47 Comments on “This Was Quickly Reverted”

1. I was wondering why this appeared to be posted in the future, then I realized Ohio is EST. I is colidge-edukated, I is. (And I’m in class, for that matter.)

   Also, I disagree as well. Elections, on the other hand…

2. Heh. And that sentiment was typed on a personal computer (invented in the sucky United States) connected to the Internet (grown out of Arpanet, invented in the sucky United States and financed by American taxpayers).

   The cherry on that irony cake would be if that entry originated in a country that would speak German or Japanese right now without the involvement of the sucky United States in WWII.

3. Marko, I love people like you.

   Yes, America TOTALLY won the Second World War. Without you guys, the war TOTALLY would have gone to the Nazis. No doubt about THAT.

   Oh man. Nothing against the USA, but that mindset always makes me laugh hard.

   I mean, nevermind that the US came in right at the end, or that Germany was already headed towards defeat based solely on depletion of resources. Nope, it was those brave boys in uniform from Smalltown, U.S.A.

   No doubt about it. Everyone else was just sitting around, thumbs up asses.

4. Man, I WISH we spoke Japanese!

5. I mean, nevermind that the US came in right at the end, or that Germany was already headed towards defeat based solely on depletion of resources. Nope, it was those brave boys in uniform from Smalltown, U.S.A.

   You’re either thinking of WWI, or you have no idea what you’re talking about. The US came into WW II in 1941, two years after the (canonical) start. That was well before Germany was on its way to defeat.

6. I reserve judgment till after the election.

   Still, I’d be hesitant to say it ALL sucks… There are definitely some parts that blow…

   However, I would say so far, most of the USA rocks… though you could argue some of those roll…

7. Commenting Desire: Low
   Desire to flame armchair historian generals: rising
   Apologies if one of you were there: tendered
   Belief in rapid subject change from United States Sucks to WWII, entry of United States: cockeyed.
   Desire to flame: subsiding
   Attempt at humor: meh
   Conclusion: Monday before the election just gives me a headache. Stay on target!
   Commenting desire: ended, for now.

8. Fighter:

   The reason you see that mindset so much is because that’s what we’re taught in grade school. All of our history classes are like that, where the U.S. does bunches of heroic deeds around the world and everyone likes us (except the ones that inexplicably don’t). :p It unfortunately translates into how we view the world in general. We’re very Mary-Sue-like over here.

   I’d be thrilled if more people who were taught differently would speak up when they see those kinds of historical discrepancies.

9. Heh. I was schooled in Germany, strangely enough. I guess I need to call up my old History teacher and tell him how terribly America-centered and Mary Sue-like his lectures were.

10. For some reason, the Hitchhiker’s Guide entry “Mostly harmless” comes to mind.

    Maybe Wikipedia is the precursor to that august reference resource?

11. I would kill for Mary-Sue’d historical fiction, where a nation who is so NOT America, no way, wins all the wars and everyone loves them because they’re awesome ya! (Let’s get Harry Turtledove on this, stat.)

    Anyway. The Axis was a doomed proposition once they were surrounded, which happened fairly quickly. The US jumping in sped up the climax of the war, there’s no arguing, but the incredible industrial machine of Nazi Germany was bound to run out of fuel eventually, just like their opposing Incredible Industrial Machine, the Soviet Union.

12. At one point the Wikipedia article for “Earth” contained the fact: “It is the largest planet in the world.”

13. The Fighter:

    “The Axis was a doomed proposition once they were surrounded, which happened fairly quickly.”

    What? No.

    The Axis was a doomed proposition once Hitler decided that invading the Soviet Union was a smart idea. Before that it had lots of options.

    I’m all for people recognizing that the USSR and its climate did more to defeat Nazi Germany than anyone else, including the Americans, but let’s not get carried away with things here.

    Also: This is a very bizarre place to have this particular discussion.

14. I’m glad that was removed. It didn’t have the appropriate references to confirm it.

15. [Citation Needed]

16. Jeri @ 10:

    Actually, I think the H2G2 site more or less has that covered.

