Impact mouthguards is racist?

[shincheckin]

You can love your country no problem with that. But lets not forget the time you bombed a pharmaceutical company and robbed an entire country of malaria medication causing thousands of innocent deaths and preventing the manufacture of 50% of the countries medicine because Bill Clinton though the company was making VX nerve gas for Bin Laden despite no real evidence other than a single soil sample.
Americans live in a bubble bombarded daily with news showing how great their country is, you can never understand why so many countries dislike you.

Me personally I love America, I've been there three times. I spent a month in New York, 3 months in Mississippi and Louisiana and spent 2 months in Wyoming and another two months in Kentucky. I liked the food, I enjoyed the women and I loved going to College Football and basketball but the level of ignorance I encountered is astronomic. I've never encountered another country I've been to that had a higher level of ignorance about the rest of the world. Even in the Philippines when I went out to the jungle the people out there knew more of the world than some of the people I met in New York.

I can list several countries that have never perpetrated a great evil... Tell me the great deeds the US has done? I can list maybe 3... The US protected Australia from the Japanese in world war 2 and without their backing we would most likely have been invaded. The US. The US had a big part in the invention of the internet and the US pharmaceutical companies have a big part in creating and producing drugs to cure/help many many illnesses including one that I will be put on soon to help combat migraines.

Saying "America is the greatest country on earth" isn't really patriotism, it's just an ignorant statement. How can a country where people can break their legs and have their bones poking through the skin say "No don't call an ambulance they cost to much" be the greatest country on earth? Where basic medical care costs far to much or where kids can't even go to school without getting shot. America is great for the rich and the middle class and it truly is a land of opportunity if you have the money to pay for it. If you don't have the money its the land of no opportunity.

Australia isn't perfect either, we treated the aboriginals like shit and as the years pass by we become more intolerant of religion and race. We put asylum seekers in detention centers with horrible conditions and expect them to wait happily while we process them.

And my apparent exclusion of food women and sports doesn't change the fact that 90% of the people I met there barely knew a damn thing about the rest of the world. What do they teach you in school? because apparently it's just about America. One guy actually said "Wow Australia hey, we kicked the shit out of you in world war 2." because he didn't know the difference between Australia and Austria...

Tell me what the country represents? You expect me to mention it but everything the US represents is a dream at this point it doesn't actually exist. Of course I focused on the bad, because they outweigh the good that the US does in the modern world. I could pick the same problems with outer countries too like France, Russia, South Africa, China, Thailand, India it wouldn't be hard.
You seem to think that I hate America and you couldn't be more wrong, I just live in the real world where we have to deal with the consequences of your countries actions while you get blasted with propaganda every day telling you how great and lucky it is that you're an American.

I agree with you 100%. Im one of the few americans that can see outside the box. Blinded by religion and patriotism, brainwashed by the media/propaganda. George Carlin was right!

 

[shincheckin]

kinda like how their ad cant find Indonesia on a map

 

[hangulmalmotayo]

I can list several countries that have never perpetrated a great evil... Tell me the great deeds the US has done? I can list maybe 3... The US protected Australia from the Japanese in world war 2 and without their backing we would most likely have been invaded. The US. The US had a big part in the invention of the internet and the US pharmaceutical companies have a big part in creating and producing drugs to cure/help many many illnesses including one that I will be put on soon to help combat migraines.

Saying "America is the greatest country on earth" isn't really patriotism, it's just an ignorant statement. How can a country where people can break their legs and have their bones poking through the skin say "No don't call an ambulance they cost to much" be the greatest country on earth? Where basic medical care costs far to much or where kids can't even go to school without getting shot. America is great for the rich and the middle class and it truly is a land of opportunity if you have the money to pay for it. If you don't have the money its the land of no opportunity.

Australia isn't perfect either, we treated the aboriginals like shit and as the years pass by we become more intolerant of religion and race. We put asylum seekers in detention centers with horrible conditions and expect them to wait happily while we process them.

