Blame America For Everything You Hate About "Internet Culture"

that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:05 · Score: 0, Funny

we work a full fucking day instead of sitting around bitching about "if I were king"

Re:that's because by Z00L00K · 2014-11-23 07:09 · Score: 1, Funny

Don't blame the cats at least.
If anything - you can't be upset at cats doing cat stuff. It's a relief.
French idea of relief is a bottle of wine and watching women walking by the café.

--
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
Re:that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:14 · Score: 1

So, in other words, Americans are a bunch of mindless drones who use their spare time posting mindless comments to mindless "news"... Who knew?
Re:that's because by CRCulver · 2014-11-23 07:35 · Score: 1

The idea that the French work a significantly shorter work week than Americans is a largely a myth. The French do enjoy longer annual leave, but I suspect that in the US, the productivity gains resulting from a little more rest at certain points in the year would more than make up for the lost working time.
Re:that's because by Hognoxious · 2014-11-23 07:45 · Score: 1

I don't disagree that hours aren't what counts. If they were, Greece would be bailing out Germany.
However performing more work in fewer hours does not in any way refute the fact that the number of hours worked is, indeed, fewer.

--
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Re:that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:51 · Score: 0

Thanks for making me spray coffee outta my nose! Have you ever actually worked in France and/or worked for a north American subsidiary of a company with a head office in France? I've done both...for years, and it was beyond laughable.
Re: that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:54 · Score: 1

Could we try that without the confusing double negative? I thought I agreed with you, but now I'm not sure that you agree with you.
Re:that's because by war4peace · 2014-11-23 07:55 · Score: 4, Insightful

It's not about countries, it's about cultures.
Some cultures (e.g. Western European culture) favor more serious subjects versus others. Some others (e.g. Northern American) favor lighter subjects (unwind-type). Asian cultures apparently favor explosive feeling-related and augmentative headlines ("It's SUPER effective!"; "AMAZING performance!").
Nobody's to blame, really, except companies not doing their homeworks and trying to vomit their own culture-specific successes over other cultures and promptly failing.

--
...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
Re:that's because by DaveAtFraud · 2014-11-23 08:20 · Score: 1

So, in other words, Americans are a bunch of mindless drones who use their spare time posting mindless comments to mindless "news"... Who knew?
You mean, like posting to slashdot?
Cheers,
Dave

--
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty.
Ben
Re:that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 08:26 · Score: 1

Yes, you work way too much and still will never become rich from your salary. It's a real pity.
Re:that's because by davydagger · 2014-11-23 08:46 · Score: 2

by working a full day, you mean doing around 15 min of work, and then fucking off on the computer for 6 hours. Americans spent longer at work, but get less done. Thats actually been proven. As far as sit around bitcing "if I where king", I think Americans do that just as much as everyone else.
Re:that's because by amiga3D · 2014-11-23 09:16 · Score: 1

Really? I've seen French culture firsthand. It has some good things, and a lot of bad. So they'd rather talk politics instead of watch cats do stupid crap? That only means they like to argue about bullshit. Plenty of that here on slashdot.
Re:that's because by Aighearach · 2014-11-23 09:20 · Score: 1

I just really hate the part where those durn Americans forced all the bits through those tubes. Forced them! Who asked the bits if they wanted to go through tubes?
And opening up the network to the masses. Who asked the data if it wants the People looking at it all day? What gives them the right?!
Re:that's because by davydagger · 2014-11-23 09:22 · Score: 1

Also the idea that the french are lazy or unproductive is also false
Re:that's because by Aighearach · 2014-11-23 09:24 · Score: 1

Yep, we just mindlessly build technology for you to adopt. We don't know what it does, or why, we just meditate "Ohm, ohm, ohm," and work 80 hrs a week, and somehow there is a pile of networked computers at the end of the quarter.
I guess it is just an unlikely accident of history that a people so stupid invented so much, and continue to dominate the associated services.
Re:that's because by king+neckbeard · 2014-11-23 09:25 · Score: 3, Insightful

Every generation everywhere has been a generation of fucktards, the internet just makes it more transparent.

--
This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
Re:that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:27 · Score: 0

In the other hand, they keep their government in check and take the streets at the hint of an real or perceived BS coming from it, so apparently their discussions DO have a direct effect in their society.
Re:that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:30 · Score: 1

Yeah I Clicked On This Link Cuz It Says Cat Videos Lolz

Where Be Da Cat Videoz? Jus Sum Stuff About Blame American 'N Shiat

Ima Wanna Da Cat Videoz Lolz
Re:that's because by amiga3D · 2014-11-23 09:33 · Score: 2

I've been waiting for the guillotine to make a comeback.
Re:that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:35 · Score: 0

The portion of the American population that actually does useful stuff like network computers is a tiny, tiny fraction that is pretty much considered a bunch of "weirdos" by the rest of society (and you know it). New technologies are almost all developed in universities which are mostly made up of immigrants. America is being propped up by immigrants and geeks, the very people everyone else hates. Wake up and realize that the country you're living in hates you and does not deserve your presence.
Re:that's because by Aighearach · 2014-11-23 09:36 · Score: 1

It is a funny article for a few reasons. Did you even read it? Does it claim to refute the France works a significantly shorter week than the US? The answer to both is clearly "no." You googled for a story that says what you wanted to link to, but linked without really reading it.
It claims to be refuting the "myth" of France having a 35 hour work week. That is a very different thing than you said, because they could have a longer-than-35-hours work week and still be well behind the US work week. And indeed, looking at the story, they "bust" the myth by pointing out that salaried white collar workers often work 40 or 45 hrs a week, since they aren't paid by the hour. I guess you didn't consider that salaried US workers might work significantly more than that.
The even have a funny chart that lists the annual hours per worker by Nation. They didn't order the chart, not by hours, nor by name. It seems they just randomly ordered them. They did put France physically above the US on that list, but the list shows the French work 1,476 hours and the Americans work 1,704 hours. That is over 4 hrs per week more. So the link proves the "myth" to be true! Americans do work more hours per week than the French.
It is a hilarious and sarcastic story, but I don't think you got the jokes:

Of course, compared to the hours certain professions tally on a weekly basis, the average worker in Europe doesn’t have it so bad. Take lawyers. According to France’s national bar association (CNB), 44% of lawyers in the country logged more than 55 hours on a weekly basis in 2008. In the United States, surveys show that many attorneys work about 55 to 60 hours per week...
LOL, yes, average workers... like lawyers.
Re:that's because by Tailhook · 2014-11-23 09:42 · Score: 1

we just mindlessly build technology
In building the Internet we appear to have created the most effective conceivable means of disseminating "Blame America..." memes.
To do better you'd have to put it in the water.

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Maw! Fire up the karma burner!
Re:that's because by Aighearach · 2014-11-23 09:42 · Score: 1

Sorry that life doesn't imitate your nationalist stereotypes.
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpb... "French workers are ...only marginally less productive than American workers."
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us...

Only part of the U.S. productivity growth, which has outpaced that of many other developed economies, can be explained by the longer hours Americans are putting in, the ILO said.
The U.S., according to the report, also beats all 27 nations in the European Union, Japan and Switzerland in the amount of wealth created per hour of work - a second key measure of productivity.
Norway, which is not an EU member, generates the most output per working hour, $37.99, a figure inflated by the country's billions of dollars in oil exports and high prices for goods at home. The U.S. is second at $35.63, about a half-dollar ahead of third-placed France.
Yep, that is why we have higher productivity per worker, both per hour, and per year. We get more done per hour, and also work more hours. I'm assuming these "Americans" "fucking off" for 6 hrs on the computer... you saw them on the TV, right? Get back to work!!!
Re:that's because by Lilith's+Heart-shape · 2014-11-23 09:42 · Score: 1

Wake up and realize that the country you're living in hates you and does not deserve your presence.
I realized that decades ago. Where in Satan's holy name is a self-taught American programmer with no degrees supposed to go? Galt's Gulch? Not fuckin' likely.

--
I write sci-fi for metalheads
Re:that's because by curious.corn · 2014-11-23 09:43 · Score: 2

[quote] French idea of relief is a bottle of wine and watching women walking by the café. [/quote]
and what's wrong with that?

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Mi domando chi Ã il mandante di tutte le cazzate che faccio - Altan
Re:that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:44 · Score: 0

Whooosh...
Re:that's because by knightghost · 2014-11-23 09:45 · Score: 3, Insightful

Incorrect. The french are more productive per hour, but not by much. Americans work a lot more hours and have a higher sum of productivity.
I've worked across the world and the only group that beats americans for "nose to the grindstone" is some groups in asia.
There's also the matter of effectiveness, and americans pretty much have everyone beat.
Re:that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:47 · Score: 0

This, 100 times this!
Re:that's because by Gonoff · 2014-11-23 09:56 · Score: 1

... Who knew?
Just about everyone else on the planet?

--
I'll see your Constitution and raise you a Queen.
Re:that's because by jc42 · 2014-11-23 10:08 · Score: 2

The portion of the American population that actually does useful stuff like network computers is a tiny, tiny fraction that is pretty much considered a bunch of "weirdos" by the rest of society (and you know it). New technologies are almost all developed in universities which are mostly made up of immigrants. America is being propped up by immigrants and geeks, the very people everyone else hates. Wake up and realize that the country you're living in hates you and does not deserve your presence.
Yeah, as an American teenager who was repeatedly voted "smartest" in his class, I realized all that decades ago. That's why I've mostly lived in close proximity to academia for most of my life since then, and have associated mostly with a crowd that has a high proportion of "furriners". It also has a lot to do with my migration into the Internet-development field, where my professional connections tend to be the same sort of furriners.
Generalizations about the citizens of a country are generally nonsense. I have lots of friends in other countries that I've never met, and I personally don't consider that at all odd. It's one of the things that this Internet thing was more-or-less designed to encourage. The practice of categorizing people by the accident of where they were born is ultimately doomed, though I expect it to live on long after it has become nonsense. Sorta like categorizing people by their sex or age or race or religion or ... ;-)

--
Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
Re:that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 10:15 · Score: 0

The only culture America has is the botulism you get from eating burgers.
Re:that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 10:29 · Score: 0

If Americans ( and many other countries ) did that, perhaps their crony capitalism wouldn't be spreading like the disease it is around the planet. Countries are losing their democracy because of the spread of the MAFIAA, monsanto and pharmaceutical giants to name but a small few. Oh you want us to give you another "FREE" trade agreement, yipee! Fear not citizens, this is all done in secret and you won't know how much democracy is lost until it's all signed.
Re:that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 10:42 · Score: 0

Je peux avoir du vin et du fromaje-burger, bebe?
Re:that's because by Bengie · 2014-11-23 10:50 · Score: 1

Working more than 40 hours/week salaried?! Dear lord! Glad I don't do that, while being salaried.
Re:that's because by russotto · 2014-11-23 10:55 · Score: 1

Where in Satan's holy name is a self-taught American programmer with no degrees supposed to go? Galt's Gulch? Not fuckin' likely.
I understand there's money to be made in black-hattery. Observe the 11th commandment, however.
Re:that's because by AmiMoJo · 2014-11-23 11:32 · Score: 2

Depends where you mean in Asia. East Asian cultures may seem like that, but it's mostly due to really poor translation. Well, that and the fact that merely translating the worlds rarely conveys the full meaning or gives you any kind of cultural context.
For example, Japanese people often refer to things as "sugoi", which is usually translated as "amazing". It can actually mean a whole range of things, from surprising to astounding but the exact meaning is conveyed by the way it is said and context. On top of that there is this weird stereotype of the over-the-top Japanese TV advert, but honestly they are on the whole subdued than British and especially American adverts.
South Asia I don't know much about.

--
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Re: that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 11:37 · Score: 0

Next time just wait like 3 seconds before posting. You may save yourself some embarrassment.
Re:that's because by Demonoid-Penguin · 2014-11-23 11:46 · Score: 1

French idea of relief is a bottle of wine and watching women walking by the café.
O'reilly? Even the women?
Re:that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 12:02 · Score: 1

I have never seen a woman in a bikini giving birth to an octopus while three old men yell at her as an advertisement for a tire brand in the US, but I have in Japan. Nothing even remotely close to that happens in the west. Where you get the idea that Japanese advertisement is more subdued than others I do not know. Call it irrationality.
Re:that's because by i.kazmi · 2014-11-23 12:09 · Score: 1

And what additional benefits do these American workers reap? They work (at least) 4 extra hours each week so their standard of living should be better, if it's not and all the extra work means more profits for their employer, then trying to portray that as a good thing is just plain dumb (unless you are one of the employers in which case you can laugh your head off at the dumb notion of said workers and their superiority complex over working more for the same of lower wages).
Re:that's because by Denihil · 2014-11-23 12:22 · Score: 1

ahhh the classic "THE YOUNG ARE GOING TO RUIN THIS COUNTRY!" argument, that's been passed down each successive generation.
Sure, just like a virus it has morphed slightly to differentiate itself from the previous generation, but underneath the structure is the same.

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WÌÌfÍ--ÍSÌÒÍ...Í...ÌHÌÍfÍÍÍ--ÍÍÍ
Re:that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 13:14 · Score: 0

I think if you were to plot the decline of the youth, you'd find that we were at our peak right when the first human had kids.
Re: that's because by QRDeNameland · 2014-11-23 13:21 · Score: 1

Actually, it's a triple negative (don't, disagree, aren't).

--
Momentarily, the need for the construction of new light will no longer exist.
Re:that's because by gatkinso · 2014-11-23 13:32 · Score: 1

>> French idea of relief is a bottle of wine and watching women walking by the café.
That does it: I'm moving to France!

--
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
Re:that's because by phayes · 2014-11-23 13:40 · Score: 2

they keep their government in check
What?!? If we really kept the government in check, the authors of "Responsable but not guilty" would be in jail. If you don't understand the reference, you don't know enough about french politics to be making comments.

and take the streets at the hint of an real or perceived BS coming from it
They? Who is this they? Ahhh, the lucky few life public transport workers who are in guaranteed life long jobs and can go on strike without any repercussions meanwhile forcing millions of others to spend hours more getting to/from work.

--
Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
Re:that's because by mrchaotica · 2014-11-23 13:51 · Score: 1

Except it's apparently only more transparent on the English-speaking Internet (actually more specific: English-speaking and not Australian-focused), not on sites in other languages.

