

They should try this out in Britton. I know they aren't much into interaction with strangers but I am sure there is a place or two in London where you might get dragged from your car and beaten for some inane slogan painted on your car.

Has it ever been a difficult task to find the violent streak in the human race?

[sapi]

I'll wait until this airs on aussie tv (we're half a series behind) but thanks for the tip

[mystic brew]

Racist slogans might do it in the UK...

But "Drum'n'bass is rubbish", or "Cameron for PM", or "Man Love Rules" isn't going to get it done.

Irony meters turned up too high.

[Justiciar]

They should try this out in Britton. I know they aren't much into interaction with strangers but I am sure there is a place or two in London where you might get dragged from your car and beaten for some inane slogan painted on your car.

Or in Ireland for that matter. Wouldn't dare fly St. George's cross over there. I had an argument with my ol' dad after watching that. He thinks this kind of behaviour is the reserve of interior Americans. I just think all rural folk are backwards and prone to bigotted outbursts.

[Sir Moody]

Or in Ireland for that matter. Wouldn't dare fly St. George's cross over there. I had an argument with my ol' dad after watching that. He thinks this kind of behaviour is the reserve of interior Americans. I just think all rural folk Humans are backwards and prone to bigotted outbursts.

fixed it for you

[Prodigal]

Althought the New Orleans ending was a bit more moving. Even Clarkson looked a bit put off by the devastation.

I thought that too, then after they'd given away 2 of the cars for free & switched back to the studio it turned out a lawyer turned up & threatened to sue because Clarkson had claimed his car was an '89 when it was a '91, (but the suit could be made to "go away" for $20k). Then a pickup full of armed men appeared to told them to get off their street...I wish I could remeber Clarkson's quote early on in the show saying what he thought about the US.

Anyway, loved the show, the best parts had to be driving along with the shower unit on, & turning up with the cow on the roof.

[Don Corleone]

I thought the slogans were brain-dead. If they really wanted to get one another shot I am sure they could have done better.

They should try this out in Britton. I know they aren't much into interaction with strangers but I am sure there is a place or two in London where you might get dragged from your car and beaten for some inane slogan painted on your car.

Has it ever been a difficult task to find the violent streak in the human race?

Nope, it's just Americans. It's a proven fact that Europeans are superior to Americans in every way. And it's not just rural small-town folk, that could have been Senators Hatch, Cornyn and McCain rolling up in the back of that truck (the pitbull was a nice touch).

I get the joke, but frankly, if this is what you guys do for yourselves for entertainment, you've got issues. Go ahead and mastrubate yourselves silly about how base and ignorant Americans are and how superior you all are. Last I checked, we haven't burned down a discotech with 300 immigrants inside (how's the Gothenberg police coming with that investegation, anyway?) We don't paint swaztikas all over Jewish cemetaries either, but I guess that's high-brow racism, cause it happens in France.

[Sir Moody]

Don... its a BBC program ie UK not France or Germany hell half of the UK seem to want us out of Europe entirely so take that rant to another thread...

[Don Corleone]

It's a common thread I see coming from over there, and Gothenberg is in Sweden, not Germany. I can't believe you'd allow a stupid Merican (a GWB voting one at that!) correct you on Geography.

My point is you all have plenty of rubbish in your own back yard, yet you insist on delighting yourselves as to how superior you are to America. We have 310 million people over here. Yes, you're going to find a few hayseeds. Its seems to be a favorite European pasttime to seek them out and hold them up as the evdientiary archetype (yes some of us dumb 'mericans know what dem words mean) of Americans and therefore, we all fall in somewhere along those lines.

And just for the record, the only time I've ever been accosted on the street (walking home from dinner, minding my own business) was in tolerant old Amsterdam, where a young Dutchy felt the need to follow my wife and I home screaming F-ing Americans, we're gonna f-ing kill you.... all the way back to my hotel. Also had 2 waitresses refuse to wait on me later that week. Now, there were also some very friendly, very nice people in Amsterdam. My point is, you find all kinds in all places.

These "Americans are such a bunch of dumb hicks" moments say more about you then they do about us.

