Bad American: a Gentle Sunday Morning Read

[panzerfaust]

In today's Guardian, Montana Wildhack writes:

Good Americans don't question the US's superiority. I think there are other places in the world that are OK. I am a Bad American

I blame Petula Clark, really. If Downtown hadn't gripped my four year-old soul, I may have grown up to be a normal, patriotic American. I worshipped Clark at age four. I wanted to be her. According to my aunt Jane, Clark was from some place called England. My grasp on geography wasn't too tight at that age, so in my mind, England was a faraway place full of pretty blonde girls who sang happy songs. I wanted to be a pretty blonde girl and sing happy songs. Somehow, I think I must have believed that if I went to England, I would become one...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/nov/26/good-bad-american

[Botany]

1. petula clark

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKCnHWas3HQ

[Berry Cool]

3. Drat that Petula!

And then she really put her foot in it by touching Harry Belafonte while she was singing with him on her TV special! The sponsor had to set her straight on that: No white woman touching black man on this special, or the viewers in the South would immediately protest the sponsor with marches and flaming torches.

Petula did as he ordered: she and Harry recorded another take of the song, without her touching Harry. Then, unbeknownst to the sponsor, she arranged for one of the tech guys to "accidentally" erase that version of the video, so there was no way to deliver the special on time other than to use the version where she was touching Harry.

And all us Bad Americans love her for it.

[izquierdista]

2. Another bad American

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mCDZMWVWuc