--
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Re: that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 14:52 · Score: 0

What I got from the summary:
Americans think that if you discuss news and politics you are an irredeemable snob.
What I conclude:
Americans are what's wrong with the world. Maybe if they discussed news and politics more their country wouldn't be run by belligerent oligarchs who manipulate the whole country to serve their own ends, trample the rights and interests of the citizenry, feed them shit every day, and convince them it's delicious.
If web sites facilitated intelligent discourse rather than pandered to juvenile demands for entertainment and inanity then maybe they could contribute something to positive change.
An America run by people who serve the nation and act as a force for good in the world is out of reach because of Scott Lamb and fuckheads like him.
Fuck you Scott Lamb.
Fuck you American Internet users.
Re:that's because by TapeCutter · 2014-11-23 15:17 · Score: 1

Where in Satan's holy name is a self-taught American programmer with no degrees supposed to go?

To school?

--
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
Re:that's because by jedidiah · 2014-11-23 15:18 · Score: 1

> And what additional benefits do these American workers reap?
The money to do something interesting with my time off instead of camping or having a "staycation". I also don't have to stay in one of those gawdawful French hotels that looks like and feels like a poorly done cruise ship cabin.
Plus I can actually make that kind of comparison.

--
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
Re: that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 16:08 · Score: 0

Americans' idea of relief is sitting on the couch eating sugar heavy food watching mindless drivel on TV.
Re:that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 16:30 · Score: 0

we make enough to go to france, but just to visit we aren't stuck there
Re: that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 18:56 · Score: 0

Your rage is amusing. We, the.1%, win. As always. :)
Re: that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 18:58 · Score: 0

Die in a fire, you furry deviant homo pedo faggot.
Re: that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 19:01 · Score: 0

"Work" and "France" are mutually exclusive.
Re:that's because by TheRaven64 · 2014-11-23 21:21 · Score: 1

Yes. Although in that case it's to make cutting remarks about their fashion sense.

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I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Re: that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 21:27 · Score: 0

The women are the worst.
Re:that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 22:42 · Score: 0

I don't why why people mod down the obvious truth. If I had points, I'd give this bump. Americans, as a culture, are in fact shallow, illiterate, drooling morons.
Re:that's because by RabidReindeer · 2014-11-23 23:44 · Score: 1

The French do enjoy longer annual leave, but I suspect that in the US, the productivity gains resulting from a little more rest at certain points in the year would more than make up for the lost working time.
21st-Century business axiom:
"If you have time to rest, we need to lay some people off and add their job responsibilities to yours".
Re:that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-24 00:17 · Score: 0

That's because you're too incompetent to get your work done in less than a full day.
Re:that's because by Richard+Dick+Head · 2014-11-24 01:09 · Score: 1

That's because the US has always been the dumping ground of the world's dregs...puritans, slaves, shithead brats who hated their families and just had to move to another continent, shithead brats whose rich familes hated them and forced them to attend school in the US, Mexico and South America's uneducated and unemployed, Canada's alcoholics and meth heads, and, historically, the drunkest of the inbred Irish and the cattiest of the catty Dutch.

And for political posturing reasons, the US will continue to fill up with morons with no skills or social graces (who would leave their family, really?) which makes the US moron footprint on the internet even more over-represented.

The funny part is that anyone smart is really planning a exit strategy long-term, if they haven't left already. The US economy is like emptying a bath with the faucet of petrodollars left on. You could optimistically call the vortex above the drain a "whirlwind of activity"...but no, thats the sucking sound that happens at the end, and after sufficient time, the petrodollar will cease to exist and the bath will drain really quickly >:O

--
The real path to male liberation
Re:that's because by NotDrWho · 2014-11-24 01:54 · Score: 1

In the other hand, they keep their government in check and take the streets at the hint of an real or perceived BS coming from it
Yeah, except that hasn't really produced a better country. It just means a lot more headaches for the people living there and having to deal with periodic riots.

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SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
Re:that's because by NotDrWho · 2014-11-24 01:57 · Score: 1

I'm pretty sure you could walk up to any old person in any country at any time in history, ask them what they think of the younger generation, and get the same basic answer. Even Plato and Jesus complained about the younger generation.

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SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
Re:that's because by neoritter · 2014-11-24 04:33 · Score: 1

...the US will continue to fill up with morons with no skills or social graces...
The irony of this quote is astounding. :)
Re:that's because by Eunuchswear · 2014-11-24 04:36 · Score: 1

In French we say "cheeseburger".

--
Watch this Heartland Institute video
Re:that's because by ThatsDrDangerToYou · 2014-11-24 04:57 · Score: 1

Sigh, when will we catch up to Japan in our advertising??
Re: that's because by LinuxLuver · 2014-11-24 06:27 · Score: 1

The French are informed thinking citizens of a lively democracy. Americans are too often none of those things. The French aren't snobs. They are doing what Americans SHOULD be doing for America to function well.....

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Only boring people are ever bored.
Re: that's because by LinuxLuver · 2014-11-24 06:29 · Score: 1

The "bullshit" is the ideas that shape our world. No wonder America is a mess.

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Only boring people are ever bored.
Re:that's because by g4sy · 2014-11-24 08:44 · Score: 1

your generalisations might be terribly wrong. i moved from NA to western europe and i find people very dull. niether interested in serious subjects or cat videos.

--
somewhere, on a Big Red Sign:
if(color==blue){speed--;}
Re:that's because by war4peace · 2014-11-24 11:35 · Score: 1

Japan's easy: Watch their shows; watch their ads; watch their music; watch their products. All, with very few exceptions, are way over the top.
China's really too big to be momolithic in this approach. It's a subcontinent by itself, to the extent that people from the North side don't speak the same language as those from the South, therefore one can't say "Chinese culture" without over-generalizing.
South Korea is gravitating toward extremes as well.

--
...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
Re: that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-24 12:50 · Score: 0

Ok, that seals it -- I'm moving to France.
Re:that's because by lsatenstein · 2014-11-24 14:04 · Score: 1

It's not about countries, it's about cultures.
Some cultures (e.g. Western European culture) favor more serious subjects versus others. Some others (e.g. Northern American) favor lighter subjects (unwind-type). Asian cultures apparently favor explosive feeling-related and augmentative headlines ("It's SUPER effective!"; "AMAZING performance!").
Nobody's to blame, really, except companies not doing their homeworks and trying to vomit their own culture-specific successes over other cultures and promptly failing.
The difference is in the quality/richness of education. French/Europe get bored with useless drival from social networks. On the other hand, Americans like to waste time posting trivia. Another factor is the 6/4 situation with monetizing minutes of connection. Six minutes of important stuff and 4 minutes of commercials. How many crime programs do you need to see on the web?
We are shaped by what we visit. KISS applies more for North American users.

--
Leslie Satenstein Montreal Quebec Canada
Re:that's because by Lilith's+Heart-shape · 2014-11-24 14:19 · Score: 1

I don't get paid enough for that shit.

--
I write sci-fi for metalheads
Re:that's because by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-28 03:05 · Score: 0

Northern American's might lighter subjects, but that doesn't stop them from also favouring "explosive feeling-related" headlines ... your headline examples sound typical American to me.
Just do a YouTube search for any Steve Balmer presentation video ... maybe he is not a typical American, but that is how the rest of the world views them!
Re:that's because by findoutmoretoday · 2014-11-30 22:54 · Score: 1

No, Slashdot is all about cats. I think so, maybe I should RTFA

Too late ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:05 · Score: 1

We already do blame America for everything which sucks, it just saves time.

"Pretty serious stuff" like Jerry Lewis? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:06 · Score: 0

Given the urban legend that the French love Jerry Lewis, this analysis is hard to believe.

Re:"Pretty serious stuff" like Jerry Lewis? by cold+fjord · 2014-11-23 07:54 · Score: 1

It's not an urban legend. France has a special appreciation for the comedic genius of Msr Jerry Lewis.
Jerry Lewis gets Legion of Honor medal

PARIS (AP) — France formalized its fascination with Jerry Lewis Thursday with a uniquely Gallic gift for his 80th birthday: a medal and induction into the Legion of Honor.
Legion of Honour

The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour (French: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur)[1] is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte on 19 May 1802. The Order is the highest decoration in France and is divided into five degrees: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), Commandeur (Commander), Grand Officier (Grand Officer), and Grand Croix (Grand Cross).

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much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
Re:"Pretty serious stuff" like Jerry Lewis? by Dutchmaan · 2014-11-23 08:04 · Score: 1

Have you ever thought that maybe they loved Jerry Lewis because all his characters were basically an "idiot American". Laughter is a response to something we identify with.
Re:"Pretty serious stuff" like Jerry Lewis? by cold+fjord · 2014-11-23 08:27 · Score: 1

An "idiot," certainly, but "idiot American"? I doubt that.
But I suppose turnabout is fair play.
A Shot In The Dark Funnies
Hilarious _ The Return of the Pink Panther

--
much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
Re:"Pretty serious stuff" like Jerry Lewis? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 23:12 · Score: 0

"Legion of Honor" is a joke. It's how friends of the current President get you to party with them.
Re:"Pretty serious stuff" like Jerry Lewis? by Eunuchswear · 2014-11-24 04:51 · Score: 1

Don't underestimate the Legion of Honour -- Arnold Schwarzenegger has one.
(I think the French give them to people like Jerry Lewis and Arnold Schwarzenegger just to poke fun at America, like "look, that's the best you have!").

--
Watch this Heartland Institute video

Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:11 · Score: 1

... the world over. This is especially reflected in their politics.

Re:Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by godel_56 · 2014-11-23 09:06 · Score: 1, Insightful

Only because most of the world lives under socialist regimes disguised as democracy, whether it's the dirty boot heels of dear leader kim, or the 'soft', stagnant, and effeminate, culture that's been grafted onto scandinavia.
As opposed to America where you're living under fascist regimes, state and federal, disguised as democracy.
Re:Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by epyT-R · 2014-11-23 09:30 · Score: 1

Not fascist, but yes, authoritarian to be sure. We have the worst elements of left and right authoritarianism disguised as democracy.
Re:Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by serviscope_minor · 2014-11-23 09:30 · Score: 1

Only because most of the world lives under socialist regimes disguised as democracy,
Socalism and democracy are orthogonal qualities. You can vote in either left or right wing parties then vote them out again. There is nothing inherently undemocratic about socalism.
and effeminate,
What's wrong with that? You say it like it's a bad thing. If it's neutral, why bring it up at all?

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SJW n. One who posts facts.
Re:Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by Aighearach · 2014-11-23 09:50 · Score: 1

Yes, yes, we're known the world over to be blargityblorg by these deep, educated people who have visited us and learned about our culture and history... oh, wait, well, OK so they didn't actually visit... and they don't understand our culture or history... but they're so very educated in their own history, and have deep thoughts about America... well, at least, they have deep feelings about the things that locals say in the local language on the local television about Americans. And those people are all educated, deep-thinking world travelers... oh, they're not?
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say anything that is "known... the world over" is probably ignorant and shallow. Just by numbers; most people are not deep thinkers or well educated. So ignorant and shallow people the world over have opinions about places they know nothing about? Got it!
Re:Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by Aighearach · 2014-11-23 09:53 · Score: 1

Only because most of the world lives under socialist regimes disguised as democracy, whether it's the dirty boot heels of dear leader kim, or the 'soft', stagnant, and effeminate, culture that's been grafted onto scandinavia.
As opposed to America where you're living under fascist regimes, state and federal, disguised as democracy.
I'm not, but thanks for your faked concern, I'm sure it makes you feel better about your plight in the world. You can't remove my State's direct democracy by simply believing we don't have it, though you're certainly free to believe whatever you want, and spew it around the internet. That is why we gave you the internet, because we know you're comforted and enriched by your spewing.
Re:Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:59 · Score: 0

because women have never built a civilization worth a shit
Re:Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by _merlin · 2014-11-23 11:07 · Score: 2

You can't remove my State's direct democracy by simply believing we don't have it, though you're certainly free to believe whatever you want, and spew it around the internet.
I might believe in it when you vote down the PATRIOT Act, kick the TSA bullshit out of your state, get rid of civil forfeiture... None of these things benefit the people, so why do they exist in a "direct democracy?"
Re:Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by russotto · 2014-11-23 11:16 · Score: 1

and effeminate,
What's wrong with that? You say it like it's a bad thing. If it's neutral, why bring it up at all?

Pretty sure the word he's going for is "effete".
Re:Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by BarbaraHudson · 2014-11-23 11:20 · Score: 1

because women have never built a civilization worth a shit
Who would want to live in a civilization that's only "worth a sh*t?"

--
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
Re:Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by TheRaven64 · 2014-11-23 21:26 · Score: 1

You can't remove my State's direct democracy by simply believing we don't have it
The only places I am aware that practice direct democracy are the Swiss Cantons and some parts of Israel. Which state do you live in the I should add to this list?

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I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Re:Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by serviscope_minor · 2014-11-23 22:56 · Score: 1

Pretty sure the word he's going for is "effete".
Given the user in question, I would really not be surprised if he was actually going for "effeminate".

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SJW n. One who posts facts.
Re:Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by gtall · 2014-11-23 23:51 · Score: 1

As opposed to the Europeans who, now that Putin is acting like a Tsar, appear to have rediscovered the value of military power...not that it will make them defend themselves yet. When they realize the U.S. cannot do it for them, I expect it will change...or Putin's little toy government collapses and the Europeans will go back to sleep until....
The MidEast crazies decide they're entitled to making Europe the cesspool that is the MidEast. The regular pop. is too scared of the nutjobs to instill law and order, and when they do, it comes out like Egypt which sees an Islamist behind every grain of sand...which echos the Saudis thinking about the Iranians. And after Iran get the Bomb, the rest of those well-adjusted countries will decide they need one as well.
India is mire of corruption and presumably they will last the century without getting nuked by the Pakistanis, who are in the process of turning their country into nutjob central.
China is doing wonders...in fouling their environment so that one cannot even see more than a mile in Beijing on a good day. Japan is into their 20th year of failed economics, when they aren't hiding from the few foreigners they've so graciously allowed in to work for them.
Africa still cannot produce a stable democracy except in a few small nations. The economic problems will only get worse now that China had decided to export any economic progress they were making.
Yep, compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. is ignorant and shallow and these other countries are beacons of enlightenment.
Re:Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by dbIII · 2014-11-24 02:23 · Score: 1

http://www.antipope.org/charli...
Re:Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by cyberchondriac · 2014-11-24 04:11 · Score: 1

Well, we'll see how time plays out on this post, currently modded "troll".. but I think that just proves his point. I think this post was eloquent, intelligently worded, and fairly spot on, except for the somewhat harsh characterization of Scandinavia which was a bit over the top. World-wide, there's a whole lot of self righteousness going around, and blaming America for everything, without looking inward or seeing the bigger picture. Other countries citizens/subjects are often just as jingoistic, and often reveal ignorance of the true nature of the US. It's trendy nowadays to just blame the US for everything; and apparently we're the only nation in the world now that is not allowed to exercise border control either, because somehow the fact that colonists came over hundreds of years ago when the country was a wilderness populated by no officially recognized nation but by native Indian tribes, means the US has no right to exercise a naturalization policy.

