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Journal Ethelred Unraed's Journal: USA: A nation of pussies? 66

Journal by Ethelred Unraed

Yep, Ethelred is in a pissed off and not terribly rational mood. Time for a flamefest:

I put it to you that America has become a nation of pussies. To wit:

We're so scared our children will get hurt doing things that are a tiny bit dangerous that we have to regulate it.

We're so scared some terrrrrists might attack us that our 'fearless' leaders walk off with our rights and people justify it on the flimsy grounds "it might stop an attack".

We're so scared a doctor (who is only human) might mess up that some states have a severe shortage of OB/GYNs, because they can't afford the malpractice insurance anymore.

We're so scared of people who worship differently than we do that they are placed under general suspicion because of the actions of a whacked-out murderous few.

We're so scared of other people's driving that we hide behind the wheels of ever-larger SUVs in a false sense of greater security.

We're so scared that soldiers' lives may be lost -- which is a risk they chose to take, for better or worse -- that we, in a panic, call for withdrawal before a job is done, regardless of how misguided the job may have been in the beginning, or that we prematurely claim the mission was accomplished instead of facing the real dangers head-on, or whine about a lack of body armor when our pals the Brits don't even bother with helmets.

We're so scared of causing offense that people think twice about saying "Merry Christmas" -- or, conversely, we're so afraid of other people's beliefs that we take offense when hearing it.

We're so scared of criminals that we lock up more people than any other country in the developed world -- while still somehow managing to have much higher violent crime and recidivism rates.

We're so scared hard-working people willing to earn their keep will come in and 'take our jobs' that we're willing to chase them off at gunpoint in a nice bit of vigilantism -- thus breaking the law in order to notionally "enforce" it. So much for "I lift my lamp beside the golden door", hey?

We're so scared of debate that we hide behind name-calling, insults and slander, and revel in it when we see it on TV or hear it on the radio, rather than have the courage to engage in serious and honest debate. Of course, when there's an attempt to offer a more more open and serious forum, practically no-one watches it, such that it wouldn't survive without government funds and donations.

What the hell happened? How did we get from Jamestown and "Give me liberty or give me death" and Gettysburg and D-Day and the Apollo missions and "I Have a Dream" to being a nation of whining little shits cowering under our blankets? Gee, somebody might hurt me! But I've got a good lawyer, and I've got a gun!

Many times I've thought about how I'd like to return to America someday to stay. Then I read the news, or come home for a visit, and wonder what the fuck has gotten into people over there.

Of course, a Brit acquaintance pointed out something that hit a raw nerve. Compare how people around the world dress for their favorite sport. Now compare this to how Americans prefer to dress for their favorite sport, a cousin of the "other" sport everyone else plays. It does make you think, doesn't it?

Dear America: Please grow up. Thank you, and God bless.

/me dons his asbestos suit, realizes contact with asbestos is grounds for a lawsuit, and puts it aside

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USA: A nation of pussies? More

USA: A nation of pussies?

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  • Boys have very deep feelings. And it hurts us when you talk disparagingly of us while we try to balance traditional views of machismo and masculinity along with our deep and sensitive inner life.

    Now excuse me while I go to a wooded retreat to bang on drums and run around bare-breasted with other Deep Men. /MEkka FTW!
  • ...because you've only just barely scratched the surface and there's a LOT more to rant about.
    So get out there and rant more, you pussy! :-p
  • Folks get killed playing American football. Every year. The most dangerous thing about soccer are the fans. American football is a contact sport where career-ending injury is a common. Contact in soccer means people get carded and their mommies tell them to play nice or they'll have to sit out the rest of the game. The players in football are inhuman. 240 lbs linebackers run 4.4 40's now. The best wide receivers are over 6 foot and run a 4.2 and are solid muscle. Linemen average over 300 pounds. Vi
    • Contact in soccer means people get carded and their mommies tell them to play nice or they'll have to sit out the rest of the game.

