tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356114186987252972.post1972297328686028560..comments2024-03-28T22:09:54.924-04:00Comments on The Closet Professor: Let America Be America AgainJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05299122685163501819noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356114186987252972.post-18157414485087945192012-01-19T13:03:59.799-05:002012-01-19T13:03:59.799-05:00Flatulent Canadians from South ParkFlatulent Canadians from South ParkAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356114186987252972.post-65291981023850854672012-01-19T10:34:56.222-05:002012-01-19T10:34:56.222-05:00@P: were who Terrence and Phillip?
Jay@P: were who Terrence and Phillip?<br />JayAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356114186987252972.post-16706622816524278732012-01-19T10:31:00.429-05:002012-01-19T10:31:00.429-05:00@Jay M
Was it Terrence and Philip?
As for trhe wo...@Jay M<br />Was it Terrence and Philip?<br /><br />As for trhe woman she wasn't being rude as such just insensitive. I would have preferred rude because then I would have reacted.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356114186987252972.post-32624452033896331732012-01-18T17:29:16.159-05:002012-01-18T17:29:16.159-05:00@P: I really didn't take offence as much as I ...@P: I really didn't take offence as much as I wanted to point out that we're not all that way. And people from other countries can be as rude. <br /><br />One day I was in a beautiful national park, getting lunch from a snack bar within the park, when a group of people who spoke French (that's all the labeling I can do) exited the snack bar and began to walk towards a couple of blankets others with them had laid out in a nice shady spot under some trees on a manicured green lawn overlooking the valleys to the east - and wrapped their food, deliberately dropping the wrappers on the ground as they walked, trashing this scenic area. In my rage, I refrained from saying anything. I just walked behind them, picked it all up, and quite pointedly stuffed into the clearly labeled "TRASH" can directly beside their chosen picnic spot. The look on their faces was priceless!<br /><br />As to the American woman you encountered...I can take only so much rudeness, and will try to politely get whoever it is to stop. Barring that, I will raise my voice just enough to make some sarcastic remark; that usually shuts them up!<br /><br />Peace <3<br />JayAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356114186987252972.post-47807530591011112452012-01-18T14:30:59.344-05:002012-01-18T14:30:59.344-05:00I'm sorry if my comment offended you Jay M it ...I'm sorry if my comment offended you Jay M it was largely tongue-in-cheek albeit true but I know some Americans have a problem grasping irony (sarcasm?) as a form of humour.<br /><br />As stated I have visited America many times and the people are among the most welcoming and hospitable on Earth - in my experience.<br /><br />To emphasise my point about them being a pain in the ass abroad though - in my experience - I will give you just one example of which I have many.<br /><br />I was in NZ when I met a middle aged American couple on a tour bus of Auckland. The woman homed in on me straight away much to the relief of her hen-pecked other half.<br /><br />She went on to show me photos by way of proof that the couple had been everywhere in NZ yet had only been in the country two weeks. <br />With a blatant disregard to the fact I might actually find the dialogue on the tour bus intercom interesting as it described the many wonderous sites we passed or stopped at on our whistle stop tour she then intimated all her physical ailments for the past 20 years.<br /><br />It was as though she had a different doctor for every part of her body yet she seemed in good shape to me particularly her mouth.<br /><br />Unfortunately I share that very British disease of grin and bear it. I nodded politely as she told me her dermatologist did this, her chiropodist did that, her proctologist did the other, etc. etc.<br /><br />Now unlike the rest of the world I don't have a down on Americans but that doesn't mean I won't poke fun at them. America has greatly improved over the last 50 years or so and their reaction time is second to none when it comes to world strife.<br /><br />After all we blew the bugle in 1939 and America didn't hear it until 1941 now the 'world police' are deployed to trouble spots post haste, the change is impressive :PAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356114186987252972.post-58088997133900785142012-01-17T22:57:36.162-05:002012-01-17T22:57:36.162-05:00Great poem, and completely spot-on in today's ...Great poem, and completely spot-on in today's economy. Your coda fits in just fine. Other than Longfellow, Whitman, Sandburg, Frost and Dickenson, I can't remember any other American poets ever discussed in our English classes.<br /><br />I have to agree with the comment from P. I have traveled to and worked in several foreign countries, and was always embarassed by the behavior of my fellow Yanks. They seem to have no sensitivities for whatever other culture they find themselves in.Deannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356114186987252972.post-63161352672682752392012-01-17T19:59:17.021-05:002012-01-17T19:59:17.021-05:00Wonder piece, with the added stanza.
I must take...Wonder piece, with the added stanza. <br /><br />I must take offense at P's assertion that Americans are a pain in the ass when they travel. I know when I've traveled to other countries, I take great pains to fit in, learn about the culture, and be the least offensive as I can be. I've certainly received smiles from publicans and border protection agents in several countries because I work so hard to follow the customs of their country - the same way I do here. And I know for sure that there are plenty of folks who visit the US from other countries that act like complete asses, so it goes both ways. <br /><br />I won't disagree that are great inequalities in this country. But I swear I can't think of any other country I'd rather live in. Yes, the politicians can be stupid (and most are), but I've seen the governments of other countries, and they're not much better for many reasons. <br /><br />Langston Hughes is a great poet, gay or not.<br /><br />Peace <3<br />JayAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356114186987252972.post-55233041714734165442012-01-17T15:48:40.934-05:002012-01-17T15:48:40.934-05:00The only trouble with America is that it is full o...The only trouble with America is that it is full of Americans. A big wall should be built around it not to keep people out but to keep them in.<br /><br />I have visited America many times and the people in the main are warm and welcoming so it is a mystery why they are such a pain in the ass when they travel.<br /><br />It seems ludicrous to classify them as insular given the geography but that is exactly what they are and although there are many intelligent people in America the dumb ones have made stupidity an art form. Just a shame many of them turn out to be politicians.<br /><br />Land of the free home of the brave? Just like the American Dream it is all American Pie in the sky.<br /><br />Having said that, they are our prodigal sons and whilst I may chastise them I still have a great deal of affection for them.<br /><br />Jesus loves America everyone else thinks you are assholes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com