--

Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
Re:Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by operagost · 2014-11-24 04:51 · Score: 0

It's impossible to vote out the socialists once they've used wealth redistribution to provide handouts to a large voting bloc-- whether via crony capitalism or social welfare.

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Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
Re:Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by asdfj · 2014-11-24 08:28 · Score: 1

Nah, Eurofolk are quite effeminate as well as effete. The popular music, the average male going tanning and getting body hair waxed and fussing over their hair and wearing makeup... There's a reason that many European immigrants are perceived as homosexual in North America. Most European cultural trends are quite feminine compared to the masculine norm in North America.
Re:Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by Rakarra · 2014-11-24 14:12 · Score: 1

Most don't know about civil forfeiture, and that's truly unfortunate. However, I think you would find that a majority of Americans, while perhaps a bit uncomfortable with some parts of the PATRIOT act, are generally for it, as well as the TSA. Or at least, they find it better than the alternatives. There are plenty of folks on the far far left and far far right and of course on Slashdot that will rant and rail about it (I certainly have), but it's hardly something that is forced on them by a dictatorship.
Re:Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by KozmoStevnNaut · 2014-11-24 20:43 · Score: 1

Clearly you've never actually met the average European man. What do you think Europe is, some kind of continent-sized Castro District?

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Eat the rich.
Re:Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow.. by asdfj · 2014-11-26 03:56 · Score: 1

I've been all over Europe, for both vacation and business combined around 30-40 times.
And yes, I do.

Caring about news and politics instead of trivial by cyber-vandal · 2014-11-23 07:11 · Score: 4, Funny

How incredibly snobby to give a shit about what's going on in the world and how your country's being run rather than hur hur look at da crazy cat. The human race is filed.

The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:13 · Score: 0

We were working with a company who specialized in software localization, and when their director came over from France to give us an introduction, the entire tone of his talk was like someone lecturing naughty school children, as in "You Americans have no regard for the proper way of doing things."

Rather than develop new products, the French prefer to sit back and criticize the products that others develop, particularly those from America.

Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:18 · Score: 0

I'm sure your anonymous anecdote is representative of what you claim, and not what they claim in the article... that know-nothing troll culture is America's #1 birthright.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:21 · Score: 0

Brit here. The French are right about you.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by TechyImmigrant · 2014-11-23 07:24 · Score: 5, Funny

When I was working in the UK at a wireless product design company, the American CEO of the American corporation that just purchased the company flew in to talk to us. We were all gathered in a big room. In his rambling talk, he referred to all the black people in the room as 'African Americans'.
Stupidity is not reserved for one nation alone.

--
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Sarten-X · 2014-11-23 07:29 · Score: 1

As is often the case, it's a little more complicated than that.
The French appreciate standardization and conformity more that Americans. Where Americans would care about getting a job done, the French care about doing the job correctly. Along with that, there is a distaste for frivolity and absurdity when those aren't the matter at hand.

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You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:31 · Score: 0

Yes, but the French rub our noses into it. You UK guys do it with a bit more humor.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:35 · Score: 0

> the French prefer to sit back and criticize the products that others develop, particularly those from America.
Because Americans have such a reputation for being stoic non-complainers.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:37 · Score: 1

American here. The Brit is right: the French are right about us.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:37 · Score: 0

If he had just purchased them that made them americans.
What americans don't buy africans anymore?
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:44 · Score: 1

Canadian here. The American is right: the Brit is right about the French.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by war4peace · 2014-11-23 07:49 · Score: 3, Funny

Romanian here: Well... I'm with you fellas.

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...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:50 · Score: 0

Frenchman here. the Canadian is wrong: we just like being contrary.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:52 · Score: 1

Rather than develop new products, the French prefer to sit back and criticize the products that others develop, particularly those from America
Maybe the French don't like cat videos because the cats remind them too much of themselves: picky, snobby, moody, ungrateful, and do nothing useful.
Re: The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:54 · Score: 0

Perhaps you deserve to be rubbed in it.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 08:03 · Score: 1

Rather than develop new products, the French prefer to sit back and criticize the products that others develop, particularly those from America
Maybe the French don't like cat videos because the cats remind them too much of themselves: picky, snobby, moody, ungrateful, and do nothing useful.
Cats surrender to the Germans?
Wow. Learn something new every day.
Re: The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 08:04 · Score: 0

Perhaps you're a tiresome ass.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by meerling · 2014-11-23 08:06 · Score: 0

I was an American in London who encountered a large group of French there.
The French were sitting around the fountain yelling insults and obscenities in French at those walking by.
Let's just say I don't really give a damn about what the French say, they made a really poor impression on everyone.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by meerling · 2014-11-23 08:07 · Score: 1

Another example of Politically Correct failures.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 08:17 · Score: 0

Canadian here: "We're sorry aboot that, eh?"
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 08:19 · Score: 0

Well the French aren't known for their tact, that's the main reason we don't like them.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 08:21 · Score: 0

That's pretty fucking funny. I can never figure out if I'm White, Caucasian, or Western-European American. The identity crisis which results if pretty traumatic to my racial identity. I'm not sure which meetup groups to subscribe to and my plenty of fish profile I left as "other" just to be safe. If I remember right my "headline was": for all the bitches who love other cock.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by OzPeter · 2014-11-23 08:27 · Score: 1

he referred to all the black people in the room as 'African Americans'.
Stupidity is not reserved for one nation alone.
Years ago I was in Florida, and was chatting with the hotel clerk when an English guy came in and started chatting as well. After a few moments the clerk said "I can't tell you two apart", meaning our accents.
The english guy and I just look at each other and burst out laughing, due to the fact that I'm white and the he was black.

--
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 08:28 · Score: 1

Martian here: You're all nuts.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 08:32 · Score: 1

In his rambling talk, he referred to all the black people in the room as 'African Americans'.
If you haven't noticed from recent articles, US Internet Culture will absolutely eat you alive if you don't use Proper Politically Correct Language. For a recent example, see #ShirtStorm, where predominantly white male US Tumblr users threw a complete shit storm over the shirt a UK scientist got from his girlfriend, because it wasn't deemed sufficiently Politically Correct.
In the US, the only safe term for referring to people of African descent is "African American." If you don't, you'll generate a gigantic shitstorm and may only possibly get away with apologizing. More likely you'll be forced to resign. (See: Eich and Mozilla.)
So Americans get used to using that phrase exclusively, even if it makes absolutely no fucking sense, because they know that if they slip up even once and use "black" they're quite likely going to become untouchable.
Thanks, in part, to sites like BuzzFeed, who will harp on such slips endlessly in the name of "social justice." Regardless of apologies, regardless of intent. At that point your only hope is to resign and hope you can find a new job in some field where people don't have to worry about what losers on the Internet think.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 08:37 · Score: 0

The only difference between Britain and France is the accent... Two contrasting methods for picking up chicks...
It's Austin Powers vs. Maurice Chevalier
Just ask Pocahontas...
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Deadstick · 2014-11-23 08:42 · Score: 3, Funny

The wife and I were standing outside Buckingham Palace one day waiting for the Changing of the Guard and making idle chitchat with a French lady next to us (SWMBO fluently, moi haltingly) when a group of teenagers came by, hooting, catcalling, playing grabass and generally acting like teenagers. She looked down her nose at them at first; then when they got close and she heard them speaking French she blasted them. "VOUS ETES FRANCAIS! HONTE A VOUS!"
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by X0563511 · 2014-11-23 08:44 · Score: 1

Trash is trash, wherever it came from.

--
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 08:55 · Score: 0

Brit here. The French are right about you.
American here. The French are right about you, perfidious albion.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by epyT-R · 2014-11-23 08:57 · Score: 0

Sounds like a typical socialist to me. No solutions, only complaints, with a narcissistic superiority complex thrown in for great (social) justice.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:00 · Score: 0

Mah pretene ai votat?
Signed,
Romanian troll
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by epyT-R · 2014-11-23 09:11 · Score: 1

Welcome to the brainwashing that is political correctness. He might call all black people 'african americans', but that's because that's what the 'multicultural' leftist retards were teaching in school while he was young. If he used the term, it means he was trying to do the right thing. Of course, at least several european countries have the same kinds of stupidity, like refusing to acknowledge differences between the sexes because it offends idiot feminists. For example, sweden recently tried to force the use of 'ungendered' pronouns in schools, along with other stupid shit, like banning urinals.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:11 · Score: 0

Québecois: En français aussi, svp.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by epyT-R · 2014-11-23 09:15 · Score: 1

You mean how the 'blame america' people here get their 'anecdotes' about americans from the koolaid flavored media in their home countries?
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by epyT-R · 2014-11-23 09:17 · Score: 1

No. The french care about the enforcement of conformity and standardization than they do about correctness or individual liberty.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by amiga3D · 2014-11-23 09:19 · Score: 3, Insightful

Funny but the Germans aren't tactful either but we generally respect them while we have nothing but contempt for the French. The reason is that most of the German arrogance is actually warranted. The French arrogance isn't.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by serviscope_minor · 2014-11-23 09:22 · Score: 2

like banning urinals.
That just makes me sad.

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SJW n. One who posts facts.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by serviscope_minor · 2014-11-23 09:23 · Score: 1

the French care about going on strike
FTFY

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SJW n. One who posts facts.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:24 · Score: 0

Wah-wah-wah. Poor little AC can't handle criticism. Stick and stones my little napoleonic friend.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:27 · Score: 0

Brit here. The French are right about you.
The French are right about many things, but like the Russians nobody gives a shit what they think.
It's worse now that they tow the United States line without any questions.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:27 · Score: 0

That's funny. Because what I take away from it is that he didn't actually pay attention to what those "leftist retards" were teaching.
But what do I know? Being african american myself, I need guys like you to tell me I shouldn't get uppity about it.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:34 · Score: 2, Interesting

Funny but the Germans aren't tactful either but we generally respect them while we have nothing but contempt for the French. The reason is that most of the German arrogance is actually warranted. The French arrogance isn't.
Americans respect Germans because they're very different (but that respect doesn't go very far since they still have bases in Germany 70 years after WW2). The French are very much like the Americans. This is an unconfortable truth, and so the love-hate relationship goes on since the late eighteen hundreds.
A Frenchman is an unrealised American. And the same is true on the other side, an intellectual American (yes yes they do exist) is very frenchlike. Had France kept its empire it would bullying the world as easy as the Americans have done since the end of WW2. Don't believe those that say that the French hate America. Frenchmen look to America and it reminds them of the French Grandeur that's never coming back.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:39 · Score: 0

Québecois: En français aussi, svp.
Tabarnack !!!!
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by epyT-R · 2014-11-23 09:47 · Score: 1

Like I said, it depends largely on what decade he was in school and what terms were in use while he was growing up. How many more times do the 'proper' terms have to be replaced? Perhaps the focus should be on why the terms become pejoratives over time and fix that instead. Of course, this would require a reexamination of ideology, culture, and behavior, which few have the backbone for.
Get uppity or don't. No one implied you had to get anyone's permission. I choose not to. I don't get upset if someone calls me 'cracker' or 'whitey' or 'whitebread' or 'redneck' instead of 'caucasian.' I'll laugh and call that person a slur appropriate for their race in return, whether it's in jest, or not. If he laughs in return then we've established a rapport. If he gets butthurt, then he's a hypocrite who's not worth my time. People who can't take it shouldn't dish it. Those who claim that attributes like race and sex shouldn't matter seem to spend lots of time obsessing over and enforcing the use of proper terms for them.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Lilith's+Heart-shape · 2014-11-23 09:49 · Score: 1

That's something Americans need to learn from the French. America needs more strikes.

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I write sci-fi for metalheads
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 10:03 · Score: 0

Have fun converting to Islam in 20-30 years and having sandniggers rape your daughters (and sons), britfag.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Aighearach · 2014-11-23 10:05 · Score: 0

When I was working in the UK at a wireless product design company, the American CEO of the American corporation that just purchased the company flew in to talk to us. We were all gathered in a big room. In his rambling talk, he referred to all the black people in the room as 'African Americans'.
Stupidity is not reserved for one nation alone.
You interpret it as "stupidity," but you might just be ignorant of his goals and concerns. He might very well care more about how a video or transcript of the event would play in the US than in using accurate terms, or impressing you. It may be that he had light skin, and that dark skinned Americans don't all agree on how they should be referred to. So if part of his talk is to discuss diversity, and he's support to tailor it to who is in the room, and there are dark skinned people in the room, he might be diplomatically constrained; he needs to use a recognizable term, it needs to be an acceptable term, and it needs to be recognizable by an American court as not being discriminatory. He is not supposed to choose his preferred term, or the term he thinks is most accurate. And indeed, in the US there is a history of people using terms known to be offensive, and then trying to hide behind a belief that is the technically accurate term instead of admitting the real reasons.
If that is the most important thing you took from his talk, I have to say, you don't sound like a team player or a valuable employee. And if you think the choice of wording that a foreigner uses in a talk tells you about his intelligence, without even having been a part of the choosing of the word... well, that just shows that stupidity is not reserved for one nation alone .
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 10:07 · Score: 0

Mmmm...loving those Freedom Fries!
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 10:08 · Score: 0

Sure thing, nigger.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Aighearach · 2014-11-23 10:10 · Score: 1

I'm not saying either stereotype is correct, but I think the standard stereotype of Americans is the cowboy that draws out a gun and shoots you as his form of complaint, and the Frenchman whines over his cheese and finishes it off with an impolitic insult.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 10:14 · Score: 0

Well, that was a non-sequitur. Hit Reply on the wrong comment maybe?
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by amiga3D · 2014-11-23 10:19 · Score: 1

I wondered about why we still had so many troops in Germany so long after WW2 and I remember one of my commanders telling me it was because if we pulled out entirely the Germans would take over and we'd have to come back and bail the French out again.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Aighearach · 2014-11-23 10:21 · Score: 1

Yep, here is one now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
You can tell it is a French cat because of the silly floppy-hat color pattern, and it tries to stick its tongue in the German's mouth while still on video.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 10:25 · Score: 0

Any arguments the Germans make can be countered by, "At least we didn't try to exterminate the Jews".
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 10:37 · Score: 0

Sure thing, nigger.
In Italy black people are called "negro". Becuase you know they're black.
And they sure don't come from America hence no African-american politically correct bullshit when referring to them. What's so bad about being black ?
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 10:46 · Score: 0

Spoken Like a true rebel colonial dog.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 10:49 · Score: 0

As is often the case, it's a little more complicated than that.
The French appreciate standardization and conformity more that Americans. Where Americans would care about getting a job done, the French care about doing the job correctly. Along with that, there is a distaste for frivolity and absurdity when those aren't the matter at hand.
This, ^1000000 times this. France is a very conformist country much more so than the US. As for being a meritocratic society sure but within certain rigid limits. This is an aspect where American society is so much better and freer than French society. There is a reason why self made milionaires/billionaires are a dime a dozen in the US and not so much in France. Americans go straight to the kernel, if you have good ideas that have potential you're in. In France not so. First you have to have the right kind of diploma, and then we will begin to listen to you. France has a very rigid caste-like society. Ironic isn't it when the French revolution should have swept away all that was wrong with the ancien regime. In some respects French society is more elitist/aristocratic than our cousins' society over the English channel.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by _merlin · 2014-11-23 10:56 · Score: 1

It's not just stupid, it's insulting to the audience. And the video will look just as stupid back in the US because of context.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Hognoxious · 2014-11-23 11:03 · Score: 1

I always wondered why George Washington had the same hat as Napoleon. It all makes perfect sense now.