      Really [360soccer.com]? You learn something new every day.

    • What about sports like Australian Rules or Rugby? Both are full-contact sports, neither use the level of protective equipment as American Football.
      • Isn't it said that soccer is the sport of gentlemen played by thugs and rugby is the sport of thugs played by gentlemen? I guess Aussie rules is the sport of Australians played in some sort of geodesic dome ;p

        I guess the difference is that American football has almost completely eliminated the lateral (its still valid but considered too prone to turnover) and forward kicks can't be made beyond the down line. That and the rules preventing offensive linemen from going down field leads to a lot of one on man
        • Isn't it said that soccer is the sport of gentlemen played by thugs and rugby is the sport of thugs played by gentlemen?

          Something like that, although the rugby players I have known haven't exactly been gentlemen.

          I have no idea what you were saying in the last two paragraphs though - what language is that? ;-)

          My point is that Soccer vs American Football is not a fair comparison. Your comparisons between the two are reasonably correct. Compare American Football to Rugby League or Rugby Union and things might
    • Rugby players do all the same, except without the body armour. Rugby is quite a violent contact sport. We had to play it at school (tr US: high school) and it wasn't uncommon for a few kids each year to have broken bones or parts of their ear ripped off! (I don't think a year went by when one of the school rugby players didn't suffer from a reasonably serious injury).

    • People get seriously injured in soccer as well, as Tet pointed out -- all the time. The thing about the padding and armor in American football is that it's really pointless: it's created an arms race, as players have to get bigger and bulkier, and they act with more impunity, which requires more padding and armor. At this rate, one of these days the NFL will introduce depleted uranium.

      The reason for such hits as you see in American football is just because the players think they can get away with it thank

      • The game itself -- sans armor -- is no more inherently dangerous than rugby or Ozball -- or soccer, for that matter. The armor is paradoxically what makes it dangerous, even though the intent was completely otherwise.

        Doesn't that kind of undermine what you said in the journal? ;) Oh wait, actually since you said this was a flame journal *checks number of replies you've got*. Heh, it seems you were right after all!
    • Someone who thinks American fans are worse than European soccer ones. [guardian.co.uk]

      Gazza's a legend. The best was in the 90 World Cup when the camera was panning over the team and they were supposed to lip sync their names and he instead mouthed "Fucking Wanker". It was used before every game the rest of the tournament.

    • Football has nothing on hockey for sheer violence and athleticism. Well, before they pussified the hell out of it. It's more athletic because it's far more aerobic, plays last a long time comparatively. Like Soccer, but soccer lacks the violence aspect.

      And violence, fuck, ever seen a guy get checked THROUGH the plexi-glass, or the age old hockey-player toothless grin? Or team on team fights? The only reason there aren't more career-ending injuries in hockey is you get penalized for going for the sensit
  • "I'm Ethelred. I'm such a pussy I ran off to live in a country with cradle to grave socialism because I can't even get through a little bout of flu on my own." :)
  • believing what the media tells you. Especially non-US media commenting on the US. Do us a favor. Don't come back. You've become a furriner. You probably have started to dress funny and no longer use contractions.
    • I heff not a problem mit ze verrink of lederhosen [wabashweb.com], you prejudiced Merrican pig-dog [jamesfaqs.com]!

      Ja, ja, ja, ja, weißt nicht wie gut ich dir bin...

      Prosit,

      Ezzelrhett

      • at some point, we need to discuss national costume. Because i own lederhosen, but don't know what kind of bouse to wear with them. Plain white cotton shirt??

        • For one thing, Lederhosen usually aren't worn by women. (Which is not to say you can't or shouldn't, just pointing it out.) Germans who wear Tracht (traditional clothing) are very picky about gender roles (it's usually only the more old-fashioned conservative types -- sort of like cowboy boots and Stetsons in America), so men wear lederhosen and women wear a Dirndl [www.kfj.at]. The Dirndl comes in a lot of variations -- each region, even each village has its own local variation, which in turn varies based on the purp

          • Lederhosen usually aren't worn by women.