[Don Corleone]

And if these guys wanted to really show they had balls, and not just make Americans look like a bunch of ignorant, violent apes, they could have shown some real cojones and gotten 3 seats, in the bleachers at Fenway Park on a Saturday afternoon. They then would have arrived at the ballpark dressed head to toe in Yankee gear and made disparaging comments about the Red Sox for the rest of the day.

Then I would be impressed with their bravery. Now, I'm just stung by the vision you Europeans seem to have of us, and it's one that comes up frequently.

[Sir Moody]

Don i think you are only helping the sterotype along here by Ranting about it - its a joke hell you should see some of the Top Gear jokes when Clarkson was driving through France - they were not trying to be "tough" its a Car show ffs they were being funny and making a joke i dont think they ever expected it to be taken seriously which is what the hamster tried to tell the people at the garage

don if you want us to stop tarring you with one brush stop doing the same to us

oh and

and Gothenberg is in Sweden, not Germany.

/Sarcasm no really is it? /Sarcasm off

I was talking about Europeans and France and Gemrany are no1 and 2 of the Sterotypical Europe you seem to think we live in

[Louis VI the Fat]

* squak, whine *

Oh lighten up. These guys are simply British Don. They are taking the piss. It's what they do, it's in their genes. Just tune into auntie Beeb any day of the week and you'll see where these guys are coming from. British humour and all that.

Now that I've learned from Sir Moody that these guys drove down France I'm just dying to see that show and find out what they came up with.

Just relax, half the people in this thread have already mentioned that these guys would get the same kind of result in either Glasgow, Britain itself, any rural area, or with any dumb humans anywhere.

[Don Corleone]

Squawk. Whine.

You have a point, Luigi. I can actually take a joke. It's just after 40 or 50 times, you start to wonder if it's a really a joke. Every 6 months or so, there's a thread about just how stupid and regressed Americans really are, and yes, like a sucker, I get into them every time. I guess I could prove how sophisticated and intellectual I am by laughing along and agreeing we're all a bunch of dumb fools, but I just can't seem to do that.

Anyway, we're not going to cross this divide. Europeans are going to continue thinking Americans are knuckle-dragging monkeys, and you're going to claim it's just a joke whenever we protest. God knows we make plenty of anti-European jokes over here, so I suppose it's fair enough, and it all washes out in the end.

I don't think the Hillary or Country Music comments would have been that dangerous. The guy with "Manlove rules" was in serious trouble.

I think the station owner got pissed not because of the comments themselves, but because she didn't like being laughed at as a dumb redneck (listen to her verbal barrage, she's actually pissed about the cameras and the "You think we're laughable, huh?" comments.

The klan arriving (and I have little doubt it was them or some associated group of like-minded individuals that arrived) was an interesting twist. I'm surprised they were dumb enough to throw rocks at a camera crew, but hey, they're klansmen....

[Louis VI the Fat]

I don't think the Hillary or Country Music comments would have been that dangerous. The guy with "Manlove rules" was in serious trouble.

I think none of these comments got or would've gotten them into trouble itself.

It was the deliberate provocative nature of it all that did it. These hicks aren't that stupid. They understood full well that three cars with 'vote Hillary', 'Country and Western is rubbish' and 'Nascar sucks' is a direct provocation. At them. And that it serves no other purpose than to start something.

No hick (well, few) will shoot anybody for simply supporting Clinton. They do respond when they are provoked. And when somebody pulls up into their town, their turv, to make a fool of them and their ways they'll respond allright.
This was also what I meant when I refered to walking into a Celtic pub (catholic football club) wearing a Rangers shirt (protestant football club). Few people will be beaten up simply for wearing the wrong football shirt. But when you deliberatly do so as a provocation, you know you'll be running for your life pretty soon.

[Don Corleone]

I think none of these comments got or would've gotten them into trouble itself.

It was the deliberate provocative nature of it all that did it. These hicks aren't that stupid. They understood full well that three cars with 'vote Hillary', 'Country and Western is rubbish' and 'Nascar sucks' is a direct provocation. At them. And that it serves no other purpose than to start something.

No hick (well, few) will shoot anybody for simply supporting Clinton. They do respond when they are provoked. And when somebody pulls up into their town, their turv, to make a fool of them and their ways they'll respond allright.
This was also what I meant when I refered to walking into a Celtic pub (catholic football club) wearing a Rangers shirt (protestant football club). Few people will be beaten up simply for wearing the wrong football shirt. But when you deliberatly do so as a provocation, you know you'll be running for your life pretty soon.

