Tom Hanks Says Mormon Supporters of Prop 8 "Un-American"

I feel much the same about politicians...

Got no salutes left...have some rep instead.....

 

sometimes politicians and movie stars are the same guys. Even if they aren't, they are both acting.

 

Hey, is that why my salute button went away? Where did it go and when does it come back? I thought that I was being censured for making too many funnies in other posts!

 

Do our US cousins consider being called "Un-American" a great insult?

I'm not sure a similar slight would cut much ice with any European, other than the Swiss who take it very seriously indeed.

 

Un-Swiss? Isn't everybody now supposed to be a "European", as in European Union?

 

The term, "unAmerican" has been thrown around so much like the other term "unconstitutional" that it has lost most of it's intended meaning. It's not a "fighting word" any more, or not as it used to be.

 

Ahhh well you see the Swiss aren't part of the EU and they've no desire to be. Quite wisely as I see it.

At the start of this credit crunch there was one Swiss bank seen to be slightly involved, and the two top bods were fired as a result and one of the reasons given for their forced ejection was that they had the way they had acted "...wasn't very Swiss" and there was a dreadful fuss about that.

They're very nationalistic in their ways in comparison with the rest of Europe, and as a result have one of the highest standards of living around these parts.

 

I like the Swiss...they make great Swiss Rolls.

Swiss cheese though is full of holes.

But I wouldn't mess with them either...they are Americans in disguise...they've all got guns.

And if I remember rightly, the Champions have their HQ in Geneva.

3 agents of peace with super powers gained after a plane crash.

I still have the cigarette cards. Dont mess with Switzerland then...

 

Interesting,

But that does bring up a question in my mind. What is the proper term for a citizen of the European Union? Or is there such a thing? Is it more like a confederation, where everybody still regards themselves as Brits or Frenchmen, or Belgians, or Dutch?

 

They do indeed. Not as much fun as the Persuaders though.

Well there's no official noun, not yet, but give it a decade and a few million euro and I'm sure they're invent one. There's two poles really, those who have a mystical reverence for the EU who would insist they're just Europeans, or the equally cringe worthy citizens of the world. And there's those who don't like nor trust the EU who typically take a step backwards in self labelling, so English, Welsh, Scot or more tribally Gaul, Flems or Gaellic. Depends on the region.

Should point out that these labels aren't racial or religious, it's not about bigotry, more about positive identity over some ant-like descriptor.

So anyway, how big an insult is "Un-American"? It seems like such a nonsense for one American to call another, but I'd like to know.

 

I do know one thing...English, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, pails into insignificance when the bugle calls.

 

Quite, although the taking the mickey remains.

 

I should bloody well hope so or there is no reason for some of us to exist....

 

I don't know, it's never seemed to be taken as much of an insult by most Americans that I'm aware of. It's sort of like calling an American something that they couldn't possibly be. Why worry about it, since it's a physical impossibility; the person doing so is simply being ignorant. I suppose it might possibly be more of an insult to a naturalized American citizen, but I've never discussed the matter with any naturalized citizens.

The first time I ever heard of the term was back in the early 1960's when there was still a House Un-American Activities Committee that was supposed to be looking into activities undertaken by subversive organizations like the American Communist Party. Later on, they decided the ACP was so dumb that it was a waste of time employing even dumber Congressmen to try to keep track of them. After that revelation, the term kind of went out of fashion, and I haven't heard it used until Mr. Hanks' shot to his own foot.

 

Being called Un-American by the Hollyweird Elite. Hmmmm.... How can that be? What frame of reference do they have to cast disparages such as that?

 

Indeed, iconic Brit Clarkson has a story about how he was pulled over by Swiss police for having a faulty light on his car, and they didn't bat an eyelid at the assault rifle he had on the passenger seat.

There's also the famous anecdote from before the war, involving a visiting German general;

German General: "So you don't have a standing Army?"
Swiss General: "No we have a militia, I can mobilise a million men in 24 hours."
German General: "What would you do if you where invaded by an army of four million?"
Swiss General: "I would tell them to fire four shots each before going home."

They're an underestimated and smart nation, so even more like the USA.

 

M4 with ris goodies eh?

I need to be registered to buy an airsoft one of those here, a real one I wouldn't even see here.