why do so many people hate the united states.

raggie33

*the raggedier*
Joined
Aug 11, 2003
Messages
13,451
why do so many people hate the united states?i value all youre opions. this has always frustrated me.i love my country more then you can imagine.but as i travlel the world wide web.i see so many people post awefull things about this country,it sickens me it saddens me and after a while it frustrates me to the point of just logging off and not turning pc on again well at least not reading all my fave web sites.any idea.s?
 

ikendu

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 30, 2001
Messages
1,853
Location
Iowa
I've heard various explanations:

...there is no good reason.
...they envy us.
...they hate our freedom (President Bush).
...they are all religious fanatics.

For myself, I do not accept that there is no good reason. People don't plan for years, spend tons of money and get an entire group of men to separately and deliberately commit suicide while killing thousands of other people they don't even know... without some compelling reason.

I'm sure I don't have all of the answers. but I have seen some of why I think this is.

Example:

Here is a piece from NPR:

...about the 1953 CIA coup in Iran that put an end to democratic rule, and in turn led the way for the Islamic Revolution of 1979. He writes, "It was the first time the United States overthrew a foreign government. It set a pattern for years to come and shaped the way millions of people view the United States."

You can hear all about this on NPR:

All The Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror

This is only one example. And...it is one that very few Americans know anything about. How come? Because our gov't did it in secret and kept it a secret from us. It's not a conspiracy theory. It's all well documented now.

There was a huge outpouring of sympathy and cooperation with the U.S. after 9-11 (remember how the French helped us with the invasion of Afganistan?). Since that time, the U.S. has used it's power as the last remaining superpower to act uni-laterally and the level of sympathy and cooperation from the world has hugely diminished. Why? Because of the way we have acted. Our actions do have consequences.

BTW...I'd rather not discuss this further here. You can email me if you have other comments or questions. Thanks!
 

lux0

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 8, 2002
Messages
101
"Just remember that there are many people of other nations who love the US as well. "

And there are many, many in the US that hate others with no just cause.

"Maybe they envy the 'states,"

Maybe not, maybe it's US arrogance that they hate.
 

Sharp

Enlightened
Joined
Jun 17, 2003
Messages
240
Location
Birmingham, UK
[ QUOTE ]
Sharp said:
Maybe they envy the 'states...

[/ QUOTE ]
This can be one among many reasons. I'm not saying it is for this reason people hate the US... Many things could have caused this feeling. I'm just saying one of the probable reasons.
 

Jonathan

Enlightened
Joined
Dec 14, 2001
Messages
565
Location
Portland, OR
People _hate_ for many reasons. But trying to figure out why someone _hates_ you has little chance of actually solving any sort of problem.

As ikendu noted above 'People don't plan for years, spend tons of money and get an entire group of men to separately and deliberately commit suicide while killing thousands of other people they don't even know... without some compelling reason.' But there is an implied logical fallacy here: the compelling reason need only be compelling _to them_. It is _useless_ to change oneself on the basis of others _hatred_ for you. At the _best_ you will earn disinterest. At the worst you will simply be seen as weak and earn even more _hatred_.

This is not to say that the United States is perfect, and that we shouldn't change our actions. It is simply to say that any changes should be based upon our own reflection, and our _listening_ to the various complaints about us, and especially by _listening_ to what are allies say, especially when they disagree with us. Not that we should do what they say; just that we should listen and understand. And when we change, we should change for positive reasons and to be better friends with those people who would be our friends. We should _never_ change to appease those who hate us.

After 9/11, I heard many people pointing to their pet peeve with the US as the _Cause_, saying that if we'd just change our ways, 9/11 wouldn't happen again. Variously I was told that I needed to use less foreign oil, stop supporting Israel, stop supporting non-democratic Arab governments, stop supporting capitalism, stop supporting gay rights, stop supporting pacifism. The point is that hate can spring up for _any_ reason, based on your most evil and wrong actions, or based upon your most righteous actions.

The United States is often seen by the rest of the world as being arrogant. This earns us a considerable amount of anger, eg in France and Germany. But anger and hatred are two _very_ different things. This anger means that we are doing less work for our mutual benefit...but it will pass, because we do share so much with are European Allies. Also, this anger gives those who already hate us an excuse. But IMHO it is not a significant _cause_ of hatred.

