New Orleans disaster

[Éanna]

They're as good as! It's not an old battle I'm bringing up. I'm bringing it up cos he is been a hypocrite with his views

Its not racist, and I don't appreciate being accused of it. I disagree fundamentally with the way the USA conducts itself, and having worked for an american multi-national and worked with american people, I found very little evidence to prove me wrong. There's nothing in the slightest bit hypocritical about me disliking the USA and the general outlook of the majority of its citizens. I lived in Germany for a while, but I never grew to like the German way of life- does that mean I have a racial prejuidice against Germans? Does it ****** I appreciate that there are some very decent peole in the USA, even intelligent and decent, but the entire outlook of the country disgusts me. Its a political and a cultural thing, not a race thing, so stop trying to twist it.

no but they are a distinct people. its discrimination at the end of the day.

Here's the thing Paul. I work in a place where I have to deal with american people on a regular basis, I used to work for an american company where I dealt with americans all day, every day. I never treated them ANY different than anyone else, and never would, same goes for if I meet someone on the street, or in a pub or whatever, because I don't discrimiante against individuals. I accept that generalisation is a dangerous thing, but when you're discussing subjects as broad as something like this, like it or not, generalisation comes into it. As for americans being a distinct people- I wouldn't agree: american society is so utterly fragmented that there are several different peoples in the USA. To suggest that there is such a thing as one single type of american is about as valid an argument as suggesting there's one type of european.

Thank you Paul. They are a nation, whatever way you look at it, they are a group of people just like coloured people etc. So it's still RACISM!

and I'm the racist "coloured" people are all the same, are they? Here's tip: if you're gonna try to catch someone out, try not to make a fool of yourself when you're doing it.

[sligoman]

and I'm the racist "coloured" people are all the same, are they? Here's tip: if you're gonna try to catch someone out, try not to make a fool of yourself when you're doing it.

Eanna, I think we all know it's you that's looking stupid in this thread. Coloured people is not a racist term, it is widely used nowadays and has become acceptable in society. I appreciate the tip, but my advice to you is to take it in for yourself first

[Éanna]

Coloured people is not a racist term,

Where did I say it was? What I was referring to was your suggestion that all "coloured" people are the same. By the way, try using the term "coloured" next time you're speaking to an african person- they're not too keen on it from my experience, seeing as how it was an official term used by the apartheid govt in south africa. I can't believe I'm wasting my time arguing with someone who is clearly out of their depth, but I'm extremely angry at you insinuation that I'm a racist, and I'm asking you to withdraw that allegation. I never called you a racist either btw, I said that your comment could be interpreted as racist- big difference- because I had the decency not to hurl a wild allegation at someone on the basis of one comment (another tip you could learn from)

[dahamsta]

Radio interview with Mayor of New Orleans:

http://dynamic.rte.ie/av/2071304.smil

(realplayer required)

adam

[Fair_play_boy]

There were plenty of warnings for people to get out some went, others didnt. Stock piling food would not do any good if your house if completely under water. . . . The recovery effort is being mismanaged so far but I don't think anyone could have predicted how bad this has turned out to be.

Two points I managed to pick up in the fog of uncertain media reports.
1. About 90% of the population of New Orleans were gone before the storm struck. That is serious movement of people. The weather people had this one predicted down to the last, and the state government listened. Otherwise there would not have been such a large scale evacuation.
2. This is the third time this year that the residents of New Orleans were advised to leave the city because of a hurricane warning. The other two times, there was nothing to worry about. Consider your options if you are living in a poor neighbourhood. Are you going to lose a day's pay, and put yourself and your family at considerable inconvenience, not to mention a lot of expense to leave your home, when you doubt that the warning is worth worrying about?
BTW in case you don't know, people who don't own cars had to pay for the emergency evacuation buses. For poorer people who are on the breadline, that had to be a factor in people's decision to stay.

[mypost]

Eanna,
Your comments are completely and utterly offensive and obnoxious and are more at home in the extreme opinions and political ideology which gave us the gulags of Russia and the concentration camps of Germany.Do the decent thing and withdraw them or else moderators please ban the guy.
Your intolerance is amazing.

If you think that's offensive, you obviously haven't read his posts on topics to do with Israel yet. They're even more offensive.

People who gloat at the New Orleans disaster are sick. It was a natural disaster, and bears no relation in any form to the war against terrorism. Do Americans gloat at the many hundreds of thousands of victims of Southern Asia's monsoon rains? Highly unlikely.

People are queueing up to have another go at Bush, for what? Did he cause the hurricane?? He's blameless this time. All world leaders get criticised when a disaster/atrocity happens in their country, that they didn't do "enough". Define "enough". Some countries react when they realise the full extent of the disaster, others do nothing. In this case, Bush is in a no-win situation; he's damned if he acts, and damned if he doesn't.

