[Dean's World] Scott Kirwin: Anti-American Bigot vs Wife Abroad.

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Posted by Scott Kirwin:
Anti-American Bigot vs Wife Abroad.
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1191875095.shtml


   The Wife just called me before she went to bed in Tanzania. It seems
   she got into it with a 24 year old New Zealander who felt the need to
   tell the Wife "just how hated you Americans are in the world," and how
   we "f*** things up everywhere you go."

   Such run-ins with loudmouths abroad aren't as common as you think.
   While living abroad for five years back in the '90's I probably ran
   into these bigots maybe half a dozen times. They invariably came from
   small countries most Americans probably couldn't find on a map, and
   often work for - or have worked for - the United Nations (Kiwi-girl
   worked for the UN). You're much more likely to face anti-American
   sentiment on your local college campus than you are to encounter it
   while traveling. If anything, the word "American" still causes faces
   to light up in most places of the world.

   I mention this because I've known quite a few Kiwis and neighboring
   Aussies, and they are truly some of the best people to meet while
   traveling. If you are ever in a place that's dangerous, nothing and I
   mean nothing beats having an Aussie at your back. And while New
   Zealanders are upstaged by their neighbors to the west in the same way
   Canadians are by their brothers to the South, they aren't a shabby lot
   either. In fact visiting New Zealand is high up on my "Life's To Do
   List."

   But there are bigots wherever you go, and this little New Zealand
   girl, a quarter of whose paycheck comes from hated America, felt it
   was her duty to use my wife as a punching bag for all her pent up
   hatred for the United States. "Iraq was better off under Saddam," is a
   common meme we hear on the Left, and one that is not borne out by any
   evidence from the Iraqis - unless you consider only the opinions of
   Baathists. "Vietnam" The Magic Word that's supposed to connote
   "failure & f*** up" - Yes, we're so hated by this country that it is
   doing [1]its best to improve relations and trade with us.

   I reminded the Wife that the United States was the largest single aid
   donor to Tsunami relief in 2004. Kosovo is free because of US
   involvement. The EU blew a change to solve the crisis in Bosnia, and
   it was only after the US became involved that the slaughter in that
   state stopped.

   The Wife hasn't heard about the recent turmoil in Burma (probably
   because she's getting much of her news from - no joke - al Jazeera). I
   updated her on events there, and told her that demonstrators were
   begging "Where are the Americans?" Not "Where are the New Zealanders?"
   and definitely not "Where is the United Nations?"

   She wished I was there to argue with the little trollop, but I
   reminded her that it was pointless. She was 24 and knew everything
   there was to know about Life, especially about America. Only age and
   experience could change it, and chances are she would live her entire
   life with a burning hatred of our nation.

   But in the end, her opinion wouldn't matter a jot. Bush will soon
   leave office, and a prettier face will take his place. Another
   disaster or war will erupt and Americans will be criticized for "not
   acting sooner" - as we did in Bosnia, "doing the wrong thing" in Iraq,
   and "not acting at all," as we did in Rwanda and continue to do in
   Darfur and Burma. But someone somewhere will call out "Where are the
   Americans?" and we will come again.

   The Wife was calm and the 8 minute call ended.

References

   1. http://hanoi.usembassy.gov/10ann-vna050604.html