Our current actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, IMHO, _will_ lead to greater terrorist activity, but _not_ because they will generate hatred. They will lead to greater terrorist activity because we are not going far enough fast enough to rebuild the infrastructure and civil society in these areas. _Not_ because the lack of infrastructure is generating hate (it is generating anger), but because the lack of infrastructure and lack of civil society is providing fertile ground where the the already extant hate can hide and grow.

Al Queda was not in Afghanistan because it is composed of Afghanis; it was there because it could hide. Al Queda exists where it can hide easily, and to some very considerable extent we have opened up Iraq to it. Now we have to re-close Iraq, and not by putting millions of American troops there, but by helping our friends on the ground rebuild their lives so that _they_ will want Al Queda _out_.

Back to the central point: trying to figure out why we are hated will do us no good. We have to focus on building and doing good, on evaluating (and correcting) our own actions, on listening to our friends and allies. We should do right _despite_ terrorism, not because of it.

-Jon

(P.S. By do right _despite_ terrorism, I mean doing things because they are the right things to do, _even_ if they are things that the terrorists want. We should _ignore_ the demands of terrorists, and act only based on what those who will work _with_ us (even if we often disagree) ask and demand of us.)
 

raggie33

*the raggedier*
Joined
Aug 11, 2003
Messages
13,451
i was raised to respect the usa and to love it. i raised a flag everyday on a flag pole. a flag pole that we got for my dad on his birthday it was a 20 foot pole my dad was so happy when he saw it.i still raise a flag every day on my house i thank those who foght to make this country what it is every day.i have nothing but respect for all are vets.i sure hate that so many people hate the usa.
 

lux0

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 8, 2002
Messages
101
"i sure hate that so many people hate the usa. "

The irony is thick
 

Kristofg

Enlightened
Joined
Apr 7, 2003
Messages
355
Location
Belgium
Raggie, to non-us residents, things like raising a flag everyday are considered odd. The only time flags are changed is on special occasions like when the king/queen dies or when a prince/princess is born and stuff like that. I think that in general, Europeans have more of a laissez-faire attitude to things like that. I don't think Europe is quite as nationalistic as the US is.
I have to agree with Jonathan about the US arrogance though. In the first Iraq war, there was a lot of support, but this time it served little purpose. Combine that with the fact that we had Belgian red cross volunteers working there who came under fire (and in the news) and the US loses a lot of sympathy for bullying instead of trying to prove things and negotiating.
Under Clinton, the US had a much friendlier image actually. Bush is seen more as a right-wing extremist who shoots first and asks questions later.
 

raggie33

*the raggedier*
Joined
Aug 11, 2003
Messages
13,451
[ QUOTE ]
lux0 said:
"i sure hate that so many people hate the usa. "

The irony is thick


[/ QUOTE ]and can you explain a bit
 

Kristofg

Enlightened
Joined
Apr 7, 2003
Messages
355
Location
Belgium
[ QUOTE ]
raggie33 said:
[ QUOTE ]
lux0 said:
"i sure hate that so many people hate the usa. "

The irony is thick


[/ QUOTE ]and can you explain a bit

[/ QUOTE ]

That this is exactly what gets the circle started. This kind of reasoning means that you are prejudiced against non-us loving people who in turn see you as nationalistic and the circle starts all over again.
 

lux0

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 8, 2002
Messages
101
[ QUOTE ]
raggie33 said:
i respect all

[/ QUOTE ]

even those who hate?
 

raggie33

*the raggedier*
Joined
Aug 11, 2003
Messages
13,451
[ QUOTE ]
lux0 said:
[ QUOTE ]
raggie33 said:
i respect all

[/ QUOTE ]

even those who hate?

[/ QUOTE ]i dont hate people i hate some of there reasons
 

raggie33

*the raggedier*
Joined
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Re: why do so many people hate the united states. *DELETED*

Post deleted by raggie33
 

raggie33

*the raggedier*
Joined
Aug 11, 2003
Messages
13,451
i hate what people say i dont hate no one.and i do respect all
 
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