#1 problem with USA? Compare Japan disaster vs NO/Katrina

bucs90

Gold Member
Feb 25, 2010
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We are seeing an absolutely perfect contrast and comparison in two cultures. And it shows the #1 problem our country faces. It's bigger than healthcare, bigger than the economy, bigger than terrorism, bigger than global warming or gas prices or Obama or Palin or unions or guns or flying spaghetti monsters.

It is a simple lack of morality, respect, integrity, self-discipline and personal accountability.

This disaster in Japan is 10X WORSE than Katrina was for New Orleans. Easily.

Yet, the Japanese are not looting, not killing each other, not shooting at rescue helicopters, not calling their president, or ours, racist. They are in a horrible situation, and acting with as much class as anyone could expect in such a situation.

Meanwhile, our people are in a near riot over having to actually pay a small bit towards their own pension and insurance.

We could learn a lot about how to behave and handle adversity from the Japanese right now. Remember Katrina? Remember the LA riots?
 
i can't disagree. maybe if the USA was on an island, with 1/3 as many people and 2000+ years of history shared amongst all the citizens it would be more similar. alas, we are a young country and are simply losing the American identity to those who would seek division. *glares at race baiting liberalls* that is all from me.
 
Nah, I think it's more about culture than race. I mean look at the unions in Wisconsin! 99.9% white people. And in the 2nd worst economic situation in American history, they are near rioting over having to pay a few %'s more for their own pension and insurance....while STILL paying less than the private sector. We have the Starbucks Baristas Union striking in some spots (Its a real union). We have people filing lawsuits over getting their feelings hurt. Our society has just become selfish, fat, lazy, whiny, easily offended morons.

But yeah, look at how the people of New Orleans reacted to disaster compared the those in Japan. Cultural differences are blinding they are so bright.
 
i can't disagree. maybe if the USA was on an island, with 1/3 as many people and 2000+ years of history shared amongst all the citizens it would be more similar. alas, we are a young country and are simply losing the American identity to those who would seek division. *glares at race baiting liberalls* that is all from me.

Good point.

I think the forced diversity of our country is part of the issue. Everyone wants to be part of their own special victimized group. It's actually desirable to be considered an oppressed or victimized group. In other cultures, it is dishonorable to show mental weakness in that way. Our country moved beyond racial and gender discrimination, and have laws to protect against that. But my God, we've gotten so obsessed with it that we think we are owed everything by everyone because of our race, gender, ethnicity, social group, income class, geographical location, etc, etc, etc. We've lost our sense of community, because we've been forced to diversify our community so much that it no longer has identity. That chips away at a sense of "us" and creates a free-for-all of individuals acting only on their on behalf.
 
This is not a race issue - it is cultural.

Compare and contrast this:

Amid the horror and devastation of the nuclear crisis in Japan, it can be easy to miss the heroism of the 50 emergency workers trying to prevent the full meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility. It's not exaggeration to say that the safety of thousands of Japanese citizens hinges on the efforts of the crew of cleanup workers left behind after the remainder of the facility's roughly 800 employees have been evacuated amid hazardous levels of radiation. Even in a culture that places a premium on self-sacrifice, these ordinary workers are being extraordinarily selfless -- and could conceivably make the ultimate sacrifice for their fellow citizens' well-being.

Who these 50 workers are remains something of a mystery. Their employer, the Tokyo Electric Company, has not provided their details. But after a new explosion at the plant this morning, their fate may be becoming more perilous by the minute. As nuclear power consultant Arnold Gundersen told the New York Times, it's likely the company has approached older plant retirees with a sobering invitation to reinforce the plant safety crew. Plant managers "may also be asking for people to volunteer to receive additional exposure," Gundersen told the Times' Henry Fountain.


Japanese nuclear plant workers emerging as heroic figures in tragedy - Yahoo! News

with this:

Union thuggery against Althouse and Meade: "We will hang up wanted posters of you everywhere you like to go."