And my apparent exclusion of food women and sports doesn't change the fact that 90% of the people I met there barely knew a damn thing about the rest of the world. What do they teach you in school? because apparently it's just about America. One guy actually said "Wow Australia hey, we kicked the shit out of you in world war 2." because he didn't know the difference between Australia and Austria...

Tell me what the country represents? You expect me to mention it but everything the US represents is a dream at this point it doesn't actually exist. Of course I focused on the bad, because they outweigh the good that the US does in the modern world. I could pick the same problems with outer countries too like France, Russia, South Africa, China, Thailand, India it wouldn't be hard.
You seem to think that I hate America and you couldn't be more wrong, I just live in the real world where we have to deal with the consequences of your countries actions while you get blasted with propaganda every day telling you how great and lucky it is that you're an American.

Fair enough.

It seems the main problem you have is with me saying that America is the greatest country on earth. I can see why you think this is problematic, but I don't think it is. I also happen to think that I have the greatest parents on earth. I expect most others who have relatively healthy relationships with their parents to think that of their own parents as well. The same goes for people with respect to their countries. Hyperbole, by definition, should not be taken literally. How then should the statement be understood, you ask? As an expression of love. This is not to be confused with a blind stamp of approval on everything done by the country (as I said, the USA is far from perfect—though I think it is not absurd to say that the US is simply a better country than others: to take, what I hope is an uncontroversial example, I think we'd all agree that the USA is unqualifiedly better than North Korea), but the imperfections of the country are outweighed, as I see things, by what the country stands for—the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These are not universally shared values.

You might say that these things are meaningless; that the US constitution and Bill of Rights are just empty ideals, but I don't think that is the case. I think these documents and the principles that they are founded on actually provide a lot of ground for self-critique which is absolutely warranted. That's part of what makes the country great. There are certain countries that, on principle, disallow self-critique.

I also tend to think that the people in the USA are pretty great, as well. Are some of them not so intelligent? Sure, though that might be more a sign of the sorts of people you hang out with when you come to the US. All my friends here are relatively intelligent. (Also, I am not sure when or how global consciousness became the barometer for intelligence or the greatness of a nation.) Do I think that because the people in the USA are great, therefore, people in other countries suck? No. And it would be eminently un-American to think that. All the people I know are only a few generations removed from immigrants. My parents immigrated to the US and worked their asses off so that I could have a shot at making it. They are US citizens now and they love this country. I do, too.

I don't think you hate America. I never said that. I think you don't quite understand what it means for an American to say that they love their country. I wonder if you have similar concerns about Russians, Chinese, Australians, or Frenchmen who say the same things about their respective countries. I somehow doubt that this is the case. You seem to think that such notions are the result of simply ingesting too much propaganda. (I think it ironic that people who so often talk about the effects of propaganda on 'the masses' are so frequently oblivious to their own subjection to it—cf. George Carlin clip and comments about it above). I tend to think patriotism is a natural outgrowth of gratitude toward one's principle of being. It's a virtue that must be developed properly, however. The seeds of patriotism are not in themselves bad. To desire the improvement of one's country, which is to will a certain good for one's country, presupposes a certain love for country, which is called patriotism. To think that one's country has potential for good, and is in certain ways good, is not the same as claiming or believing perfection. In the sense that I understand it, then, patriotism is the necessary prerequisite for any sort of self-criticism leading towards betterment (as opposed to empty criticism that is purely self-serving—for instance, to display one's own perceived intelligence at little risk and at no cost to one's self).

Finally, I don't know who you spent time with during your several visits to America, but most of the Americans of my generation that I know tend to share your sentiments. And this is precisely because of what is constantly on TV and portrayed in movies (cf. Dumb and Dumber clip above, for just one example). I suspect part of your impression of the USA is not uninfluenced by such things as well.

In any case, I hope that clears a few things up.

 

[Woldog]

Fair enough.

