(the other half of) america
america apologizes for re-electing it’s ‘its reckless, incompetent and corrupt government’!
this is an old site, up, running and causing over-night controversy since bush and his dawgs were re-elected since the elections in november, 2004. i’ve been meaning to link it here for a long time, but never got around to it. give it some respect, readers, it is long over due.
the united states of america is a super powerful country, and eventually and inevitably they have an enormous effect on the rest of the world. whether we like it or not, we are ultimately seeing the results of whatever choice they make politically, in our communities, our societies. the impact they have on the rest of us is immense and totally undermined by many of us.
these guys did a lot of active campaigning in the lead up to the elections, and upon failing to get the lesser of the two evils, kerry, into office, they’ve been doing some really crazy-cool stuff. protests, awareness-spreading workshops, and they even published the ’sorry, everybody’ book.
here’s a few excerpts from their FAQ file…
What’s this site about?
Most people who think carefully understand that Americans are not really any more jingoistic or xenophobic than people in other countries, but it never hurts to reinforce, especially considering what happened on November 2nd, 2004. What must it have looked like to the world outside our borders? America proudly re-appointed its reckless, incompetent and corrupt government. How much of America? Fifty-two percent. The rest of us are aghast and dismayed.
Lots of fuss is made about the “global village.” The Internet was supposed to make communication between cultures, countries and peoples painless and easy. It was supposed to build bridges. But it doesn’t do this automatically; somebody has to reach out. The Internet was supposed to lead to education and understanding. It doesn’t. Rarely do people on the internet apologize. I thought it was high time. The world needs to understand that there are people in America who don’t like what our government is doing. And from the mail we’re receiving, there are people in the international community who appreciate this.
Also, come on, it’s kind of amusing.
Why does America need to apologize?
It doesn’t. Our message isn’t normative; it doesn’t require anything of anybody. We don’t say you should be sorry or you must be sorry. Our apologies are voluntary. Situations like this are great sources of misunderstanding and rancor between cultures. We don’t pretend apologies are the solution, but we don’t see the harm in offering them.
This is so pointless! Why aren’t you out really supporting your cause? You know, volunteering, canvassing, running for office? You should be ashamed!
Who are you to say we’re not? The second picture on our front page is a gentleman who has been canvassing for Kerry for the last three months. He’s walked from door to door so much that his calves have turned into carbide steel. Don’t you dare assume that we’re not doing our part, just because we spared ten seconds to hold a sign up to a camera.
Are you ashamed to be an American?
No. Are you ashamed to be a human?
these are the kind of people who will eventually change the world. it will take some time, but they have the attitude, the reasons, the motivation and most importantly the courage to make a radical difference. funnily enough, there’s still people who ask them questions like this :
Why are you apologizing to the terrorists?
how backward can you get, huh? luckily, these guys handled it well :
We prefer not to confuse terrorists with the rest of the world.
hah! so there.
this is when i start believing that the united states of america isn’t rubbish : when there’s one half of the country apologizing to the entire international community for the choice that the other half of the country made. come november 2004, one half of america decides to continue sleeping in a pile of shit. the other half woke up, ‘aghast and dismayed’, and decided to say ’sorry world, we tried’.
thank god bush won
Comment by sittingnut — April 24, 2006 @ 8:32 am
btw your link does not work. didn’t see anything wrong with html. maybe a blogsome bug.
Comment by sittingnut — April 25, 2006 @ 12:42 am
hey, thanks for your comment on my blog.
i think america being rubbish goes beyond it’s citizens, as the governemnt makes a lot of decisions (eg. environmental, foreign policy, domestic polcy..) that most normal people wouldn’t approve of. I guess a lot of the american population is too lazy/apathetic to care, but it’s amazing how many people in america are activiely trying trying to make a positive difference to politics
one of my lecturer is making a documentory about the marginalisation of Black voters in the previous election and protests that happened in NY with the republican convention (Before Bush was re-elected) - my favourite from the protests was an anarchist samba band who played familiar songs, but with catchy anti-bush lyrics.
i recomend you have a read of naomi klein’s fences and windows, it talks more about anti-globalisation protests than just america, but it shows that there has always been an alternative voice to what the govt. is in america, it often just gets marginalised.
Comment by shimmi — April 27, 2006 @ 2:42 am