They Love Us, They Really Do

4 Responses to They Love Us, They Really Do

1. uf says:

   March 14, 2007 at 5:03 pm

   I am not exactly a dubya lover but I have to take issue with you for posting this picture.

   (1) Source? Even to my untrained eye this looks like a particularly amateurish photoshop job. I may be wrong but a reputable source would really help here.

   (2) We could have Mother Teresa as our president and she would get the same reception in Brazil, and for that matter the rest of South America. This is pure demagoguery.

   (3) I personally find the comparison between Bush and Hitler offensive and insulting to Hitler’s victims. That this kind of display is commonplace these days and is celebrated rather than criticized is very sad.
2. B says:

   March 14, 2007 at 8:47 pm

   Having lived in Brazil for two years, I can believe it. But, just because that photo shows many people, it doesn’t mean that the majority of all Brazilians think that GWB is comparable to Hitler. Some do.

   In regard to your second point, I agree completely. Repairing our reputation around the world is one of the most important things to me. That being said, before Iraq, it was Kyoto; before Kyoto, it was globalization and the FTAA; etc., etc. We need to do good for the sake of doing good. While I would like our reputation around the world to rise, our goal should not be that in and of itself, because we will probably fail. It needs to be a (nice) consequence of good policy.

   I also agree with your third point. It cheapens the tragedy.
3. Michael says:

   March 14, 2007 at 10:07 pm

   Let’s take these in order.

   1. Is it a photoshop job? I don’t know, but I’m dubious. Consider this from the reputable LA Times:

   In the pre-arrival protest, many here hoisted banners likening Bush to Adolf Hitler and warning him to keep his “hands off” Venezuela, while decrying any U.S.-Brazilian biofuels pact as a plot by Washington to grab Brazilian resources.

   And if you do any searches on news about the trip, you’ll see lots of similar photos, and journalists writing about the demonstrators who were carrying Bush/Hitler themed protests.

   2. It’s not the case that any US President is hated in South America. Clinton wasn’t. If Gore were President, he’d be reasonably popular. It is true that Nixon had a bad time. But calling this post “demagoguery” is totally unfair. (The charge might be aimed at the demonstrators, who are overdoing it, but that ‘s my point — look at how angry they are.)

   3. That the comparison is offensive isn’t necessarily a reason to avoid posting the picture. If it is a fact that the comparison is being made by a significant number of Brazilian demonstrators, that is of some significance. No point closing ourselves to ugly reality.
4. Mr. Flibble says:

   March 15, 2007 at 7:55 am

   3. That the comparison is offensive isn’t necessarily a reason to avoid posting the picture. If it is a fact that the comparison is being made by a significant number of Brazilian demonstrators, that is of some significance. No point closing ourselves to ugly reality.

   I would object to the Hitler comparison for a different reason. Bush’s achievements now stand on their own, and he hardly needs Hitler as an analog anymore. If the scale of Bush’s slaughter is too disappointing for the concern trolls who are “offended” by the Bush/Hitler comparison, consider the “small” scale a function more of lack of resources and infrastructure than from a lack of will. Neoconservatives are quite honest about using aggressive war as a central facet of our foreign policy, and their right-wing authoritarian followers are clear about their contempt for the “brown people.” Digby has a post of a luncheon Bush had with neocon “thinkers” that makes it quite clear that reality has not changed the neocon point of view. Rather the opposite, actually.

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