NDN Support

"Anti-Americanism"

by Theo van Rossum

Anti-Americanism

The term anti-american, or Anti-American Sentiment, refers to broad opposition or hostility to the people, policies, culture or government of the United States.

Just thought I had to mention this because I have frequently been accused of being "anti-american". Though I do not dispute the above definition of anti-americanism, I do feel that in practice the term is often used as a blanket statement. Like American conservatives can accuse Ameri-can liberals of being anti-american and thus making every-

thing that is supposed to be considered "American" defined, fixed, contained and obstructive to change. Now as a European I am of course not going to interfere into what should be defi-ned as American, that being none of my business, but what does concern me is when I myself are labeled anti-american. There are of course many people in this world who feel quite sen-sitive about their own country being criticized about anything but however, this doesn't mean that there should be any country in the world above or exempt from criticism. It's human to err and it is also human to point this out in order to improve. Americans should be allowed to criticize their own country and well as other have a right to criticize America. And it is ridiculous to see this as offensive, only because someone's patriotic pride feels hurt about it.  Many Ame-rican presidents never shied away from criticizing China about Tibet, even defying repeated Chinese requests to abstain from this. Also South Africa has been subject of American criticism, especially during the Carter administration, even though apartheid was something South Africa had originally learned from the US, which is a truth that is often swept under the carpet. On my website I have deliberately criticized everybody who has mistreated Indians, even people from my own country like Peter Stuyvesant and Willem Kieft. If that doesn't take away the undeserved label of anti-americanism, I don't know what will. But other than that, I just know that there always will be Americans who will keep calling me anti-american. Well, that is just too bad, because no injustice in the world, American or non-american, will ever make me shut up about it when I deem this necessary. If standing up for Indians somehow automaticaaly makes me "anti-american" then so be it.. But just to add a positive note to this, the good people are in the Hall of Fame. I'm no chauvinist by nature and I believe in judging people as individuals, I'm not a "hater of Americans", only a hater of injustice. My activism has

back to articles

1

1

This article in other languages