Agreed. America is the most powerful country that has ever existed, with the ability to wage unfettered war around the world and assemble massive amounts of logistical and financial capital to make that happen.

Yet they can't look after one of their own , culturally important, cities in times of severe need ....

Clarkson was right to speak out.

 

If we'd just break all the levies on New Orleans and turn it back into the marsh land that it should be, all of their problems would be gone. That's how they should clean up the damaged areas that haven't been touched. Give it back to nature. That makes the most sense.

Top Gear is entertainment. Sure they joke about us and probably hate us on many levels but the reverse is true in many ways too. In the end it's all entertainment. I thought it was funny. I agree with the Nascar sucks part. The others, well not so much.

 

I'm not saying we get a pass on New Orleans I'm saying teh comments were short-sighted. How many law suits do you think you'd have if you just went in with bulldozers and earthmovers and leveled the place?

Should something be done? Of course but to expect it to be all better in one years time ridiculous.

 

It's disappointing to think that others around the world are going to see this episode and subscribe to the ideas therein as utter truth without taking 4 seconds of their life to look into anything for themselves.

It's much more complicated than having the government turn into a big "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" bus and building everyone a new house. It's a complicated mess of private industry interests colliding with massive devastation. Ugh, I better stop now before I get banned.

Anywho, on the lighter side of things, did anyone notice the credits how everyone was named Cletus or Billy Bob? Despite all the America-bashing it was still my favorite episode. That cow on the roof of his car was priceless.

 

All I am saying is they were looking to get a reaction and got it, although somewhat over the top. All I know is it makes great television.

 

Local culture, man with your posts you could have been in this episode. At first I took your first post

to be sarcastic. They sure did get what they were asking for.

 

I am not following what you are saying about my posts. Just an FYI, I'm not from N.O nor am I from the South. I like Top Gear and find the show entertaining. I think they acted stupid and were caught off guard due to lack of knowledge of the local culture. Just imagine if they pulled the same stunt slanted towards inner city "hoods" in L.A, N.Y or Oakland? If you act like an idiot and have no respect for the area you are visiting then no doubt trouble will find you.

 

They knew a reasonable amount the local culture, that's how their slogans bit so hard.

What I don't think they weren't expecting was the violent nature of the reaction.

Does anyone know the name of the town where the stoning happened?

 

That was awesome. Absolutley hilarious. I can't really disagree with anything they said and no, they shouldn't have been attacked. But the cow on the camaro? priceless.

 

-Cody

 

I laughed my *** off during the entire episode. Having spent time on the Gulf Coast and in Miami it was hillarious to watch a foreigner's perception of the local cultures. Clarkson's line "Americans are all fat and all stupid" probably yielded applause in living rooms across Europe. And now you guys are cracking me up with this need to fire-back or upstage the Brits with our own homegrown insults. Give me a break! They're English. They might possibly be the easiest targets on the planet. If you really wanted to **** them off though just mention how many English women went spread eagle for American servicemen during WW2. To that end how many of those "Yankee love children" were eventually raised by unsuspecting British fathers. How old is Clarkson? Hmmm. My fat, stupid grandpa who loved cheese might have impregnated Clarkson's mommy with his combat boots on. She wouldn't have been the first either.

Ironically I find the entitlement demographic permeating New Orleans much higher up on "America's Big List of Problems". I guess nobody told Clarkson's socialist *** how much of my hard earned money has been sent to New Orleans in the form of homeowner's insurance for an entire region that, for the most part, chose not to buy flood insurance despite owning homes 3 feet below sea level. Might as well cancel my earthquake insurance right now. Big brother will take car of me and my family. The situation in New Orleans is so complex. It's about 2 parts the people, 3 parts the local government, 5 parts the state government and 100 parts mother nature. Thank God a gear head/foreign born journalist could put it all in such a clear perspective for us simple Yank folk.

 

I thought the car painting bit kind of disturbing. I am embarrassed for my country. I went to grad school with people from Europe, Asia and South America. The bulk of them found sport in complaining about America (Those from Asia bitched the least while those from Europe bitched the most). It is things like what happened in that video that make this country difficult to defend sometimes. Great. Thanks.

It was a very good episode though.

 

video no longer availible..

brillo?

beers

 

Did you and your foreign friends go to grad school in America? If not, please ignore the rest of this post. If they did what a bunch of hypocrites.

They come here to go to school increasing revenue for schools allowing them to raise their costs eventually making it more unaffordable for the rest of the people in this country and then tell us we're stupid and uneducated. On top of that they don't pay certain taxes yet still take up resources (police, transportation, etc) and then demand that we go down to New Orleans and clean it all up.

The best part is that you see nothing at all wrong with your friends bashing the US. Maybe if they got off their high horse and did something maybe it wouldn't be such a problem. Then again most of them probably come from pseudo-Socialist states and are used to having the government hold their hands.

People talk about America being the wealthiest country in the world and then give no thought to how it got to that point. It got there by being greedy and selfish. That's why we have such a massive disproportion of wealth. Poor people are second class citizens in this country and that's how capitalism works. It sucks, but it what it is.

But all that being said to anyone who feels like spending more time consuming America's resources and complaining about it without contributing to any solutions to the problems they point out are useless human beings. Get off your *** and do something.

 

Reckon this one works. :P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtDo6efybGY

 

Yes. They and I went to a U.S. university.

Not so at all. I'd hammer them every chance I got. I'm surprised they don't hate me.

I have had it entirely with "the coffee here is no good, you don't have any good bread, Americans like everything too sweet, your roads are garbage, your cars are rubbish, none of you know how to drive, Americans don't know anything about the world..."

I did indeed point out, "Well, you're attending our universities aren't you?" Also, I've told them that if they don't know where to get good bread then that's their problem.

I'd explain to them that if their country were 10x bigger than it is then maybe they too would require mass produced breads in huge supermarkets (which is starting in Europe).

I'd say "who is shoving sweetened food down your mouth?" No one, so shut up.

And when they'd say we were not worldly, I'd point out that what they really mean to say is, "you don't know anything about my country." Also they'd have to consider that we can't drive a short jaunt and visit 4 countries with 5 different languages either. It is difficult to become worldly when you're a poor American who can barely afford to take a vacation in Florida from New England. The same trip taken in Europe would allow you to traverse several countries.

Anyway, the point is my fuse has worn very short for European smugness. Consequently, my fuse is also short for those of us who prove them right. There is no excuse for the moronic behavior of those people in the TG video.

 

^ Well sounds like we're both on the same page. Good deal.

 

this kind of thing could happen anywhere in the world - just choose the right words .......

 

yes, in Nuh Zulund, you'd paint :

"Sux Fush and Chups, you SheepF**kers"

 

i personally think that lawyer from the christian group who sued clarkson for $20,000 for mistakenly putting 91 as the date of the camaro instead of the actual 89 should be hung.

 

They got what they deserved. You can't just go around doing things like that... you are just asking for trouble. They wanted a reaction and they got one. Just shows all talk and no ***** for when they took it off. I am proud to say that those people are Americans and are standing up for what they believe in. And, they never did actually touch the three guys. So, I highly doubt that their intent was to physically harm them... because if it was their intent, they would have done it.

Not to mention, it was blatantly obvious that they were just trying to **** people off by writing that stuff on there. "Nascar sucks" pretty much gave that one away.

 

but ... Nascar does suck.

 

i think ambrose finished 16th today in the bush series.

beers

 

LMAO do you all really believe that the US is the most powerful nation on the plannet? let alone the wealthiest? if you do good luck to carry on with that one, bet you also believe in lil green men!

I think Top Gear really did what it set out to do!!

 

Enlighten us please.