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Topic: From Somewhere Else, Welcome or Not...

Flowers By Irene
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3012

posted 16 February 2003 05:15 AM

You know, I just got flamed off an American message board (including by a "moderator") for suggesting that since Canada is the largest single supplier of energy to the US (apparently this is a "communist lie") that America has some responsibility to listen to the Canadian voice re: foreign policy, for pragmatic reasons.

Apparently the fact that Natural Gas prices would increase exponentially in the US if Canada were to cut supply is a "complete lie" spread by "terrorists and Arabs" to "coerce good God-fearing people into abandoning modernity" and "reviving Communism"

{Aside: you may agree or disagree with the points I outlined above, but what happened to me on this board was a complete disregard for my views BECAUSE I am Canadian, and for no other reason. This was made very clear to me.}

Now I know that this so-called progressive MB (I will not repeat its name, but it is easily found by any "Master of the Search Engine" searching for the "Truth") is not really representative of Americans, but shit, I get a bad vibe, y'know?

Anyway, the point of my post is most definitely NOT America bashing, but rather to ask what difficulties are found, in general, when posting to a message board based in a different country than you, the poster?

How many threads should you read before engaging the board? (In my case, I must admit I read only one before engaging, so I blame myself at least partly for the stress I suffered)

From: "To ignore the facts, does not change the facts." -- Andy Rooney | Registered: Aug 2002 | IP: Logged

verbatim
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 569

posted 16 February 2003 05:18 AM

I would say hang around for a week or so. You know, just browse the threads for a little while every day. That's what I usually do even before I register. If the board regulars are obviously hostile to foreigners, I'll give them a pass.

From: The People's Republic of Cook Street | Registered: May 2001 | IP: Logged

Flowers By Irene
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3012

posted 16 February 2003 05:26 AM

Ok, so I just went back to capture the thread I was referring to, for the record, but lo and behold, it is gone; I search farther to find this board "...reserves the right to edit and/or delete any post(s) or thread(s) that the moderator(s) find(s) objectionable in any way..."

So I won't be going back, and I will be more selective before engaging any other message boards in the future, if only for my own mental health.

From: "To ignore the facts, does not change the facts." -- Andy Rooney | Registered: Aug 2002 | IP: Logged

Michelle
Moderator
Babbler # 560

posted 16 February 2003 07:44 AM

Sounds like some of the American "Mommy Boards" Debra and I were checking out a while back. Of course, they could not in any way be considered "progressive", nor did they claim to be.

Chin up, FBI. All Americans are not Republicans. It's probably not very easy to find a "progressive" message board in the US since there's such a high volume of conservative ones; but then again, babble is really the only progressive political board I've found in Canada too, and I happened upon it accidentally. Not that I've gone looking for other ones, so maybe there are some others, I don't know.

From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001 | IP: Logged

pogge
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2440

posted 16 February 2003 12:51 PM

quote:
All Americans are not Republicans. It's probably not very easy to find a "progressive" message board in the US since there's such a high volume of conservative ones

Here are a few paragraphs from the opening post of a thread on NetSlaves called The Failure of George Bush.

quote:
The Presidency of George Bush has failed this country. Instead of using a moment of national tragedy to build stronger links to the world, we have squandered the sympathy and trust of our friends and allies.
This mad, desperate rush to remake the Middle East, which recalls other imperial folly, has forced our allies to abandon us and their people to scream in rebellion. The rashness and crude insults heralded by Rumsfeld and his cronies have not gone unnoticed and just because the Turks can be bribed does not mean NATO will rush headlong into American folly without good cause.
A rational government, headed by rational people, would have already had a spate of resignations behind this. The problem is not in Brussels or Berlin or Paris, but in Washington.

The author is an American and a moderator of the board. Not all American message boards are like Free Republic (for which I'm not providing a link - I don't want to ruin anyone's day).

Edited for grammar. My brain seems to think it has the day off.

[ 16 February 2003: Message edited by: Slim ]

From: Why is this a required field? | Registered: Mar 2002 | IP: Logged

DrConway
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 490

posted 16 February 2003 01:37 PM

It's amazing how many Americans one chats with still hold onto the hoary old Cold War-era rhetoric. It's almost like the country's been raised on such a steady diet of the stuff that the people who live in it can't quit using the terms even though they no longer apply; I refer of course to such things as "pinko" or "commie".

It's also a sad testament to a phenomenon I've talked about before - which is the US's general insularity, provinciality and lack of awareness of concrete facts about the nations beyond the US's borders.

From: You shall not side with the great against the powerless. | Registered: May 2001 | IP: Logged

nonsuch
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1402

posted 16 February 2003 01:55 PM

I abandoned an American forum in late September of 2001, because it went ballistic. It was an intellectual board, too, not a political one, with some regular posters from other countries, including quite a few from Canada.

I'd been noticing snyde little bits of Canada-bashing in the mainstream US media, even before that, but a lot more lately. I think the powers are trying to work Americans up to a hysterical pitch of "US Against the Whole World" thinking. With some success... but then, there is also backlash. So, who knows?

From: coming and going | Registered: Sep 2001 | IP: Logged

Sisyphus
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1425

posted 16 February 2003 03:25 PM

I know this is off-topic, but for this particular factoid, I'm a full-fledged, irrational, obsessive-compulsive trivia Nazi:

Canada is not only the largest supplier of energy to the U.S., it also the largest supplier of petroleum products to Dubya's regime. Currently, Mexico just wins out for 1st place if one only considers crude oil.
One source, you have to be careful though, because I have seen different figures from different sources.

Another source for 2001.

From: Never Never Land | Registered: Sep 2001 | IP: Logged

SamL
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2199

posted 21 February 2003 12:39 AM

American kids at MUN's are better. There are the inevitable imbeciles whose responses to my speeches were "Blame Canada", but the rest recognized them for the idiots they were.

So, FBI, I haven't flamed anyone in over a year.... could you PM me this site. *evil grin*

From: Cambridge, MA | Registered: Feb 2002 | IP: Logged

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