Anti-Britishness

My son just returned from Haiti (military guy).

He's seen the driving in large cities of Mexico. He was in Afghanistan. He's been in a cab in New York City (yes! they do use the sidewalk!)

But he says the driving in Haiti wins ... so far. He said they can turn a two lane (one each direction) into four. He says most cars are missing their side mirrors. No room for them.

The worst road in my opinion is in India between Jaipur and New Delhi, a several hour white knuckle all the way. We had a driver which was recommended. Ha!! He drove with his horn. There were all sorts of vehicles and creatures on the road, from horses, elephants, cows, and a variety of overloaded trucks, carts, etc.

There were no speed limit signs or signs of any kind, except one billboard warning people to drive carefully that someone had driven their car through. Sometimes everyone was on the wrong side of the road.

Well, maybe this was all a result of the old British influence. Well, maybe not.

Carol

The use of horns reminds me of the taxi driver in Jordan who had his wired to his brake pedal. When he touched the brake the horn blew.

The oil was stopped 15th July but the inflamed comments continued to spew until the British CEO was replaced with an American. I think it was a Governor of one of the affected Gulf states that said the media coverage was doing more harm than the oil.

There is plenty of evidence of anti-Brutishness in the US. Take for example the fund raising and arms smuggling that took place over decades for Irish nationalist terrorists. It caused many deaths through indiscriminate bombing and shootings in for example London, Manchester and northern Ireland, including a bomb outside the BBC centre at White City and Canary Wharf our equivalent to the twin towers. The Libyans also supplied arms but they have admitted the wrong of it and recently paid billions in compensation to be shared between the families of victims of both communities.

There are many anglophiles too.

I’ve driven between Europe and the UK loads and have no problem with the switch. It tougher if you take a UK car into Europe or visa versa as then overtaking is a bit dangerous - you have trouble seeing properly past the vehicle ahead.

My kids love the Dr Who series and watch them endlessly, we don’t have TV but they watch DVDs.

Irish sympathizers do not count as widespread anti-British sentiment. Pocket groups of ethnic people in the U.S. identify with various foreign causes and provide private funds. The U.S. government tries to catch all the things that look subversive. They miss some. We are, after all, a large, diverse country.

“Irish sympathizers do not count as widespread anti-British sentiment”.

DK Presidents were involved. See for example The following Yahoo answers to the question Why did the UK government tolerate American funding of IRA terrorism?

It wasn't so much that the U.K tolerated American funding of the I.R.A,we were unable to do much about it.

The majority of weapons came from the U.S and libya..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisional_IRA_arms_importation


John Major asked Clinton not to grant visa's to Sinn Fein/I.R.A. and not allow fundraising . He did and then this happened.
http://www.reason.com/news/show/30003.html

Bars in Boston use to sell drinks called 'car bomb' and 'kill a brit'. U.S politician's did support the I.R.A through rose coloured glasses'.
http://www.nysun.com/national/rep-king-and-the-ira-the-end-of-an-extraordinary/15853/
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/05/19/222634.php

The U.S gave them the biggest platform- The White house, without pre-condition's, which gave them credibility.The money flowed in
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/05/19/222634.php


Some in the U.S believed that due to the famine,british and irish civilians deserve to be blown up.The ignorance is astounding.The U.S wouldn't extradite wanted I.R.A thugs in America claiming they would not get a fair trial.

The troops went in to protect the catholic community.We are a democracy and referendum after referendum showed the majority wants to be part of the U.K.

Most on the mainland have no problem with a united Ireland,but not through terrorism but through the will of the people.

It does cause problem's when asking for support in the war on terror.The irony is not lost on the british people.

Most English folk are all for the Irish, Scots and Welsh going it alone. The Scots think they would be better off completely independent but, as Mike says, if they were allowed a referendum, the vote would be to stay part of the UK:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/feb/25/scotland-alexsalmond

I am never part of any sentiment that advocates weapons or wars for any reason; I am opposed to capital punishment; I am pro life in all its forms. I am also a realist and recognize that every sentiment has exceptions; the exceptions to my beliefs regarding the spiritual value of all sentient beings are quite limited.

There are always annecdotal incidences to support every position. I am and never have been part of any widespread anti-British sentiment nor have I been in association statewide or in other states with anyone in that category. Therefore that widespread sentiment passed me by. I have certainly seen the movies - but I don't base my political perspective on Hollywood.

Abe F. March wrote:

It's Shelagh's fault. She has been blamed for lots of things, why not the oil spill in the Gulf?

Now that Carol was unable to change her email and set up a new account, I'll probably be blamed for banning her. Lin has gone awol, so I'll also be blamed for banning him. E. Don hasn't been on the forum for quite some time, so I must have banned him too during a senior moment. Of course, the fact that not a single member has "banned" under their username means nothing to those who want to blame me for the oil spill and the sun rising every morning.

Be glad you are so important.

I told my neighbors from Scotland that i was Scots-Irish. They told me that meant I was Irish.

Ann

Yes, it does Ann. Scots-Irish are the Presbyterians who moved from Scotland to Northern Ireland:

http://www.ulsterancestry.com/ulster-scots.html

Yes, my father's ancestors left Scotland for Northern Ireland during the early 17th century, and Northern Ireland for the southern coastal US in the early 19th. Thanks for the link. I will forward it to my brother. He is the real genealogist in our family.

I think that here in the US, we say Scots Irish because so many people here connect Ireland to Catholicism. My dad and his family were Presbyterian protestants to their core, and the term was a quick way of explaining that background.

Isn't it funny (Oops. I mean ironic) how everything comes back to wars over religions.

Ann

... and words. Funny that.