            What have i ever said to convince you that i was a woman?

            Silly Ethelred.

            Think of me as a pretty boy in a dress.

            Er, except for the dress part. I mean, i do have dresses, but i'm wearing pants. I really am! No, don't call the nice people with the tranq darts again, i'll behave, i promise. I won't even jump in the fountain this time.

            The lederhosen are lavender leather, which is vaguely appropriate, all things considered. They still fit me, which is funny because the res
            • What have i ever said to convince you that i was a woman?

              Great Scott! I forgot that gay marriage is mandatory in Massachusetts!

              The lederhosen are lavender leather, which is vaguely appropriate, all things considered.

              Ah, clearly your relationship with blinder is getting deeper. You're already wearing his clothing.

              So i'll tell blinder his silly look with the long sleeves and short pants* started in lederville. He'll be thrilled.

              He can complete the look by wearing socks and sandals.

              (Frightenin

  • You hit it right on the nose...from 1996-1999 I was part of the Marine Security Guard program at the US Embassies in Pakistan and Peru (where I met my wife, but that is a different story). The whole time overseas, while I was enjoying myself, I could't wait to get back to my home country where people drove sanely, were courteous, we had a democracy, etc. I was sorely dissapointed when I returned to see how much my country had changed in just the 3 years I was oveseas. That was 1999, in my not-so-humble o
    • You hit it right on the nose...from 1996-1999 I was part of the Marine Security Guard program at the US Embassies in Pakistan and Peru

      Ah! You were one of those bastards! ;-)

      See, I've had it happen a couple of times where I go to the embassy in Berlin, and in the security check area in the outer entrance, there's a big sign up to the effect of "Do Not Make Jokes -- All Statements Taken Seriously" or some such. There's usually a Marine there along with regular security people, and invariably the Marine m

      • Because we are "those bastards" is why the program was started to replace the contracted security people who were doing it before (we're talking YEARS ago, like 60s or 70s). We do a much better job of intimidation :-)

        Not trying to lecture here, but having been one of "those bastards", I can tell you we are bastards for a reason, use the african embassy attacks in 1998 as an example. I had one real incident when I was in Pakistan, and that day I (as a Marine Sergeant) had the lucky honor of being the ONLY
        • I would recommend not being flippant, unless you want to see how painful an arm lock with PR-24 police baton can be (quite, trust me).

          I rather doubt that many Marines would even need the baton to put the hurt on l'il ole me. Just looking at me and going "boo" would probably do the trick.

          (I know you won't admit it publicly, but I happen to know that Marine basic training consists entirely of learning how to make the other guy shit a brick just by looking at him. The secret is out.)

          And yeah, the rent-a-

          • The dates are something like 27 March - 7 April. Hopefully I get the time to take some skiing (sp?) lessons here in the states before I go so I can get some skiing done over there. I also happen to love German food (and beer), so will undoubtedly gain a few pounds during those 2 weeks....

            There is talk of putting some permament positions from my contract at the NATO school, but it keeps going from sure thing to probably not going to happen, so who the hell knows. The wife would love to live in Europe, but

    • No kidding! (Score:2)

      by DG ( 989 )
      A couple of years ago, I came into work (I'm a Canadian who works in the US - cross the border ever day) to find a group of excited and worried people clustered near my desk. A terrorist alert had been issued, they had seen on TV that they were supposed to go buy plastic sheeting to seal up their houses against potential chemical attack, and they were working out the logistics of whose truck would go to which Home Depot.

      Huh?

      Upon hearing this, I let them know I had been my unit's NBCW officer, and we had a l

      • Ya, I can't help but make the comparison to the UK's dealing with the IRA. Or rather, ignoring the IRA, at least from the point of view of the general populace. Oh, another bombing, tsk tsk, would you like more tea?

