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In reply to the discussion: Are You Dumber than an American? [View all]FlaGranny
(8,361 posts)17. Brilliant people are not necessarily
elite, unless their definition of elite is much different than mine.
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what a stupid article. yeah, all americans are stupid except for "the brilliant elite".
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#2
I think you misinterpreted the description. It isn't that the American elite are brilliant, rather
Egalitarian Thug
Nov 2012
#4
It is a translation done by a volunteer from Swedish. But if you want to get all freaked out by it,
Egalitarian Thug
Nov 2012
#10
well then all bets are off. do you read swedish? because all we have is the english
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#12
thank you. "av" is what is translated as "beside"? what are the various senses of "av"?
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#27
care to expound on what you find so stupid? or perhaps contribute your own summary?
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#88
Nice post!! I just saw it after posting my own attempt at translation through German. n/t
xocet
Nov 2012
#123
Greetings...(now to the "I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet"-segment of the thread)
xocet
Nov 2012
#121
I deal with Americans every day. It's rare to find one that can speak in complete sentences
Egalitarian Thug
Nov 2012
#35
what "we do as a nation" has nothing to do with the intelligence of individual
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#42
your post? i read every word. i'm not outraged. you appear to be the outraged
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#45
i think it's pretty easy not to to so. i think israel, as a nation, does plenty of shitty
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#57
Which one of those nations has a military equal to the rest of the planet combined?
Fumesucker
Nov 2012
#59
none, but that seems to me irrelevant. or perhaps relevant in this way: if they did,
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#60
how many other places have you lived? it's not that different from anywhere else.
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#68
Try not paying attention to that stuff and then having social conversation with people
Fumesucker
Nov 2012
#73
i haven't found it such a terrible minefield if i discuss rather than lecture (contrary
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#80
Or try not watching television and carrying on a conversation with the majority
Egalitarian Thug
Nov 2012
#178
i've heard the "only in..." line from people from every country that i've met.
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#302
"Only in America" refers to a Horatio Alger type rags-to-riches story. Not generosity.
Romulox
Nov 2012
#309
none of the people on this thread are the dumb ones, of course. the dumb ones
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#99
Nice try, but this pathetic attempt to re-write what was written to suit your defense will not fly.
Egalitarian Thug
Nov 2012
#194
It's "rare" to find an American who can speak in complete sentences? What does that say about
cherokeeprogressive
Nov 2012
#215
hardly. it's a function of location and economics, nothing to do with intelligence.
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#158
The Scand. languages have also conveniently simplified verb conjugations
Jackpine Radical
Nov 2012
#124
i'm not pissed. i think the article's stupid, at least the title & excerpt i read in
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#49
i understand where it comes from as well. it comes from selective media reports,
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#76
You may be right. However, in which country is it that average citizens don't
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#119
sweden 1st ventured into neoliberalization decades ago, and not just in ed. not something new, e.g.
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#160
really? so you actually think that sweeping generalizations are an intelligent way
cali
Nov 2012
#25
Really? I don't see Cali making that assertion & I don't see her name on the link you provided.
whathehell
Nov 2012
#89
however, it has the merit of truth value. which the propositon that americans are
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#37
I just find it humorous that cali of all people denounces sweeping generalizations
Fumesucker
Nov 2012
#44
Television, the drug of the nation. Breeding ignorance, fear, and anti-intellectualism. n/t
Egalitarian Thug
Nov 2012
#6
Yep. No country in the world has the superior marketing strategies of the U.S.
BlueCaliDem
Nov 2012
#63
have you seen commercials in other countries? they do just fine. they have all the
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#103
Yes, actually I *have* seen commercials in the other countries of the world. Lived in some of.
BlueCaliDem
Nov 2012
#108
there may be a real journalism still alive in europe, i actually don't know. but the right
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#113
There's a difference between Guest Workers and your average German employee.
BlueCaliDem
Nov 2012
#251
There aren't many of us that recognize that, although since LCD displays have become nearly
Egalitarian Thug
Nov 2012
#174
No, because I grew up in Massachusetts, or as the Tea Party calls it "The most liberal Country in
pam4water
Nov 2012
#13
Ah, thanks. Know of polyamory; please use the word not the abbreviation except in contexts
Bernardo de La Paz
Nov 2012
#230
discussion groups are poor places to explain the intricacies of a situation such as mine.
tavalon
Nov 2012
#267
.Well, thanks for telling us that, Tav, especially since it's not especially apparent.
whathehell
Nov 2012
#105
Did you not get the part where it's merely a pipe dream and not going to happen?
tavalon
Nov 2012
#268
no more so than any other nation. you have the educated and uneducated. the curious,
seabeyond
Nov 2012
#26
yep. no difference. i heard palinesque stuff 30 years ago from a pair of canadians
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#32
Oh, so now you think anecdotal evidence proves sweeping generalizations. Logic much?
