>This is a 
factual statement. 

Actually, it was not a factual statement - it 
was an opinion, and more than that it was a 
stereotype. And the use of the word 'most' as a 
modifier doesn't change that. If there is a 
group of 100 people, and 51 of those people are 
bad, then technically "most" of the people in 
the group are bad. But there are still 49 other 
people who do not fit into the mold filled by 
the 'majority.' Also, the US Democrats would 
counter your statement by saying that Bush 
didn't really get the 'majority' of the votes, 
because technically he lost the popular 
election. And even now, if the current polls are 
to be believed, the number of people who side 
with him are just under 50%. Stereotyping nearly 
300 million people based on the actions of one 
man, when many of them don't even see eye to eye 
with him, seems a little silly to me.

I'm very sorry that someone put down your 
country - that's not right to do, no matter who 
you are or where you're from. If someone insults 
your country, then you should take them to task 
for it and let them know that it's not ok for 
them to do that - which is what i assume Hojo 
was doing in his previous post. After all, if 
anonymous had said something similar about your 
country, wouldn't you be somewhat offended? 
(Perhaps I should rephrase that, since not much 
seems to offend you ^_~) And whether or not the 
statement was a fact or an opinion, the tone 
made it clear that it was intended to be viewed 
as showing the US in a negative light: 

>It's so manichean... well, perfect for most US 
people, whose conception of this world is ultra 
manichean as well.

I definitely agree with you on the mutual 
respect issue, however; each individual, 
regardless of their country of origin, deserves 
some basic respect. My problem is not with 
anonymous himself; my problem is with the way in 
which he presented his views in a disrespectful 
and inappropriate manner. And dissing the US is 
also a disrespectful thing to do.

As far as this thread goes ... I am deeply sorry 
that I have become a party to this. A for sale 
thread is a for sale thread, and shouldn't be 
used for other discussion - that's what new 
threads are for! And I don't like anonymous 
posts either - they leave a bad taste in my 
mouth. So now that I have made my contribution 
of yet another senseless, anonymous post to add 
to the mix, I will return to lurking instead of 
posting.

I sincerely hope that everyone reading this has 
a very pleasant day - no matter who you are or 
what country you're from! ^_^