Ashton Kutcher speech and Glenn Beck

[hahe77]

So Ashton Krutcher gave an amazing speech at the Teen Choice Awards. The speech was about hard work, kindness and generosity. Glenn Beck talked about it on his show.

http://www.glennbeck.com/2013/08/14/ama ... n-kutcher/

One of my facebook friends posted the following:

"Never thought I'd agree with this guy on anything. Is he mellowing with age, sounds pretty republican values-ish to me!"

Part of me wants to write a snide comment back but I don't think that would be wise.

[Effie]

If you're young and conservative republican you have no heart. Just saying. So, of course Ashton isn't a republican. Yuck.

[acheronbeach]

Can't say I'm a Republican (or would ever vote for that party), but painting half the American voting public as heartless seems pretty generalizing.

[Effie]

Can't say I'm a Republican (or would ever vote for that party), but painting half the American voting public as heartless seems pretty generalizing.

Dunno, I did say young folks. Not half of the voting public is young and Republican. With that said, yes I do believe that almost half of the American public is heartless. I have a strong Americaphobia, which is one of the reasons I hang out here: to get rid of said phobia. I think that the Americans who post here are normal and decent, but I'm not convinced that they aren't an exception to the rule. If the majority of Americans were kind and decent, then corporal punishment would have been criminalized a long time ago. Also you would never have several million children going hungry in such a rich country.

[Ariel]

I'm all jaded and bitter and stuff but I didn't really care for the speech or see any genuine feeling behind it. Seemed like one giant platitude.

[polecat]

So Ashton Krutcher gave an amazing speech at the Teen Choice Awards. The speech was about hard work, kindness and generosity. Glenn Beck talked about it on his show.

http://www.glennbeck.com/2013/08/14/ama ... n-kutcher/

One of my facebook friends posted the following:

"Never thought I'd agree with this guy on anything. Is he mellowing with age, sounds pretty republican values-ish to me!"

Part of me wants to write a snide comment back but I don't think that would be wise.

Are they saying/implying that progressives don't work hard, are unkind and stingy?

It doesn't sound Republican to me. It sounds like ordinary human decency.

Disclaimer: I didn't watch the actual speech.

[Mary C Doates]

Glenn Beck still gets media attention? Next thing you'll tell me is that people still pay attention to Ann Coulter.

[ohnomoe]

Oh so this explains why I caught my father listening to Ashton Kutcher give a speech... :lol:

[nonymouse]

I'm all jaded and bitter and stuff but I didn't really care for the speech or see any genuine feeling behind it. Seemed like one giant platitude.

QFT. I finally caved and watched the clip after 15 friends posted it on their timelines and just wasn't impressed. It's great that someone is trying to get through to whatever this next generation is called, but to me it just seemed like he was trying to say something that Steve Jobs might have conveyed in a speech, possibly in hopes of promoting his new movie.

[FreeJosie]

Dunno, I did say young folks. Not half of the voting public is young and Republican. With that said, yes I do believe that almost half of the American public is heartless. I have a strong Americaphobia, which is one of the reasons I hang out here: to get rid of said phobia. I think that the Americans who post here are normal and decent, but I'm not convinced that they aren't an exception to the rule. If the majority of Americans were kind and decent, then corporal punishment would have been criminalized a long time ago. Also you would never have several million children going hungry in such a rich country.

There are plenty of kind and decent Americans just as there are plenty of those who aren't. I think that applies to human beings in general.

[JesusFightClub]

Every time I think about Glenn Beck (very infrequently) I think of the Rap News parody of him:

It's 3.47 in.

[halfheartedheroine]

QFT. I finally caved and watched the clip after 15 friends posted it on their timelines and just wasn't impressed. It's great that someone is trying to get through to whatever this next generation is called, but to me it just seemed like he was trying to say something that Steve Jobs might have conveyed in a speech, possibly in hopes of promoting his new movie.

I agree. I definitely got a Jobs vibe from him (although I just watched an interview with him about the movie right before, so, conformation bias maybe?)

[Effie]

There are plenty of kind and decent Americans just as there are plenty of those who aren't. I think that applies to human beings in general.

Probably, which is why I said it's a phobia. It's an (ir)rational fear of Americans. Most things to do with U.S. disgust me, except for their medical advances (yes - that's impressive). Being on a forum like FJ, I mostly hear about the idiotic Americans, which might not help with my America-phobia. The Americans are also dominating the scrapbooking-world, where I'm also active. The most of them are desperate Christian American housewives. Once a desperate Canadian housewife broke down and told her life-story for me and a bunch of American housewives in a private little forum for a mutual blog. I gave her concrete advice, while the others (American housewives) just told her that they would pray for her. I found that to be absolutely heartless, but I figured that they probably thought they helped her somehow with their magical prayer bullshit. I think that U.S. would be a more decent country if people would stop praying for anything and everything and instead lend a hand.

