Replies to '09/15 The Disappearance of Natalee'

Quote From: alakazam

On behalf of all Americans, willing or not, I'd like to apologise to the Aruban and Dutch peoples for the poor and ignorant behavior of all the Americans who have been so critical over this Holloway nonsense and who are in favor of boycotting tourism to the island.   Try to understand that American opinion is governed first by our manipulative and myopic media and secondly by emotional outbursts.  Logic and the facts do not even figure into the thinking of the majority of American opinions.  The war in Iraq is a perfect example, not to mention Kobe Bryant, Lacy Peterson, and OJ Simpson.    I well know that America is 10 times more dangerous than Aruba, The Netherlands, or most any other country in the world.  Foreign tourists have been warned for years about the scams, murders, kidnappings, child abductions, car jackings, and serial killers being rampant in this country.  And since Bush has decided he has the ability and God-given right to randomly invade whatever country strikes his fancy, we're regarded as being even more deranged.   I lived in The Netherlands for almost 10 years and it was probably the most enjoyable time of my life, mostly because I never felt so safe.  Cops were everywhere and there is comparitively little crime.  There's no homeless, no unemployed, and the Dutch people are enjoy living their life instead of trying to screw everyone else.  I can only hope that maybe in 100 years, America will be as advanced.   Americans forget that the Dutch helped found this country (New Amsterdam), that the Pilgrim fathers came from Leiden, and The Netherlands was one of the first countries to officially recognize the new United States after the Revolutionary War.  I'm sure the people of New Orleans could use the assistance of the world's experts at levee building and living below sea level, but after all the insults, I'd be surprised if they'd lift a finger.   We in America are a young country, just like a young person, have a chip on our shoulder for no reason, are still stumbling around trying to act mature, yet unable and unwilling to learn from older and wiser persons, instead bullying everyone and repeating the mistakes of history.  And what's worse, due to our geography, we're a kid who's been given a big gun that he doesn't know what to do with, so we're not taking any advice from anybody 'cause we know best. (Any parents heard this before?)    I know there will be a lot of stupid and angry replies to this from ignorant Americans ("keep your opinion to yourself", "why don't I just leave if I don't like it", etc.) and you can just add those to the list of examples of why Americans simply can't deal effectively with the truth or with the outside world.   So, try to forgive those who don't understand and don't know any better. And to all Americans, it's time to wake up and understand how poorly this country is regarded around the world.  Stop perpetuating the stereotype.  

Quote From: alakazam

On behalf of all Americans, willing or not, I'd like to apologise to the Aruban and Dutch peoples for the poor and ignorant behavior of all the Americans who have been so critical over this Holloway nonsense and who are in favor of boycotting tourism to the island.   Try to understand that American opinion is governed first by our manipulative and myopic media and secondly by emotional outbursts.  Logic and the facts do not even figure into the thinking of the majority of American opinions.  The war in Iraq is a perfect example, not to mention Kobe Bryant, Lacy Peterson, and OJ Simpson.    I well know that America is 10 times more dangerous than Aruba, The Netherlands, or most any other country in the world.  Foreign tourists have been warned for years about the scams, murders, kidnappings, child abductions, car jackings, and serial killers being rampant in this country.  And since Bush has decided he has the ability and God-given right to randomly invade whatever country strikes his fancy, we're regarded as being even more deranged.   I lived in The Netherlands for almost 10 years and it was probably the most enjoyable time of my life, mostly because I never felt so safe.  Cops were everywhere and there is comparitively little crime.  There's no homeless, no unemployed, and the Dutch people are enjoy living their life instead of trying to screw everyone else.  I can only hope that maybe in 100 years, America will be as advanced.   Americans forget that the Dutch helped found this country (New Amsterdam), that the Pilgrim fathers came from Leiden, and The Netherlands was one of the first countries to officially recognize the new United States after the Revolutionary War.  I'm sure the people of New Orleans could use the assistance of the world's experts at levee building and living below sea level, but after all the insults, I'd be surprised if they'd lift a finger.   We in America are a young country, just like a young person, have a chip on our shoulder for no reason, are still stumbling around trying to act mature, yet unable and unwilling to learn from older and wiser persons, instead bullying everyone and repeating the mistakes of history.  And what's worse, due to our geography, we're a kid who's been given a big gun that he doesn't know what to do with, so we're not taking any advice from anybody 'cause we know best. (Any parents heard this before?)    I know there will be a lot of stupid and angry replies to this from ignorant Americans ("keep your opinion to yourself", "why don't I just leave if I don't like it", etc.) and you can just add those to the list of examples of why Americans simply can't deal effectively with the truth or with the outside world.   So, try to forgive those who don't understand and don't know any better. And to all Americans, it's time to wake up and understand how poorly this country is regarded around the world.  Stop perpetuating the stereotype.