Hugo Chavez... madman or sign of the times?

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Originally Posted by argonauta

it's not as much anti-Bush as anti-US. Lots and lots of people in latinamerica (I'd even say it could be a majority) see the US politics were and are somehow responsible of the economic situation there (from puppet governments in the 50's 60's to market monopoly nowadays, or threatening to stop buying certain products from a country if that country doesn't agree with the condition the US impose in other products). It's not all about oil.

There's also a general believe (Bush just makes it even more popular) that americans are stupid. And could aunderstand why that is, because the image of the normal american for the people outside the US, is what you see on TV: survivor, surreal life, the real life, and all those reality shows and sitcoms. Anyway, that and the fact that generally latins think that gringos (americans) simply don't care about the outside word (man, if you know how many people have told me if Ecuador is a city in Mexico, you'd be amazed) has turn into a certain hate against the US.

Any politician that can go with that trend: "hey f*** the gringos", for sure will be popular.

Now, don't try to discuss these beliefs, at least not with me. I'm just telling you what others in other countries think of the US....and well, if you research why they think that way, you'll see most of they're beliefs are well founded.

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In other words, you agree with that sentiment but you don't have the will to argue for those beliefs with other Americans. Why can't we discuss these beliefs with you? You brought it up. It's not just what people from other countries think, it's what YOU think too isn't it. I mean, you said so yourself that its well founded. I think that answers your question Indivision.

The ironic thing is, if South Americans think that people from the US are so "stupid" because of all of our reality TV shows, then what does that make South Americans look like? Incredibly dense.

How can you generalize about the intelligence of a country with an almost 300 million populous based on a few episodes of Survivor and the Real World? What should I infer about Latin Americans based on their horribly produced films, TV shows, and cheesy soap operas? They're all just dumb eh?

It makes YOU look stupid to actually think that the social retards that are chosen for dramatic reality TV are in fact a fair representation of the average American. They're not. They're mostly idiots and we Americans make fun of them too, if not more than you. Those people are chosen for a specific reason each and every time - dramatic effect. It sells. People like watching other people make fools of themselves. Welcome to the Real World.

I hope you don't think people like that don't exist in your perfect country where everyone is just so intelligent. You're all just victims of US economic and political oppression. Spare me the BS.

Maybe you misunderstood him? I don't think he said that what he stated was *his* belief, just the general sentiment in the region.

Anyway, I can't speak for Argonauta, but I agree with the fact that it is the general sentiment in my region, Venezuela, yet it isn't my belief. There's a huge amount of xenophobia in my country, especially against Americans, to the point where it sometimes extends to caucasians. I've been abused verbally on more than one ocassion simply because I'm white, thus I must be a Escuálido (that's what they call opposition supporters, I can't remember the english word right now), a traitor, a coup-monger, a rat that wants to abandon ship, and so on. I've been called all those things even before I express my political position.

Back on topic, yes, there is a huge amount of anti-americanism here. I can't speak for Ecuador, but in Venezuela's case, it's not caused by american tv shows, it's fueled by the President himself. He blames most of Venezuela's economic problems on past governments (even though he's been in power for six years), the strike two and a half years ago, and the imperialistic oppression of the United States. He keeps saying that the US (and the world) is meddling all the time in venezuelan affairs, yet he has done things like asking the american people to overthrow Bush, he has called Bush and ***hole on national television, among hundreds of other inflamatory comments he makes every day in his cadenas. A cadena, by the way, is when he takes over the airwaves of every TV and radio station in the country and he broadcasts his speeches on every single TV channel and radio station, sometimes for up to six hours at a time. So much for freedom of speech.

Again, Robertson's remarks will only fuel more anti-american statements from Chavez. Please, please, don't give him the attention he craves.

Gerbick, when did you visit Venezuela? I'm just curious.

I've visited plenty of times... but mostly as a child to teen years... so... quite a while ago. Having family in Trinidad is the biggest reason why we ever went to Caracas too...