Europeans more brainwashed than 'Americans'??

Awesome topic. Thanks - otherwise at ATS it feels like I live in USA.

I am European from Latvia currently living in England (for more than 6 years). I have seen Europe a lot - it is a place of diversity.

1. You will find UK with a version of Orwellian state - complete disaster.
2. You will find in a deep sleep (socialism) Scandinavia - people are happy, passive and never heard the word poverty.
3. You will find revolution and protests against everything in France all the time. They have never heard a word "agree".
4. You will find post soviet countries - most of them with a complete lack of respect to system (avoiding taxes on small and large scale, scamming...) and also many of them are alcoholics. Never heard the word "honest".
5. Southern countries (Italy, Spain) with their temperament, passion and own set of rules.

------------

EU was enforced on everyone - I don't know many people who think EU is a good thing. I hope it will collapse soon because it is too diverse.

I am puzzled what are Europeans being brainwashed with and what is it they are being told to do by this brainwashing????????


In regards to the british people the reason i can come up with the lethargy of the british population in regards to our government is that they have a ball and chain around their neck.
To make any capitalist government to listen you have to stop working for long periods so you dont pay TAX and so the government is not getting their pocket money(thats the only way ppl can make these types of government listen)
Now going back to the ball and chain well the vast majority of people working have mortgages and kids in other words they fell into the capitalist trap and cannot have the luxury of not paying their taxes through not working.

reply to post by SLAYER69


It's not about the issues under the microscope... That I have an interest in discussing. It's clearly about the insanely crass and ignorant assumptions that are being put forward as "brainwashing".

IMO, that deserves to be exposed for what it is.

reply to post by IgnoranceIsntBlisss


Thank you!! Why couldn't you have said it like that at the start. What you said in that post is correct in most parts and much of the rest can be put down to opinion.

Brainwashing though? Not in those instances.. There's plenty of ACTUAL brainwashing in the EU.

Oooh let me jump into the fray!
Re CCTV I would not like our American brothers to think that we trip over a camera every time we leave the house! The nearest ones to me are about 20 miles in one direction and 7 miles in another.
As for the notion that Europeans are more brainwashed than Americans, it's just too ridiculous to argue about. Neither does that statement take into account the different European national characteristics. Yes we have not been homogenised yet! My guess is that Americans see their States even as having different characteristics. Well then...
Frankly the silly statement made by the OP was just trolling and we should all get beyond it. Now is not the time for national divide. We may all need each other yet.

Originally posted by plumranch
reply to post by K-Raz

 

If Fox news was based here, they would get shut down pretty fast. (and not by the government i might add - but by the people)

So what you are saying is that the Danish people would shut down any alternative viewpoints? Only listen to the news presented by the government and the liberal LEFT?

My guess is that the Danes aren't that stupid!

Or are they?

[edit on 14/11/09 by plumranch]

No, we just prefer making our own opinions, rather than having one presented as facts. There are pretty strict rules about what journalists can say or do, and becoming one is one of the hardest educations there is here.

As for stupidity, i am a factory worker, yet i speak 4 other languages, and have visited at leat 5 other countries - how are you faring?

You know what i'm kinda getting sick of this US V Europe non-existant war ye have going on, not to mention the actual physical war's ye have going on around the world just for power, money, oil, drug's, mineral and any other NATURAL Resource ye want to steal!
The fighting Irish is coming out in me now! Fix your own problem then come talking to me!!!!! I'll try to help ya not have a war with ya!!!!!

reply to post by K-Raz


I used to live in Denmark - It is a crazy place they took a chaps company away from him because he owed State tax - Then made him work in it for his social welfare money. The State has gone totally crazy in Denmark. I believe I have a much better life in Devon than on the island of Funen.
From here America looks like a bunch of nutters but so do the British politicians....

In hind sight i do apologise if i insulted anyone by my previous post, but in the words of a wise friend "Get over it!"
I'm just trying to put a bit of comedy into this thread, and to try to make at least one person smile.

I hope that was you!!

Peace

reply to post by poedxsoldiervet

Yeah no kidding such is why THEY are more restricted than handguns!! YEESH
Its all ready been said: Please read!

Originally posted by triplesod
Former criminals? Erm... that's not really a good idea, is it? I mean, I know the use of the word "former" is important.

You answered your own question! Exactly, people who have price on their head or were former 'whatever', or ruthless businessmen, mind you, there is a huuuuge background check they dont just hand those out!

(...)it would be sensible to instead pick up the stalker and if that doesn't work, then give the victim around the clock security?

Other than a restraining order there is not much you can do to a non-violent offender, because 'stalking' is on the word of the accuser only.

