/lit/ - Literature

I know you're a troll, OP, but, as always, there is that tingling sensation that provokes a reply.

Maybe they don't. Maybe your view of Americans comes through a heavily edited medium. Maybe those who control the medium want to create a narrative. Maybe Americans also are on the receiving end of such mediums and mimic this false reality looking to participate in the fiction and unknowingly causing it to become reality.

>>2120934

Well, you sort of proved OP right and answered his question at the same time. Good going, I guess.

On a somewhat related note, when will this country stop being so asspained over 9/11?

name another western society in the past 100 years which has had mass public displays of celebration and euphoria over the slaughtering of a human being?

>2120934
>2120949
Really?

>>2120957

ya well thts wat u get wn u blow up our freedams

>>2120957
every country that ever had a war

>>2120957
wut is trolling

>>2120957

Remember when we celebrated the death of Hitler?

>>2120979

>he thinks winning a war and killing and shooting an unarmed man in the face is the same thing

ONLY IN AMERICA

>>2120985

remember when Truman Capote !!cO9KVBDtkqQ broke up with a model because she was a model

>>2120957

Well, the Italians danced around a lot when they strung Mussolini up.

And I think the Romanians were fairly chuffed when they shot Ceauceuscu or however the fuck you spell his fucking thrice-damned name.

None.
Most americans (and also other folks) lack from personal achievements and merits, therefore the only thing they can be proud about is the country they were born in for casuality.

As the country itself lacks also of a history rich in culture, the only way ot make merits to it is by exaggerating this patriotic feeling. Otherwise they would feel useless and empty.

>>2120985

>Murder millions of people in concentration camps over the course of several years
>Murder 3,000 this one time ten years ago

Yeah he was pretty much Hitler bro

>>2120996
>implying 3000 americans !> 8 million jews, homos, gypsies, retards, and lamos.

>>2120988

if Osama Bin Laden was a tyrannical dictator of USA for a decade like Ceausescu was in Romania then maybe I would understand.

Also,
>soviet romania
>a western, civilised country

>>2120988

at least the romanians gave ceausescu a trial.

>lacks also of a history rich in culture

This is some major fucking trolling right here. Of course America has culture, dipshit. Our nation was founded primarily by people influenced by the philosophy of Thomas Paine.

America has a rich literary tradition which includes Kerouac, Bukowski, Thompson, Poe, Twain, Faulkner, Rand, Sinclair, Salinger, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Cather, etc. America has produced artists such as the Wyeths, Slowinski, and numerous others. At least eight of the world's most prestigious universities are located in the United States.

And yet you say we lack culture. Dumbass.

I don't understand, is this his daughter or something? I don't get it.

>>2120985

there were no celebrations after the death of hitler, you ignorant cunt.

People were decent back then. Killing was a grim necessity, not a pop culture event worthy of a frat party.

>>2121007

he calls it trolling and yet he posts a lengthy serious reply

>>2121004

Bin Laden ordered an attack on our soil which killed not only thousands of Americans but numerous foreign nationals as well. Bin Laden provoked a war, threatened our safety and security, left families grieving - he was someone who had to pay for his actions, and he did. Seal Team 6 came into his home and he went out like a pussy, pissing in his skirt. He deserved no trial and no burial, only what our forces gave him - a nice plunk into the sea, so that his body could be forgotten, safe from those who would wish to cremate or bury him, safe from those who would seek out his body as a symbol of martyrdom and hatred for America.

>>2121003

Yeah I think we can safely assume that none of those people in Manhattan were Jewish.

>>2121007

>Rich literary tradition
>Rand
>mfw

Also nobody gives a shit about Wyeths or Slowinski, and the greatest American writers do not even begin to approach the superiority and seminal nature of classical European literature.

>>2121008

exactly behemoth. exactly.

it's her very absence of a personal relationship which is so curious.

There's no point in explaining anything to a european. They've always hated us and they always will.

