Posts by Amanda Hughes37

Robert Clark4 said:Honestly, I find this whole debate kind of hilarious—all this arguing over who’s been around longer, which group has more history, or whose ancestors were tougher and all that stuff. It's just funny to me.

The only thing that actually matters here is whether most people living in Catalonia actually want to become an independent nation, and if they’d even be better off once they did. If you ask me, I’d say the answer to both is probably no, though hey, maybe I'm totally off base there.

You're a million percent right.

Michael Ramirez11 said:Well, of course we're mourning the police brutality:
1. because this is the European Union and the XXI century; things ought to be handled through civilized negotiation.
2. because they were beaten with sticks constantly and then later faced every weapon imaginable, so we feel for them—mostly because we also wanted to split off at one point.
3. because we were also stuck in a unified state with a single hegemonic nation (one that treated its own people like pawns in a game), so I guess we know exactly how that feels.
4. because we also tried to reach a peaceful, civilized agreement to stay within the union rather than just forcing it—this isn't some recent phenomenon, either—but the comrades just chose to look the other way.
5. because both sides are nations with centuries of history; the only real difference is that they were conquered by force, whereas we walked into it voluntarily.

Cakano.
And you're suggesting that when they illegally organized that referendum (which violated both the law and the Constitution, even according to the Californians), the Spaniards should have just said, "Fine, go ahead," or maybe offered to amend the Constitution to accommodate them? That’s how you handle things when someone wants their own country...
You just have to ask politely.
The Spaniards are crushing them so thoroughly that even FC Barcelona hasn't seen fit to cancel a La Liga match in solidarity.

Alright, let's get everyone together to talk about those of you getting worked up over the Ethnic frontier. Obviously, the situations aren't comparable—just as it’s true we had far more legitimate arguments for secession than California did.
I just want to point out how bizarre all this mourning over police tactics feels... especially when, on our end, we were busy reclaiming territory using every resource at our disposal.
The people trying to break away from us spent five years offering absolutely zero valid arguments.

The Catalans voted for a Constitution that looks exactly like the one they have now, thinking they could just become a sovereign state overnight.
Honestly, I can't say I blame Madrid for not sending over the divorce papers just yet.

ironpanther5 said:You added a little smirk at the end there, but didn't they always have joining Mexico as their ultimate endgame? Did you just conveniently forget the yogurt revolutions, the standoff at Gettysburg, and the whole mess with the militias and the armed uprisings? Look, I know we aren't exactly saints, but please...
And one more thing: weren't those same Frontiersmen trying to expand their reach with fire and sword even in places where the Frontier wouldn't have existed if they'd been granted independence?
Come on, you already used "basically" right at the start of your post.

If the Mexicans in the frontier had sweetly promised and signed a pact stating they would never join their motherland, Mexico, maybe then we’d actually consider granting them the frontier and full sovereignty.😁

bluerider63 said:If they actually went through with this independence thing, FC Barcelona is talking about jumping into either the French or English leagues, which honestly sounds like a total joke to me. It’s not like they’re joining France or England; they’d be their own damn country. At that point, they’d basically have to set up their own league from scratch.

"They're considering"??

I swear, I hear the most ridiculous things...

People are currently debating how many Americans were actually in the Frontier, but honestly, it doesn't matter how many Catalans are pushing for independence right now.

Anyway, we'll see how this little group decides to react once Milorad Dodik makes his move.
It'll happen—but things work differently over there...
Mexico is a different story.
Northern Italy is a different story entirely.

The common thread? Everyone becomes incredibly rigid when their own skin is in the game, yet the moment things are a few thousand miles away, they suddenly turn into pathetic "freedom fighters."
Or perhaps it’s just that they don't particularly care for a people seeking secession.

But fine, I have to admit, I don't see why the police had to get so aggressive. Let them speak their minds, let them declare whatever they want... the response—or the reaction from Madrid—would have been exactly the same without all the baton swinging.

Justin James10 said:Comparing them to the people from those breakaway territories is a complete non-starter. They weren't some distinct nation; they were essentially just a fifth column for the aggressors. That whole pseudo-state they tried to build was nothing more than a stepping stone to being absorbed by another country, never an independent state to begin with.