Around the clock security is impossible, when I was there there was a HUGE shortage of officers and the ones there were were protesting more money, because they had to live on about $56000 CDN per year and it was hard on those with family. Also groceries in Scandinavia are expensive!

Originally posted by IgnoranceIsntBlisss

Originally posted by CRB86
I'm still thoroughly interested in finding out how football hooliganism fits into the thesis, though.

Here in the States people of my thinking criticize "Americans" daily. The people who fit all the stereotypes inherent in this thread.

And they are REAL. They're EVERYWHERE, EVERDAY.

And a key identifier of rather striking accuracy is the types who obsess over sports much like the rest of what's on TV. But sports go much further. You've got dripping tribalism amongst other notable concepts such as irrational bowing to authority figures.

But perhaps most concerning of all, in my view, would be squander. There are MILLIONS of people in 'the west' who know more about sports than they know about themselves. A major percentage of the society here not only obsesses over pro-"Football" but also college football which has something like 100 teams. They know the stats, the players, an elaborate historical timeline view of the sports, teams, players, stats and the rest of it. They watch Sportscenter instead of the news. I had these roomates once they'd sit late at night and watch SC once, and then again the replay of the same show showing the same clips.

But if you try to talk to them about much of ANYTHING that is actually important in the world you'll get laughed off the stage.

So sports is an important benchmark in measuring the brainwashing of any society. Therefore, the idea of having regular riots over such tribalistic irrelevent nonsense is striking to say the least. So when you factor in the concept of unwittingly serving as a tool to train the police to put down uprisings along with providing justification to have such overblown police forces I'd say this key point is a slam dunk.

Have you ever read any of the work of Antionio Gramsci? In particular his theory of Cultural Hegemony?

Gramsci wondered why the "inevitable" social revolution as predicted by Karl Marx hadn't happened yet. He postulated, like you are doing, that people are kept 'busy' or pre-occupied by other factors, such as sport, movies, religion etc. which all reinforce the dominant cultural values of the ruling elite.

This is an interesting theory, however, when it comes to sport, i disagree. As an avid football (soccer) fan myself, living in a post-modern era, i see no difference between high-brow and low-brow culture. In other words, if something is good, it's good. This can apply to a shakespeare play, a piece of classical music, a 30-second punk rock song, or even a sublime goal. It all serves to heighten and improve my own existence, by allowing me a way to contemporise and beautify the world.

Therefore, it is my assertion that a keen interest in sport is not by default, a negative thing that detracts from one's own spiritual journey of awakening. Rather, football serves as a way of instilling notions of beauty, personal responsibility, teamwork, drama, excitement, emotional maturity, success, failure and brotherhood into a life that would otherwise be depleted of such. Being a fan of sport can help with the emotional development aswell as character development. It can serve as a way of contextualising the world around you. Far from being "irrelevent nonsense", it is actually one of the most relevent forms of personal recreation there is. You can't spend your whole life on ATS waiting for a SHTF scenario that's never going to come. Enjoy life. See the beauty. Feel the highs and lows. For, in the words of the poem, what good is this life, if full of care, we have no time to stop and stare?

And so that's why i think sport is not a benchmark for how brainwashed a society is. Rather that is serves a very important function within a society.

As for hooliganism. Whilst you're correct in your assertion that it is tribal, i can't agree that it is a by-product of brainwashing. Rather, it is lawlessness or anarchy in its purest form. Firms are formed from personal alliance. Surely TPTB don't want people forming bonds outside work. This is how revolutions get started! If hooliganism was a result of brainwashing, why have successive governments in britain been so very against it? Why did Thatcher try her damndest to wipe it out? Because these groups are not acting in a state sanctioned way. It is not productive to a capitalist society to have large swathes of your working population kicking f**k out of each other, aswell as private property, every weekend. The cost of policing a football match is astronomical.

I can see how, from several thousand miles away, over youtube videos, you might come to your conculsion. However the reality of the situation is very different. There are myriad social, economical, historical and political reasons for violence in football. To say it is a simple result of brainwashed hordes is reductionist and dishonest.

For the record, i abhor football violence.

reply to post by FIFIGI


Thank you for that honest self appraisal.
It's refreshing to know somebody is willing to discuss their own experiences and be frank about it.

I personally love Europe. The diverse culture, history and people.
As I stated earlier.

The fact of the matter is that every Country/Continent/City/Town/Hamlet/Social group/Family/Person have issues.

reply to post by FIFIGI


I and most people I know think the Eu is the best thing to happen to this continent and that it gives up a peaceful and prosperous future. I'm not going to argue about the EU with you but I'm just saying... Now you know people who view the EU as a great thing.

reply to post by IgnoranceIsntBlisss


So not feeling a need to carry a weapon is a major brainwash?