--
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 11:14 · Score: 0

Happened to me & a guy I used to work with. If we went out to eat we always sat close together so it was easier to swap plates because waitresses used to get us confused.
We couldn't have been more dissimilar in appearance if one of us had been a woman. And we didn't even have the same kind of English accent.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 11:15 · Score: 0

" America and it reminds them of the French Grandeur that's never coming back." - Another thing in common with America then.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Krishnoid · 2014-11-23 11:18 · Score: 1

Well, it could be worse.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 11:21 · Score: 0

No matter what "an American court" might interpret from his talk, there's no getting around the fact that black people in a company in the UK are not likely to be African-Americans. It's factually wrong to refer to them as such.
And it's offensive, not to the employees back home who you posit might be watching a video of the talk, but to the employees right there in the room. Both because he fails to differentiate between Americans and non-Americans, and because he fails to use the term that's politically correct in the UK, and hence would strike them as polite (which would be to call them "black", if he really has to mention the subject at all). I'd also suggest it would be offensive to employees back in the USA, because it implies that "all black people in the world are African-Americans, i.e. the 'American' part of that descriptor is meaningless".
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 11:41 · Score: 0

Good, you laughed, which was clearly the point. Not sure why this little anecdote makes any sense in the context, though. Or are you just particularly bad at recognizing ironic humor?
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 11:42 · Score: 0

You're right, the French should just take back the Statue of Liberty.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Dahamma · 2014-11-23 11:48 · Score: 1

Not sure if you are being sarcastic or not, but I'd say it's true!
The French workforce may strike more (and be particularly obnoxious about it, shutting down highways and city centers), but they also get more vacation, better hours, better pay, full healthcare, and retirement. American workers have lost all of their power, which is why they are increasingly losing all of their benefits and living wages. Welcome to "unfettered capitalism".
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Dahamma · 2014-11-23 11:57 · Score: 1

Sounds like a typical socialist to me. No solutions, only complaints
Bloody worthless bastards, they've taken everything we had!
Except for universal health care, higher standards of living, better working conditions, and lower crime rates, what has any socialist government ever done for its people?
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 11:59 · Score: 0

Sounds like most Americans.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by i.kazmi · 2014-11-23 12:35 · Score: 1

Mod parent funny...that made me snicker
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 12:55 · Score: 0

Coming from an American I presume whose country had once to be bailed out by the French. How ironic. Your arrogance is clearly unwarranted.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 13:05 · Score: 0

Funny but the Germans aren't tactful either but we generally respect them while we have nothing but contempt for the French. The reason is that most of the German arrogance is actually warranted. The French arrogance isn't.
If it's warranted, is it arrogance?
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 13:28 · Score: 0

Also, given my contacts with the French over the years and their emphasis on language, Buzzfeed's poor translation probably irked them considerably more than fluffy content. (Ok, maybe somewhat more).
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 13:42 · Score: 0

Well Australia, you are the UK's bitch.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by manu0601 · 2014-11-23 14:56 · Score: 1

There is a reason why self made milionaires/billionaires are a dime a dozen in the US and not so much in France.
France has actually a large share of millionaires. Crédit suisse Research Institute's Global Wealth Report claims 9% of worldwide millionaires are in France. The number is interesting as it suggests France's taxes are not that bad for the wealthiers
Re: The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 15:55 · Score: 0

I am also a Brit and I know Anonymous Coward personally and he is, in fact, a tiresome arse.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 17:41 · Score: 0

well, they could just youknow, talk Finnish! Which is ungendered since befire feminism.
Re: The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 19:38 · Score: 0

Because Africans today are made in Bangladesh by little kids in sweatshops, man. Quality has gone down the shitter.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by GrumblyStuff · 2014-11-23 20:32 · Score: 2

There has to be at least one!
Maybe set it in the back of the bathroom like so:
|U|T|T|T|T| | | | | |_ _ _ _ |_|T|T|T|T|
This way boys can still test their might and see how far they can peep without hosing a toilet.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 21:03 · Score: 0

> it reminds them of the French Grandeur that's never coming back Oh it is going to come back. Maybe just not within a timescale that an American can grasp though, but hopefully within the next thousand years or so. Being great at least once per millenium is already quite good.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by dave420 · 2014-11-23 21:44 · Score: 1

The "African American" thing is actually just a case of the US being the US. In sane countries people are free to use "white" and "black" to describe people. It has nothing to do with multiculturalism or "leftism", but the ridiculous nature of US politics. Sweden didn't force the use of "hen", but simply said it can be used in various situations within school. It doesn't help your case if you make stuff up and get offended at it, but it doesn't surprise me, as you have a history of being a small-minded, hate-drenched muppet.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by dave420 · 2014-11-23 21:51 · Score: 1

Save your breath. That guy loves to hate on women, minorities, socialism, the left in general, and anything else he perceives as threats to his insecure, pathetic, scared, ignorant little world. You can point him at actual studies outlining why he's incorrect, and he won't change his opinion. He might think of himself as, and even present himself as, a wonderful sceptic, but he's clearly a cynic, as nothing can change his mind.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by thegarbz · 2014-11-23 22:53 · Score: 1

So please tell me how I refer to the colour of your skin or your race in general. Whatever has been said in history as managed to offend someone.
What ethnicity are you? Caucasian? Mongoloid? Negroid? Those are three alternatives, yet using the last one will typically get you a reply of "Did you just call me a nigger?" But getting all scientific is tough so we approximate with visual descriptions: White, Asian, Black. Oh wait we can't call black people black any more because they get offended by that now too?
Leftist retards is the right phrase for people who find the names of their own race offensive without offering any alternative by which to describe them. Just like feminist man-hating retard is the right phrase for my highschool english teacher who was offended at the use of the word manhole because it had the word "man" in it and then gave detention to a student (not me) who pointed out the Germanic etymology of "man" stems from the meaning human, and not male.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by N1AK · 2014-11-23 23:38 · Score: 1

If that is the most important thing you took from his talk, I have to say, you don't sound like a team player or a valuable employee
If you can't see why British people, or people from any other country, might mock someone who flew into their home country and called them American then you don't sound like a valueable lifeform ;)
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by amiga3D · 2014-11-24 00:16 · Score: 1

We've repaid the favor, twice. In fact, as much as I dislike the French, I know we'd go save them again if we had to.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-24 00:32 · Score: 0

You do of course realize that 'banning urinals' were fake?
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by gtall · 2014-11-24 00:34 · Score: 1

Yes, it is a shame the rest of the world equates Americans with Texans.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by AmiMoJo · 2014-11-24 00:53 · Score: 1

like banning urinals.
It's got nothing to do with feminism or political correctness though, even if the media tries to paint it that way. It's a hygiene issue. Basically many men piss on the floor or the toilet seat, while women's bathrooms tend to be cleaner because they can't miss and it's in everyone's interests to keep the seats reasonably clean.
It's not just Sweden, men in South Korea and France have been proposing it too. Note that it's men proposing it in all cases, it's not some feminazi conspiracy. Also, it happened in the US first: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A...

--
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-24 01:51 · Score: 0

Seems like at last we agreed on something: CEO are stupid all around the world.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by dbIII · 2014-11-24 02:33 · Score: 1

There was a change sometime in the early 1980s where the French went from being just about the most liked nation by Americans (they helped found your nation after all) to intensely disliked "cheese eating surrender monkies". It may coincide with France extending a middle finger to US requests to shut down their centuries old hemp industry or the French complaints about Reagan's missile posturing that restarted the cold war after the USSR had just about given up.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by dbIII · 2014-11-24 02:36 · Score: 1

Out of date. We're China's bitch now unless the USA is watching.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-24 04:23 · Score: 0

Hmmm... funny how until recently, a plurality of Americans actually were Germans.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by serviscope_minor · 2014-11-24 04:41 · Score: 1

it's not some feminazi conspiracy
u wot m8?
Seriously?
Urinals are a much better use of floor space than stalls. You can fit far more in a given space. Also, men seem perfectly capable of pissing all over a toilet seat. I'd much rather there were slightly messy uninals so I can take a shit without sitting in someone's piss.
Also the US thing seemed to be nothing to do with hygine, and all to do with a bunch of nutcases.

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SJW n. One who posts facts.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by cyberchondriac · 2014-11-24 05:08 · Score: 1

Yep, showing that they aren't thinking, just mechanically reacting and regurgitating the stuff that's force/spoon fed to them.

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Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-24 05:53 · Score: 0

We've repaid the favor, twice.
Fighting in the World Wars was more like paying interest. I say this, because the volatile conditions in Europe that led to WW1 (which then led to WW2) was a result of the Napoleonic Wars and the French Revolution. The French Revolution was when the US could repay their favor. If the debt was repaid then, the interest payments of World Wars may not be needed (and the problems that followed the World Wars, from Cold War to the situation in the Middle East)
Even if you ignore how the Revolution was in theory about the things America supports (liberty, democracy, giving the finger to aristocracy and nobility), another reason for the revolution was that America was one of the causes that led to revolution. You see, the French were rebelling because they were broke, and they were broke because they had to pay for its wars, including the war helping the Americans gain independence.
Alas, that didn't happen. What happened instead is Napoleon got into power, leading to the Napoleonic wars. That in turned led to a reactionary response in Europe that rejected the French and American ideas of liberty and republicanism. Europe was transformed into a bunch of nationalist empires, who only kept peace because the empires kept a balance of power with each other. That balance of power between rich old boys was, as hindsight tells us, highly volatile, and WW1 was the result of it all blowing up.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by oldmac31310 · 2014-11-24 10:04 · Score: 1

I think that women's toilets being cleaner than men's is a myth. Women can be filthy slobs just as much as men.

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http://www.acetonestudio.com
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Aighearach · 2014-11-24 12:14 · Score: 1

If that is the most important thing you took from his talk, I have to say, you don't sound like a team player or a valuable employee
If you can't see why British people, or people from any other country, might mock someone who flew into their home country and called them American then you don't sound like a valueable lifeform ;)
Americans would mock him too... "duh"
I just don't think it should trump his own needs. He should use speech that fits his own needs. If the speech is tailored for the people in the room, or for people not in the room, he should decide that based on his own needs. If you don't realize that, you don't sound like a very valued lifeform.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Lilith's+Heart-shape · 2014-11-24 14:20 · Score: 1

I'm dead serious. American labor is spineless, which is why capital fucks labor up the ass on a regular basis.

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I write sci-fi for metalheads
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by Dahamma · 2014-11-24 17:34 · Score: 1

Yeah, probably true. But I just couldn't help quoting Monty Python to make a point...
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by war4peace · 2014-11-24 21:16 · Score: 1

yes I did.

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...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by TechyImmigrant · 2014-11-25 06:04 · Score: 1

Oh dear God.

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I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by TechyImmigrant · 2014-11-25 08:02 · Score: 1

He succeeded in offending the two black people I was standing next to that I worked with at the time, who were both British.
From then on we had an early taste of the idiocy of the CEO and later on he did many other things to confirm our initial opinion.

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I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by TechyImmigrant · 2014-11-25 08:05 · Score: 1

>So please tell me how I refer to the colour of your skin or your race in general. Whatever has been said in history as managed to offend someone.
What offended the black British people in the room was being told they were American.
I now live in the US and I see many American are scared of their own language and overload additional semantics to words which makes their use of language twisted, over complicated and prone to (often deliberate) misinterpretation.

--
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
Re:The French are the world's Standards Board by findoutmoretoday · 2014-11-30 23:07 · Score: 1

The French were sitting around the fountain yelling insults and obscenities in French at those walking by.
These were Belgians faking they were French with Parisian accent and all. It's always fun to do that.

Buzzfeed? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:13 · Score: 0

Are we seriously supposed to take anything said by someone involved with Buzzfeed seriously? A site that notoriously takes content from Yahoo answers and somehow manages to dumb it down while simultaniously failing to cite the correct source of literally everything they scrape off the web...

How about this for an article:

10 shocking secret reasons why Buzzfeed is an atrocity to both humanity, journalism and kittens that only [your demographic] will understand.

Spend 20 minutes stealing images off of other websites and you've got yourself an article worthy of Buzzfeed.

What ever will we do by mlkj · 2014-11-23 07:14 · Score: 2

Oh noes, people want quality content instead of yet another cat video! We're doomed!

Re:What ever will we do by phantomfive · 2014-11-23 09:10 · Score: 1

Strangely, I consider the cat videos to be a good thing on the internet. Furthermore, the vast majority of political posts I see far exceed the stupidity of the cat videos.