It seems the main problem you have is with me saying that America is the greatest country on earth. I can see why you think this is problematic, but I don't think it is. I also happen to think that I have the greatest parents on earth. I expect most others who have relatively healthy relationships with their parents to think that of their own parents as well. The same goes for people with respect to their countries. Hyperbole, by definition, should not be taken literally. How then should the statement be understood, you ask? As an expression of love. This is not to be confused with a blind stamp of approval on everything done by the country (as I said, the USA is far from perfect—though I think it is not absurd to say that the US is simply a better country than others: to take, what I hope is an uncontroversial example, I think we'd all agree that the USA is unqualifiedly better than North Korea), but the imperfections of the country are outweighed, as I see things, by what the country stands for—the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These are not universally shared values.

You might say that these things are meaningless; that the US constitution and Bill of Rights are just empty ideals, but I don't think that is the case. I think these documents and the principles that they are founded on actually provide a lot of ground for self-critique which is absolutely warranted. That's part of what makes the country great. There are certain countries that, on principle, disallow self-critique.

I also tend to think that the people in the USA are pretty great, as well. Are some of them not so intelligent? Sure, though that might be more a sign of the sorts of people you hang out with when you come to the US. All my friends here are relatively intelligent. (Also, I am not sure when or how global consciousness became the barometer for intelligence or the greatness of a nation.) Do I think that because the people in the USA are great, therefore, people in other countries suck? No. And it would be eminently un-American to think that. All the people I know are only a few generations removed from immigrants. My parents immigrated to the US and worked their asses off so that I could have a shot at making it. They are US citizens now and they love this country. I do, too.

I don't think you hate America. I never said that. I think you don't quite understand what it means for an American to say that they love their country. I wonder if you have similar concerns about Russians, Chinese, Australians, or Frenchmen who say the same things about their respective countries. I somehow doubt that this is the case. You seem to think that such notions are the result of simply ingesting too much propaganda. (I think it ironic that people who so often talk about the effects of propaganda on 'the masses' are so frequently oblivious to their own subjection to it—cf. George Carlin clip and comments about it above). I tend to think patriotism is a natural outgrowth of gratitude toward one's principle of being. It's a virtue that must be developed properly, however. The seeds of patriotism are not in themselves bad. To desire the improvement of one's country, which is to will a certain good for one's country, presupposes a certain love for country, which is called patriotism. To think that one's country has potential for good, and is in certain ways good, is not the same as claiming or believing perfection. In the sense that I understand it, then, patriotism is the necessary prerequisite for any sort of self-criticism leading towards betterment (as opposed to empty criticism that is purely self-serving—for instance, to display one's own perceived intelligence at little risk and at no cost to one's self).

Finally, I don't know who you spent time with during your several visits to America, but most of the Americans of my generation that I know tend to share your sentiments. And this is precisely because of what is constantly on TV and portrayed in movies (cf. Dumb and Dumber clip above, for just one example). I suspect part of your impression of the USA is not uninfluenced by such things as well.

In any case, I hope that clears a few things up.

