i wasn’t trying to make that connection. i suppose i just feel that people are putting words into ronan’s mouth and being a bit uptight. as for the american brashness thing, i don’t like to generalize but from my experience a lot of americans are quite loud and brash. i went to an american school for 10 years and an american university for 4 so i’m not making a comment like that out of thin air. i would never claim that all americans are brash, and i’m not a fan of blanket statements either, but when ronan says omar s’ attitude is ‘very american’ i don’t read it as a blanket statement. it may be a generalization, but that doesn’t mean it has to be offensive. when people say dutch people are tall, the irish drink a lot, spanish are loud, etc. it doesn’t mean they’re referring to an entire population, but let’s face it, most of these generalizations have some basis behind them. a lot of dutch people are tall, a lot of spanish people are loud. everyone generalizes to some extent, and yes, sometimes people may take offense, but i think some of ronan’s statements are being overly scrutinized.

aside from the absuridty of “typical racial paranoia” (who decides what’s paranoia & what’s valid - you I guess?), that about about “american thing” I could flip into it’s a “Euro thing” to make racially insensitive comments & be oblivious of it, though neither are true, just like Ronan’s original characterizations were lazy generalizations (if stereotypes is too sticky a term). pseudo pc, yeah whatever buddy.

once something is published (or posted) a reader’s interpretation is just as valid as the writer’s.

also when did I say I was defending Omar-S “telling it like it is”? arrogance isn’t exactly an attractive attribute but comparing it to racial stereotypes is laughable.

look I wouldn’t even bring this up if I didn’t think Ronan’s site was worth reading & if his writing wasn’t usually much better than this. of course he can say anything he wants, including in his own defense, but I can also call him on something. perhaps I came off a little harshly cos it pissed me off & I did then I apologize but it’s meant to be constructive criticism.

@petepete: “sorry, but if omar s doesn’t have to, why should ronan?”

this is a blog, a medium designed for interaction between writer and reader. when you put something on the table, you should be willing to debate it. a can of worms has been obviously opened up here, initially by omar-s, who i don’t expect to elaborate on what he’s said considering he’s not a blogger, and then by ronan, who should elaborate, precisely because a good blogger isn’t afraid to address his readers.

petepete, i’m not nitpicking. ronan made a blanket statement about americans, which apparently you and ronan feel is a “normal” sentiment. i disagreed, and now you call my sentiment pseudo politically correct. this suggest just as much of your cultural norms as it does mine. i’m seeking clarification here, and you’re being outright dismissive. who’s being aggressive now?

“… and it’s his blog, so all these pseudo politically correct comments from some of you make no sense to me.”

then you don’t know what the merits of a blog or a comment section are. the interaction blogs enable between writer and reader are essential. if a writer isn’t comfortable with the fact that a blog can get visceral and brutal, then switch your medium.

sorry, but if omar s doesn’t have to, why should ronan?

regarding “and it does seem to be this american thing where people somehow find the most normal comments racist”,
sullivan hits the nail on the head here:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/andrew_sullivan/article5779850.ece