Here's a pretty good article on the subject:

http://www.hudsonreview.com/BawerSp04.html

>>2121020

>implying Moby Dick, the great American novel, is not as great as any European work

>implying no one gives a shit about Wyeth, Slowinski or Warhol

>>2121020
>comparing contemporary authors with a 2500 year old tradition

get back to us in 4211, faggot.

>>2121015
The parading around and the "we" got him shit was just pathetic. We should have been engaged in a moment of reflection and considering the time ahead and wondering if it's finally the point at which to end these foreign conflicts and clean our own house instead of pissing off our neighbors.
No. Instead we did the exact same thing they did that so outraged us 10 years before. We responded in kind, like vindictive children, and celebrated with beers, cheers, and jeers.
And almost no one bothers to stop and consider how these men are additions to a long list of people the US feels entitled to kill for revenge instead of bring to justice. We stooped to their level and then justified it with their reasoning and had the gall to pile scorn upon other Americans who dared to dissent, a cornerstone of our American freedom.

>>2121007

I never said there was no culture.. I said USA was a country that lacked of a rich one.

>I will asume you are American.
>I will also asume that you feel offended by my perception of your country.

Also the only reason you can relate to such figures is by nationality, that, In my most honest opinion, is sad.

We are by all means humans, and being patriotic and nationalistic-like is quite stupid, specially in times like these.

>>2121022

i don't hate america at all, in fact I love america.

it is truly the most successful revolutionary state. I just like to analyse its peculiarities and idiosyncrasies.

perhaps your hostility towards skeptical introspection is again symptomatic of your cripplingly insecure historical heritage.

>>2121028

You're sort of right that "we" did not get him: it was not "we" so much as our silent, anonymous heroes with years upon years of training. Modern Ninjas, if you will, or men who operated much like the Persian assassin of long ago: Seal Team 6. It was they who pulled the trigger, and for the death of our enemy they should be honored.

book

>>2121015

>"The US was complicit in numerous attacks on our soil which killed not only thousands of Arabs but numerous other Muslims as well. The Americans provoked war after war, have continued to threaten our safety and security and have left families grieving for decades - they needed to pay for their actions, and they did. Those 767s hit them right in in the heart of their military intelligence and took out one of their main financial centers. They deserved no trial and no burial, only what our brothers gave them - a nice taste of the terror they've been dishing out to us for the better part of the last half century." - Osama

That's how stupid you sound.

>>2121037

I'm going to need a source on that exact quote.

>>2121034

this is the shit i'm talking about.

the obsessive need to invent heroes and elevate minor historical events to absurd, cosmic levels of significance.

>>2121043

If you think the defeat of a mass murderer who killed millions of Americans is not significant, I have no idea what kind of a rock you've been living under, anyone who kills a violent enemy of the U.S. is a hero. Without the death of Bin Laden we could easily have suffered another 9/11.

Semi-related:

“I think the greatest curse of American society has been the idea of an easy millennialism -- that some new drug, or the next election or the latest in social engineering will solve everything.”
-Robert Penn Warren

"We've come to a point where every four years this national fever rises up — this hunger for the Saviour, the White Knight, the Man on Horseback — and whoever wins becomes so immensely powerful, like Nixon is now, that when you vote for President today you're talking about giving a man dictatorial power for four years. I think it might be better to have the President sort of like the King of England — or the Queen — and have the real business of the presidency conducted by... a City Manager-type, a Prime Minister, somebody who's directly answerable to Congress, rather than a person who moves all his friends into the White House and does whatever he wants for four years. The whole framework of the presidency is getting out of hand. It's come to the point where you almost can't run unless you can cause people to salivate and whip each other with big sticks. You almost have to be a rock star to get the kind of fever you need to survive in American politics."
-Hunter S. Thompson

ayn rand

>>2121043

Suddenly i'm reminded of Americans saying that the Japanese tsunami was God punishing the Japanese for pearl harbour.

>>2121042

Trolololol

It's funny, though, because that really is the gist of what he said.

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

>>2121047

We already punished Mr. Yellow Bastard for Pearl Harbor, it was called Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

I'm actually thinking of starting a Japanese style steakhouse near Pearl Harbor called Hiroshima Bomb Steakhouse.