"We will picket on public property as close to your house as we can every day. We will harrass the ever loving shit out of you all the time. Campus is OCCUPIED. State street is OCCUPIED. The Square is OCCUPIED. Vilas, Schenk's Corners, Atwood, Willy Street – Occupied, Occupied, Occupied, Occupied. Did you really think it was all about the Capitol? Fuck the Capitol, we are the CITY... We have the numbers and we don't back down from anyone. We all know each other. We all know each other. We know each other from Service Industry Night at the Orpheum, because we're regulars at the same coffee shops, restaurants and bars, we know each other from the co-ops, we know each other because we've had a million jobs each (and we all worked at CapTel at least once), because we live in every shitty townie house in ever-changing groups of 2 – 7 people, because we are young and horny and screw each other incessantly, because we're all on facebook, and because we aren't anti-social, life-denying, world-sterilizing pieces of human garbage like the two of you. WE WILL FUCK YOU UP. We will throw our baseballs in your lawn, you cranky old pieces of shit, and then we will come get them back. What are you gonna do? Shoot us? Get Wausau Tea Patriots to form an ad hoc militia on your front lawn? That would be fucking HILAROUS to us. You could get to know the assholes on your side in real fucking life instead of sponging off the civil society we provide for you every single day you draw breath."


Althouse: Union thuggery against Althouse and Meade: "We will hang up wanted posters of you everywhere you like to go."
 
yep, to be fair though japan is in much worse economic shape than the USA isnt it? Inflation over there is ridiculous I thought.
 
It's pretty embarrassing to be an American these days. The way we handle serious issues, to put nicely, is childish in general. Way too few people have any sort of long-term view of themselves, their family, and the country. It's always right here right now and deal with the consequences when they come later. I think that's part of the problem. And the supreme US federal government really sets the example on that one...
 
Japan doesn't suffer from hyperinflation - it suffers from an aging, shrinking population (demographics), low economic growth, and enormous government debt relative to GDP (200%+).

They are proof that Keynesianism is an Epic Fail.
 
Japan doesn't suffer from hyperinflation - it suffers from an aging, shrinking population (demographics), low economic growth, and enormous government debt relative to GDP (200%+).

They are proof that Keynesianism is an Epic Fail.

Ah, yeah that is my conclusion too. Hazlitt > Keynes any day.
 
It's pretty embarrassing to be an American these days. The way we handle serious issues, to put nicely, is childish in general. Way too few people have any sort of long-term view of themselves, their family, and the country. It's always right here right now and deal with the consequences when they come later. I think that's part of the problem. And the supreme US federal government really sets the example on that one...

In a way it's a compliment to our great nation. It's a compliment to capitalism, to our military, to our police, etc, that we built a country so rich, so safe, so secure, so free that we can be worried about stupid shit that we do worry about. That we can get so fat, so soft, so spoiled, so pampered that mere spoken sound waves can offend us more than we've ever been offended before........in an ironic way, our greatness is proven through the absolute lack of necessary survival skills our citizens have.
 
We are seeing an absolutely perfect contrast and comparison in two cultures. And it shows the #1 problem our country faces. It's bigger than healthcare, bigger than the economy, bigger than terrorism, bigger than global warming or gas prices or Obama or Palin or unions or guns or flying spaghetti monsters.

It is a simple lack of morality, respect, integrity, self-discipline and personal accountability.

This disaster in Japan is 10X WORSE than Katrina was for New Orleans. Easily.

Yet, the Japanese are not looting, not killing each other, not shooting at rescue helicopters, not calling their president, or ours, racist. They are in a horrible situation, and acting with as much class as anyone could expect in such a situation.

Meanwhile, our people are in a near riot over having to actually pay a small bit towards their own pension and insurance.

We could learn a lot about how to behave and handle adversity from the Japanese right now. Remember Katrina? Remember the LA riots?
You're quoting Glenn Beck, but you're both wrong. I saw instances of looting in Japan on TV.

 
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OH,,,,,you're right. I did see those Japanese people smashing windows, stealing Nike Air Jordan shoes, plasma big screen TVs, jewelry, etc, etc.

And it was O'Reilly who motivated my post, not Beck.
 
BTW, it looks like it was food being taken. Not basketball shoes and TV's.
 
BTW, it looks like it was food being taken. Not basketball shoes and TV's.
So, you're OK with looting some things.

It is a question of magnitude. There is VERY little looting in Japan after such a disaster. Here, we loot entire cities if someone gets beat up by the cops. There is a STARK difference between the two situations.

All this can be broken down to two little words: personal responsibility. We have lost it and need to get it back.
 

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