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"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."

terrible article by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:17 · Score: 0

Surprise assholes, buzzfeed doesn't represent the entire USA. I am American and I find buzzfeed a vapid waste of bandwidth. Way to denigrate an entire country because one company happens to be based there

Re:terrible article by Dracos · 2014-11-23 07:46 · Score: 1

Surprise, you don't represent the entire USA (nor does the average /.er).

What does buzzfeed have to do with anything? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:20 · Score: 0

Buzzfeed is just a spammy content-regurgitating site like countless others on the web. Why in the fuck is anyone acting like it is a big deal and is intended as a legitimate anything? This is fucking idiotic.

The french don't like cat videos? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:21 · Score: 1

The french don't like cat videos?

So who is Henri le chat noir?

https://www.youtube.com/user/HenriLeChatNoir

Re:The french don't like cat videos? by alexhs · 2014-11-23 08:31 · Score: 2

Someone modded that up ?

So who is Henri le chat noir?
An american cat, and its french is atrocious.

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I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of killer sig, which this margin is too narrow to contain.
Re:The french don't like cat videos? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 13:58 · Score: 0

Somehow, I don't think that the creators of this video were that bothered about how good their French was, while they were taking the mick out of them...

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:23 · Score: 0

Why should anyone care about what's going on in the world for topics unrelated to the planet's health and a person's own personal safety?

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:23 · Score: 0

i thought buzzfeed was a non-straight dating website

Number of Clicks by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:24 · Score: 0

It's all about what generates the most views and clicks, much like private TV. If these cat videos and other non-"serious stuff" weren't bringing the most people to websites, then they wouldn't encompass the majority of what's on the web. If someone in France wants to create a website or post content that makes the most profit, they will not be putting up "serious stuff".

Re:Number of Clicks by Sique · 2014-11-23 11:58 · Score: 1

This is was TFA is about - the french version of BuzzFeed didn't get much clicks for cat videos (about 40,000 was mentioned in the article for the BuzzFeed top stories), while articles about politics were shared much more often.
So a clickbait site in France would have to provide those political stories to get enough clicks.

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.sig: Sique *sigh*

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Carewolf · 2014-11-23 07:26 · Score: 1

i thought buzzfeed was a non-straight dating website

I always thought it was a scam website. The story headlines are always so baited they have to be 'click to be infected' scams. I never dared click one.

America = diversity by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:26 · Score: 0

America is not a homogeneous demander that wants one thing.
The asshats who give Buzzfeed the majority of their ad impressions do not represent me and my kind.

I hate imperative headlines that address "you" by wonkey_monkey · 2014-11-23 07:27 · Score: 5, Funny

Blame America For Everything You Hate About "Internet Culture"

This Simple Trick For Blaming America Will Change Your Life!

You Won't Believe What America Did Next

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systemd is Roko's Basilisk.

Re:I hate imperative headlines that address "you" by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:49 · Score: 0

We still blame Canada. -America
France should just stick to sucking on Galoises abd secretly craving French's Mustard, while planning their next surrender to the Faeroe Islands.
Re:I hate imperative headlines that address "you" by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 08:19 · Score: 0

You forgot "What The Internet Experts Are Saying About Your Story Selection"
Re:I hate imperative headlines that address "you" by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 08:25 · Score: 0

Did they blame Canada?
Re:I hate imperative headlines that address "you" by ignavus · 2014-11-23 14:55 · Score: 1

Blame America For Everything You Hate About "Internet Culture"

This Simple Trick For Blaming America Will Change Your Life!

You Won't Believe What America Did Next
Pedant that I am, I note that 2 of those 3 headlines are not imperatives.

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I am anarch of all I survey.
Re:I hate imperative headlines that address "you" by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 16:33 · Score: 0

I've never been able to understand how whoever the hell runs those ads that have had one of the same dumb taglines for years ("One simple trick...", "Guy discovers thing they don't want you to know...", etc) stays in "business."
I mean... surely every single user on the Internet has at least seen them by now, yes? And presumably everyone who didn't instantly dismiss them has clicked one and then learned to instantly dismiss them? Since having a functioning hippocampus is necessary to be able to learn to use a computer in the first place, that means everyone must know they're bullshit, so... how can the guy get any clicks? Outside of random targetting or fire-control glitches in people's mouse hands? I don't get it!
Re:I hate imperative headlines that address "you" by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-24 01:37 · Score: 0

When you've picked all of the low hanging fruit, you can either work harder to get the higher fruit, or you can wait for the tree to re-grow the lower fruit. Fortunately for advertisers, salesman, and a host of other industries, there is a fresh batch of morons born every day! Savvy customers are not the intended target of such practices. Hell, savvy customers aren't really the target of ANY market or organization. They have traits like critical thought or principles, which are unprofitable.
Re:I hate imperative headlines that address "you" by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-24 03:58 · Score: 0

Doctors are furious Americans discovered this one weird trick to boost "Internet Culture"

The writer is just wrong by tquasar · 2014-11-23 07:30 · Score: 1

This is in the "Gossip" section of the WaPo. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Nothing to see here, move along....

Re:The writer is just wrong by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:41 · Score: 0

Yeesh, that's like the Opinion page of the National Enquirer. Except I think they've published true stories by accident...
The WaPo is now on one of the lowest rungs of the filthy clickbait rags at this point. They've completely given up on journalism and seek to clickbait people with the biggest controversy of the day. I'm done with them entirely. If I see the domain, I won't even click, so they must be baiting idiots at this point.

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by 93+Escort+Wagon · 2014-11-23 07:30 · Score: 1

That's because you never discovered the one weird trick, discovered by a single mom, to reading Buzzfeed!

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#DeleteChrome

It's not Americans, it's Hipsters and Boomers. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:31 · Score: 0

Hipsters are what's wrong with the Internet. Hipsters and Boomers are what's wrong with Western society in general.

Not all Americans are Hipsters and Boomers. Not all Hipsters and Boomers are American. Thus the problem isn't with Americans, it's with Hipsters and Boomers.

Hipsters are, of course, the offspring of Boomers. So they inherited the same smug, selfish, I've-got-mine-so-fuck-you attitude of their parents, but have then taken it to a new level with a much higher sense of entitlement and self-worth.

Moderate Hipster "social justice warriors" of today make the Boomer radicals of the 1960s look like staunch conservatives.

Re:It's not Americans, it's Hipsters and Boomers. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:52 · Score: 0

Put a trigger warning on that, shitlord
Re:It's not Americans, it's Hipsters and Boomers. by davydagger · 2014-11-23 09:18 · Score: 1

ITT, complete misunderstanding of history, due to a complete inability to understand history through anything but the lense of memes and pop culture
That makes you a hipster son. You're the hipster. Do you understand? You're the hipster.

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:32 · Score: 1

American's outsource their giving a shit to the tallest most attractive plutocrats with the best haircuts. We don't have to give a shit as long as the MSM mouthpiece for the plutocracy tells us we're the wealthiest, best-est, freedom-est country in the world. How can we possibly complain? We live in 'Merica. Fuck Yeah!

Personally, I'm WAY more interested in what has crawled up Paris Hilton's snatch recently than I am about the Supreme Court systematically dismantling the U.S. Constitution with bad precedent.

You can tell it's true because the advertisers that CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News work for are way more interested in the news stories which are captivating to an audience that is highly suggestible and easily influenced by highly sophisticated tactics such as "attractive women will want your cock if you own/consume Product X" and my personal favorite: "OMG! You don't own/consume Product Y? Everyone else does! You must live under a rock! Enjoy missing the boat son!".

The good news is: "Get out the Vote!" campaigns are exceptionally effective at convincing this caliber of voter to show up and dilute the ballot box with ballots from people who are most likely to vote for the tallest, most attractive candidate with the best hair(that CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News have convinced them is most likely to win and therefore has the best name-recognition).

Self fulfilling prophecy? Only if plutocrats have the most money to spend on finding a "ken doll" to stand on a stage and regurgitate talking points engineered by bridge trolls like Karl Rove... Oh wait!

Convincing stupid Americans to vote for 4 more years of Plutocracy is about as easy as convincing fat girls to smoke cigarettes. "TARP bailouts? Lol, WTF is that? OMG! Look at the kitten!"

Inflammatory article. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:34 · Score: 0

> first, as conclusive proof that the French are irredeemable snobs

Even if we accept the hypothesis that all French are 'irredeemable snobs', the content of *this* article is hardly "conclusive proof". Both the article and the summary are baiting borderline off-topic comments.

The title:
> Blame America For Everything You Hate About "Internet Culture"

The linked article suggests that different cultures place different priorities on different aspects of the internet. The titles takes this to the extreme: how does the research conducted in the article make America responsible for "internet culture"? Since when does the "internet" have a single culture? The culture on Slashdot is *markedly* different from the culture of Buzzfeed.

TFA is inflammatory and needlessly verbose.

Morons by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:40 · Score: 0

Americans are stupid piece of shit people. END OF STORY.

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:49 · Score: 0

The internet is aimed as MASS audiences, the USA just found that aiming for a bunch of low IQ "look at da ka hur hur hur." was about right for US audiences.

What went wrong? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:50 · Score: 0

The French are still trying to figure out what went wrong with their plan for world domination.

obvious reasons by Gravis+Zero · 2014-11-23 07:51 · Score: 2

lately, US news and politics are more vapid and transparent than grumpy cat's take on things. the reality is that our political system is really because voters are gullible enough to thing they have a choice about what happens when it's really a one party system. the news spews lies about everything like it's DEFCON 1 everyday when they are speaking of meaninal bullshit. meanwhile there are serious matters that has caused a massive schism in the middle class and shit is hitting the fan. if you protest you are either cordoned off and ignored and/or abused by the police which are not help accountable for their actions. can you blame us for wanting an escape? (psst, the answer is here)

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Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.

Re:obvious reasons by amiga3D · 2014-11-23 09:23 · Score: 1

I'm not really pleased by a lot of what goes on here. A trip over to Europe back when I was in the Air Force made me a lot happier with my country though. I'll take our culture with all it's problems over those of the European Union. If France hates me, well I guess I'll just have to bear it.
Re:obvious reasons by Aighearach · 2014-11-23 10:24 · Score: 1

So... US news is "more vapid... than grumpy cat" and your answer is... an internet meme jpg?
Uhm, yeah. About that. "D'oh!"
Re:obvious reasons by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 10:31 · Score: 1

A trip over to Europe back when I was in the Air Force made me a lot happier with my country though. I'll take our culture with all it's problems over those of the European Union. If France hates me, well I guess I'll just have to bear it.
I worked for years on stuff related to the European Union with people from (let's see) Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Sweden and Russia - and discovered that everyone from everywhere is ... people.
I've now lived in the USA for a number of years, and made the amazing discovery that there are people over here too.
Maybe the problem is you?
Re:obvious reasons by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 10:58 · Score: 0

lately, US news and politics are more vapid and transparent than grumpy cat's take on things. the reality is that our political system is really because voters are gullible enough to thing they have a choice about what happens when it's really a one party system.
You have one hell of a nerve to take others to task for being "vapid". When you learn to proofread I might take your thoughts a bit more seriously. Until that time I will consider your comments to be just so much noise added to an ever diminishing amount of signal. Like, really because, dude!
Re:obvious reasons by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 11:22 · Score: 0

Some people are too scared to vote third party.
Deal with the gerrymandering. I think Iowa has part of the problem solved.
Also, automatically at the top six parties/independents from the previous president election... to the following general election. By that, I mean automatic ballot placement in all the states.
I also think 12 year term limits in Congress (6 in Senate, 6 in House, for example) should be done to help make sure we get fresh people in there.
Also, public campaign financing.
Re:obvious reasons by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 11:50 · Score: 0

But but but SOCIALISM. You cannot have public campaign financing.
Thanks to the great old 9 men/women, money is free speach.
I think the greatest problem in US politics is that most citizens don't vote. Most Americans are convinced all their country needs is to vote once every four years for the president and then it's all good. Wrong. A citizen cannot abdicate its political responsability. You have to vote in local elections (they are much more important than the presidential one) even if you're going to cast a blank ballot. But use in the same frase "duty to vote" and you're branded a communist, a freedom hating person. The situation in Ferguson is illuminating from this point of view. We have a city that's almost entirely african american and yet their political representatives are mostly white. Why ? Because the african americans have abdicated their political responsability. They do not vote. And hence the small white minority votes and guess what, they vote for mostly white guys. And these white guys implement policies that do not care for african americans. So who is to fault ?
I say the fault falls squarely on citizens that do not vote. It's like an entire generation or two of americans were brought up without the necessary understanding of what being a citizen is all about.
Re:obvious reasons by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 14:34 · Score: 0

Maybe the problem is you?
Not at all.. the problem is you, and the lack of realization that a nation of our (the US) size who controls a unified bank and defense structure is far superior to anything the EU will ever achieve.
Fuck you and die and a fire when the Russian Topol-M batteries consume western Europe. You will die like the cowards that you are, and we in the Americas will weather the storm just fine.
Re:obvious reasons by LongearedBat · 2014-11-23 18:33 · Score: 1

Alas, what you say applies to so many more countries than just the US.
In my opinion, we need a new, more evolved version of democracy. It seems that most (all?) variants of modern democracy suffer from the same issues:
1. Imbalanced media ownership.
2. A party winning elections. It would be better if parties shared decision making based on proportion of public support. Yes, many governments are meant to work that way by voting in parliament, but in practice that doesn't seem to actually work due to reasons such as party loyalty and ...
3. Decision making ministers/senators. I get that minister/senator are different roles, but my point is that each person is responsible for far too much. Instead we ought to have spokes people and team managers, but actual decision making should be left to specialist teams, a form of democratic technocracy.
Reasons for 2 & 3 are:
- No one party or senator/minister to lobby or bribe.
- Because all parties can expect to be partially in power uninterrupted for the long haul, that ought to reduce short term thinking.
- You don't have politicians making decisions on topics they have no training nor experience in (in my country most politicians are lawyers) such as various technologies and sciences, education, medicine, etc.
The problem is, of course, getting career politicians to agree to such changes.
Re:obvious reasons by amiga3D · 2014-11-24 00:17 · Score: 1

Nope, we'll go back over there. We just can't help it, we love a lost cause.
Re:obvious reasons by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-24 01:06 · Score: 0

That's the joke. Congratulations on almost getting it.