>>2121047
The thing that bugs me the most is the people who say that Japan getting hit by the wave was karma, just because the wave technically was karma, as is everything that happens to a person in their mortal life.

steak and chips

if you have ever chanted 'YOO ESS AY, YOO ESS AY' sincerely and meaningfully then please kill yourself now.

American here. i've wanted to say that for so long.

>>2121054

you actually believe in Karma?

So what did steve jobs do to deserve pancreatic cancer and dying at 57?

What did 6 million jews do to deserve being incinerated in concentration camps?

you people sicken me.

>>2121051
Why not just call it Enola Gay or Fat Man & Little Boy's or something? That name just has a terrible ring to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsdy_rct6uo

>>2121061

>So what did steve jobs do to deserve pancreatic cancer and dying at 57?

He was a capitalist pig who exploited millions of workers and refused to help the poor and needy.

>What did 6 million jews do to deserve being incinerated in concentration camps?

Controlled world trade and controlled the banks. Many of them were already believers in Zionism, or in politics controlling world governments from behind the scenes.

>>2121061
First of all, no I don't believe in karma, and second, karma is not some sort of cosmic balancing scale to anybody except California hippies, karma is merely a fatalistic force of chance. Everything that happens to a person is karma because karma is everything that happens to a person.

>>2121069
An anti-Semite condemning a billionaire with conflict theory who believes in karma and adheres to its traditional Eastern context.
Wow...

...wow

Dolphin Polishers from Japan

>>2121047

Suddenly I'm reminded of Europeans and Australians doing the same thing.

>>2120949
A lot of people are starting to come around to the idea after the tenth anniversary. If you're going by the 7 stages of grief, America seems to be on the up swing, starting step five. Except for the idiots, of course; they're stuck on Anger

Recommended Reading:
http://4chanlit.wikia.com/wiki/Recommended_Reading
Find here a list of recommended reading compiled by /lit/ users, please refrain from posting topics asking for recommendations until after you have checked this link. It also contains a list of valuable links when looking for books, including 'must read' book lists and the Western Canon.


Free Electronic Books (Ebooks)
Try the following websites for access to free ebooks:
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://library.nu
http://avaxhome.ws/ebooks
http://ebookee.com/
http://manybooks.net/

Another resource available is #bookz, check these links for more information!
irc: http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Bookz
Comment too long. Click here to view the full text.

OP comes from a country that doesn't have to defend itself or others. America does it for them. Therefor OP wouldn't know how it feels to finally defeat an enemy who has killed thousands of your people.

>>2121074

at least they're karma doesn't depend upon a universe which cares for their country specifically but for life as a whole.

But you're right, ecology can be a corruptive ideology too. It doesn't really excuse America though, but nice try.

kill the thread
spill its blood

>>2121074

All the european ones look like jokes, also what this guy said: >>2121083

but I like the bit at the end where once again AMERICA SAVES THE DAY. Far from debasing my proposition, this actually fits it perfectly.

Ugh my biggest pet peeve: People calling their significant other, husband or wife when they are not really married. Marriage is a sacred union and should not be mocked.

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.~Genesis 2:24

>>2121095

So what are your thoughts on gay marriage?

Or when two heterosexual best friends of the same sex jokingly call each other "husband" or "wife"?

You see, Europe, this is how people act when they haven't fallen completely into decadence yet. With feeling and purpose.

>>2121083
>>2121092

>people from different nations all around the world reacting the same way to the same event

>excuse Europeans
>condemn Americans

I'm not trying to excuse anyone. Those comments are ignorant no matter what country you live in. I'm merely illustrating what should be obvious: it's not just Americans who act this way.
ohyou.jpg

>>2121009

This is Paris, the day after Hitler died.

Something to think about....
Place the elderly in prisons. They will get a shower a day, video surveillance in case of problems, three meals a day, free health, eye, and dental care, access to a library, computer, TV, gym and it's paid for by the federal or state government (us)...

Put criminals in nursing homes. They have cold meals, have to wait till the nurses aids are done with their cigarette break to go to the bathroom, lights off at 8pm, one bath a week, live in a smaller room and pay at 4,000 a month !!!!!