Bernardo de La Paz
Nov 2012
#147
not at all. where did i say such a thing? but you know, there's a logical gap from "half the
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#172
The half that voted for Romney sure do drag the average down severely.
Bernardo de La Paz
Nov 2012
#176
Thank you. Like many others here, I get very tired of the obligatory Five Minutes of Self Hate.
whathehell
Nov 2012
#193
yep. most of the memes come from the "brilliant elite" themselves, and are used
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#34
I've tried to make it through watching Idiocracy, but never have, one of my failings in
RKP5637
Nov 2012
#54
You're right, as a comedic film it is awful. But, as a social commentary, and possible
Egalitarian Thug
Nov 2012
#186
None taken, and I have always, on occasion, enjoyed a little pain. n/t
Egalitarian Thug
Nov 2012
#305
I find most of humanity pretty stupid, so I don't think America has the only leading role when
RKP5637
Nov 2012
#53
and where do you stand in this hierarchy of smartness? as you are standing back
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#65
HA! I would like to think that I am in the top 1/2, but doing so probably qualifies me
ncgrits
Nov 2012
#130
For all the consternation the Swedish author is causing in this thread, I have to get a
CTyankee
Nov 2012
#62
I thought so too. I just can't understand the utter outrage here about what she wrote in this
CTyankee
Nov 2012
#77
If she had inserted "conservative" in the title we'd all be applauding this.
Barack_America
Nov 2012
#79
It's great that we have elected a person of color to President, yes and good for us!
CTyankee
Nov 2012
#262
Yes, it is and of course I know that it's not "everything", and as a progressive democrat
whathehell
Nov 2012
#264
I feel that we are "evolving" on the social programs faster than we have on the
CTyankee
Nov 2012
#266
What many under a certain age don't realize is that this idiocy, this "rejection of science", etc.
whathehell
Nov 2012
#310
lol. yeah, it's all those stupid people serving as worker bees and managerial personnel in the
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#170
i agree with the general thrust but i'd just like to say that america never scored
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#102
"I stand by my theory that we are much more disillusioned than stupid." I agree.
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#166
US became most powerful economy in large part by attracting highly educated intelligent immigrants.
Bernardo de La Paz
Nov 2012
#148
Thank you. Although I've learned to expect a lot of knee-jerk anti-Americanism
whathehell
Nov 2012
#323
It is due to our misguided belief that disputation and argument lead to the truth
FarCenter
Nov 2012
#93
Correct, and the dummies eagerly embracing this self-hate shit sandwich would be excoriating
whathehell
Nov 2012
#198
No, "American" is not an ethnicity. It's a nationality. They are not the same thing.
Spider Jerusalem
Nov 2012
#227
In regard to Melody's point, It's a distinction without much of a difference
whathehell
Nov 2012
#257
You're correct, lalalu, but the drooling europhiles here will likely ignore that
whathehell
Nov 2012
#285
And, what? You imagine that a majority of the rest of the world's populations are Brilliant?
whathehell
Nov 2012
#288
Yes, and I'm sure there is no "ignorance" in Sweden where, as another poster pointed out
whathehell
Nov 2012
#265
I just recently watched the Helen Mirren Prime Suspect series, from the early 90s
valerief
Nov 2012
#253
Bwahahahaha! Well, I've been duly finger-wagged over an issue I really don't care about.
valerief
Nov 2012
#289
Wow, I didn't realize Euro TV was so damn important. Why it is, I don't know.
valerief
Nov 2012
#298
Wow, you must really feel guilty about finger-wagging me over such a petty issue. nt
valerief
Nov 2012
#311
Wrong again...You didn't think it was "only tv" when you wrote a rather lengthy post
whathehell
Nov 2012
#317
No, Val...I haven't blocked. you. Check and see if you're sending your post to the right person.
whathehell
Nov 2012
#318
I don't even have to click on your link to know what you said is true. It's axiomatic.
randome
Nov 2012
#293