[Clementine]

Probably, which is why I said it's a phobia. It's an (ir)rational fear of Americans. Most things to do with U.S. disgust me, except for their medical advances (yes - that's impressive). Being on a forum like FJ, I mostly hear about the idiotic Americans, which might not help with my America-phobia. The Americans are also dominating the scrapbooking-world, where I'm also active. The most of them are desperate Christian American housewives. Once a desperate Canadian housewife broke down and told her life-story for me and a bunch of American housewives in a private little forum for a mutual blog. I gave her concrete advice, while the others (American housewives) just told her that they would pray for her. I found that to be absolutely heartless, but I figured that they probably thought they helped her somehow with their magical prayer bullshit. I think that U.S. would be a more decent country if people would stop praying for anything and everything and instead lend a hand.

Have you missed the whole RR drama and all the money, time and heartfelt advice that people were willing to give to a complete stranger on the Internet?

I come from the same country as you and I am blown away about how incredible kind Americans are to people in need, how much time and money they donate to charities on an everyday basis and how they seem to have it in them to rally together to help people in need.

Unlike people in our country who always expect the government / authorities / somebody else to do it for them.

[polecat]

Probably, which is why I said it's a phobia. It's an (ir)rational fear of Americans. Most things to do with U.S. disgust me, except for their medical advances (yes - that's impressive). Being on a forum like FJ, I mostly hear about the idiotic Americans, which might not help with my America-phobia. The Americans are also dominating the scrapbooking-world, where I'm also active. The most of them are desperate Christian American housewives. Once a desperate Canadian housewife broke down and told her life-story for me and a bunch of American housewives in a private little forum for a mutual blog. I gave her concrete advice, while the others (American housewives) just told her that they would pray for her. I found that to be absolutely heartless, but I figured that they probably thought they helped her somehow with their magical prayer bullshit. I think that U.S. would be a more decent country if people would stop praying for anything and everything and instead lend a hand.

We do.

Simply because a minority of nuts happens to shriek their beliefs the loudest does not mean they speak for the majority.

[snarkopolis]

Dear Effie, the US lends a hand EVERY TIME there is a global calamity. Even to countries we don't like.

[sparkles]

Effie, I really hope that you're basing your opinion of the US and Americans on more than what you read on FJ and a SCRAPBOOKING FORUM (seriously?). Otherwise, you're wearing the same blinders as most of the people we snark on. You're certainly entitled to your opinion--although I think disgust is a little OTT--but I'd respect it more if it had a bit more research and thought behind it.

[nelliebelle1197]

Effie, I really hope that you're basing your opinion of the US and Americans on more than what you read on FJ and a SCRAPBOOKING FORUM (seriously?). Otherwise, you're wearing the same blinders as most of the people we snark on. You're certainly entitled to your opinion--although I think disgust is a little OTT--but I'd respect it more if it had a bit more research and thought behind it.

The opinion is given in far to blasé a manner to have much thought behind it

[nelliebelle1197]

Effie, I really hope that you're basing your opinion of the US and Americans on more than what you read on FJ and a SCRAPBOOKING FORUM (seriously?). Otherwise, you're wearing the same blinders as most of the people we snark on. You're certainly entitled to your opinion--although I think disgust is a little OTT--but I'd respect it more if it had a bit more research and thought behind it.

The opinion is given in far to blasé a manner to have much thought behind it

[frumper-rump]

Have you missed the whole RR drama and all the money, time and heartfelt advice that people were willing to give to a complete stranger on the Internet?

I come from the same country as you and I am blown away about how incredible kind Americans are to people in need, how much time and money they donate to charities on an everyday basis and how they seem to have it in them to rally together to help people in need.

Unlike people in our country who always expect the government / authorities / somebody else to do it for them.

Prayer and hands on help are not necessarily mutually exclusive. My home in the deep South, heart of Dixie, core of the Bible belt Alabama was hit by a freak tornado last year (01/23/2013). My neighborhood sustained major damage and most of my neighbors on my street lost their homes completely. The groups who were on the ground helping recover what could be saved and feeding us were from area churches. They prayed and they rolled up their sleeves and worked their asses off. I do not in any way sympathize with the brand of fundy "Christian" we discuss here, but there are a lot of decent people. I like to think I am one of them...most of the time. I am glad you are here and actively looking to find decent Americans. There are plenty of us! The ugly ones just get the most attention.

Edited: riffle!

[SquirrelySquirrel]

I think the problem isn't that half of Americans are unkind and/or heartless; it's that they vote that way! They have serious blinders on when it comes to choosing candidates to support, or they stupidly vote for whoever is anti-choice, even though they don't agree with anything else. I see this all the time and it baffles me. I'll know someone who is one of the sweetest, kindest, give-their-shirt-to-a-stranger type person I've ever met, but then they'll share some ignorant anti-Obama sentiment they heard on Fox "News."

