The Craziest thing I have heard since September 11th (Vanity post)

Myself | October 29, 2001

[Chi-townChief]

Since September 11th, I have heard several really goofy things from people I know:

One friend of mine accused President Bush of running away from the action on Air Force 1 and said that if he were President, he would "stand on top of the White House and yell 'Come and get me!' at the terrorists."

Another decided, after watching live TV coverage of the WTC attack, that all this stuff just doesn't affect him and "Let's just get on with it." In the meantime, his wife says she feels "sorry for the Palestinians" and sends me e-mails with links to sites blaming the United States for all that has happened. Apparently, she doesn't realize that bin Laden's "sorrow of Andalusia" gripe refers to an event that occurred nearly 300 years before there was a United States.

And then there's the lady down the street who wishes that actor Marty Sheen was really President.

But the craziest thing I have heard was from a lady I work with who's about my age (late 40s - early 50s), born behind the Iron Curtain but educated from high school on in the United States. I always thought that she was fairly intelligent.
We were discussing the possibility of casualties in the war in Afghanistan and I mentioned that I had read that in the final year of World War II, the United States suffered roughly 750 deaths per day!

She said: From WHAT?!

I said: From the war.

She replied: But the United States didn't fight in World War II; you only dropped a few bombs.

After trying to catch my breath and recover my speech, I briefly explained the war to her with over 1 million American casualties including nearly 400,000 dead and how nearly everyone our age has a father or uncle who fought overseas and some didn't return. She didn't seem to buy it and left.

Later that day, I saw her again and she said, "I talked to my friend about the war and she said you were right."

I don't know whether this huge gap in her knowledge is from her communist upbringing or American public education.

[jedi150]

This woman sounds like a Blonde maybe?

[Arkinsaw]

Most Afghanis, and a ton of Pakistanis, have no idea why we are bombing other than what their Mullah's have told them about our "aggression". No surprise that people believe what they are told.

A reporter the other day took a videotape to one of those Pakistani Islam schools. The reporter convinced the headmaster to let him show the students the WTC attack. The students were stunned, they had no idea. Even in this Al-Qaeda propaganda factory they were shocked and immediately began decrying the attackers as un-Islamic terrorists and had a completely different opinion of the US bombing.

[Chi-townChief]

No, she's dark-haired and, like I said, I thought she was reasonably intelligent.

[BigWest]

The ignorance of some surpasses all understanding.
A friend of mine is a teacher in a large junior high school in San Antonio. She once asked her largely hispanic class, many of whom are the children of illegal immigrants, what country was on the other side of the Texas border.
Most were clueless.
After hearing that, the fact that some have no idea of what WWII even was comes as no surprise.
The understanding of history and geography in this country has gone down into the furnaces of George Orwell's 1984 society.

[garyhope]

ROFL. Thanks for posting this. I've been through the same thing. I've lost friends that I've had for 20 or 30 years over this and the last election and Maxine Waters, Sharpton etc., etc. "Liberals" just do not want to hear about reality. They simply don't believe it. I guess they just want to roll over or bend over.

Doesn't anybody care about freedom and dignity? Who are the "Peace" WEENIES? Where did they come from? What is it about reality and DEATH that they just do not get? Do they really believe that we can just talk our way out of everything and that no one ever, ever really, really lies?!!!

Yeah sure, I trust Arafat, OBL, China, Islam. They wouldn't really lie to us or try and KILL US D-E-A-D would they? No, of course not. Let's all just give "peace" a chance. It really works doesn't it? Right!

[jonascord]

The French won WW2 with a little help from the US. There is no mention of Hitler ever being in Paris, and the surrender in the railroad car never happened.

The Brits could have won WW2 by themselves, but it would have taken longer, and even then the US troops were the equivalent to the Brits of Germany and Italy.

The USSR calls it the Great Patriotic War and won it all by itself. The DC-3 and B29 were copied down to the last nut and bolt, renamed, and all the US ever did was send a few cans of Spam.

In Japan, "What war?"

[Chi-townChief]

I guess I shouldn't be surprised but this is truly the goofiest I have ever heard from an American, foreign-born or not; especially one who is fairly well-off and seemingly well-educated (at least until that statement.)

[Hammerhead]

sounds like you have a poor choice in 'friends'. Shake the dust off your feet and don't look back. They will be the same cowards that turn you in to the 'authorities' one day.

[Freeper]

I once reviewed the results of a High School Class of 1994. In the test the students were asked to name a country that bordered on the Pacific Ocean. Fourty-two (42%) percent of the students gave a wrong answer. It was noted in their behalf if you would allow California to be a country, and therefore a correct answer - - - then only 32% of the students got the wrong answer.

[Chi-townChief]

You got that straight, Gary. With Clinton's impeachment, the Elian Gonzales abduction, the 2000 election, and now this, I've lost a lot of respect for a lot of people including family and close friends.

[garyhope]

I too have a friend that escaped from Communist Bulgaria. She's older than your friend, but she's the exact opposite. She knows about WWII and her family had their property taken from them by the commies. She also really hates the Clintons and knows exactly what they're about. She lives in NYC and knows about that too. You used to be able to see the WTC from her apartment window. Not everyone from East Europe is as ignorant as your friend.

[Chi-townChief]

A lot of them are people I grew up with. They're good people, hard-working and faithful, but over the years, it seems that they have tended toward a lazy go-with-the-flow world-view.

[Jolly Green]

Thanks for taking the time to itemize what could have been a very long list. I share your frustration. There are some incredibly stupid people in this world. Take the media, for example. They think they are the ruling elite, yet have absolutely no understanding of economics, war, etc., etc. I watched the Rumsfeld press conference for awhile today until I couldn't stand any more stupid questions.

What Rumsfeld should have said today is "Listen up folks, because I'm only going to say this once. We are at war with an enemy that just killed 6000 civilians leaving twice that many children without a parent. The very next time someone asks me about civilian casualties in Afghanistan, I will pull their press pass on the spot and have them escorted from the building - never to return."

The same applies to Bush. The next time someone asks him what is taking so long in Afghanistan, he should say "Pardon me, but on the very first day of this war and numerous times since, I have repeatedly said this war will take many years. If you are too stupid to understand that basic concept, I'm not sure you are well suited to convey information to the American public. Have you considered another career?"

[white rose]

Your story tops mine, but recently I met a young woman who is a recent college graduate. In the course of the conversation, Lyndon Johnson's name came up...and she had never heard of him.

It's a scary, scary world out there.

[garyhope]

This is sorta what I've decided also. I'm just dropping people or not bothering with them anymore. Who's got the time ? Life is short and growing shorter. Life is too short for TV, Hollow-wood and fools.

[garyhope]

Double dittos to that.

[Mr.E]

I bet she had large "tracks of Land" right!! Am I right? This is always the case..

[Chi-townChief]

About two weeks ago, the President did say to Helen Thomas that he expected an off-beat question from her. He was putting it very politely.

[Chi-townChief]

Nope, she's not that well-off.