Okay, a question to you all regarding July 4th

[Griffolion]

July 4th, the day America celebrates its independence.

It's the day the vast majority of Americans get very patriotic towards their country, flags are flown, parties are had, fireworks are let off. It's also the day the rest of the world (England especially) rolls its collective eyes and says under its breath "it's just one day and then we are clear for the next year".

Now, what I'm about to say will be regarding people on Youtube, so I know I'm taking from an already ignorant and generally arseholish (new word) population of people second only in arseholishness (new word #2) to darker places on the internet that I shall not name.

But there seem to be a ton of individuals, Americans, who believe they "kicked the British's ass", adding things like "GG no re", "suck it England", and "you f£&$*%G noobs, learn to fight a war".

My jimmies were rustled. I shouldn't have let them be, it's Youtube after all, but they were.

So, a couple of things.

Correct me if my research has led me wrong, but the French played a very strong role in helping the (what was then) rebellious British people win their independence to become America, and thus Americans. Britain has never had good ties with the French, especially not back then; it seems from what I have looked up (nothing in depth, just basic facts, figures, dates), that the French only did this really to spite us. And in the final battle that many see as the "defeat of the British" (the siege of Yorktown), some 8600 French soldiers bolstered the ranks of the rebel forces (numbering 8000), forcing a capitulation of the 9000 strong British forces, not to mention moving one of their larger fleets (22,000 sailors in all) to intercept British reinforcements, outnumbering the British fleet by 9 ships. Would it be fair to say that the French played a very large role in the victory? Not only that, but they were only doing it to divide our forces between the homeland and the colonies to try and strengthen their position against us in Europe? Please come in with comments if any of this is off.

Secondly, I saw a lot of back and forth between people, and the general attitude was one of attributing the general worth of somebody today based on the actions of people hundreds of years ago. Sorry if that didn't read well, I have a hard time articulating this thought. It was like an American saying to a British person "yeah we kicked your ass, and because of what was done hundreds of years ago, that makes me superior despite doing nothing to prove such a thing in today's modern times". I was thinking "wow, you're really going to degrade an entire country because of a civil war they had on their home turf that turned out to create someone like you?".

So my general concluding thoughts were, no, Americans did not "kick our ass" because they didn't exist at that point. British rebels kicked British loyalist ass with strong help from the French, who only seemed to be doing it for their own gain against us in Europe.

Americans in particular, you know your history better than I do, how do you guys know it?

Also, captcha is wanting to know what all your blood types are. Don't ask.

 

[Ljs1121]

Without France we wouldn't be a country right now. It's really sad that some people are so blinded by patriotism that they still hold a grudge over an event that happened 230 some years ago. Personally, I live in the USA and I think the British are A-OK.

V FOR CAPTCHA'S EYES ONLY V

I'm O positive.

 

[Yomandude]

That is a large quantity of words you have up there, my good fellow. Yes, the French helped us. That is indeed how it's taught in America. My brother wrote a large paper in, like, sixth grade or something all about that. You were just observing uneducated nationalists setting up straw men. Every country's got 'em. There's also some wierdness about them running away to go colonize India, but I don't know much about international stuff so don't take my word for it.

EDIT: No, wait, I think I'm O negative, actually.

 

[ChildishLegacy]

So my general concluding thoughts were, no, Americans did not "kick our ass" because they didn't exist at that point. British rebels kicked British loyalist ass with strong help from the French, who only seemed to be doing it for their own gain against us in Europe.

I think that's a pretty good way to sum it up, it was more 1 group of British people beating another group of British people from what I've always understood, I don't see why that happening all those years ago is that much of a deal today, then again, I don't think I will ever understand patriotism. As far as I'm concerned you should be a good person and be proud of it, not be proud of the section of dirt you were born on.

 

[Hal10k]

You're honestly surprised that you're seeing people misrepresent history on Youtube? The comments section there is basically a competition to see who can display the greatest variety of stupidity for the longest stretch of time, except instead of "winners" and "losers", you have "degenerates" and "more degenerates".

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Think of it this way.

Britain was the metaphorical Super Saiyan of the world, fighting several guys at the same time, kicking arse, but still getting beaten up pretty badly.

America got in there, threw a punch then ran away claiming victory.

Now, Britain the Super Saiyan needed every bit of stamina he still had, so instead of chasing the little bugger down, he decided the other guys were more of a threat.

He then went on to win the Euro Belt and remain Supreme Champion of the World.


Daystar Clarion, trivialising historic events near you!

[sub][sub]All a joke, by the way [/sub][/sub]

 

[Esotera]

I thought it was generally accepted that Britain could quite easily have won the war if they'd dedicated enough resources to it, but they were locked into a war in Europe at the time so couldn't really be bothered. Also, you're expecting way too much of the denizens of youtube.

 

[The Funslinger]

Think of it this way.

Britain was the metaphorical Super Saiyan of the world, fighting several guys at the same time, kicking arse, but still getting beaten up pretty badly.

America got in there, threw a punch then ran away claiming victory.

Now, Britain the Super Saiyan needed every bit of stamina he still had, so instead of chasing the little bugger down, he decided the other guys were more of a threat.

He then went on to win the Euro Belt and remain Supreme Champion of the World.


Daystar Clarion, trivialising historic events near you!

[sub][sub]All a joke, by the way [/sub][/sub]

So, what you're saying is... America is Yajirobe?


Cool.

Edit: That metaphor could also applied to the World Wars!

USA gets in last minute, does what any old muggins could have done (admittedly helping) and pisses off again?

(once again, all in good humor!)

