I think this particular type of insanity is probably a very American thing, related to the fact that fundamentalist Christianity and extreme paranoia of the government is far more prevalent in the US than elsewhere.

There's nutjobs of different types all over the world though. Different countries, different nutjobs.

As for free speech, I think the US has the right idea in that respect. You can express pretty much any opinion you want, no matter how unpopular, but if you cross the line into inciting people to commit acts of violence or other crimes, then that's not OK.

-_-

Listen, we've had the debates before and know that you really dont like America based on the images you see on TV. But honestly, I'm sure there are plenty of people around the world (I'm looking at China, Russia, Cuba, Mexico) who dont agree with their governments, the problem is in those countries they cant vocalize their opinions from fear of the consequences. Look at how many people flee Mexico and Cuba yearly to come to America. Yes, it definitely seems more prevalent in America because we can vocalize our opinions on the government without mysteriously "disappearing" (Well...I cant vouch for that statement 100%, we all know it's happened here before).

-_-

Listen, we've had the debates before and know that you really dont like America based on the images you see on TV. But honestly, I'm sure there are plenty of people around the world (I'm looking at China, Russia, Cuba, Mexico) who dont agree with their governments, the problem is in those countries they cant vocalize their opinions from fear of the consequences. Look at how many people flee Mexico and Cuba yearly to come to America. Yes, it definitely seems more prevalent in America because we can vocalize our opinions on the government without mysteriously "disappearing" (Well...I cant vouch for that statement 100%, we all know it's happened here before).

If you read what I said, then you'll find that it wasn't anti-American in the slightest, I simply said that this kind of movement is a very American thing, but that different countries have different problems.
I actually really like America by the way, might even move there some day. Being able to recognise the faults in a country, or criticising it is not the same as disliking it. There is a difference between liking something, and being a sycophant.

I can't speak for the rest of Europe, but in the UK, the kind of paranoia of the government that you see in the US doesn't really exist in that way. That's not to say that we don't have terrorists, or that everyone trusts the government, or that we don't have our own problems, it's just that we have a very different history and culture over here. It has nothing to do with the fact that Americans can vocalise their opinions on the government, as despite what some people seem to think, this is something that you can do in pretty much every first-world country on the planet.

As for fundamentalist christianity and christianity being more prevalent in the US, well that's pretty much a no brainer. In the US, for a politician to be a christian is an asset, in the UK it's a liability.

I don't base my opinions on what I see on TV, as TV isn't a particularly good source of information. Most of my opinions come from talking to Americans on the net, and in real life (some of my colleagues at work are American), reading American news stories on the net (taken with a heavy dose of salt), and also talking to one of my cousins that lived in America for the better part of a decade.

Very well then. Understood. Sorry about that.

Now, hypothetically, let's say that another group of people planned the same thing, minus the thought that they were on a mission from God. How would you have reacted to that? This was a small Christian "militia" but let's say this hypothetical group of people from diverse backgrounds came together to plan this out.

I think either way it's stupid to try to pull something like this off. Martin Luther King never resorted to violence of any kind and he got the things he marched and protested for.

Martin Luther King never resorted to violence of any kind and he got the things he marched and protested for.

Malcolm X might have had a slightly different view of that.