Hey, I can shorten it for you... by mi · 2014-11-23 07:51 · Score: 3, Funny

Blame America for Everything

Period... There, fixed that for ya...

--
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.

Re:Hey, I can shorten it for you... by amiga3D · 2014-11-23 09:30 · Score: 1

Yes, I'm sure they'd all be happier if we just left them alone. I'm feeling kind of isolationist lately anyway. We should just leave them all alone. I think if we cut military spending to about a quarter of what it is now we could maybe stop going in a hole financially. Let Europe deal with Putin and the Caliphate. I'm kind of curious to see how that would all turn out.
Re:Hey, I can shorten it for you... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:39 · Score: 0

Sorry, but you reap what you sow. If you condition people not to think, don't be surprised by the outcome.
The people of the US have it within their means to change their collective future for the better, but only if they can start taking responsibility for their actions and holding their elected government to account.
First order of business? Education. An educated populace is formidable.
Re:Hey, I can shorten it for you... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 15:02 · Score: 0

Wow, which hick country did you get your opinions from?
Funny thing about the Americans is that they are quite educated. In fact, they're right around France's level of education. Don't take Fox News and CNN as the sole sources of news they rely on.
The reason the Americans go to these cat videos and such is the same as any other entertainment fluff. They're tired, bored, and just want to ignore the rest of the dumb world for a while. It shows the same level of intelligence as anyone reading these "America is dumb/bad" articles and taking it as the whole gospel truth. But they're also voracious content consumers. The Americans have probably already read the news, already made their opinions, and already went back to their cat videos by the time the French finish with this stupid BuzzFeed piece.
You can trust me on this. After all, I'm from #6 on the EI list, Canada.
Re:Hey, I can shorten it for you... by mi · 2014-11-24 08:15 · Score: 1

Yes, I'm sure they'd all be happier if we just left them alone. I'm feeling kind of isolationist lately anyway. We should just leave them all alone.
I often feel the same way, but then realize, I still like the sound of "Kennedy Doctrine":

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

Too bad, the current smooth-talker from Chicago would not even talk the talk — much less walk the walk...

--
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
Re:Hey, I can shorten it for you... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-02 04:16 · Score: 0

Hell, just cut it in half - keep the Air Force and the Navy, but the Army can be cut down a lot - as long as we're isolationist, why bother? A strong Navy and Air Force will absolutely keep anyone from getting to us. Crack down on the contractors' bullshit and keep putting money into research.

Re: Caring about news and politics instead of triv by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 07:52 · Score: 2, Insightful

To educate yourself.
To get a better general picture of the world.
To be able to make educated statements.
To be able to adjust your behaviour (boycotts, donations) in a proper way.

Your comment is the most stupid thing I read this entire year. The entire audience is now dumber. I reward you zero points.

What you mean? by fustakrakich · 2014-11-23 07:52 · Score: 1

People prefer what they are accustomed to? I had no idea....

--
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”

Oh bull. by phayes · 2014-11-23 07:55 · Score: 1

Those who prétend that France is in any way different than the U.S. in stupid internet memes are liars, and I say that as someone who has lived here for 30+ years & tries to ignore as much of these idiotic stories as possible. However, the French "journalists" being in their great majority left of Ché Guevarra have an automatic knee-jerk reaction to everything in modern life that they do not like: Call it American &/or "ultra liberal" so that they can blame it on the USA or the UK.

--
Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue

Re:Oh bull. by x0ra · 2014-11-23 08:57 · Score: 1

Exiled French here. Your comment isn't true. The French media are mainly left-centered on the political chessboard. They closed their eyes for years on Mitterand's illegitimate state-protected daughter. Never gave Chirac or Sarkosy the same leeway, and are complaisant about the current adulterous, incompetent, "president".
Re:Oh bull. by epyT-R · 2014-11-23 09:24 · Score: 1

Or perhaps you are deluded about the France you are living in, or you are deliberately misrepresenting the truth to pass your opinion as fact. 30 years vs 50 years is not a large enough magnitude to use as justification as either offers ample opportunity to acquire this knowledge.
Re:Oh bull. by phayes · 2014-11-23 14:37 · Score: 1

I'm a dual national & have lived in the USA and France (Paris for the last 35).
For the proof of french journalists political orientation, I need only look back at my experiences, among them doing support for la nouvelle obs. In particular I point to the acceptation without any criticism of the extraordinarily anti-American Thierry Meysson who was the toast of every news/press outlet for over 6 months. Even today, years after his lies were shown to be complete fabrications they pop up regularly across the board of France's political spectrum.
So, you can take your typically "I /am/ french" & other assumptions & stick them where they belong.

--
Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
Re:Oh bull. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 21:09 · Score: 0

When the founder of the Nouvel Obs admits "C'est un journal mendésiste, social-démocrate de gauche", you should probably think it could expose left-wing opinions. Try again with Les Échos (liberalist), le Point or Le Figaro (conservative right-wing) to actually make a point.
French journals have political orientations, but for the French political spectrum they cover a quite wide choice of opinions. For an American, it's all socialism.
Re:Oh bull. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 23:14 · Score: 0

le figaro (the paper that this is taken from) is from an economics point of view on the right of the Wall street journal, and on societal matters it is hardcore conservatisme with a strong focus on security.... soo yeah pretty left of che guevara (who btw was a military guy with close to 0 political ideas and those he held dearly were not very progressive.
Re:Oh bull. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-24 03:32 · Score: 0

"Those who prÃ©tend that France is in any way different than the U.S. in stupid internet memes are liars"
Nonsense. A US grammar pedant wouldn't put a weird little mark over their e in pretend for starters.
Re:Oh bull. by phayes · 2014-11-24 11:47 · Score: 1

And for the most of the french population and in particular journalists, the USA has no left, only two right wing parties.

--
Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
Re:Oh bull. by aaribaud · 2014-11-24 18:23 · Score: 1

Your example is biaised: the media *did*, and still *do*, give Chirac and Sarkozy the same leeway as they gave Mitterrand. Think fictive employments (concerning Chirac) and more than dubious election campaign fundings (Sarkozy), both of which were and are still duly underexposed except in a minority of the press -- and that's only two examples among several.

Buzzfeed's scam by cold+fjord · 2014-11-23 08:00 · Score: 1

My guess is that they are trying to generate more web traffic using that one weird trick.

--
much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell

Market size effects by theycallmeB · 2014-11-23 08:06 · Score: 1

I think that many Americans also think that buzzfeed is crap, some are probably outright hostile. Critics have derided it as fluffy and poorly written. But with over 300 million people in the US, you do not have to attract a large share of the population to still end up with a large enough number of people to make a go of things. Particularly if your cost to produce is low and the cost of distribution lower (real example: http://slashdot.org/). But unless you can really minimize your localization costs (like with machine translators rather than real people), then there will not be enough people in the long-tail of the bell curve in a smaller market like France, so you need broader appeal.

But hey, if buzzfeed can manage a higher level of market share in France by sucking less, perhaps they will try something similar on this side of the Atlantic.

Re:Market size effects by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-25 06:06 · Score: 0

That's only because the average american internet user spends hours reading, believing, and re-posting fluffy and poorly written Tweets, Instagrams, and Facebook walls to know or even care anymore. That's why so many of those poorly made, misspelled Trojans and such are so effective here!
"You're Computer are maybe to be Infected! Ran Virus Checker to get rid of the this virus's on your computer."

Skelly by PopeRatzo · 2014-11-23 08:14 · Score: 0

I blame ethics in game journalism. Because bitches, man....

--
You are welcome on my lawn.

Re:Skelly by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 08:51 · Score: 0

Oh, hardy har har.
But seriously, the fact that an attempt to hold video game journalists to an ethical standard - really any ethical standard at all - was immediately derailed by journalists claiming "it's not about ethics, it's misogyny!" pretty much proves this article's point. Americans don't hold journalists to any sort of standard. And I don't just mean ethics, we don't hold them to any sort of standard of accuracy or relevance. I remember when my city's newspaper used to carry news. Now they're trying to be a local version of Buzzfeed. (For a fun challenge, try and guess what city I'm talking about. Because I'll bet that describes just about every major city in the US and quite a few minor ones as well.)
We have a consumer movement come along and try and promote ethics (and we're not talking anything major here, something as simple as not being personally involved with what you're reporting on), and journalists fight back the best way they can: click-bait articles claiming it's all about misogyny. And that's the only side that ever gets coverage, so that's the only side anyone hears about. Because Americans just flat-out don't care about things like "integrity" or "unbiased coverage" - instead they'd much rather hear about how some evil men are ganging up on a poor helpless woman. Because that certainly sounds exciting! Even if it isn't actually, you know, true.
Re:Skelly by PopeRatzo · 2014-11-24 14:28 · Score: 1

But seriously, the fact that an attempt to hold video game journalists to an ethical standard...
Hey look, I got one!

--
You are welcome on my lawn.

We're just happier. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 08:15 · Score: 0

We're just happier. Enjoy happier things. Enjoy looking at the good in things. As a culture, not necessarily an individual basis.

Fuck the French for everything but crepes and menage e trois.

Re:We're just happier. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:48 · Score: 0

Especially for winning the damn American Revolution!
bloody Frogs!

Russia. China. Former Soviet Block Crapholes by rubycodez · 2014-11-23 08:22 · Score: 1

Most of what I hate about the internet originates in my subject line; LOLcats won't reach through your computer and steal your credit card.

Oh bull. by aaribaud · 2014-11-23 08:23 · Score: 1

Those who prÃfÂ©tend that France is in any way different than the U.S. in stupid internet memes are liars, and I say that as someone who has lived here for 30+ years & tries to ignore as much of these idiotic stories as possible. However, the French "journalists" being in their great majority left of Che Guevarra have an automatic knee-jerk reaction to everything in modern life that they do not like: Call it American &/or "ultra liberal" so that they can blame it on the USA or the UK.

I've lived in France for fifty year, I /am/ French, and here people 'left of Che Guevarra' are a tiny minority, in the general population as well as among journalists. So either you are mistaken in believing you live in France, or you are deluded about the France you are living in, or you are deliberately misrepresenting the truth to pass your opinion as fact.

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 08:27 · Score: 0

*Malibu Stacy has a new hat*

It's always going to work while the food is good.... And the US still has lots of empty space. I'd be pretty grumpy too, if I was crowded up against a bunch of people who don't bathe and eat rotten cheese because they think the war's still on. It's same with Brits and their food, and they're twice as crowded there on that little bittty island. That's why they HAD to take over the world.

And what about the Danish?

Yeah, sure, I'll have one....

The French can be just as silly... by sirwired · 2014-11-23 08:28 · Score: 1

The French also obsess about silly and ridiculous stuff, they just do it in a different way. It's not all politics and news, that just happens to be what gets shared on social networks.

Re:The French can be just as silly... by PKFC · 2014-11-23 09:30 · Score: 1

https://twitter.com/PKFCx/stat...
I'll just leave this here :P
Re:The French can be just as silly... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 10:20 · Score: 0

Yes, things like the land grab that is TTIP - go figure.
http://www.euractiv.com/sections/trade-society/french-government-will-not-sign-ttip-agreement-2015-310037
Say what you will about the French, but at this point in time, they are at least putting up a fight.
Perhaps you Americans could learn a thing or two about standing up for your rights.

You hate imperative headlines that address "you" by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 08:32 · Score: 0

You hate imperative headlines that address "you"

FTFY

Re:More like blame greenwow... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 08:39 · Score: 0

He is similar to the French in some ways. For example, he doesn't bathe. It is the way of his kind.

Re: Caring about news and politics instead of triv by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 08:46 · Score: 0

To educate yourself.
Education is a subjective term -what good is an "education" which holds no practical value? That's the category news falls into, incidently

To get a better general picture of the world.
From news? Joking, certainly. Let me introduce you to a little thing called "editorial bias"

To be able to make educated statements.
Again, news has fuck-all to do with education. You're thinking of research, and recreational reading -both of which are easily doable on the internet and don't require a single trip to faux news.

To be able to adjust your behaviour (boycotts, donations) in a proper way.
Proper -by whose standards?
Also, boycotts have been demonstrated to have no effect. Zero, zilch, NONE.

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Charliemopps · 2014-11-23 08:48 · Score: 1

How incredibly snobby to give a shit about what's going on in the world and how your country's being run rather than hur hur look at da crazy cat. The human race is filed.

Snobbery isn't about what you're interested in. Snobbery is about refusing to accept others may have different interests.

I don't find cat videos interesting. I prefer the news. --- Not Snobby
If you like cat videos you're clearly a moron! --- Snobby

I'm not going to sugarcoat this... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 08:49 · Score: 0

Fuck the french.

Serious != smart by arielCo · 2014-11-23 08:50 · Score: 1

Do I want to read political rants and endless arguments filled with fallacies, bigotry and name-calling?

I'll have the vapid pictures of pets and hot chicks, please.

--
This post contains no rudeness or derision of any kind. All arguments are friendly. Terms and exclusions may apply.

Things aren't perfect for Buzzfeed here either by ttucker · 2014-11-23 09:03 · Score: 1

I think Buzzfeed is the gold standard for retarded internet content.

Probably some truth to that ... by Qbertino · 2014-11-23 09:10 · Score: 1

There's probably some truth to that.
Three possible explainations:

1) I could imagine that overall presence of higher education is more dense in Europe than in the US.

2) Right now, life in general probalby sucks more in the US than in central/western Europe, hence the need for more distraction.

3) The US is used to quick sensations in media due to their TV history. In Europe the viewing habits are more ... 'sophisticated' ... although they have degenerated massively since the 80ies. Even prime news today is unbearably stupid and dumbed-down compared to two decades ago.