17. Personally, I think the above assessment is a typical misrepresentation of America by the liberal “Suckucrats”. All real Americans know that the USA “blows”.

18. Oh, God. Not another Blowpublican!

19. @Scalzi 18

    Geez – not blow-by-blow commentary ..

20. This thread sucks.(1)

    (1) Opinion of Whatever post “This Was Quickly Reverted,” at whatever.scalzi.com, 3Nov08, by commenter Jeff Hentosz.

21. Suckucrats VS Blowpublicans – another American cultural divide this Canuck was unaware of. Hey, it was worth getting up today, I’ve learned something!

22. The Axis was a doomed proposition once they were surrounded, which happened fairly quickly.

    What are they teaching in schools today? Good lord.

    In 1941, when the United States entered the war, the Germans were just outside of Moscow, controlled essentially all of continental Europe and were bombing the crap out of England.

    If that’s “doomed”, I’d hate to see “successful.”

23. Maybe if it said “Could be a lot better than it is,” then the author could get a little more concensus…

24. So, how did it come about that “sucks” and “blows” both turned into derogatory terms that are practically synonyms, anyway? It would make a lot more sense if they were opposites of one another, so why didn’t that happen?

25. As well wonder why we park on the driveway and drive on the parkway. In technical terms I believe it is said by linguists that: English is freaking wacky.

    Not always derogatory incidentally, I admit to an affection to either when used as a verb describing a sexual act.

26. Jeff, Whatever.scalzi.com is not a verifiable source.

    If you could have a newspaper call Scalzi and publish the interview of the call with a reference to your comment, then it would be valid.

27. Yeah, really. It should have read “Sucks to be you”

28. “This article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding detail about how the USA sucks, why the USA sucks, and give examples of USuckitude.”

29. Sorry, but I feel I have to point out here, guys, that my assessment of the strategic situation of World War II Europe at the advent of American involvement is correct.

    After all, I am from the future and know a lot about history.

    So when Cheryl Lindsey Seelhoff is elected to the Presidency tomorrow, better start reading up on the Quiverfull movement. Trust me on this.

30. hey, without America’s Isolationism, antisemitism and FDR’s intentional antagonism of the Japs then there wouldn’t even have been a World War II and think of all the movies and literature we would have been screwed out of.

31. @ 29:
    After all, I am from the future and know a lot about history.

    But not, it appears, a great deal about the operation of your time machine: You’re twelve years early.

    Also, the Time Police will have just issued a warrant for your arrest for meddling with history – agents have arrested you last night. Please refrain from compounding your offense by jumping back to warn yourself – which you’re going to do anyway. Because that’s the way you roll.

32. @ 30
    FDR’s intentional antagonism of the Japs

    Not that the Japanese needed a lot of prodding with that Co-Prosperity Sphere idea – the idea, if not the name, was part of Japan’s foreign policy from the 1920s.

    Also – America’s isolationism and etc was responsible for the fascist powers acquisitive method of operation? If America hadn’t been … Hitler would have remained a minor political figure and the Japanese would have given up their ambition to be -the- empire in Asia? Really?

33. Yup, everything that happened in World War II was the fault of the United States of America. Damn them all to hell.

34. I’m having flashbacks to the time some joker edited the ‘Babylon 5′ page on Wikipedia to say something to the tune of “Babylon 5 is a pece of crap and i dont kno y anyone would evur watch it..’ I’m paraphrasing, but you get the general idea. Sadly, that edit remained un-reverted for nearly an hour before an editor caught it.

35. Something was wrong on the internet for an HOUR?!?!?!?

    Appalling! Where was the geek army???

36. Half of them were flaming each other in some slashfic forum, and the other was too busy with their Saturday night raid in WoW.