        And, for that matter, the local reaction to the London bombings last year. No nationwide self-help group. No futile terror alerts (relative to our DHS at least). No overwrought threats to nuke Mecca. Just get over it, clean up the mess and move on.

        Cheers,

        Ethelred

      • BTW, regarding your old journal about ID, you may be interested in this. [slashdot.org]

        Cheers,

        Ethelred

  • I would say no, because pussies are afraid to do anything about their situation. Not that I agree that stupid laws are the way to go.

    But I put forth that the Brits spend a lot more time worrying about more senseless things. This is even admitted by the British. My evidence you ask? OK here ya go [angelfire.com]. ;)

  • It's all bullshit. Just because the fucking White House sent out a "Happy Holidays" card, instead of a "Christmas" card, everyone got into some damned tizzy fit. Gah. Really - who the fuck cares? I don't know a damned person anywhere who has ever taken offense to a genuine "Merry Christmas". I have known folks who were offended by being asked to work among Christmas decorations without proper representation, but even she would not be offended if you gave her a cheerful Christmas wish, she'd say, "I do

  • The proposal in the cheerleading story is that cheerleading should be subject to the same regulations as other high school sports. I have no idea what is included in those regulations, but I can't imagine why cheerleading should be considered an exception.

    • The operative consideration is that basic common sense should tell those involved that some of those cheerleading stunts might be a tad dangerous, and act accordingly -- rather than pass the buck on to the school, the courts or somebody else.

      It's just the same stupid "WARNING! Hot coffee!" mentality all over again. Gee, I had no idea standing on top of a pyramid of girls might result in me falling down and spraining an ankle! Somebody's gotta pay! Gee, I had no idea I'd get shot at if I signed up to be so

      • WHAT?

        You actually want us 'murricans to actually take responsibility for our own actions and decisions??

        How *dare* you, sir!

        ^_^

      • Oh, they understand the notion of personal accountability alright, but there's no getting-rich-quick in that.

        Blame the lawyers.

        And I'm not joking - Confucious warned against exactly this sort of thing 2500 years ago. He argued against the rule of law because he knew full well that lawyers would pick apart the laws, subvert and pervert them, and suck society dry in the process. Confucious understand damn well that lawyers spelled the downfall of society.

        I'm not sure I would go as far as Confucious, and bel
  • But you missed the Intelligent Design/Evolution issue, you silly expatriate wuss! Go play in the girly-flames!
  • Right on, man. For being in a not-terribly-rational mood, you have written an exceedingly accurate rant. We're allowing ourselves to be terrorized. We have the power to excercize a bit of control over what we're scared of, and we're allowing ourselves to be scared of the wrong things.

    Say this more. Say it louder. Give permission to republish and shout it from the rooftops. We need to remember FDR's words, that what we need to fear is fear itself. We need to get a grip and stop being terrorized.

    "Is life so d
    • Unfortunately, FDR was one of the worst offenders of expanding government and generating many of the problems we face today.

      In fact, that quote, that we have nothing to fear but fear itself, was in the context that "we" (i.e. the government...) needed to do something, ANYTHING, to try and shake the depression, and "we" (i.e. the government) should not be afraid to try many things. And he did. It was his excuse for implementing his ever-increasingly intrusive and collectivist agenda.

      It would be a good quot
      • If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.

        That pretty much says it all and straight from the mouth of one of our founding fathers.

        Queen B
      • Well, that's the reason I didn't quote or link the whole speech. I quoted the part of his speech that I found completely applicable to our current situation. That is, that we're making a hell of a big deal over a few bad guys, from an organization smaller and poorer than Nike, getting in a lucky shot. (Check out my latest JE [slashdot.org] for more perspective.)

