Opinions

[Sean88gt]

Posting on my phone, asshole!! If it's a video, it's a black square, so suck a dick... again....

I don't think I properly responded, fucker, so fuck you!

[71chevellejohn]

My cars aren't German. My vodka isn't Russian(made in Texas). Italians wouldn't consider what I call pizza to be pizza. It's chicken on a stick, not a kebab. This hasn't been a democracy in some time. I don't drink coffee. Damn right the movies are 'Merican! Fuck Yeah! My tee is wooden. Indians don't wear shirts, they wear loin cloths and feathers. My oil is olive. My electronics were reversed engineered by 'Mericans in Roswell. I can't count or type. My neighbors are all red blooded 'Mericans! Pull My finger!

[talisman]

My electronics were reversed engineered by 'Mericans in Roswell.

lol

[CJ]

Singing in different languages means you're pro illegal immigration? Oh.

No, I'm not talking about the commercial, I'm talking about the mindset in regards to illegal immigration (I said this above). You just quoted me saying that and then repeated it again. I'm specifically being informative that most people in here are discussing the benefits of immigration (which I have no problem with). I'm simply volunteering another aspect to immigration that can be destructive. I think a lot of people saw the commercial as incremental in regards to dissimilation of our language, the most binding aspect of any culture. Whether the interpretation was correct or not, it clearly has a large percentage of the population upset. It seems most people on the other side of this are arguing that "wasn't the point" of the ad, well considering such a large percentage of people who are upset about it, they clearly failed to drive home the point, whatever it was. And that's not good for business.

[Ratt]

This thread is giving me fits of both laughter and facepalm.

People beholden to the idea of how a country should or shouldn't be, especially people with the point of view like Blakeski's, confound me to no end. This country was based on a general set of ideals that were nowhere near perfect. Even the founding fathers, who wrote the damned documents "freeing" us of the British, admitted it...several times.

To argue that you have any more right over what this country does and how this country behaves than the next American citizen is a completely invalid and illogical argument. Any other American Citizen has his/her/its right to express themselves just as you do, and for you to say that's incorrect or immoral is absolutely and completely subjective. For you to think otherwise would imply that you have more say than any other person. That's what you would call unbalanced, no? Guess what, you just argued against the "Democracy" you hold so near and dear, where every person has an equal say and every vote holds the same weight.

Why should the whole country be Christian just because you are? Why should we all have to speak English just because you do? Because that's what makes you more comfortable? Surely you see the ridiculous nature of these arguments...

Yes there are people here who speak other languages and very little to no English. English is not the most widely spoken country in the world. You know what is? Mandarin. Second? Nope, not English. It's Spanish. English is third. Guess what else? If you go visit countries whose native language is something other than English (especially China, anywhere in Europe, or Mexico), you're going to find native people who speak not only their native language, but also English and probably one or two other languages. Do you speak any Mandarin? No? How about Spanish? Oh a little? Good for you. What about the fourth most popular language? Do you know what it is without Googling it? It's Hindi. Do you speak that? Probably not. Open your tiny little mind for a minute and look at the big picture.

I just don't understand why anyone thinks they have any more privilege to anything else in this world that they didn't work for. You didn't start this country, you weren't around for its conception and inception, and, regardless of what closed-minded individuals think, you won't be around for its destruction and downfall.

The world is coming closer together faster than your tiny, constrained thought processes can comprehend on a political basis, monetary basis, and several other ways, and you're sitting there pulling on your own dick and patting yourself on the back for being "patriotic." Good job.

[Ratt]

And for the record, I do not disagree with CJ, but people are using this commercial to push their agendas with hidden meanings that are not there.

Also, I quite liked the commercial.

Edit: Also, Coke sucks, anyway. Dr. Pepper for life!

[CJ]

All of that makes sense. The one part I'd like to focus on is the "Citizen" part. That's how it's suppose to be, and that is exactly how it should be. Any American citizen has the right to do that, and should be able to do what they choose. However, a language is the most important binding aspect to any culture. We as Americans should all be able to communicate with one another. It's more important than heritage, it's essential to the success of a nation. Without the ability to communicate it will separate Americans from one another. As we've seen from our politicians, it's also used as a weapon to set one group of American's against the other. I recently learned quite a bit about La Raza and their ambitions to promote illegal immigration, and how they also advocate illegal immigrant usage of social programs, college education, and voting rights (yes voting rights for illegal immigrants). I had no idea about all of this, and I feel like others should know about it. I might have chosen the wrong thread to post it in.

[Chili]

This thread is giving me fits of both laughter and facepalm.

People beholden to the idea of how a country should or shouldn't be, especially people with the point of view like Blakeski's, confound me to no end. This country was based on a general set of ideals that were nowhere near perfect. Even the founding fathers, who wrote the damned documents "freeing" us of the British, admitted it...several times.

To argue that you have any more right over what this country does and how this country behaves than the next American citizen is a completely invalid and illogical argument. Any other American Citizen has his/her/its right to express themselves just as you do, and for you to say that's incorrect or immoral is absolutely and completely subjective. For you to think otherwise would imply that you have more say than any other person. That's what you would call unbalanced, no? Guess what, you just argued against the "Democracy" you hold so near and dear, where every person has an equal say and every vote holds the same weight.

Why should the whole country be Christian just because you are? Why should we all have to speak English just because you do? Because that's what makes you more comfortable? Surely you see the ridiculous nature of these arguments...