[JesusFightClub]

Effie, I reckon, is looking for decent Americans and finding loads here.

I can kind of sympathise with her. I have never had a fear or horror of Americans, I've generally liked them and found them always to be interesting people. America is a fascinating place. (I would like one day to go to the desert and see a cactus growing there. I reckon about half my bucket list is to do with the US).

However there is this huge cultural divide between Europeans and Americans which it's a struggle to surmount. For example, politics. Everyone I know, including my boss and my co-workers and the bloke at the Co-op who sells me the Morning Star (could I get a Communist paper in the US in a local store? Naw) knows I am, well, left wing. I don't go round announcing my politics to everyone IRL :D but they do know because if you buy a copy of whatever leftie paper is being sold outside your workplace and get phone calls where you start off "Alright, comrade..." they get the picture. :lol:

Most people are either interested, disagree but will debate, or regard you as on the level with someone who's a big mad trainspotter or something (a crank, but a harmless one). Most people where I work just deal, it's like being a Celtic fan or something to them, they respect my belief (and sometimes concede I'm right on some things :) )

In the US, I gather it's totally different. The cultural difference would be insurmountable. If you say to people in the US "I'm a revolutionary socialist" you might as well say "Hai thar, I'm a paedo and I'm coming to do your kids". If I lived in America where would I start? How could I live somewhere where "supporting our troops" comes as naturally as breathing and "What church do you go to" is a conversation starter? Or if it was somewhere where it's normal to fly flags - my flag is the workers' flag (red flag) and I have been reliably informed if I do this "most Americans" would want to beat the shit out of me. :pink-shock:

I've argued with Americans online and been told that they were going to dox me and report me to my boss as a communist. Newsflash! He knows, and communism isn't a sackable offence in the UK.

See what I mean about the difference? I was a little bit shy about Americans until I got to know them and realised most were super nice. FJ and other forums helped me a LOT in that. But there are big differences even to this day.

[Full enough quiver]

The republicans I know fall into a few different categories. 1. Raging assholes who hate everyone who isn't a wealthy, white, heterosexual, "Christian" male. They see the power balance changing, and they cant deal with it. Sunshine Mary and Kidist would be good examples. 2. Religious wingnuts. But...but... Jesus! And baybeez!!! The Arndts would fall into this category. 3. Conspiracy theorists. The republican party is very good at fearmongering. Obama is a muslim terrorist! He's spying on us and going to take our guns! Zsuzsu and the PP, for example. 4. Dumber than a box of rocks, with no idea of the issues, gets all news from Faux news. The duggars fall into this category. 5. Rational, intelligent people that don't neccesarily agree with the social issue stance, but believe in small government and states' rights. They believe republicans care more about the economy. This is the category I suspect any FJ republicans fall into. These ones are capable of civilized debate, and are the only ones I would call hardworking, kind, or generous.

[polecat]

In the US, I gather it's totally different. The cultural difference would be insurmountable. If you say to people in the US "I'm a revolutionary socialist" you might as well say "Hai thar, I'm a paedo and I'm coming to do your kids". If I lived in America where would I start? How could I live somewhere where "supporting our troops" comes as naturally as breathing and "What church do you go to" is a conversation starter? Or if it was somewhere where it's normal to fly flags - my flag is the workers' flag (red flag) and I have been reliably informed if I do this "most Americans" would want to beat the shit out of me. :pink-shock:

I've argued with Americans online and been told that they were going to dox me and report me to my boss as a communist. Newsflash! He knows, and communism isn't a sackable offence in the UK.

See what I mean about the difference? I was a little bit shy about Americans until I got to know them and realised most were super nice. FJ and other forums helped me a LOT in that. But there are big differences even to this day.

Oh, I'm pretty open about being an anarchist, and I've not met anyone who lurches back in horror and fear. Now, some people do assume that by anarchy I mean complete chaos and lack of order, but most just do not really care what I believe, and if they do, they ask.

As for people online -- there're a lot of idiots online who're more than happy to expose their peculiar brand of idiocy.

I'm probably included in that number at times. :lol:

[JesusFightClub]

Oh, I'm pretty open about being an anarchist, and I've not met anyone who lurches back in horror and fear. Now, some people do assume that by anarchy I mean complete chaos and lack of order, but most just do not really care what I believe, and if they do, they ask.

As for people online -- there're a lot of idiots online who're more than happy to expose their peculiar brand of idiocy.

I'm probably included in that number at times. :lol:

LOL, me too :)

You're an anarcho - what type, if you don't mind me asking? I have mates who are green anarchists, anarchosyndicalists, followers of Makhno and Crimethinc types...