It's Pretty sad that we treat prisoners better than most of the elderly!!!! Copy and paste if you agree.

>>2121092

>All the european ones look like jokes

Riiiiiight. Not that it would matter anyway. If an American made a similar joke it would only serve to demonstrate how callous and isolated they are. But since it was Europeans making the jokes, it's all right.

>>HITLER WAS THE MAIN REASON FOR THE DEATHS OF 10'S OF MILLIONS, MANY OF WHICH WAS DISCRIMINATE. HIS FORCES HAD OCCUPIED THE NATION OF FRANCE, RAPE, KILLING, THEFT ETC

>>OSAMA BIN LADEN ORCHESTRATED THE FLYING OF A COUPLE OF PLANES INTO SOME BUILDINGS BECAUSE OF AMERICAN INCOMPETENCE AND ORGANISED SOME SUICIDE BOMBINGS AT EMBASSIES ETC.


SEEMS PRETTY SIMILAR TO ME!

The Pentagon announced today the formation of a new 500-man elite fighting unit called the US Redneck Special Forces (USRSF) These southern boys will be dropped in Afghanistan knowing only these facts about terrorists. 1.The season opened today. 2. There is no limit. 3. They taste just like chicken. 4. They dont like beer, pickups, country music or Jesus. 5. They are directly responsible for the death of Dale Earnhardt. The Pentagon expects the problem in Afghanistan to be over by Monday!

>>2121099
>arc de triumphe
Nice touch.

On Facebook, from 8:46 until10:28 a.m., everyone on FB is asked to be silent. (No posting or Chat)...from the time the first plane hit, until the last building dropped! If you like this, repost it. Everyone should be reposting. It's been 10 years, but still fresh in our minds!

✰✰✰✰✰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ If You're Proud To Be An American Wave ✰✰✰✰✰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ this Flag In Honor Of The Fallen Men ✰✰✰✰✰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ And Women Who Served Our Country ✰✰✰✰✰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ For those who have served in the past ☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ For those who are serving now
☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ And For Those Who Are Still Fighting
☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ THANK YOU AMERICAN HEROES

>>2121105

They were each mass murderers. Just because one didn't kill as many as the other doesn't mean he wasn't a horrible human being who got what he deserved.

IF YOU WOULD BE THERE FOR ME THEN COPY THIS... I AM DOING THIS TO PROVE THAT SOMEONE IS ALWAYS LISTENING ...NYPD, FDNY AND EMS OFFICERS WERE NOT INVITED TO THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY CEREMONY OF 9/11... MAYOR BLOOMBERG CLAIMS THERE IS NO ROOM FOR THEM... 10 YEARS AGO, THEY WEREN'T INVITED, BUT THEY SHOWED UP WHEN EVERYONE ELSE WAS RUNNING OUT!!! RE-POST IF YOU AGREE THEY SHOULD BE THERE

captcha: etrbsi self-murder

God has no cell phone, but he is my favorite contact.... He has no facebook, but he is my best friend... He doesn't have twitter, but I still follow him... He has no internet, but we stay connected!! If God has been amazing in your life post this on your wall. If ur not ashamed. Have a blessed day! Big love!!

Thank you Florida, Kentucky, and Missouri, which are the first states that will require drug testing when applying for welfare. Some people are crying and calling this unconstitutional. How is this unconstitutional? It's OK to drug test people who work for their money but not those who don't?… Re-post this if you'd like to see this done in all 50 states

Who says Facebook friends aren't real friends? They enjoy seeing you online every day..... Miss you when you're not there........ Send condolences when you lose a loved one....Send you wishes on your birthday..... Enjoy the photos you post..... Put a smile on your face when you're down..... Make you laugh when you feel like crying......Pray for you.... Re-post if you are grateful for your Facebook friends! ♥ I know I am grateful for Mine! ♥♥♥

May I ask a personal favor.....Only some of you will do it, and I know who you are. If you know someone who fought cancer and won, or fought cancer and died, or someone who is still fighting please add this to your status for 1 hour as a mark of respect and in remembrance. I hope I was right… about the people who will.