Yes there are people here who speak other languages and very little to no English. English is not the most widely spoken country in the world. You know what is? Mandarin. Second? Nope, not English. It's Spanish. English is third. Guess what else? If you go visit countries whose native language is something other than English (especially China, anywhere in Europe, or Mexico), you're going to find native people who speak not only their native language, but also English and probably one or two other languages. Do you speak any Mandarin? No? How about Spanish? Oh a little? Good for you. What about the fourth most popular language? Do you know what it is without Googling it? It's Hindi. Do you speak that? Probably not. Open your tiny little mind for a minute and look at the big picture.

I just don't understand why anyone thinks they have any more privilege to anything else in this world that they didn't work for. You didn't start this country, you weren't around for its conception and inception, and, regardless of what closed-minded individuals think, you won't be around for its destruction and downfall.

The world is coming closer together faster than your tiny, constrained thought processes can comprehend on a political basis, monetary basis, and several other ways, and you're sitting there pulling on your own dick and patting yourself on the back for being "patriotic." Good job.

Excellent post.

[talisman]

Well said Neil.

[Ratt]

All of that makes sense. The one part I'd like to focus on is the "Citizen" part. That's how it's suppose to be, and that is exactly how it should be. Any American citizen has the right to do that, and should be able to do what they choose. However, a language is the most important binding aspect to any culture. We as Americans should all be able to communicate with one another. It's more important than heritage, it's essential to the success of a nation. Without the ability to communicate it will separate Americans from one another. As we've seen from our politicians, it's also used as a weapon to set one group of American's against the other. I recently learned quite a bit about La Raza and their ambitions to promote illegal immigration, and how they also advocate illegal immigrant usage of social programs, college education, and voting rights (yes voting rights for illegal immigrants). I had no idea about all of this, and I feel like others should know about it. I might have chosen the wrong thread to post it in.

I absolutely agree, and this may have been the wrong thread for you to post in, as I didn't really see any talk of illegal immigration, but it is a huge problem, and Hispanics aren't the only ones doing it. Last year, Asians (not just Chinese, but people from all over the Asian continent) surpassed Hispanics as the largest immigrant group. It's estimated, however, that while ~44% of Hispanic immigrants are undocumented, only ~13% of Asian immigrants are undocumented. That speaks volumes as to how our closest neighbor and supposed ally treats our country opposed to someone who Americans have been hating on and calling opposition for centuries.

In my mind, it all boils down to education, and it's getting to the point where the newest generations of immigrants can seriously stand there and tell you that they had no idea they needed paperwork to enter the country legally and not be telling you a lie. It's ingrained so much in other countries' cultures that you go to the USA to make a better life for yourself that they glaze over the fact that we have laws in place to make sure that they, the hard working huddled masses, get in, and the bad guys stay out.

Sorry, I could go on and on about either of these topics (in my mind the commercial issues and the immigration issues are separate). It hits really close to home on me for many reasons and on many levels. I spent probably close to, if not more than, $10,000 trying to get the USCIS to not only tell me my marriage to my wife (from China) would grant her a green card, but that it was even legal in the first place.

Edit: Thanks Eric and Craig. I'm an uneducated (didn't finish college, so only in "traditional terms") ass-hole with white privilege, but I know what my opinions are, and I like to think that I'm pretty fair when it comes to broad-reaching issues like this.

[CJ]

In my mind, it all boils down to education

That's a large part of the problem. The government runs education in this country, and a large portion of that government is invested in illegal immigration as a movement and voting block. Huge fucking problem and everyone loses. Immigration has many problems, one of them you touched on. People who are beneficial to our country and will work to better this nation should be welcomed with open arms. It is far too difficult for many to obtain citizenship, and our country by and large is not interested in doing that or making it accessible.

[Ratt]

That's a large part of the problem. The government runs education in this country, and a large portion of that government is invested in illegal immigration as a movement and voting block. Huge fucking problem and everyone loses.

I agree, but I'm not even talking about just this country. Look at the average formal education level of this country versus Mexico, and then look at our average formal education level of our country versus China. Mexico is so underdeveloped by modern standards that they don't (or at least can pretend to not) know any better, and China's development was so rushed in the last four decades (especially the last two) that they are finding loopholes in our laws and using them against us. We are stuck in the middle and fighting each other, but for what? To find a middle-ground on immigration reform and to get some well-written laws in place? No, to get our next representative elected so that we can sit here and talk about how we would have done it better. It's bull-shit.

Side note: You have no idea how happy it makes me to see this thread hijacked by intelligent conversation.

[CJ]

I added more shit btw, I tend to do that alot.

[Ratt]

I added more shit btw, I tend to do that alot.

It's all good. I do the same. It was not only challenging, but extremely difficult for me to convince the government that my wife, who had a bachelor's degree and was seeking even higher education, was not some slacker who wasn't just looking for a green card. In my opinion someone like my wife, who is morally right and a mentally steadfast person who was only looking to make a life for herself and not cause problems for anyone else, should be able to walk into a government office, and apply for a green card just like she would a driver's license. Of course that's an over-simplification, but it was serious hell trying to get her a green card so that I didn't have to move to China to be with her, and all of this was AFTER we were legally wed. They went so far as to ask us intimate details of our sex life, and other generally embarrassing things (which brings up the whole invasion of privacy of a citizen topic that I won't get into right now) and I almost lost it on one of the interviewers when they asked me about her...unmentionables...and was obviously getting off on his perverted sense of power. I filed several complaints almost five years ago and still haven't heard a peep.

[CJ]

That's pretty fucking ridiculous. Go government!