Maybe I've got Asperger's or something haha. I don't think I'm smart enough or good enough at something to have Asperger's though,
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The scathing tone is definitely true, and to be honest that's how I really feel and it's not simply for effect. I rant like that in real life. I don't yell and scream or anything, but if you've ever seen Denis Leary get worked up over something, it's similar. When I'm really over-the-top, though, that's usually when it's for effect and especially when it's overly sarcastic.
I'm sure I could come across a little more soft and placating, but I feel that would diminish the point I'm trying to make. My old career was based on having really, really thick skin, what with controlling fighter jets and such. I had to deal with things like, "Where the FUCK were you on that one, Trailer? What the fuck happened? Get yer shit together or GTFO." It was never personal and I had to dish out as much as I received, and no one ever took anything personally because it was all to drive the point home of how important it was. I just don't think I can relate to more sensitive mindsets very well, or at least I have difficulty with it. In my mind, I hear someone telling me how to improve upon something; they're not just tearing me down for no reason. Others probably don't see it that way.
In person I'm usually a little more diplomatic, or at least I try to choose my words carefully...oftentimes when discussing something on the internet, intent is mistaken for trolling, but this is just a fact of life. However, it's always truth and honesty for me. I can't not be honest when I have something to say, and if what I have to say needs to have the point driven home crystal clear, I do it in the most direct way possible so as to avoid any confusion.
In any case, the generalizing may rub some people the wrong way, and I'm sure I do it sometimes when it isn't warranted, but it's nothing personal. In this case, it's not generalizing. There is nothing short of a high 6-figure income that would bring me back to live in the US, and it's most definitely not because living here is better. Ok, maybe it's more SUITABLE to my lifestyle, but it's not better. I spent 9 years in the military, joined right out of high school; it had been my lifelong dream to serve my country. I got out because it had gotten to the point where I couldn't put myself in harm's way for the type of people who make up the US today. Maybe that's a generalization, but that's the reason why I got out. Granted, I"m not singling out everyone, but again, American society in 2005 had gotten me so disgusted that I didn't even want to return to my own country...and it has just gotten worse ever since. It sounds harsh because it is harsh.
This, I'm sure, may sound a bit insulting, and know that it is not my intent to insult anyone, but that's the fact of the matter. I had seen America from both the inside and the outside and what I saw made me sick. You don't just walk away from a career you had based your entire life upon, then decide to not even return to your home, eschewing your entire family, your friends, your home country without something being seriously wrong. And there is something seriously wrong.
I base my opinions on factual evidence and personal experience, nothing more. If I have never had any experience with something or someone, I have no opinion on the matter and I will tell you as such. So when I get all riled up and vehement over something, it's due to personal experience and/or factual evidence. I'm not going to sugar-coat it, but I'll be as diplomatic as possible. If someone brings something up and asks me to comment on it, I'm going to comment on it if I have a valid opinion based on facts and experience...for them to be insulted by my point of view is completely their problem...and to be honest, it's a bit thin-skinned and childish.
So, if I'm simply generalizing that the state of modern American society as a whole is failing, and that it's the fault of we Americans ourselves, I'll be happy to debate points to the contrary. Politics, social issues, economics, education, health care, quality of life, all these things are what I base my statements on. I am/was affected by every single one of them. Americans had better wake up, because the stereotype is quickly becoming the truth.
The rest of the world thinks we're a bunch of uneducated, obese, willfully ignorant and overrated dicks, and normally we would just give everyone the finger for it, but we really can't anymore because we're proving them right. I'm not angry because of what they say; I'm angry because they may be right.