        If you'd like to bring in the big-government context, I guess you're welcome to do so... you're quite correct that FDR was a bit... errr, meddlesome. But that's no

  • My Theory... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Shadow Wrought ( 586631 ) <<shadow.wrought> <at> <gmail.com>> on Tuesday January 03, 2006 @08:20PM (#14388547) Homepage Journal
    First off, I agree with a lot of what you say and quietly shake my head at the rest. My theory stems from The Great Depression and Hollywood. It is a bit convulated, and still needs work, but you might enjoy the ride;-)

    The Depression was a hard time for just about everyone. My Grandfather went through it, and oneof the things he mentioned to me was, "We lost everything- not that we had much- but it was all lost. I worry about today when everyone has so much more to lose." The main thing that brought us out of the Depression was WW II. It was a unifying force and it got us all working together as a country. It wasn't until after the War that the problem really started- prosperity.

    Ever notice how wedding vows read, "For better or worse, for rich or for poor, in sickness and in health?" That's because the good times can be just as difficult as the bad. Now for the country after the war, that prosperity was hard earned. The soldiers who returned faced a lot of nastiness to protect the country and to get it moving along, for which they are justifiably lauded. But, what about their kids?

    The kids of the WW II vets, the Baby Boomers, were born into a stable properous country. There were no more frontiers, and war was far away and remote. Without that national challenge, without that one unifying force, people were left on their own. This was also the time during which people moved from the country to the city and the 'burbs. Many of those WW II vets had grown up on farms and had already worked hard most of their lives. For their kids, however, there simply weren't the same number of chores. Indeed they simply had empty time to fill.

    I would argue that for these Boomers, this was a key point in the start of America's stagnationation. I think that this is the genesis of our drug problem, and many of the other issues facing us. Bored kids fuind ways to amuse themselves- hence the drug culture was born. It was new and people really didn't understand just how devasting its effects would be. Some thought they did, but they focused so much on individual effects (many of which were patently false) that they were ignored.

    Soon drugs became part of the social factor. The Boomers chaffed at adult responsibility as they had grown up privileged. Thus voting rates dropped and the Washington status quo could stay- status quo. Corruption was easier as apathy set in. Instead of trying to change policy and the direction of the countyr through better representatives, the anti-war movement simply held protest after protest- attempting to emuate the civil rights successes- without realizing that the Civil Rights movement had already tried changing the system from within but were unable to make their voices heard due to the entrenched racism of the day.

    Meshed within this "counter-culture" movement drug use blossomed. "Tune in, turn-on, drop-out" was mnore than a popular mantra. As the drugs became more prevelant, the problems surrounding them also increased, causing spikes in crime as more and more people fell into addiction- and as it remained a key part of the culture- counter or otherwise.

    Then these Boomers began having kids. Not having formulated the same discipline of their parents generation, they were now incapable of instilling it in their progeny. Their drug use continued, and a generation was raised with a collective ennui- bored, lacking goals, and replete with drug use. So now you have a couple generations who are not only privileged (when compared to pretty much the rest of the world), but have not really earned it. The net result? Fear.

    More on that in a bit. As mentioned, this collective group exists sans uniting goals. Our "Space Race" is dull, the wars we fight are still distant and remote, and our political apathy grows unchecked. SO what do we have to fill this void? Hollywood and media. They tell us that our goals should be to watch American Idol, eat at McD's, and that a $60,000 car is so much better in a traffic jam than

  • Here's proof [tinaja.com] that American is a nation of big pussies. (photo is completely safe. I'm talking about kitty-cats -- get your mind out of the gutter)

  • America (Score:2)

    by Tet ( 2721 )
    Many times I've thought about how I'd like to return to America someday to stay. Then I read the news, or come home for a visit, and wonder what the fuck has gotten into people over there.

