Anti-Americanism

I often ponder on the extent of anti-Americanism in NZ, and elsewhere. It is so bad some people have been trying to compare the US to North Korea in another thread.

Some of it is inevitable as the sole super-power, and some of it reflects the current Government.

But I wonder how much of it is because people highlight certain local laws (which are daft) and many people take this as indicative of the country as a whole, as if this is what the majority of Americans want if they can get their way.

As an example No Right Turn reports:

In America, it’s a different story. Oh, they have the same rise in de facto couples that we do – but they’re unhappy about it. So unhappy, that some regressives are even attempting to ban de facto couples with children from their towns in an effort to “protect values”. Sometimes it really does seem as if they’re ruled by the Taleban over there…

Now don’t get me wrong. The town council of Black Jack are nutters for trying to force de facto couples with kids out of town. But portraying this as some sort of “American” thing is incredibly unfair.

This has happened in one town – Black Jack. It is tiny – a population of 6,792. It is incidentally is also 71% African-American so trying to paint this as part of the GOP Religious Right is well, an unlikely mix.

What do we think people overseas would think of NZ if every day the idiocy of every small town or local official got reported as representing NZ?

Also there is no doubt that a legal challenge to the bylaws will get struck down as unconstitutional in time.

I’m not saying don’t report stupidities from the US (or any place) but trying to portray the majority of America as a religious Taliban is what fosters anti-Americanism. Yes there are some religious nutters in the US, but America is a very diverse country with diverse people.