(LAMP)Political/Hollywood Gripe

[Fake-Fat Sunny]

Well since we appear to be in the business of making broad stereotypes...

 

I'd say that Coastal America and Big City America care more about themselves and their own selfish/materialistic desires than any country - foreign or their own. While the Blue States do a lot of general talking and criticizing about foreign policy, the obvious majority of the US military is comprised of Red Staters actually willing to sacrifice their time, security, social life, family, and jobs to help free other countries and peoples who these soldiers have never previously met in their lives.

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A look at the actual demographics strikes me that the whole Red State/Blue State thing is an accurate way to categorize whether states tend to vote GOP or Dem in tems of the winner take all electoral votes (many states Mass. or IN for example are historically in one column all the time).

 

However, it really is more a convenient way for the media to lazily use the broad stereotypes you mention without doing real analysis because that takes work, time to report and does not allow them to make a much money as they can as easily as possible.

 

I saw once (I wish I had kept the link) a map which assigned reds and blue not simply based on the state assignment of electoral votes but based on their actual votes by county, Most states (even the reddest of reds) has pockets of blue in urban areas or pockets of red in rural areas. In NYS for example (a blue state if there ever was one, a strong majority of counties (I think it was 2-1) actually voted GOP. However, even though Buffalo is the second largest city in NYS by a good chunk over smaller burgs like Rochacha and Syracuse because the largest city NYC is so much larger than Buffalo the red/blue dichotomy is just not a good description at all of life and most communities in NYS.

 

For that matter, simply categorizing things as red or blue does not accurately describe the fact that NYS has a GOP mayor now, has generally had one for much of the past 2-3 decades (Bloomberg, Giuliani and hard to categorize Koch who no one would describe as a doctrinaire lefto) and has had a GOP governor finishing his thrid term.

 

Even your description of the motivations of military recruits does not necessarily scan with the red/blue description that one would say it is accurate as a description of motivation.

 

1. A Red ideology does not seem to be the primary motivator for service as is described in the CSN article linkes above. it is economics which can be termed as the selfish/materialistic motivation you describe.

2. Even among folks motivated by ideology it seems to be a desire to fight for people to be free to make their own choices red or blue rather than to promote a red outcome.

 

In general I think folks should simply drop the whole red/blue shorthand if instead they want to be accurate about the point they are making.

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

Why are we so hell bent on not offending others and all the while making us look like the bad guys?

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Women who work in the military or as police officers but look like Playboy centerfolds.

 

People who are punched, kicked, hit, blown up or knocked out but magically do not suffer any aftereffects.

 

Parents that are incredibly dimwitted while the kids are the smartest people who have ever lived.

 

Hookers who have “hearts of gold” and are candidates for Mensa, who live in a mythical place without pimps, drug/alcohol use or STD's.

 

Obligatory black character (OBC)

 

Obligatory female character (OFC)

 

Obligatory latino character (OLC)

 

Assembling a “team” that includes OBC, OFC, OLC.

 

Obligatory white male authority character who is “insensitive” to everyone who works with him or acts around him.

 

15-year-old boys who apparently spend their days lusting after 40-something women instead of teen girls or supermodels.

 

20-somethings who owns $5000 TV's and $75,000 cars.

 

White Supremacists who apparently control all aspects of life in America, and it is up to “one man” to stop them.

 

People who drugs and/or alcohol every day, but have personal-trainer-toned bodies and apparently can wake up the next morning without any ill aftereffects.

 

Police officers who are incredibly dimwitted while the crooks are PhD’s.

 

People who can kill people with one shot from a half-mile away while avoiding every bullet fired by 20 people towards them.

 

A world inhabited by thin people who wear $2000 clothes with never a hair out of place.

 

People who have computers that don’t crash and cell phones that work without interference.

 

Supporting characters who go to church every week but beat their wife/children and cheat on their spouses with regularity.

 

People who live in New York City but apparently never take the subway and never encounter any traffic jams when they drive.

 

People who struggling trying to make a living in New York City but live in 1500 sf apartments to die for.

[dib]

I guess for the same reason that Hollywood exchanged Arab terrorists for neo-Nazis in "The Sum of All Fears".

[Mr Info]

2. I hate France, anything french, even french toast.

 

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Hate is a strong word. Have you had the opportunity to know any people from France? Have you spent any time there? Have you purchased Michelin tires? Do you own any RCA or GE consumer electronics (under Tompson SA of France). I could list many more.

I am in Corsica right now staying with some of my extended family on vacation. Fortunately, I have the opportunity to meet and speak with quite a number of very personable, engaging, and thoughtful citizens of the island and mainland.

Certainly there are jerks in any nation but it might be short-sighted to make a gross generalization such as you have. Certainly, I disagree with some of the French political views but that is also true for my homeland, the USA.

However, applying deductive reasoning that hate equates to a disagreement with someone or some political view seems a bit unusual.

[Johnny Coli]

2. I hate France, anything french, even french toast.

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"Freedom" fries cause breast cancer.

 

Fries bad

[Typical TBD Guy]

True, but how many that actually do do it knowing that they might have to fight in a war are doing it because they want to save foreign countries' citizens as the prime motivator as Kelso's Helmut suggested, as opposed to just protecting America.

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No, it's probably not the main motivator for most military recruits. But it IS a factor for many of them, one that often becomes interwoven with the whole "finding a greater purpose in life" reason for joining.

 

Care to still defend your blanket statement that Middle America doesn't care nearly as much about foreign countries as Coastal America and Big City America do???

[Kelly the Dog]

I guess for the same reason that Hollywood exchanged Arab terrorists for neo-Nazis in "The Sum of All Fears".

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Perhaps that had something to do with the fact that the film was co-produced by "MFP Munich Film Partners GmbH & Company I. Produktions KG" and not a leftist Hollywood.

[Kelly the Dog]

No, it's probably not the main motivator for most military recruits. But it IS a factor for many of them, one that often becomes interwoven with the whole "finding a greater purpose in life" reason for joining.

 

Care to still defend your blanket statement that Middle America doesn't care nearly as much about foreign countries as Coastal America and Big City America do???

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That is not what I meant or implied. I meant that Middle America is more likely to buy tickets to a story about Americans than their big city or coastal America counterparts, who are more likely to actually be foreigners or immigrants or see foreign films.

[Typical TBD Guy]

That is not what I meant or implied. I meant that Middle America is more likely to buy tickets to a story about Americans than their big city or coastal America counterparts, who are more likely to actually be foreigners or immigrants or see foreign films.

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Ah, OK. I re-read your post and now I see what you meant. My bad. Sorry. Continue on...