I didn't get your reference. I thought you had your American sports mixed up (the Celtics are the Boston basketball team, the Rangers are the New York City hockey team).

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

The Old Firm.

A little bit of info on the Celtic-Rangers rivalry, Don.

[Louis VI the Fat]

I was a bit lazy I guess. I'll quote myself and rephrase it properly.

Ah, I feel like going on a rant about the deep south now, but I'll just quote this YouTube commentary instead: I've seen what happens when someone wears a Rangers shirt and walks into a Celtic pub.

I could go on a rant about the deep south here. But wouldn't people respond like this in a similar manner elsewhere? You'll find the same sort of lower class people responding to provocation with physical threats everywhere. Fists, not wit, are their means of defense.

This tv-show could find themselves in the same situation without ever leaving the UK. Take for example this clever quote which I took from the same YouTube page as the video: I've seen what happens when someone wears a Rangers shirt and walks into a Celtic pub..
These presentators could simply walk into a catholic Glaswegian pub wearing an emblem of protestantism to achieve the same result. Or I could drive down to Orange or Marseille, paint some fine references to pied-noirs or harkis on my hood and get myself into trouble really quick.

So no matter how ridiculous the agression of these trigger-happy hicks is, there's really no point in turning this into a dismissal of the South at large.

See?

[English assassin]

These presentators could simply walk into a catholic Glaswegian pub wearing an emblem of protestantism to achieve the same result.

Actually that wouldn't be funny. Death or serious injury would be nearly inevitable.

No one would be that mad. Not that you have to go as far as Glasgow. I remember walking down the Kings road (in Chelsea) behind a beefy skinhead in a West Ham top, with a pit bull on a lead. He was merrily shouting out "Chelsea are ****. Chelsea are ****." (Shakespeare lives!)

Now, at the top of the Kings Road you are about as likely to meet a Chelsea headhunter as you are to meet a Wildebeest. In fact you have to get a long way down before that is much of a risk, (the mad fans, not the wildebeest) but before that bit, only a part of the way down the road, there is a pub, the Trafalgar, which is as close to rough as it gets around there. (Ie what anyone else would call "normal".)

Aha, I said to my wife, lets see what he does when he gets near the Trafalgar.

Wisely, matey shut up, and crossed the road to boot. Otherwise he would have got a beating.

So there you go Don, you could get you head kicked in on the Kings road if you annoyed people enough.

[Redleg]

Whats interesting is that the video has now been removed from the site.

For violations of the user agreements.

[Tribesman]

rant away Don , but don't you think this.....

We don't paint swaztikas all over Jewish cemetaries either, but I guess that's high-brow racism, cause it happens in France.

......is an incredibly stupid statement ?

And who tries to put diesel into their car?

Hey Vlad , its a big world outside your bedroom .
diesel in cars like OhmyGod whatever will they think of next , its like just soooo kinda ridiculous

[Don Corleone]

rant away Don , but don't you think this..... ......is an incredibly stupid statement ?

I don't, but I'm not surprised to see you jump on this particular bandwagon.

Perhaps I'm projecting, but in the mindset of the average European, I see a superiority complex that I believe is unfounded. You seem to believe that Americans are more ignorant, more given to predjudices and are less civilized than the rest of the Western world.

This television program may have been a joke. Goofball's thread on Evolution last August may have been a serious attempt at sociology. But at the end of the day, for every example you cite against us, I can find one to act as a correlary in Europe (and if I looked hard enough, I'm sure, Canada. Don't forget that Navaros is Canadian).

I do take people in this country to task for making jokes about Europeans, and by the same token, I'm not going to sit back and play the good little Neanderthal for your entertainment, just to prove I can take a joke. I can take a joke. I can take 5 jokes. But when it becomes an endless litany, I'm going to take you to task on some of the messes in your own backyard.

The fact is, about every 4 or 5 months, there's some act of anti-semitism or the like over in Europe (desecrated Jewish cemetaries are just one example). I don't think you're any worse off than we are. God knows we have plenty of bigots over here. But I don't think you're any better, either, and if I can challenge your pre-conceived notion that you are, I will.