Fucking american prima donnas. They think the whole world revolves around them.

>>2121074
>>MEANWHILE IN AMERICA MOTHER KILLS HER BABY BY COOKING IT IN MICROWAVE.

>>2120990

The older the nation, the more artists, scientists, intellectuals, writers, composers, archetects and the more rich it's culture. Younger nations are by far at a disadvantage, let alone a colony of blended nationalities and traditions.

>lack of merits
I'm assuming you mean nationally? The United States have only existed for 235 years, compared to France's near 2000 as a nation 2500 as a people.

In America - The Homeless go without eating.
In America - The Elderly go without needed medicines.
In America - The Mentally ill go without treatment.
In America - Our Troops go without proper equipment.
In America - Our Veterans go without benefits they were promised.
Yet we donate billions to other countries before helping our own first.
Have the guts to re-post this.

>>2121161
>I'm assuming you mean nationally?

Not at all my friend, I'm talking about Personal Merits, those you achieve by yourself.

If you don't have anything that has been done by yourself and you can feel proud of, you will probably recure to the blind patriotism.

Unfortunately this Meaningless Pride is present in most contries, not only on the US.

I agree at your point, the older the nation, the more cultural heritage it has. Yet this is not an excuse to embrace stupid "pride by other one's merits" such as nationalistic pedantry.

>>2121131
Suckfuck

>>2121183
I had assumed you had meant that only Americans had blind patriotism. I personally believe a little pride is not bad (i.e. personal pride in craftsmanship), just there is a point where there is too much. People have every right to be proud of where they live, today its more blind and unearned pride/patriotism. The American youth really have no idea how well off they are. I honestly can't really speak for anywhere else.

On a side note, the whole "richer culture" is just a little peeve of mine. Some people like to ignore the vast differences in the age of the countries in question.

>>2121216

thanks for the white noise

>>2121169
>The Homeless go without eating

Homeless shelters in every single town, charity kitchens all over the place, food stamps, most churches have pantries for the needy.

>The Elderly go without needed medicines.

Medicare and social security.

>The Mentally ill go without treatment.

National Institute of Mental Health, Mental Health America, Medicaid

>Our Troops go without proper equipment.

Over 1 trillion is spent a year on military affairs, they get too much.

How dare they be happy a mass murder is brought to justice. How dare they be happy knowing he will never attack the US again and kill thousands of them.

>>2121216

I see any kind of Patriotism to be stupid. However you should notice the great difference that exists between being proud of your nation and being proud of who you are. It is certainly not the same.
Anyway, this is just my opinion.

The only thing that's different about (some) Americans right now is that they're culturally isolated to a ridiculous degree. Most people here spend very little time with other people and even less time being exposed to ideas and culture from outside a very limited region, so you get to a point where anything they're not familiar with is perceived as extremely threatening to the only thing that seems real to them, their tiny world. When people in other cultures generalize about how evil 'Americans' are, it just adds fuel to their cultural isolation. That's what fuels the patriotism.

That said, if you think there's anything unique about this, you're even more culturally isolated than a suburban soccer mom who spends her free time watching reruns of Wife Swap and Toddlers in Tiaras. Nationalist (or generally tribal) pride is one of the defining traits of the human race, and it's been around for a long time, in every nation. If it didn't exist in a nation, it's very unlikely that nation would ever have formed, or have resisted military incursions.

>I see any kind of patriotism as stupid

Sterile cosmopolitanism, narrow post-capitalist bourgeois egoism.

>>2120990

Obvious pseudo-intellectuall is obvious.

>>2121251

>resisted military incursion

Native American identity is strong for this reason, despite its hugely reduced size. Southern regional cultures are more pronounced than their New England counterparts for this very reason as well. Your average New Yorker is unaware its state almost seceded and lead a northern confederation; similar facts are at a minimum widely acknowledged or part of the individual state mythos (Virginia, South Carolina and Texas in particular).

