x-post with GD - Don’t Leave All the PR Work To Colombian Prostitutes

[flamingdem]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002570845

Par for the course as of yet no one in General Discussion shows any interest in the points made in this article
(and the comments).

[Judi Lynn]

1. Thanks, flaming dem. Indifference runs deep sometimes, doesn't it?

Sometimes things come together, however, and you will see a ton of great people have been keeping a very close eye on posts like yours and they are thinking about the same things, and keeping track, themselves, and undoubtedly making an impact on people around them, too.

Don't ever get discouraged.

Things hurtle through GD like meteors, usually, and disappear without a trace. The ones which pick up a lot of interests are often silly!

[flamingdem]

2. It's true, the silly and such rules in GD

I've done a few silly posts for that meteor effect! I think that some of the Latin American group posts are reaching more people since now they show in latest posts. For instance the one about Hillary. Scandal is good for readership, that's why I thought this latest mess in Cartagena could be a teaching moment, but I think a lot of people lack the context necessary to comment.

I follow Cuba and can opine, but I wouldn't try that in the Israel/Palestine group. Still, people need to realize that Latin American countries are our neighbors, and literally our neighbors might be Latin Americans. It's a matter of respect to pay attention to what goes on, but you're right it may just take repeated exposure until it sinks in.

[naaman fletcher]

3. question for everyone..

if you have a good story, but it's more than 24 hours old, where do you post it? It seems to me there ought to be a "news" section that maybe isn't "breaking" news.

[Bacchus4.0]

4. I usually go to the general discussion, I really have reviewed all the different forums n/t

s

[naaman fletcher]

5. thanks

but as flamingdem indicated, there is a lot of silly stuff there

[Judi Lynn]

6. Ever wonder how the term "The Ugly American" appeared?

According to Wikipedia, which I had consulted, still thinking of your original post, and learned it was used in 1948 by a Cuban photographer, who took a photo of an American jerk!

[center]

Constantino Arias' photo titled Ugly American,
showing a 1950s Batista-era tourist in Havana, Cuba.[1][/center]

The term was used as the title of a 1948 photograph of an American tourist in Havana by the Cuban photographer Constantino Arias (see infobox above)[38], but seems to have entered popular culture as the title of a 1958 book by authors William Lederer and Eugene Burdick. In 1963 the book was made into a movie directed by George Englund and starring Marlon Brando.

The best-selling, loosely fictional account provided contrasting characters with different approaches to opposing Communist influence in Southeast Asia, and the use of foreign aid in particular. The majority of the Americans exhibit a range of blundering, corrupt, and incompetent behaviors, often concentrating on impractical projects that will serve more to benefit American contractors than the local population. A minority are effective because they employ knowledge of the local language and culture, but most of these are marginalized and some even considered suspect. As a result, their influence is more limited than it should be.[39]

The title character, Homer Atkins, is introduced late in the book. He is "ugly" only in his physical appearance. His unattractive features, rough clothing and dirty hands are contrasted with the bureaucrats' freshly pressed clothes, clean fingers and smooth cheeks. Their behaviors have the opposite contrast: Atkins cares about the people of southeast Asia and wants to help them create practical solutions to their everyday problems; the bureaucrats want to build highways and dams that are not yet needed, and with no concern for the many other projects that will have to be completed before they can be used. [40] The book led to a move by President Dwight Eisenhower to study and reform American aid programs in the region.[41]

In the book, a fictional Burmese journalist wrote, "For some reason, the people I meet in my country are not the same as the ones I knew in the United States. A mysterious change seems to come over Americans when they go to a foreign land. They isolate themselves socially. They live pretentiously. They're loud and ostentatious. Perhaps they're frightened and defensive, or maybe they're not properly trained and make mistakes out of ignorance."[42]

More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugly_American_(pejorative)