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Think of it this way.

Britain was the metaphorical Super Saiyan of the world, fighting several guys at the same time, kicking arse, but still getting beaten up pretty badly.

America got in there, threw a punch then ran away claiming victory.

Now, Britain the Super Saiyan needed every bit of stamina he still had, so instead of chasing the little bugger down, he decided the other guys were more of a threat.

He then went on to win the Euro Belt and remain Supreme Champion of the World.


Daystar Clarion, trivialising historic events near you!

[sub][sub]All a joke, by the way [/sub][/sub]

So, what you're saying is... America is Yajirobe?


Cool.

Indeed


The colony on its own wouldn't have stood a cat in hells chance of winning a war against the British homeland.

 

[Marik2]

Americans in particular, you know your history better than I do, how do you guys know it?

This is all I know about "Murican history


And here is an upcoming documentary on the Revolution

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTcVNuNX8yY

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

Uh yeah, just like a majority of revolutions, outside help was necessary. Most people know this and those that don't are just absurdly ignorant and honestly are not worthy of your time.

 

[applesandoranges]

edit

 

[wintercoat]

Think of it this way.

Britain was the metaphorical Super Saiyan of the world, fighting several guys at the same time, kicking arse, but still getting beaten up pretty badly.

America got in there, threw a punch then ran away claiming victory.

Now, Britain the Super Saiyan needed every bit of stamina he still had, so instead of chasing the little bugger down, he decided the other guys were more of a threat.

He then went on to win the Euro Belt and remain Supreme Champion of the World.


Daystar Clarion, trivialising historic events near you!

[sub][sub]All a joke, by the way [/sub][/sub]

Nu-uh! We threw a kick! To the shins, like a petulant child! Lrn2history!

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Think of it this way.

Britain was the metaphorical Super Saiyan of the world, fighting several guys at the same time, kicking arse, but still getting beaten up pretty badly.

America got in there, threw a punch then ran away claiming victory.

Now, Britain the Super Saiyan needed every bit of stamina he still had, so instead of chasing the little bugger down, he decided the other guys were more of a threat.

He then went on to win the Euro Belt and remain Supreme Champion of the World.


Daystar Clarion, trivialising historic events near you!

[sub][sub]All a joke, by the way [/sub][/sub]

Nu-uh! We threw a kick! To the shins, like a petulant child! Lrn2history!

Shit, I just checked my history book of fictional inaccuracies and it appears that you're right.

My apologies.

 

[Lionsfan]

You are sort of right. The French did play a major role but the more important part was that the American Revolution was quickly turning into a world war and the British felt they had bigger fish to fry. The American forces put up one hell of a fight on their own and continued the fight long enough for the British to falter. In addition, as the war went on, the British were getting weaker (fighting a war in an increasingly hostile territory can do that) and the American forces were getting stronger (thanks to more equipment and training and a more friendly populous). Another important part is that the British just got arrogant and failed to seize the initiative while Washington was a good enough commander that he only occasionally let an opportunity slip away.

Exactly this. It wasn't just France deciding to help out. It was literally every other sovereign nation helping out because Britain had dominated everyone for a century and they all wanted them to be knocked down a peg.

And Washington was lucky that the opportunities he did grab made up for all of his numerous defeats.

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

It's all in good fun. That shit was like 500 years ago, don't get all mad now. Haven't you seen The Great Escape, the true story where they turned everyone into Americans to appeal to an American audience? We're giving you a hard time because we fought against you back then. But you should have fun with it too if you can get past your hard feelings. You're all super serious and we're all like this:


As for the history, at the beginning of the war we were British citizens in rebellion. No one including ourselves would have called it anything else. On July 4th we celebrate the Declaration of Independence, which represents the change from British citizens in rebellion to a new nation of people called 'Americans'. For a little context, keep in mind this was a quasi-international identity at the time, kind of like the European Union, so it was a fitting name then. If you asked someone what country they were from, the typical answer was "Georgia" or "Virginia". It was like calling a citizen of the United States of Europe a European. The Declaration is arguably the most important artifact in American history, with only the Constitution coming close. It represents our struggle for independence, our birth as a people, and our radical (for the time) philosophy that the people's government should be controlled by and for the people themselves. And in defense of all that we created a nation out of thirteen different colonies who could hardly get along and fought a war we never should have won, help or no help. It was a desperate gamble and we won, even after everyone thought we were finished.

The Battle of Yorktown was the site of the surrender of the British army. That was it's significance. It was not an epic showdown like D-Day or something. It was the Revolution's Appomattox. We did get significant assistance from the French, after we achieved the impossible by proving we could stand up against the British Empire. You are misunderstanding the scale of the challenge of creating this new nation if you do not recognize what an achievement it was to win not only recognition but military alliance from France. Americans have always expressed gratitude to the French although relations have soured between us since WWII.

July 4th is when 'Americans' came into existence after several years of fighting previous. That's the whole point.

 

[TehCookie]

If I say that It's meant to be a joke about the people who truly believe that, since the 4th of July is meant to be the day you act like a stereotypical American. Which means being an idiot while gorging yourself on grilled hamburgers and hotdogs while taking shots and chasing it with our pisswater beer while scream MERICA FUCK YEA! while shooting off your guns or lighting off fireworks hoping you don't blow your hands up.

 

[Kolby Jack]

Okay, let me ask you this: Which is more sad: some anonymous internetting Americans making joke comments about how we "kicked England's ass" or the fact that some Brits are actually getting upset over it? Hm?

 

[God of Path]

Patriotism is the belief your country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it.