>>2121169

>the homeless

There are professional hobo organizations. These fucks can average near 30,000 a year working just part of the year.

>>2121015
>>2121082
>>2121112
>>2121229

You know during the majority of my life I am actually quite proud to identify with America, not because of stupid patriotism or nationalism, but because its a nation of people not joined by blood or necessity or heritage or language or culture, but opportunity and ideals. To be a citizen here requires a dynamic cohesion not required or expected in other countries, primarily because of our youth as a nation. I like this definition of nation. And I'm proud to be defined under this idea of nation for a nation with guiding founding principles of justice, peace, societal responsibility and personal liberty.

Then I hear and see fucks like you. Fuck you. Fuck you all. What is the purpose of Justice, or peace or liberty or responsibility if we cannot apply it to everyone? What is the point of holding to a damn moral or ideal if you can't hold to it when things go to shit? This whole damn war and damn obsession with fucking "homeland security" is the least patriotic, least honorary act to our national identity we could have fucking embarked on, and this entire handling of the men who may, or may not, be responsible for crimes and the reaction to the handling is utterly disgusting and an atrocity to the American character and to the American ideals. Fuck you. Fuck you.

>>2121271
>What is the purpose of Justice, or peace or liberty or responsibility if we cannot apply it to everyone? What is the point of holding to a damn moral or ideal if you can't hold to it when things go to shit? This whole damn war and damn obsession with fucking "homeland security" is the least patriotic, least honorary act to our national identity we could have fucking embarked on, and this entire handling of the men who may, or may not, be responsible for crimes and the reaction to the handling is utterly disgusting and an atrocity to the American character and to the American ideals

it's like i'm reading a superman speech

>>2121252
Cool.

>>2121259
Man, I'm not trying to be an intellectual, lol. Since when stating your opinion an using some facts makes you a wannabe?
Here, have some Beatles for your troubles.

>>2121279
reminds me more of Captain America

>>2121279
it's idealistic maybe to expect that things would ever be anything other than complete shit, but imo its kind of laudable if foolish

not that guy btw

>>2121271

If you can't grasp why people would be celebratory after that event, then I have to conclude your entire tirade as self-congratulatory horseshit.

From time to time all of those ideals you pretend to care so much about have to be defended with force.

bump

>USA
>shittest superpower
>ever

America has plenty of culture, it's just really fucking wierd.

You'd think /lit/ might attract a slightly more intelligent breed of Anon.

>>2121742
the smart people don't post in these threads

Is it just me that mostly skims through big threads, skipping all non-tripfag posts?

>>2121746

i resent that. This thread has an interesting premise and has fruited many great contributions and analysis from the /lit/ community.

If you have something to contribute, please do so. If you're too intimidated or gormless to respond meaningfully then please vacate the thread.

>>2121271

move to europe.

I don't think the absurd emotional outburst is uniquely American. There are many Americans who do this, but there are also many other people who do this - we cringe worldwide at an incredibly lack of stoicism.

There used to be a European reserve (the stiff-upper-lip in Britain), I suppose. It was mainly the elite that were able to be reserved: you wouldn't find a man at your local whorehouse in the 17th century acting 'reserved'. Now the middle class in Europe imitates and judges the Americans who overreact accordingly.

The negative reaction to the video you linked is mainly from Americans. Don't tar everyone with the same brush: every culture has its emotionally overwraught, nationalistic-without-purpose retards.

Some people get asspained over everything. Or there's a few individuals ready to get asspained for their particular interest. But plenty of people react more subtly. I was upset when 911 happened, WHEN it happened. Not anymore. And when Jobs died, I was like :( and no more.
When Heath Leger died, however, I was more like :[ but no more than that. I was a little bummed that day thinking he wouldn't be in the following batman movie, but I didn't shit myself over it and make a video.

cmon dude this is the 21st century - we don't get cultural historical events we get spectacles

>>2121819

Fuck off, you tedious faggot.

>>2121827
kiss my ass, magical pig

>>2121819

What do glasses have to do with any fo this?

>>2121876

HAHA SO FAHNNY JOKE