RE: America the good neighbor

[Sigel James Civ 10 ABW/LGCW <James.Sigel@usafa.af.mil>]

Nigel, et al...

>("it's
>also worth telling you that both my father and uncle who served in WWII
were
>of the opinion that the Yanks came along when they were needed and NOT when
>they were wanted, to me that's a big fucking diffence).

What the hell is wrong with you idiots?  (No offense to all; the idiots know
who they are.)  First off it's Beatles vs. Who and now in light of what's
happened in DC/NYC we're doing the VERY idiotic spin into Britain vs. USA.
Do you people have a hard time breathing with your heads so far up your
asses???  How can you function that way?  Doesn't that make it impossible to
eat?  Don't answer that.

Since some of you can't seem to collect the intellect to settle this
extremely moronic discussion, please allow me to attempt.  (And Nigel, for
Chrissakes, can you PLEASE refrain from the terrible urge of yours to throw
in a little jab in each of your replies?)...

Britain vs. USA -
The War of 1812 is looooooong over - so get over it.  I won't even begin to
mention the Revolution.  Check your history books; that one was over BEFORE
the War of 1812, really.  So get over that one too.

Lend Lease - UK says that it was a paltry sum that they are STILL paying
for.  USA says that without LL, Britain would have sunk into the ocean.
Truth of it is - that's over too, get over it.  There isn't a single soul on
this list that was involved in the administration of LL - if you have a
bitch about it, call your local congressman or member of Parliment.  Worry
about your own asses and if your own house is clean.

WWI and WWII
True, the Brits didn't much care for their American cousins in either
conflict at first; GIs in both wars were green behind the ears at the start
of their involvement and the Brits had a time to harden their lines/troops.
Naturally, there would be resentment from battle hardened vets (UK) when
sizing up the new arrivals (USA).  But as the shit flew and time went by,
you would be hard pressed to find a single British war vet who wasn't
extremely thankful that the US got involved.  The "Yanks" earned their
respect (a little less so in WWI) very quickly.  So Nigel, your father and
uncle who served in WWII probably felt that my grandfather and uncle were
incompetent at first, but they were damn glad for the Yanks once it was all
over.  Now here's the hard facts:  The UK fought valliantly and justly,
especially during WWII and on their own.  They basically single-handedly
kept Germany in check as much as they could prior to 1942, but simply put -
without US intervention, the little islands off the coast of Europe known as
the United Kingdom would be NOW known as New Berlin.  If you thought the
French didn't like Nazi occupation, it would have been much worse if the
Brits had to make room for their German conquerors.  Churchill himself knew
this.

Nobody here has said that the UK "owes" the US or any such thing.  The
statements that made Nigel crap his pants, from what I've read, simply ask
that the US get its propers for "being there" in a pinch.  I still can't
understand why anyone feels the need to tear up a simple article ("America
the good neighbor"), throw insults, and deny that any help was given,
because someone thought it nice to praise the US for being there to help
other countries.  I mean what the fuck...?  Weren't there enough events last
week to catch your attention???  Why do you feel so strongly about something
as trivial as this article is?  It seems odd that what has recently happened
to the World, not just the US, doesn't effect some people as much as a US/UK
rivalry does.  Please, get a friggin grip, will you?

And now the last...  To illustrate just how futile arguments like these are,
let's look at the below quote:

>Enuff of all this
>tittle tattle, let's just get on with life, our lives, views, our views and
>remember how we managed to come across one another......because of four
yobs
>from west London!!

Now, allow me to play Devil's Advocate.  If we keep current trends alive,
one could answer this very correct statement by replying:  "...oh yeah, but
it was AMERICAN music that got those four yobs from W. London interested in
music!  Daltrey is on record as saying it was Elvis Presley who turned him
on to rock music."  See my point?  My brother can beat up your brother.
Townshend is a better guitarist than Harrison!  My car is faster than your
car...  What's the point?  So please, please, please - my faith in humanity
has taken quite a shock in the last week - I've seen the absolute barbarians
that human beings can be, and at the same time, I've seen how incredible
people can be as they come together in a crisis.  See the paradox?  Like
everyone else, I'm on a fence as to how I feel as a citizen of Planet Earth.
Please don't remind me just how stupid people can be by keeping ignorant
threads like this going.  Sroundtable was man enough to apologize for his
remarks that offended some and so some others on this list could do the same
in regards to some discussions.  We know who you are and so do you.

I'm sorry to rant like this Kids, but the Who Digest was a nice santuary for
me and I'm sure others.  I like the disagreements and opinions, but somehow
(even before 9/11/01) it has gone to shit.  People have turned from
respectful Who fans to a bunch of raving assholes.  If I didn't know any
better, I would think that I was on a goddamned Metallica fan site.  Yuk.
After reading this, I know some of you could care less, but sadly, after
hanging around this list for nearly four years, I'm considering leaving.
It's no fun anymore.

Jim in Colo Springs

"...the simple things you see are all complicated."  PT