    Yep, I couldn't agree more. When I first went to the States, some 17 years ago, I loved it. I thought it was one of the greatest places on the face of the planet, and I quite seriously considered plans to move across the pond after I left University. When I went back a few months ago, I could barely believe that it was t

  • it it were, everyone would want to visit.
  • Look, I may have one but that doesn't mean that I am one. I invite you to read my blog ;) When the British marched into Lexington, my family met them. When the marched into Concord, my family met them. When Marion the Swap Fox chased them, my family was there. When the Alamo fell, our kith and kin died there. Bowie wrote back to Tennesee to my great-great-great grandfather. He said, "Come to Texas and bring everyone you can. There's gonna be a fight." That's how the Crunks came to Texas. They foug
  • A nation of pussies?

    And we're shipping the biggest pussies to Germania, one unshaven crotch at a time.

    • While the biggest collection of them is in Maryland.

      I didn't necessarily mean you. [usna.edu] Though I coulda.

      (OK, so my family was all Army...aside from my uncle, whom I never cared much for anyway.)

      Cheers,

      Ethelred

  • Shutting down a school for two and a half days due to a chalk dust scare [slashdot.org]. (The link within the JE is no longer valid - here's the Google cache [google.com]. Sorry about the highlighting.

    In the VT-D article, be sure to read paragraph 3, then paragraph 4. Then paragraph 3 again.

    You might want to take some Prozac first though. My mind boggles at the asininity of it - yours might as'plode.

    You got any job openings over there in not-so-stupid-land?

  • dat's whut de problum is ethelted? is kewl to bee ignoants and dat's whut you expected tuw bee it.

    i really think that the world has moved on and we remained "simple" in many ways. sports became more important than education. looks became more important than brains. it's one big mass of dysfunction that has festered since the 60's. no one questions anything--we've accepted propaganda from political leaders, from religious leaders, from teachers who really don't know wtf they're talking about.

    NO ONE THIN
  • Land of the sheep, home of the scared.

    Actually - it's not quite as bad as that. I lived in Texas for almost 7 years. A sizeable proportion of the population _are not_ pussies and are annoyed at those that are (or are causing it to be) - i.e. the sheeple who just believe the crap the press turns out instead of thinking for themselves. Of course, I did tend to hang out with the type of people who have the Pilot Personality.

  • Back in my day in scotland (Score:3, Funny)

    by FidelCatsro ( 861135 ) * <fidelcatsro@@@gmail...com> on Wednesday January 04, 2006 @05:09AM (#14390724) Journal
    The days began when we were woken up .. Not by alarm clocks , but by the local wolves who we had to wrestle to the ground.
    Then we would take a wash in a near freezing Loch , to dry ourselves we had no towels so we would use oxyacetylene torches.
    For breakfast we had a choice of Nails and broken glass , or e-coli with arsenic .
    We would then proceed to school , which was a 40 mile naked walk over hot coals Arctic ice.
    At school our lessons would involve how to take an axe to the head , enduring a beating by 40 angry Glaswegians , and how to deal with alcohol poisoning.
    Then we had sports , a game called "OUCH YA BASTARD" , which was played in itchy wool , the sticks were scythes and the goal was to decapitate the other team .
      On breaks we would enjoy a game of punch the chain-saw .
    We then had to walk home over that same mix of Arctic Ice and hot coals.
    When we got home we had to have our mandatory beatings , which were done with spiked clubs.
    Then off to bed with no supper , Bed being a bed of nails with half the spikes missing to make it more painful.

    And we were always smiling , you bunch of soppy girlies ;)


  • The american dream was always about HAVING. Having wifes, kids, dogs, houses, jobs, money, freedom.. and all that because you are 'special' and if you work hard, you 'deserve' it.

    How to deal with conflicts wasn`t included in the package. The closest the US ever got is called 'massproduction' and then giving some of that explosive stuff away for free.

    It might have worked when we were 2.5 billion, but we're 6.5 billion now and your chances on being special or working the hardest to get something are getting
  • I put it to you that America has become a nation of pussies.

    Speak for yourself... I'm from Harlem! Enough said.

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