37. Can you blame them? My 47-part John Perry/Johnny Rico slashfic opus is truly inspired.

38. Oh, MAN.

39. @Marko: So USA’s involvement in WWII was a get-out-jail-free card until the end of time? I always wonder about folks who bring this up, who presumably would have been happy to trade with a triumphant Nazi Germany and live in that world.

40. #39 – Well, there are a few Alternative History versions of that, from The Man in the High Castle to Jo Walton’s Small Change trilogy. (I’m still awaiting Australian publication of the 3rd, Half a Crown, in paperback, so no spoilers please.)

41. “I’d be thrilled if more people who were taught differently would speak up when they see those kinds of historical discrepancies.”

    40 comments and nobody mentioned U571 yet?

    Don’t mention the War …

42. Mez@40: Aliens invade the Small Change trilogy in the middle of the third book causing the various countries to form strange alliances in an attempt to beat them back.

43. The cherry on that irony cake would be if that entry originated in a country that would speak German or Japanese right now without the involvement of the sucky United States in WWII.

    Towards the end of the war (I believe this could have been the winter of 1944, but I’m not sure) while the Allies had already liberated Rome but had stopped the far side of the Po for unclear reasons that might, or might not, have to do with the fact that Italian Resistance was at the time largely socialist/communist leaning and there might have been a secret wish to let the Nazis, er, decrease their numbers, my bit of Italy was annexed to the Third Reich. This mean that every male over the age of 18 was to be drafted.

    My uncle Mario, then 18, took to the roof when the SS came to round him up to enlist him, but they threatened to shoot the rest of the family and so he climbed down. He refused to enlist and was tried for desertion. At the trial he delivered what family history says was a vibrant, defiant declaration that he did not recognize the Third Reich as his country and would never fight for Hitler, and was therefore sentenced to death.

    He was put in a jail in, IIRC, Tarcento, where he laid waiting for the firing squad for several weeks, while his brother-in-law, who was himself in hiding and working for the Resistance, but also had influential friends in high places, pulled strings and called in favours to have his execution delayed.

    My uncle was eventually freed when not the Americans, not the Russians, but Yugolslavjian Titoist partisans stormed the prison and set all the prisoners free, after which my uncle followed a band of Titoist partisans around the mountains for a bit, then made his way home.

    Apart from all of this, that comment might have come from Germany, Japan, or, shock, horror! the US.

    Or maybe Nicaragua, Chile, Iraq, Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, Panama…

44. My neutral country was “invaded” by Britain in May, 1940. And the glorious sucking US of A took over the occupation of the country in July, 1941. While the US was still “neutral”.

    OF course history would be different if the US wouldn’t have intervened in Europe. The war ould have been longer and most likely ended in a peace deal with the UK and an German near-victory over the Russians. (The lend and lease program incidentally was REALLY important in the turnaround of the Eastern Front. Russian logistics there relied on US made trucks.) The Russians might have slowed the Germans down but it would have been a Forever War there, which the Russians had the manpower for and the Germans had the morale for, so a historic stalemate.

    I actually wouldn’t mind speaking German, English (UK), English (US) or hell I’d even speak French or Danish for that matter in light of the economic meltdown over here.

45. Oh and yes I think that Wikipedia entry lacks citation and is poorly rationalized. :)

    If the United States sucks, why?

    It really doesn’t conform to Wikipedia’s standards. No wonder it was quickly reverted.

46. Incidentally, I also disagree with the Wikipedia entry, which also lacks citation.

    Now, in the improbable event of a McCain victory tomorrow, tho, while still disagreeing, I would think that citation was provided.

47. [i]I mean, nevermind that the US came in right at the end, or that Germany was already headed towards defeat based solely on depletion of resources. Nope, it was those brave boys in uniform from Smalltown, U.S.A.[/i]

    Remind me again why we were producing Liberty Ships, our merchant marine was taking major losses and we were depthcharging U-boats? Oh, it was to force unwanted food on Britain because they had over-abundant resources and we were just a bunch of do-gooders who had resources to throw away while we were going through austerity measures here at home. Thank you for helping me better understand history.