[paul_oshea]

Here's the thing Paul. I work in a place where I have to deal with american people on a regular basis, I used to work for an american company where I dealt with americans all day, every day. I never treated them ANY different than anyone else, and never would, same goes for if I meet someone on the street, or in a pub or whatever, because I don't discrimiante against individuals. I accept that generalisation is a dangerous thing, but when you're discussing subjects as broad as something like this, like it or not, generalisation comes into it. As for americans being a distinct people- I wouldn't agree: american society is so utterly fragmented that there are several different peoples in the USA. To suggest that there is such a thing as one single type of american is about as valid an argument as suggesting there's one type of european.

ok eanna i may have left out the word "group" there, but as a group of people of a nation, they are a distinct people. Its the same as a mixed race irish person like samantha mumba(different background, different cultures being influenced by etc), me, you and terry phelan, giong over to england and getting slagged off about being irish/the famine/pikies or whatever, at the end of the day we share the same nationality etc, whatever way you might like to brush over it, its disrcimination. as you pointed out generalisations are dangerous, generalistation is discrimination i.e.

all irish eat potatoes.

[rebs23]

Not to mention sports events etc etc. Its hilarious really, they go on the rampage when there's a hurricane, or some makey-up sport like American "football" result doesn't go their way, yet when someone steals an election, they don't. Shows americans up for what they are in general- materialistic, greedy and self-interested.

Eanna,
It just gets worse.
"They" are stupid, "They" are lazy, "They" are only here for our women, "They" are thiefs, "They" are only good for manual work, "They" are scumbags, "They" should stay in the home minding the kids, etc,etc. Sure "it's hilarious really" lets all laugh at the idiots.
Aren't generalisations great. You just put them in a catagory and let the prejudices begin. Now where have we heard this type of thinking before? Does Germany in the 30's jog anyones memories.
I tell you what this remonds me of Eanna, being chased around Hackney early 90's by a BNP **** with a crowbar shouting "them Irish, they are just drunk, ****** loving paddies".

[paul_oshea]

saw two ultras last sunday walking into the boston in kentish town, they walked out fairly quickly when they saw the gaelic football on the tele, something tells me though if they had seen me outside any other pub that wasnt irish, i wouldnt have been laughing for too long.

but ya generalisations do have a basis though, but you cant pick an individual, every individual should be treated as an individual and not a sum of the generalisation until he/she shows signs/conforms to the generalisation eanna. keep this in mind kid

[sligoman]

but I'm extremely angry at you insinuation that I'm a racist, and I'm asking you to withdraw that allegation.

Why should I? . Weather you like it or not, YOU ARE been racist against Americans!

[dahamsta]

I don't think racist is correct, if only because the US is made up of dozens of races. Bigoted is probably the word you're looking for.

adam

[paul_oshea]

Bigoted or disriminative.

[Poor Student]

I don't think racist is correct, if only because the US is made up of dozens of races. Bigoted is probably the word you're looking for.

adam

Racist is indeed incorrect. The poor use of this word often allows the accused to wrangle their way out of their original comments as they haggle over definitions.

[dahamsta]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law

[Poor Student]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law

You can never have an original theory in this world can you?

[dahamsta]

Nope. Humanity just keeps going around in circles. I think the rest of the animal kingdom might argue with our assertion that were the most intelligent species. They evolve, we revolve.

adam

[Poor Student]

Adam is our aside further fulfilling the theory now that we have gone off on a total tangent?

[dahamsta]

Nah, the thread was over ages ago, when someone hinted ("what does that remind you of" or somesuch) that Éanna's comments were akin to fascist Germany. See the Other Laws section of the Wikipedia article, everything from then on subscribes to at least one of them.

Personally I can't really understand what all the fuss is about, Éanna's got "anti-american" right there in his profile, and if people don't like his comments there's nothing stopping them adding him to their Ignore List. I'd do it myself but administrators have to read everything spewed out on the boards.

The thing that makes me laugh the most are the attempts to defend his comments. It was obviously a wee bit of an outburst, something not uncommon with Éanna. It's obvious he didn't mean them in the way they were - rightly, imho - percieved.

If he's just admitted that ages ago, the thread could probably have proceeded normally. But no, we have to defend the infensible. Americans are all stupid, and deserve what they get. But they don't, but they do. It'd be even funnier if it hadn't happened so many times before.

Time of the week I reckon. Éanna needs to try thinking before he posts.

adam

[Poor Student]

Should we ban comparisons with Nazis/Hitler on the basis of this theory and successful experiment?

[dahamsta]

Absolutely. And since it's not actually written down on paper, we should all burn our computers too.

adam