--
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca

Re:Probably some truth to that ... by Aighearach · 2014-11-23 10:49 · Score: 1

Alternatively, European TV sucks just as bad, it is just more of a meme to say it is sophisticated. ;)
Also, in 1) you might want to reconsider. What exactly are you measuring; the density of higher education, or its presence? Those are different measures. We know it is wrong because it is not self-consistent. But I don't think any of the things you might have meant are going to prove true. I'm sure many smaller European countries can put out high numbers on education, for mostly historical reasons. But Europe as a whole? That is a bit silly. People come from all over the world to attend US Universities. For real reasons. They are high quality, and there are a lot of them. And the US has a surplus of educated workers in most fields. Even the poorest places in the US have access to quality higher education, including loans and other funding. The best places in Europe have better funding for the poor, but in much of Europe the poor won't have access at all unless they're at the top of their class. In the US, anybody who can graduate high school can get college funding.
As for 2), it is a subjective measure, and I dare you to go around the US asking Americans, "Does it suck to be an American?" You might find out that it doesn't suck at all, Americans are just more willing to shout about whatever things they think could be improved. As for "the need for more distraction" that sounds pretty silly. Is there "more distraction" in the US than in France? Are you sure?
As far as US "TV history" is concerned, you should be advised that the numbers that claim Americans watch [some huge number] of TV are counting all the screens that are turned on in a house. It is true that American households have a lot of background noise, mostly because we have low population density and highly insulated walls in apartments, so people are free to make noise all the time and leave crap on. Just look at the ratings of "successful" US TV shows. Lots of things are considered "successful" and there might even be a European stereotype of Americans all watching something, but then it turns out in the numbers that only 1 in 20 American households had it turned on. Whereas in European ratings, it is much more common for over half a country to be watching the same event. But since Europeans spend less money per square [unit of distance] on housing, they don't leave their TVs on as "background noise."
Re:Probably some truth to that ... by dave420 · 2014-11-23 21:58 · Score: 1

There are many measures of 2) which are not subjective, and the US doesn't usually fare very well compared to Western Europe and Scandinavia on them.

Re:The French can be just as Clownish... by retroworks · 2014-11-23 09:11 · Score: 1

Who can worry about Kitty Cat Memes, with all the Evil Clown crime? http://www.theatlantic.com/int...

My friends in Denmark and Norway tell me that the word "Friend" in the north is much more reserved, and it has held Facebook back. But like Halloween, differences in culture have a way of being only a generation deep. My mother in law, in southern France, is no slouch with the LOLs.

--
Gently reply

Re:More like blame the Republcians... by epyT-R · 2014-11-23 09:26 · Score: 1

Is that what they're teaching in liberal arts programs now?

Not really sure why this means they're not snobs by real+gumby · 2014-11-23 09:31 · Score: 1

They simply foolishly don't fear our feline overlords. While Americans practice, training themselves to recognize the enemy.

Seriously, having lived in both France and the USA: most people in France will ignore the critics but yes, books and culture are seen as more important to people then they are in the USA. Being a public intellectual is considered a reasonable and high profile job.

Note I said "seen as more important" -- don't forget we're talking about the country that invented celebrity culture and "celeb journos", and in which the most popular restaurant is McDonalds. Nevertheless, the French are anti- a lot of things, but being intellectual isn't one of them.

Political mistakes are disastrous in the U.S by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:31 · Score: 0

Look at the head of Mozilla who lost his job because they found out he supported proposition 8! Political disagreements are extremely serious business in the United States. One can easily have one's career destroyed by one off color remark or donating money to the wrong cause. This which is why people don't like to talk about them publicly.

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:34 · Score: 0

Yeah, I'm sure they have civil discourse about the state of affairs and reach a rationale conclusion at the end of every "internet argument" that occurs - and to top it off, the citizen's arguments and ideas are then incorporated into reality...

They don't give a shit about politics and the world. They just want to argue about it; over the internet.

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:39 · Score: 0

Oh shit; you're right.

I'm gonna watch this cat video.

Oh boy! by Frosty+Piss · 2014-11-23 09:51 · Score: 1

It's hilarious reading a bunch of French people arguing about who is more French! Just a Monty Python moment...

--
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.

Re:Oh boy! by phayes · 2014-11-23 14:40 · Score: 1

Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!

--
Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
Re:Oh boy! by graphius · 2014-11-23 16:04 · Score: 1

I fart in your general direction.
Re:Oh boy! by Monsieur_F · 2014-11-23 21:42 · Score: 1

and arguing about it in English

--
McCartney fans pay bus tickets. [...] Lennon fans too, with discretion.
Re:Oh boy! by meta-monkey · 2014-11-24 03:50 · Score: 1

The winner is the one with the most outrageous accent.

--
We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
Re:Oh boy! by operagost · 2014-11-24 05:22 · Score: 1

No true Frenchman!

--

Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:53 · Score: 0

> We live in 'Merica. Fuck Yeah!

Did you ever notice that it's OK to mock "red state" speech patterns, but heaven help the fool who mocks the speech patterns of blacks.

That's liberal thinking for you. Mock the rednecks all you want, but admire and never criticize black culture.

Kind of like how it's OK to mock Christianity, but Islam has to be held up as a "beautiful religion of peace".

It's almost as if liberals despise success and greatness, and appreciate failure.

Buzzfeed is Shit by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 09:54 · Score: 0

The French don't like American shit. They like merde. I actively avoid Buzzfeed articles. I'm American

Blame America! How PC! by pubwvj · 2014-11-23 10:25 · Score: 1

Yes, blame America!
How politically correct!
Hate the creators.
Losers.

Re:Blame America! How PC! by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 11:00 · Score: 0

I swear, conservatives never seem to make it past the two year old tantrum phase of life.
You probably believe that the poor caused the whole financial meltdown and that the bankers were poor innocent victims, don't you?
Re:Blame America! How PC! by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-27 12:26 · Score: 0

I swear, liberals can't see anything beyond their own belly button.
What made you think the poster was conservative? Nothing they said fits either end of the spectrum. It is sad how extremists, like your liberal self, go around bashing. You are why we can't make progress.

B and S by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 10:29 · Score: 0

I think (like much on the Intarwebtubes) this is bull.

I suspect "Blaming America" is American style... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 10:35 · Score: 0

The spin blaming America seems to have little to do with the article content. Which is based on fluff idea of 'internet culture.'
This is an article about nothing, kinda like Seinfeld.
Also, there is a wing, and it ain't left, that views anything other that worship and gushy patriotism to be blaming / hating American. Only Israelis compete with us on that level.

Re: Caring about news and politics instead of triv by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 10:38 · Score: 1

How defeatist - nothing makes any difference so why should I even try.

All I see is making excuses for inaction. From the "blame culture" that is the US, I guess I'm not too surprised.

How about this, stand up for your beliefs and take action - not only for the betterment of fellow citizens but also for your own country.

It won't be easy - it will require some pain - but the question is, how strong are your convictions?

Hmpf by Greyfox · 2014-11-23 10:53 · Score: 1

Says the country that finds Jerry Lewis to be funny. But yeah, the Internet was so much better before the Americans came along and... invented it!

--

I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

Re:Hmpf by dave420 · 2014-11-23 22:00 · Score: 1

And America was so much better before the French... invented it! You should read where the ideas the Founding Fathers had came from, and whose armed forces were pivotal in the creation of the US. These "but we invented it" arguments are pointless.

Re: Caring about news and politics instead of triv by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 10:58 · Score: 0

No thanks. My time would be better spent watching cat videos.

Can others corroborate this? by rabbin · 2014-11-23 10:59 · Score: 2

Look, I love a good amount of "pointless" fun and frivolity, but my experience as a life long American is that 95% of people here don't want to ever talk about anything serious or consequential. I'm not talking about being a killjoy, a downer, or trying to shove unorthodox political views down someone's throat (most of the people I talk to share my general political views). Rather, let's say that just a couple of times a day I try to bring up a serious political issue that might affect how someone votes. By and large, whether offline or online (most of the day I'm working in a social environment with a variety changing faces), the response I usually get is either a kind of cold silence--as if I've destroyed the mood--or that I'm a loser for actually caring about something (i.e. sort of like "why are you talking about something serious when we could be having fun? We must be having fun at ALL TIMES!").

I have not experienced other cultures (never had the opportunity to leave the U.S.) and of course this is just my personal experience, but can any Europeans or other Americans chime in if they've experienced this sort of thing with Americans? If so, that could explain a lot about why our democracy is so dysfunctional (among other reasons, of course).

Re:Can others corroborate this? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-24 02:34 · Score: 0

As another American, I don't find this to be true at all. From what I see you can bring up politics and everyone in the room will agree that they hate how things currently are, even if they don't agree on how things need to change.
Possibly when you're trying to engage in something like this you're doing it from such a fringe viewpoint that other people just don't want to join in?
Re:Can others corroborate this? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-24 14:41 · Score: 0

Rather, let's say that just a couple of times a day I try to bring up a serious political issue that might affect how someone votes. By and large, whether offline or online (most of the day I'm working in a social environment with a variety changing faces), the response I usually get is either a kind of cold silence--as if I've destroyed the mood--or that I'm a loser for actually caring about something
Time to grow up. In adult society, you have to be very careful about discussing politics and religion. To start conversations on these subjects is generally inappropriate, and should only be done under certain circumstances, and only with great care. If you want to do something about fixing things, then do so (and don't bore the rest of us with constant attempts to get attention for what you are doing).
Empty talk accomplishes nothing useful. Very few people will actually share each other's beliefs in all respects, so it is dangerous to air these subjects and potentially push people into confrontational situations. Trying to coerce others to share your beliefs is harmful and counter-productive, especially as your beliefs will likely change over time as you get more life experience and education. To be blunt, a lot of what you think now is probably wrong, and even if other people agree with you to some extent, they may clearly see problems with your views that they don't care to discuss with you.
You may think you know people (who they are, what they believe), but that doesn't necessarily mean you do. This is why great care is needed on these matters. People misjudge one another all the time: it's the primary reason there are so many divorces and broken relationships.
If you keep pushing people to talk about politics and religion, you're breaking the rules of polite society, rules that have evolved for good reasons, rules that let people who might not agree with each other continue to interact in pleasant and productive ways without going at each other's throats.
If you fail to understand these rules as a result of ignorance, you may be making enemies of people that could someday help you, and you will be perceived as self-centered, ignorant, and arrogant. If you deliberately choose to ignore the rules, the perception will probably be accurate.
Assuming that other people don't want to talk about these things because they are just looking for fun is arrogant and self-centered, so you've probably taken some steps along the wrong road. You are likely mis-perceiving others reactions, as a result of pre-conceived notions of how the world works.
Don't be the bull in the social china shop, thrashing around and destroying present and potential future relationships out of clumsiness and ignorance.
Your parents should have taught you this stuff when you were a kid, instead of making the rest of us have to do it. If you don't have the life experience to understand why this is the right way to approach things, get a good book on how to carry on a conversation (and perhaps another on etiquette: some of the details of what is appropriate will change from one generation to the next, but the underlying ideas are often sound, and you should at least understand the rules before you decide it is appropriate to break them).
Re:Can others corroborate this? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-24 20:38 · Score: 0

Yeah, I did experience this when I was living in the U.S., and remember wondering whether these people were just putting up a show in my presence.

Bla bla bla America sucks... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 11:32 · Score: 0

French people like cat videos too. Do a quck search for "Dansons la capucine".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIePsbJSS04

I wish I read French..... by crypton · 2014-11-23 11:34 · Score: 1

Apparently then I'd never have to see the name Kardashian in print again.

Re:The French can be just as Clownish... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 12:01 · Score: 0

My mother in law, in southern France, is no slouch with the LOLs.

Tell me about it. My friend's wife, born and raised in Paris, uses more emoji than a 12 year old girl (and actually, she *has* a 12 year old girl...)

Re: Caring about news and politics instead of triv by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 12:30 · Score: 0

pretty sure original thread poster was being sarcastic guys

Canadians don't need the internet as a excuse .... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 12:36 · Score: 0

We have spent decades blaming Americans for everything wrong with our lives.

How dare they have all that nice wonter weather in sunny southern states while we freeze. Damn Americans it's there fault we freeze!
How dare they have a better economy than ours even though their population is about ten times the Canadian population. Damn the Americans it's there fault we can't buy nice things as cheap as they do!

blah, blah ... by cascadingstylesheet · 2014-11-23 12:58 · Score: 1

... yes, whatever, Euros good, Americans bad. And nobody loves chanting that more than a certain type of neighbor-hating American.

On the topic itself: maybe we don't want to be obsessed with politics all the time, and don't want to politicize everything. That's bad?

Re:blah, blah ... by PPH · 2014-11-23 14:58 · Score: 1

maybe we don't want to be obsessed with politics all the time, and don't want to politicize everything. That's bad?
Not at all. Your leaders would prefer that you pay politics no attention at all. You will be told how to vote when the time comes.

--
Have gnu, will travel.
Re:blah, blah ... by dave420 · 2014-11-23 22:03 · Score: 1

If the US didn't have such a messed-up political system maybe you'd have a point. As it is, it looks like maybe the US public isn't spending nearly as much time "obsessing" over politics as they should... Childish partisanship, a "left" party squarely in the right wing, pathetic smear campaigns, appeals to all sorts of cultural banalities, and so on. So yes, it is bad if you ignore politics when your politics are screwed. Very bad, in fact.
Re:blah, blah ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 23:03 · Score: 0

Well.. given that :
#1 you are a citizen of the most powerful nation on earth right now, with a military budget bigger than the next 20 combined, and the the actions of said government are the only things that can possibly reign in the greed of most of the biggest corporation in the world (since it is the most powerful government and most of the aformentionned companies are "American")
#2 The last election in your country saw a record 37% turnout.. to ultimately elect mostly hardcore republican conservatives you had just flung out of office 6 years ago..
Yeah I'd say it matters. In fact as a citizen of not-america I'd say it kind of is your duty to get off your lazy fat ass (and that is purely metaphorical because you CAN read the news and get information while sitting on your couch) and get shit right for a change.
You (as a nation) sepnd 90% of your time obsessing about why (or whether..) you are "no longer the greatest nation on earth" which really is ironic if your read your post. Maybe you're not because you don't really "want" to. If so great but then can you the GTFO of everywhere your not supposed to be but you are to "lead" us ? K.THX.BYE.

Maybe... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 13:03 · Score: 0

Maybe the French are just smarter and more mature than we are.

No, blame Canada by zraider · 2014-11-23 13:04 · Score: 2

With their beady little eyes and flapping heads so full of lies.

Mirror, mirror... by ElitistWhiner · 2014-11-23 14:18 · Score: 1

No wonder the French are literate, savvy and experienced social creatures online....just a reflection how dumb-down is U.S.-style Internet.

The French led home terminal connectivity 10 years before the Internet launched nationwide in United States homes. Minitel terminals were text based phone company-issued devices which the French affectionately hung onto well after the internet age arrived. It took an act of government to dismantle the service.

