Comments on: “I don’t see your @** in my hometown” http://newsrackblog.com/2009/03/11/i-dont-see-your-ass-in-my-hometown/ a citizen's journal by Thomas Nephew Fri, 18 May 2012 00:07:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Thomas Nephew http://newsrackblog.com/2009/03/11/i-dont-see-your-ass-in-my-hometown/#comment-4222 Thomas Nephew Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:23:53 +0000 http://newsrackblog.com/?p=2607#comment-4222 Yup. Re cognitive dissonance, the youtube comments and blog responses (via technorati) are interesting too. It's like this is a video Rorschach test or that "young woman / old woman" picture -- different people have radically different takes on it. The video title is one -- "Lazy Iraqi Police Get Motivational Speech", and a typical amen goes <i>"Kick some lazy Iraqi ass!!! Instead of whining about how mean this guy is, someone needs to stand up and commend him for kicking ass and not being scared of his own shadow like the so called men he is speaking to."</i> Then there are responses like <i>"the guy keeps going at them like "if you don't die for your country, i won't do it for you", he just failed to remember between 400,000 to 600,000 Irakis already lost their lives since 2003, among which at least 100,000 because of "collateral damage"</i> and <i>"that wouldn't motivate me at all, if i see some bitch ass non-iraqi coming to my country to insult me and tell me shit, i would be very piss[ed] off"</i>. I guess that's not surprising. This just feels like a particularly vivid demonstration of divisions about Iraq; it's a kind of sociology/political science experiment or "controlled natural history observation." Yup. Re cognitive dissonance, the youtube comments and blog responses (via technorati) are interesting too. It’s like this is a video Rorschach test or that “young woman / old woman” picture — different people have radically different takes on it. The video title is one — “Lazy Iraqi Police Get Motivational Speech”, and a typical amen goes “Kick some lazy Iraqi ass!!! Instead of whining about how mean this guy is, someone needs to stand up and commend him for kicking ass and not being scared of his own shadow like the so called men he is speaking to.”

Then there are responses like “the guy keeps going at them like “if you don’t die for your country, i won’t do it for you”, he just failed to remember between 400,000 to 600,000 Irakis already lost their lives since 2003, among which at least 100,000 because of “collateral damage” and “that wouldn’t motivate me at all, if i see some bitch ass non-iraqi coming to my country to insult me and tell me shit, i would be very piss[ed] off”.

I guess that’s not surprising. This just feels like a particularly vivid demonstration of divisions about Iraq; it’s a kind of sociology/political science experiment or “controlled natural history observation.”

]]> By: Nell http://newsrackblog.com/2009/03/11/i-dont-see-your-ass-in-my-hometown/#comment-4221 Nell Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:50:30 +0000 http://newsrackblog.com/?p=2607#comment-4221 We dial-up readers are deeply appreciative. The whole idea that we're there "for" the Iraqis makes me throw up, one reason I didn't care for Obama's speech at Camp Lejeune. But brutal honesty would make it a little hard for everybody to feel good about themselves. The "pep talk" is the result of this giant clusterfvck of cognitive dissonance. We dial-up readers are deeply appreciative.

The whole idea that we’re there “for” the Iraqis makes me throw up, one reason I didn’t care for Obama’s speech at Camp Lejeune. But brutal honesty would make it a little hard for everybody to feel good about themselves.

The “pep talk” is the result of this giant clusterfvck of cognitive dissonance.

]]> By: Thomas Nephew http://newsrackblog.com/2009/03/11/i-dont-see-your-ass-in-my-hometown/#comment-4178 Thomas Nephew Wed, 11 Mar 2009 06:09:54 +0000 http://newsrackblog.com/?p=2607#comment-4178 What the heck -- here's some of what he says: <blockquote><em>"...you know why I'm pissed off? I come down here with my soldiers to try to train you, and you're trying to f***ing kill Americans, you're trying to kill your fellow f***ing Iraqis, cause you got no f***ing backbone. You want everything from me, you want weapons, and ammunition, you want fuel, and trucks...but you're too f***ing p**sy to go 3 f***ing kilometers down the road and go get the people who're tearing this f***ing town apart. You guys better figure out where your loyalties lie. Are you loyal to Iraq? Shia? Sunni? What is it? You want to fight for your country? Or are you better off having me die for your country because you're too much of a f***ing woman to do it yourself. You love seeing Americans die for your f***ing country, you won't die for it yourself. I don't see your @** in my hometown."</em></blockquote>He's not really arguing with the Iraqis; it seems to me he's arguing with himself about what if anything he's accomplishing. === (EDIT, 3/12: @**, as in title change.) What the heck — here’s some of what he says:

“…you know why I’m pissed off? I come down here with my soldiers to try to train you, and you’re trying to f***ing kill Americans, you’re trying to kill your fellow f***ing Iraqis, cause you got no f***ing backbone. You want everything from me, you want weapons, and ammunition, you want fuel, and trucks…but you’re too f***ing p**sy to go 3 f***ing kilometers down the road and go get the people who’re tearing this f***ing town apart.

You guys better figure out where your loyalties lie. Are you loyal to Iraq? Shia? Sunni? What is it? You want to fight for your country? Or are you better off having me die for your country because you’re too much of a f***ing woman to do it yourself.

You love seeing Americans die for your f***ing country, you won’t die for it yourself.

I don’t see your @** in my hometown.”

He’s not really arguing with the Iraqis; it seems to me he’s arguing with himself about what if anything he’s accomplishing.

===
(EDIT, 3/12: @**, as in title change.)

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