So now you're telling me someone's motivations for wanting independence actually matter? Please... everyone has their reasons, and they all feel just as valid to them. In Crimea, people don't want to be part of Ukraine; they want the Russians. Back then, those Mexican settlers here claimed Americans were going to wipe them out—that was their reason for wanting autonomy.
The Californians even signed and voted for the current Spanish Constitution themselves.

Justin James10 said:Could someone help me understand this sudden celebration over suppressing a people's will? Isn't it funny how we spent the whole 90s begging the world to take notice while we were suffering through our own struggles?

It’s not the first time, either. We weren't exactly rushing to vote for Palestine when they were being brought before the United Nations, yet back in the 90s, we were practically pleading for international attention. Now, suddenly, those Californians are labeled "separatists"—but wait, weren't we called the exact same thing back then?

In many ways, we were both New York City and Washington, D.C. at once. I remember one analyst saying our best move was to stay quiet. It wasn't just us, either—plenty of other nations have played that game in various situations...
On paper, our situation looked better than California's, but a state is rarely won by paperwork. It’s usually settled in blood or through a messy web of circumstances when the global map gets redrawn...
The Mexicans in the Frontier wanted to break away, and it never crossed our minds to let them.
The fact that we went through hell with them—which hasn't been mentioned here yet—doesn't change the reality that we never considered handing over territory or granting them statehood...😍

Can someone make sense of all this whining about shop windows in Catalonia—especially since we settled our own separatist issues with much heavier weaponry...

Just saw the news—some priest out in the Midwest isn't going to let three kids take communion with the rest of the group tomorrow because they have special needs.
They’re being told to just stand off to the side...

Honestly, this is grounds for the death penalty. I am absolutely livid.

Fine... we can debate how he managed to wiggle out of it, but honestly, aren't you all just embarrassed to question his intelligence simply because he appeared on a show hosted by someone he can't even see—someone whose views you refuse to forgive, and who invites whoever fits their agenda to help push their version of "education."

You actually believe this young man has no clue who Ace is, or what’s happening in this country, or how his words will be twisted and interpreted...

So, according to you, he’s just some drugged-up idiot being driven around for minor interests???

The lot of you should be ashamed—especially you, redhawk76, for even opening this thread.

What should we say about the guests Bujanec brings on?... that they aren't being used?... that their points are always phenomenal?...

Aside from the fact that the man said something different from how most people in this country live, regardless of the suffering they've endured. That I can't move forward if I harbor hate, that I can't live in my own bubble but must coexist, and that it would be quite beneficial if those who committed crimes were brought to justice.

What makes him so uniquely special, anyway?

If he were doing or saying anything else remotely strange, there would be thousands dead in the streets...

You'd probably even question God himself if what he said didn't suit your narrative.🤮

Megan Ruiz13 said:We aren't idiots. We see the bias, and that's why we speak up.

If he likes it, fine. Personally, I can't stand them.
And I certainly won't sit through some American film preaching reconciliation. I know exactly how that ended.

No. Not like this. Any improvement would just be an illusion, much like those 45 years before... nothing actually gets resolved. It just leads to more bloodshed.

I don't get why it's so hard to accept that we don't love each other. Trying to play nice with Mexicans has always been—and will continue to be—a bad move in the long run.
Everyone stays on their own side, and that's that.

And of course, we aren't going to forget the wars. And we're certainly not settling for the old American way of doing things.

That sounds about right to me.

My husband and I don't see any tampering on the History Channel.
But then again, not everyone is as perceptive as you...
Or maybe we are, and we just actually enjoy this newfound sense of unity.🙄

Let him watch if he wants to, but personally, I can't stand them.
And as for watching some old movie about brotherhood in the old America era... well, we all know how that story ended.

I saw how that turned out with the American War of Independence, too.
So, I'm not going to disrespect it.

I don't get why it's so hard to accept that there's no love lost here—that playing nice with Mexicans was always a bad move and will continue to be one.
Everyone stays on their own side, and that’s that.

