Hello. Welcome to my website. It started while I was in Europe for a semester, and I've kept it up since then. I'm now at the University of Chicago Law School, living in Hyde Park, and the story continues. If you want to say hi or visit me, email cfloyd at uchicago dot edu.
"Life is nothing if not the sum of your anecdotes." -Scotty The Body, on storytelling "But it ain't that bad, man. Just figure out the system before the system figures out you." -T. Matthew Smith, on the 1L year "The beer just doesn't taste as good when you're not drinking it with your buddies." -Anon., on being away from good friends "Somebody has to pay the rent around here. Why the hell not us?" -Cotton, on studying for exams
6/17/2003
Another couple of words on European attitudes towards the United States-
It seems that Euro-people I talk to don't hate America as a concept or a vision. They seem to like Americans as a people. They still really love American fashion and trends (even if they don't quite realize it). But they hate George W. Bush.
No, they don't hate him like Democrats do. They hate him worse. They hate him like he stole their bike. They hate him like he kicked their dog. They hate George W. Bush like we might hate Jacques Chirac if he were suddenly the most powerful man in the world.
I'm not really sure why this is. To be fair, there are rational reasons to disagree with his policies. But their hate for him is not based on rationality. I've been trying to figure out what it is based on, through reading European papers and talking to folks around here, and I've come up with a few reasons. (Boldface shows characterization of opinion.)
1) George Bush is dumb. This is usually the first answer you get when you ask about W. People do not respect him. And Europe being so secular, they also are worried by his born-again Christianity, which they don't quite understand.
2) He is not Clinton. Bill Clinton had and still has extraordinary international appeal. This stems from a number of associations, but mostly from the man's impressive charisma. Also, the rest of the developed world is, for the most part, more liberal than the U.S., and so Democrat=good, Republican=evil.
3) Bush doesn't care about what the world thinks. This one comes from the fact that the foreign policy of the Bush administration tends to ignore world opinion. Short list of offenses: the Kyoto Protocol; the Anti-Ballistic-Missile Treaty; the International Criminal Court; the Afganistan conflict; the 2nd Gulf War. None of these was anywhere near a paragon of U.S./world cooperation.
4) Bush is a bully. This one stems from #3, but add in 9/11. People don't appreciate the "either for us or against us" doctrine. And nobody roots for Goliath, even when Goliath might be right. The solo show of the unstoppable military power of the U.S. is not winning many admirers.
5) Bush and those in his administration are corrupt. People see the business connections, current and former, of Bush and his people, and they assume that money is the real motive behind Bush's policy. Of course, he also controls the media. And 9/11 was an excuse to fight wars for oil. And the Jews are actually in control anyway. Have you noticed the similarities between your country and Germany in 1938?
Right, so that's about when I end the conversation. People are very ignorant. And Bush is a lightning-rod for world disdain. Some of it is deserved; some not. Maybe he will succeed with Israel and Palestine and will earn some praise. But I doubt it. History may ultimately be a fair judge of George W. Bush, but Europeans today have already made up their minds. He may as go ahead and kick their dog--it wouldn't much matter now.