Re:Mirror, mirror... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-24 01:46 · Score: 0

I'm not sure minitel is the best example. CYCLADES was ahead of time but the government killed it. Transpac won and the minitel were partly run above. CYCLADES would likely have been internet by now if not for technology illiterate politicians.
Re:Mirror, mirror... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-24 02:37 · Score: 0

That is possibly the most appropriate user name I've seen on this site.

People worry too much. by hey! · 2014-11-23 14:24 · Score: 1

It's OK if some people like different things than you.

French people liking to discuss politics online doesn't make them snobs. It just makes them people who like discussing politics online. And I know some very smart and politically involved Americans who are suckers for a cute dog video. Perhaps they'd be up for more poliltical discussion if every two years they were deluged with sly, dishonest, soul-suckingly stupid political advertisements. In France, with a population oif 63 million, presidential candidate spending is limited to 30 million dollars. My state has 1/10 the population of france, and the two leading candidates inthe last Senatorial election spent 85 billion -- and that's in an off year. So we Americans get exposed to a lot more unsolicited political communication than the French do.

But let's suppose that all things being equal, the French enjoy a good political argument online more than Americans do. So what?

I think resentment -- or even excessive concern -- over people who like different things than you is a sign of insecurity. When someone gets to the point where they insiste everyone join their side or be branded a fool or a snob, that's defeinitely someone who's seeking the safety of the herd.

--
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.

Re: Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 14:35 · Score: 0

Look for any statistic between the US and Scandinavia and you'll find the Scandinavian countries have the US best in almost every respect when it comes to human rights or quality of life. Seems they are doing something right over there.

Blame America for the internet - period by walterbyrd · 2014-11-23 14:50 · Score: 0

Also for a hugely disproportionate amount of computer technology.

US has about 5% of the world's population, but the US has created more than of computer technology.

Easy to sit around and be snotty critics. More difficult to actually do anything.

Re:Blame America for the internet - period by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 22:39 · Score: 1

What are you talking about ?
Transistor: Austrian-Hungarian physicist Julius Edgar Lilienfeld, A. Turing: a British mathematician, John von Neumann: Hungarian, naturalized at 37, Charles Babbage: British, Konrad Zuse: German, Tommy Flowers: British, Maurice Wilkes: British, F. Williams: British, British, F. Faggin: Italian, ...
Seems to me like US is good at industrialization and commercialization but when it comes about fundamental research Europe (UK, Germany, Hungary, Italy, ...) is to be expected... Seems like US and Europe are making a good team.

Re: Americans are known to be ignorant an shallow. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 14:59 · Score: 0

What I got from the summary:
Americans think that if you discuss news and politics you are an irredeemable snob.

What I conclude:
Americans are what's wrong with the world. Maybe if they discussed news and politics more their country wouldn't be run by belligerent oligarchs who manipulate the whole country to serve their own ends, trample the rights and interests of the citizenry, feed them shit every day and convince them it's delicious.

If web sites facilitated intelligent discourse rather than pandered to juvenile demands for entertainment and inanity then maybe they could contribute something to positive change.

An America run by people who serve the nation and act as a force for good in the world is out of reach because of Scott Lamb and fuckheads like him.

Fuck you Scott Lamb.
Fuck you American Internet users.

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 15:15 · Score: 0

It's because the US doesn't have any culture, so Americans desperately try to create an identity for themselves with stupid shit.

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by TapeCutter · 2014-11-23 15:41 · Score: 1

If you had ever been to the UK you would know it has a lot of empty space. For example, the coast road on the West of Scotland is a lot less populated than the great ocean road here in Oz.

--
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 16:54 · Score: 0

Wait are you talking about Buzzfeed or Slashdot?

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by steelfood · 2014-11-23 16:59 · Score: 1

That was my first impression too. How snobby of the French to care about serious matters like politics and current events. How dare they not be as interested in cats and /b.

There certainly is a problem, and separately a snob problem even, but it certainly isn't with the French in TFS.

--
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."

There's a reason why it's LOLcats.com by ayesnymous · 2014-11-23 18:16 · Score: 0

Instead of LOLcats.fr

Re: Caring about news and politics instead of tri by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 19:18 · Score: 0

Thanks but no. I have a family, a home and a job that I like. I'm not going to jeopardize that for a lost cause. Big Money has won, there's nothing we can do. Not Americans, and not snobbish Euros. You're at the mercy of the European Central Bank, in case you're wondering. If you protest you will be ignored. If you become a nuisance, EURGENDFOR can use deadly force with full impunity. So much for armchair revolutionaries, hunh?

Re: Caring about news and politics instead of triv by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 19:24 · Score: 0

No. Liberals fear reprisal. Red State conservatives won't shoot you dead and burn your house. Christians won't behead you or suicide bomb a bus. You mock those who are safe to mock.

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 20:21 · Score: 0

It isn't snobbery if you're actually better than the rest of the world. (And I'm saying that and I'm not even French.*)

* Bewijs: een Fransman zou nooit een tweede taal leren.

Article calls French people snobs by myid · 2014-11-23 20:25 · Score: 1

Wow, that article makes it sound like the French people don't have any fun - they just "... love sharing news and politics on social networks – in short, pretty serious stuff” and that they are "irredeemable snobs". Fortunately that's not true, as evidenced by this video.

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 20:51 · Score: 0

Absolutely everything in politics has an influence on the planet's health and your own safety (full disclosure: I'm French).

3615 MAVIE by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 21:12 · Score: 0

I liked the Minitel.

Gee and American ask why French do not like them by aepervius · 2014-11-23 22:24 · Score: 1

"as conclusive proof that the French are irredeemable snobs"

Or that French people understood a long time ago that if you do not take politic seriously, you end up with two right wing party in a two party oligarchy.

But hey don't let that disturb you. Why don't you add a "rifle not used , dropped once" joke as you are at it.

--
C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
visit randi.org

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 23:10 · Score: 0

It's snobby because knowing what's going on int the world won't change a thing in your life. Unless it's related to your job or you're someone who has power, it's mostly useless information. People like to know what's going on in the world simply because they like to pretend they're important. I will admit that if we lived in a democracy then it could be somewhat important to have a clue, but people who have a clue know our democracies are just bullshit.

Don't get me wrong, 10 years ago, I was also one of those snobs who read Al Jazeera, the BBC, Le Monde and CNN websites every morning. But now, I'm a bit wiser, I'm not living in my delusion of self grandeur anymore and I find cat videos a lot more useful in my life.

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-23 23:11 · Score: 0

Hum should we use our completely over-sized (compensating much btw ?) military to defend and protect democracy or just pretend to and grab all the oil we can get (war paid by the US Gov, profits into private interest's pocket) ??

I wonder.... OH A CAT ! I like cats .. hehe silly cat..

Reckognizing that interests or ideas or opinions can differ and that everyone is entitled to his own is NOT the same as saying they are all equal.

Some people think the earth was created by a bearded Guy living in the sky 6000 years ago. It is an opinion. They have the right to believe in this. I'd never whish for them to suffer for it. But it is not a VALID idea. It has been disproven and will always be wrong.

By refusing to acknoledge that some ideas are better than others you are taking away the worth of all ideas.

Can others corroborate this? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-24 00:44 · Score: 0

Maybe you're young and I have noticed that the younger generation 30 seem to be more that way. However I think that's fairly normal. I'm 50 and very conservative and most of my non-work conversations are about politics and defense and serious subjects of all kinds. I have a fairly large group of friends (most are over 30) and they all join in. I also live in the mid-west and that is a factor. In more liberal areas (I lived in LA for about 5 years) it's more verboten to discuss politics, religion etc.. So I have not had your experience recently but I would agree with you more when I lived in California and I was younger.

Ahhh that explains it by TheCarp · 2014-11-24 01:18 · Score: 1

Buzzfeed is that site that I keep seeing people share links to, and every once in a while one of them does look interesting and I want to follow it, but when I do, it never actually works because the site just wont work unless you allow your browser to load content and run scripts from half the internet, and I consider that a bit like walking up to a table with 10 people who all rise and start unbuttoning their pants as I am being told "here we don't shake hands, instead we have unprotected anal sex"....

In any case, I have never actually cared enough to figure out which sites I need to let have its way with me to actually read one of their articles. Eventually I just started auto ignoring any link to buzzfeed.

--
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"

Working hours by T.E.D. · 2014-11-24 03:04 · Score: 1

An interesting correlation here is that French people don't work nearly as many hours as US people do. For example, according to the OECD numbers (which include part-time workers), US workers average about 34.5 hours a week, while French workers average about 26.8. Their typical work week is 30 hours, not 40.

Perhaps the issue here is that French readers still have energy left after work to engage in higher civic pursuits. Meanwhile US readers when they finally get a few moments free are too brain-dead from all the work to be up for anything more challenging that laughing at cats playing piano.

Use Buzfeed to filter your facebook feed by drewm19801927 · 2014-11-24 04:22 · Score: 1

I personally love that Buzzfeed exists; anytime someone one my Facebook feed posts a Buzzfeed like, I unfriend them or at least take them out of my news feed. I hope Buzzfeed achieves a 100% monopoly on links to time wasting internet garbage so I can filter it ~all out.

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by cyberchondriac · 2014-11-24 05:04 · Score: 1

Jonathan Gruber, is that you? :-D

--

Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.

French cat video by richieb · 2014-11-24 05:27 · Score: 1

Probably the funniest cat video I've seen

--
...richie - It is a good day to code.

Re:French cat video by myid · 2014-11-24 09:04 · Score: 1

Probably the funniest cat video I've seen

Thanks! I saw that video years ago, then lost track of where it was. I've got it bookmarked now.
Poom! Flea Attack!

Eww. by jonadab · 2014-11-24 05:54 · Score: 1

I watched a cat video once. It was dumb. With that said, however...

> The French love sharing news and politics on social networks

If I had to choose between sitting through a hundred hours of nonstop stupid cat videos or thirty minutes of news and politics on social networks, I'd take the stupid cat videos every time. It's clearly the lesser of those two evils.

--
Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.

Re:Eww. by Falos · 2014-11-24 08:25 · Score: 1

The USA too has armchair derps that will readily engage anyone on news/politics/controversials, and offer their personal opinions at the first chance. They long predate SJWs. I imagine every country has them, online or off. Because human nature.

And I'll take an hour of "caught my dog burping on video" over blognoise any day.
Re:Eww. by matbury · 2014-11-24 16:46 · Score: 1

Ahhh.... that's why you don't have a functioning democracy anymore: You got distracted from political discourse and democratic participation by cat videos.
Re:Eww. by jonadab · 2014-11-25 23:30 · Score: 1

We never had a democracy. Ever. We have a republic -- a representative government. We elect people to engage in political discourse for us, so that we don't all of us have to do that ourselves, so that we can get on with our lives.

Furthermore, engaging in political "discourse", as you call it, with morons going on about irrelevant garbage on social networks would do absolutely NOTHING to help me know how to vote. Having an actual intelligent conversation about a real political issue would be a different thing. I might actually be interested in that. But listening to the kind of idiots who like to talk about news and politics on social networks drool about talking points they don't even understand that they heard on television is NOT my idea of good discourse.

--
Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
Re:Eww. by matbury · 2014-11-27 03:02 · Score: 1

OK, let's rephrase it then: You got distracted from political discourse and democratic participation by cat videos, competitive sports, celebrity gossip, "manufactured" extremist arguing by both elected representatives and the mainstream media on "wedge issues" that doesn't contribute to constructive political discourse, all paid for by corporate sponsorship to push their messages and agendas on us. I believe it's what the Romans used to call "bread and circuses." It's no wonder that American social networks are mostly filled with meaningless, irrelevant garbage. In some other coutries, it's a different matter. They take their public political discourse a little more seriously.

Idiocracy by WhoBeDaPlaya · 2014-11-24 08:52 · Score: 1

Accurate documentary of Murica's future...

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-24 09:56 · Score: 0

Not true at all.

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-24 10:01 · Score: 0

It also implies that, if discussing politics or having political opinions means you have more real sway and can "change things", then your govt has far too much fucking authority.

Here in the US, people can discuss (for example) banning hand guns or abortion - but its a fruitless conversation as these things are not up to simple majority rule.

And thats a Good Thing.

In Europe, its a bit different - majorities have far more power to force people to (at least pretend) to go along with them . Thats is a Bad Thing.

Nobody Takes Buzzfeed Seriously.... by GuanoBoy · 2014-11-24 13:36 · Score: 1

...nobody, except the French. A reminder that Jerry Springer is popular in France, too.

--
WWW

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Rakarra · 2014-11-24 14:22 · Score: 1

"We live in 'Merica. Fuck Yeah!"

Did you ever notice that it's OK to mock "red state" speech patterns

It's mocking an attitude, a reference to the source material: Team America, which reserved it hatred equally for the left and the right.

Kind of like how it's OK to mock Christianity, but Islam has to be held up as a "beautiful religion of peace".

I don't know of anyone, besides actual Muslims (and often the fundamentalists) who hold that value. Now there ARE liberals who hate Christianity and like to mock it (and usually other religions). And there ARE also liberals who think that Islam should be held up as a "beautiful religion of peace." But they're not the same people. Neither liberals nor conservatives are monocultures.

It's almost as if liberals despise success and greatness, and appreciate failure.

Too stupid to adequately respond to.

Re:Caring about news and politics instead of trivi by Rakarra · 2014-11-24 14:25 · Score: 1

Here in the US, people can discuss (for example) banning hand guns or abortion - but its a fruitless conversation as these things are not up to simple majority rule.

And thats a Good Thing.

Of course it's up for majority rule, if the majority is large enough. The US Constitution isn't set in stone, ordained by God. You just need a Constitutional Amendment, which requires majorities of a certain number of states. But Americans don't feel strongly enough about banning hand guns or abortion.

Re:Russia. China. Former Soviet Block Crapholes by rubycodez · 2014-11-24 16:02 · Score: 1

Is that a dictator over the sun god?

'Murca by matbury · 2014-11-24 16:39 · Score: 1

American culture spends so much time being exceptional and telling itself it's the best, it just doesn't have the time or the energy left for quality control. Anything that attracts a cli... ooh, look! A Funny cat!!! LOLz!!!! =)))

Is it my fault? by ButchDeLoria · 2014-11-26 14:24 · Score: 1

I can't tell if I'm supposed to hate myself for being from the US or not.

Slashdot Mirror

Blame America For Everything You Hate About "Internet Culture"

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