I understand what you're saying and agree with it. In my time there I was helping with College Rugby programs and with the USA National Rugby Team as a training advisor and aid to the coach. The majority of people I had contact with were Highschool/College Football, Basketball and Rugby players. For the most part they were well educated (as you'd expect being in college. The highschool players were less educated and seemed to have their grades handed to them.) I enjoyed my time watching and teaching young players how to better themselves in a sport I've played since I was 4 years old (I'm the cliche, I would have gone pro if I wasn't so small type of deal). The College players I met were as varied as each position on a football team, some were overly patriotic, some were cynical and bitter, some were idealists, some were racists and some were completely oblivious to anything outside of their home town or college. The Highschool players seemed to have far less of an opinion on the world, the ones that did usually came from poor families, or from rough neighborhoods. Hell in Mississippi I met a kid whose father killed himself and his sister after his mother had overdosed on oxycodone, I expected him to be bitter and angry with the world, but instead he was hopeful of one day going to Florida State University and then the NFL as a wide receiver. I'm not sure if he was on the scouting radar or had offers from FSU, but he was sure that was where he would end up. He tore his ACL a few weeks later and was told he had a 50/50 chance of ever playing at a college level depending on how well his healing went.
He ended up going to a college in Louisiana on an academic scholarship and is never going to play football again at a high level. I've kept in contact with him to this day and he has many times said to me that "God has a plan for everyone and that it mustn't have been gods plan for him to go to the NFL." he's happy and in no way bitter at life. I wholeheartedly believe that in any other country where religion as strongly followed as it is in the USA he would have been bitter and angry. But because of where he grew up and what he believed in he didn't allow life to get him down. I believe that the USA has many core values that other countries could take to heart.
I met a college student who believed he was going to be one of the best ever, he was in the top 15 college players in the country and something called an All American (I really don't know what this is). He was damn good, a hell of a player but his attitude was that everyone should be honored to see him play, honored to talk to him that he was practically gods gift to football. He was completely self-absorbed and acted like he invented sports. I met many players like him who are built up in highschool sports, told they're great, turned into an idol in their hometowns, or highschools and then when they get into the real world and the colleges or NFL scouts stop calling they become bitter and angry that the world could be so cruel. No other country I've been to puts that much pressure on teenagers, no other country makes star players think that they've got it all made in highschool, that there is no way they can't make it to the NFL. That is the problem I have with the US mentality, the cycle of pumping kids up with dreams and notions that are unattainable for 98% of players in that sport, where winning is everything and failure means you're nothing. I met many coaches who all gave me the "I was once a top prospect but something happened and I didn't make it." and it's honestly depressing seeing teenagers throw away the chance at an education and a chance at an actually obtainable career because they were pumped with bullshit about how they'll definitely make the NFL or the NBA or the NHL only to fail and feel like they aren't good enough for anything anymore.

The point of all this is that there is a danger in selling the American dream to impressionable kids only for them to find out in the harshest of ways that it probably won't happen for them. Instead of preparing them for the real world, where it's okay to be mediocre.

And just to say, I have a great amount of respect for you and your reviews I hope what has been said here over the past few days doesn't cause any hard feelings between the two of us.

 

[bushman505]

Received a spam email from them, this is what it said, found it to be a little racist. I can find Indonesia on a map. I dont see the need to bash indonesia, they dont have a reputation for making poor quality equipment like other countries such as pakistan for example. Also Im sure his products are hand crafted here in the USA, they are custom mouthguards, but I can guarantee you the plastic/rubber he is using to make them is most likely made in China. I dunno, this kinda just struck me the wrong way. What do you guys think?

INDONESIA?? No Way!! - Save 20%!!

Eeeew! That glob of plastic in your mouth was made in Indonesia!

Can you even find that place on a world map? I'm not sure I can!

Click Here to check out our new website!

Look - here's the story!

We handcraft all of our perfect fitting mouthguards right here in the USA.

All of our materials are top grade dental quality.

Other guards are machine made in some Indonesian sweatshop. YUCK!

Indonesia isn’t a race....it’s a country. Why do people do such mental gymnastics to call everyme bing racist???

 

[bushman505]