Come on dude, thats irony, because feeling a need to carry a weapon, THATS what a brainwash is.

If nobody ever uses a weapon the world would be a great place. That is why TPTB wants you to think you need to carry a weapon.

Us European people not feeling we need, or even want to carry a weapon is not a brainwash. Its evidence that europeans are way more further in evolution then North and South American and Arabic nations.

We dont even want to carry a weapon dude. If you want worldpeace you need to get rid of these devillish things. In Europe people understand this, in America they dont!

In every aspect of life Europeans are way more open-minded than any other continent. Ask a hundred million people in Europe if aliens exist and visit Earth and 99 million will say yes, without being ridiculed. And i only use this as one of the many examples.

When was the last time we invaded a country? When was the last time we killed 2000 of our own people by attacking our own city's?

We are past that phase, and americans are not. You need to grow up!!
And if that proves one thing it is that you guys are brainwashed, not us.


Damn, dont turn it around dude!

We dont want to carry or use weapons so we are brainwashed, hahahaha. TYPICAL!

Originally posted by SK2KK8
You can buy a gun here in the UK and legally keep it for the purposes of hunting or recreational purposes.

But god forbid you should find one and "do the right thing" and hand it in.

Ex-soldier faces jail for handing in gun

A former soldier who handed a discarded shotgun in to police faces at least five years imprisonment for "doing his duty"

The jury took 20 minutes to make its conviction, and Mr Clarke now faces a minimum of five year's imprisonment for handing in the weapon.

Judge Christopher Critchlow said: "This is an unusual case, but in law there is no dispute that Mr Clarke has no defence to this charge.

"The intention of anybody possessing a firearm is irrelevant."

SOURCE


The UK is not brainwashed, you do not need to brainwash a population when you can pass any old retarded laws you like. I forget who the terrorists are.

Originally posted by TheNetherlands
reply to post by IgnoranceIsntBlisss

 

Ask a hundred million people in Europe if aliens exist and visit Earth and 99 million will say yes, without being ridiculed. And i only use this as one of the many examples.

Really? What? I only know one person that would even entertain the idea seriously, in reality the subject is ridiculed and rationalized away by any means necessary, aliens go hand in hand with crazy people and vice versa.
It's like this irrational urge to lump them together.
It just sounds "too crazy" to be true, when in fact most people only think it sounds crazy because of extensive conditioning...

So pretty much everybody in the Netherlands believes ET's visit earth?
I just can't believe that...

I'm from Sweden by the way, and on topic: we're all brainwashed, just in different directions.. here in Sweden people are leaning to the left side of the spectrum.

Nevermind...

[edit on 15/11/09 by Dermo]

Yes and in uk you cannot go to the park with (or without ) your child : because you can be a pedo.

scaredmonkeys.com...

OP you're generalising too much. Europe is a continent. You are not comparing like with like. Every country's population has a personality. This requires NWO tactics tailored for each country. One particular part of the NWO agenda might go unopposed in one country while causing uproar in another. As a result the NWO has to herd each country along paths that may seem different, but that will all arrive at the same place eventually. They are masters of human psychology.

The Scandinavian countries in my opinion are currently the least brainwashed, whilst Italy, UK and Germany amongst the most. As for the USA I'd have to say I feel that you are more dumbed down than us but not more brainwashed. What do they call you guys?- 'low information voters' or something similar. I believe the TV is a massive weapon in their arsenal stateside but not nearly as potent over here. I also believe your institutions have been corrupted to a greater degree than most of ours.

As an example I offer you the cost of putting a US gallon of gas in a military vehicle in Afghanistan. 'Fully burdened' the cost of that one gallon is $400 (Brits remember a US gallon is less than an imperial one) and I believe there are 42 gallons in a barrel. In most countries in Europe something like that would be a public scandal and as a result that profiteering would be reigned in due to public pressure. One of the ironies of the US situation is that your founding principles and legislation allow for you to hold your government to account much more than people in most European countries.

To Ridhya

Originally posted by Ridhya
Almost every time I hear something negative about the EU its from a Brit.

I refer you to your sentence below

Originally posted by Ridhya

Most people know the EU is a scam...

Have you ever considered that the first statement might be true because of the second statement.

Perhaps Europe and the EU would be better if it wasn't just the Brits kicking up a stink about it.

guns are not banned in the UK. handguns are.
you can still have a Shotgun or rifle, but you need a license.

Also the penknives thing. it pisses me off that you cant carry a knfe. they are useful. there are far far more people who used them for normal things than as a weapon.