I understand what you're saying and agree with it. In my time there I was helping with College Rugby programs and with the USA National Rugby Team as a training advisor and aid to the coach. The majority of people I had contact with were Highschool/College Football, Basketball and Rugby players. For the most part they were well educated (as you'd expect being in college. The highschool players were less educated and seemed to have their grades handed to them.) I enjoyed my time watching and teaching young players how to better themselves in a sport I've played since I was 4 years old (I'm the cliche, I would have gone pro if I wasn't so small type of deal). The College players I met were as varied as each position on a football team, some were overly patriotic, some were cynical and bitter, some were idealists, some were racists and some were completely oblivious to anything outside of their home town or college. The Highschool players seemed to have far less of an opinion on the world, the ones that did usually came from poor families, or from rough neighborhoods. Hell in Mississippi I met a kid whose father killed himself and his sister after his mother had overdosed on oxycodone, I expected him to be bitter and angry with the world, but instead he was hopeful of one day going to Florida State University and then the NFL as a wide receiver. I'm not sure if he was on the scouting radar or had offers from FSU, but he was sure that was where he would end up. He tore his ACL a few weeks later and was told he had a 50/50 chance of ever playing at a college level depending on how well his healing went.
He ended up going to a college in Louisiana on an academic scholarship and is never going to play football again at a high level. I've kept in contact with him to this day and he has many times said to me that "God has a plan for everyone and that it mustn't have been gods plan for him to go to the NFL." he's happy and in no way bitter at life. I wholeheartedly believe that in any other country where religion as strongly followed as it is in the USA he would have been bitter and angry. But because of where he grew up and what he believed in he didn't allow life to get him down. I believe that the USA has many core values that other countries could take to heart.
I met a college student who believed he was going to be one of the best ever, he was in the top 15 college players in the country and something called an All American (I really don't know what this is). He was damn good, a hell of a player but his attitude was that everyone should be honored to see him play, honored to talk to him that he was practically gods gift to football. He was completely self-absorbed and acted like he invented sports. I met many players like him who are built up in highschool sports, told they're great, turned into an idol in their hometowns, or highschools and then when they get into the real world and the colleges or NFL scouts stop calling they become bitter and angry that the world could be so cruel. No other country I've been to puts that much pressure on teenagers, no other country makes star players think that they've got it all made in highschool, that there is no way they can't make it to the NFL. That is the problem I have with the US mentality, the cycle of pumping kids up with dreams and notions that are unattainable for 98% of players in that sport, where winning is everything and failure means you're nothing. I met many coaches who all gave me the "I was once a top prospect but something happened and I didn't make it." and it's honestly depressing seeing teenagers throw away the chance at an education and a chance at an actually obtainable career because they were pumped with bullshit about how they'll definitely make the NFL or the NBA or the NHL only to fail and feel like they aren't good enough for anything anymore.

The point of all this is that there is a danger in selling the American dream to impressionable kids only for them to find out in the harshest of ways that it probably won't happen for them. Instead of preparing them for the real world, where it's okay to be mediocre.

And just to say, I have a great amount of respect for you and your reviews I hope what has been said here over the past few days doesn't cause any hard feelings between the two of us.

America IS the best country ever though.

 

[Woldog]

America IS the best country ever though.

 

[bushman505]

Lol name one better, name one that’s had more of an influence on the entire world, name one with more individual freedom.

 

[Woldog]

Lol name one better, name one that’s had more of an influence on the entire world, name one with more individual freedom.

Better - New Zealand, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Switzerland.
More influence on the entire world - Egypt, Italy, France, England, Turkey, Russia, China.
More individual Freedom - New Zealand, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Switzerland, Australia, Samoa.

 

[shincheckin]

Indonesia isn’t a race....it’s a country. Why do people do such mental gymnastics to call everyme bing racist???

Indonesia isnt a race, its a country. Indonesian is a race, Indonesians are from Indonesia. The add was insinuating that products made in Indonesia are dirty because they were made there, that is racist.

 

[bushman505]

@shincheckin

No sorry, “Indonesian” is a nationality. Just like Canadian or french, American....not a race.

Stop trying so hard to see racism in everything, it’s pathetic.

Also, buying madenin the USA helps support manufacturing jobs within the USA, if you aren’t from the USA then obviously it doesn’t matter but pretty much every country would do well to try to support their own economies, plus USA made products are 10/10 times better than Asian made products.

Also....

I haven’t been in this forum for a few years but it seems like now people don’t want to buy boxing gloves made in Pakistan...is that racist???

You are hippocritical, uninformed and a wannabe social justice warrior only you have no clue what you’re talking about. I wouldn’t put plastic from Indonesia in my mouth either....does that mean I’m racist against people from Indonesia and have a problem with them??? No. It means there are products I’d prefer from other countries and that’s all.

 

[rob mafia]

Not even the greatest country in North America lmao

*facepalm*

i knew clicking this thread was a mistake.

also, fuck indonesia. genocide is cool but the us sucks because half the world begs the USA for help with _______________. but it's cool, canada is apparently better somehow. haha

 

[Woldog]

*facepalm*

i knew clicking this thread was a mistake.

also, fuck indonesia. genocide is cool but the us sucks because half the world begs the USA for help with _______________. but it's cool, canada is apparently better somehow. haha

Do they? Roughly no country actually asks for US help. Most countries in the NATO pact are bound to follow where the US goes.... Canada doesn't meddle in world affairs, doesn't declare wars on everything, has free health care, has a lower homicide rate with the same access to firearms, doesn't have cops killing thousands of people a year. Get out of your bubble and actually learn about the world lmao.

 

[rob mafia]

Do they? Roughly no country actually asks for US help. Most countries in the NATO pact are bound to follow where the US goes.... Canada doesn't meddle in world affairs, doesn't declare wars on everything, has free health care, has a lower homicide rate with the same access to firearms, doesn't have cops killing thousands of people a year. Get out of your bubble and actually learn about the world lmao.

yeah, the UN isn't a thing and doesn't constantly beg the USA for aid. /s

 

[Woldog]

yeah, the UN isn't a thing and doesn't constantly beg the USA for aid. /s

The UN begs every country for aid, its their members right. Australia constantly gets asked for billions in aid, just like the US does, how often does the US provide aid? Do you have any actual facts to provide? or are you just beating your patriotic dick off?

 

[rob mafia]

@Woldog

https://howmuch.net/articles/usa-foreign-aid-by-country

even indonesia got half a billion.

i get it. it's cool to hate on the usa. it's also generally quite ignorant.

 

[Woldog]

@Woldog

https://howmuch.net/articles/usa-foreign-aid-by-country

even indonesia got half a billion.

i get it. it's cool to hate on the usa. it's also generally quite ignorant.

Isn't it a coincidence that 90% of those countries have resources America wants and imports from them, or those countries are fighting against pro Russian forces like Ukraine who you generously donate to.

Countries you directly caused the issues associated with their needing aid
1. Iraq: $5,281,179,380 (for conflicts, peace and security)

2. Afghanistan: $5,060,306,051 (for conflicts, peace and security)

3. Israel: $3,113,310,210 (for conflicts, peace and security)

4. Egypt: $1,239,291,240 (for conflicts, peace and security)

5. Jordan: $1,214,093,785 (for conflicts, peace and security)

6. Kenya: $1,143,552,649 (for population policies and reproductive health)

8. Syria: $916,426,147 (for emergencies)

9. Pakistan: $777,504,870 (for conflicts, peace and security)

The only country on the map you listed that genuinely has no benefit in aiding the US is Ethopia, it may be the only country on there that the US aids out of the goodness of their heart. (Other than the fact its about to be turned into the biggest rubber tree plantation in the world)

Also half a billion for Indonesia, Australia which is far poorer than the USA donates half a billion to Papua New Guinia and a quarter of a billion to Indonesia each year.

If you read my comments above I'm not hating on the US, I'm hating on idiots who believe their country is the best in the world. No country is the best, they're all pretty shit.

 

[rob mafia]

Isn't it a coincidence that 90% of those countries have resources America wants

you should have clicked on the table. and scrolled down. and kept scrolling. the USA gave aid to almost every country.

or i guess the USA just gives aid to almost every country because they have resources the usa wants.

and lolz @ blaming the USA for kenya's reproductive health.

 

[Woldog]

you should have clicked on the table. and scrolled down. and kept scrolling. the USA gave aid to almost every country.

or i guess the USA just gives aid to almost every country because they have resources the usa wants.

and lolz @ blaming the USA for kenya's reproductive health.

Hahahaha do some research on USA's interference in Kenya and the breakdown in relations it caused with surrounding countries.

As for scrolling down for a full list? Where, I can't see any full list... But do continue I love debating with people like you who know nothing of the real world.

 

[rob mafia]

Hahahaha do some research on USA's interference in Kenya and the breakdown in relations it caused with surrounding countries.

As for scrolling down for a full list? Where, I can't see any full list... But do continue I love debating with people like you who know nothing of the real world.

literally self-explanatory ("you should have clicked on the table. and scrolled down")

can't figure out how to click a link, can't figure out how to scroll down.

tell me more about "debating" foreign policy. /s