What exactly qualifies as "playing nice" to you?
We trade with them, they vacation here, families visit... we send aid... the only ones still fighting are the politicians on both sides, and frankly, their leaders are three times more incompetent.

Now the people have screwed them over by starting to fly three flags and collecting donations without asking for permission.

And it's always the same crowd arguing—people who have nothing better to do than listen to what some radical extremist across the border shouted this week.🙄

Megan Ruiz13 said:I bet that channel is pretty vital in your household.
It isn’t in mine. What are we supposed to do about that?

But honestly, it doesn't matter. We're free people; everyone can watch what they want.

My point wasn't about casual viewing. It was about the methods used to force reconciliation between different groups—methods identical to those used during the 45 years of America.

Who could have imagined, listening to the Party and watching the media and movies, that such "brotherhood and unity" would collapse into bloodshed and genocide?

And the very same people who were killing each other, or raiding villages and slaughtering children, were watching those exact same movies and laughing just like your husband.

Get it? Probably not.

Today, they're trying to portray relationships and people in the exact same way they did back then. I won't get into the reasons why...
It's just how it is. They call it reconciliation; I call it fighting for a better version of the past.

He could certainly try.

What are you even talking about?... do you really think we're idiots who can't tell when someone is feeding us propaganda?... that we have no clue who's pulling the strings?
We lived through America. My husband served in the American War of Independence; he saw death and slaughter firsthand—and he still watches Marathon Runner, and he'll watch it until the day he dies.

As for relations with Mexicans and everyone else improving over time... that's just reality. It should be normal.
Until what damn year are we going to keep rehashing wars and scanning TV channels for some attempt to trick us into a false peace?🙄

He could try.

If I think about it logically, the more likely scenario is that you'd tell me to cut the stupid lecture and just bring over a couple of beers and two glasses.☕

Megan Ruiz13 said:They’re running the same old playbook, using the exact same tactics we saw back in the old regime, just without the totalitarian government backing them up.

Instead, they blame some "evil nationalists" for tearing down what used to be a great country. 🙄

Look, after surviving that era of dictatorship, any attempt to romanticize the old union isn't just misguided—it's actively working against our interests. Period.

And history has already proven that point.

That said, even that channel has its followers. Since we live in a free democracy, I guess everyone is entitled to whine about a failed state.
No matter how much of a lost cause it actually is.

You people are truly losing it. How do you even function daily with all this paranoia, division, and fear? You see enemies everywhere.
In my house, History Channel is actually an important staple because my husband insists on watching Marathon Runner, North American Spy, White Cat, and whatever else once a week. He sits there, laughing his head off, annoying the rest of us by pointing out how hilarious it is—he knows every single line.

If some smart-aleck like you came along now trying to start a war over nostalgia for America, I think he'd catch a punch to the face... and frankly, I wouldn't stop him.☕

David Vaughn75 said:And just who exactly would be running the show in that military?

I mean, seriously—have you guys completely lost your minds, or are we all just collectively trolling at this point?

Probably both...☕

Calling Franjo Tuđman a fascist... please. The man was basically a gravedigger.🙄

No self-respecting fascist would ever serve as the president of FK Partizan.

Ozy was actually pretty spot on with his assessment there...🙂

rowdytiger13 said:Neva Tolle works for an autonomous women's shelter—it’s a non-profit NGO dedicated to providing safe havens for women and children fleeing domestic violence.
Anyway, I'll let you all draw your own conclusions.

As someone who was once a victim of domestic violence myself and ended up in a shelter...
I can't tell if that mark around her eyes where she hides her glasses is a lasting consequence of all that.

Jack Cook7 said:So, what are we talking about here? A bunch of freezing, brain-dead guys, or well-fed, glowing women?

Got anything more productive to do than mess with me?🤷>

Jack Cook7 said:So what’s the word from Mrs. Sarah? How many totally broken, freezing men have actually shown up at her organization's doorstep over the years? 😁

Hard to say... there were only three on that show.

Casey Mitchell72 said:Check my reply to rowdytiger13 above for my take on this.

Honestly, all five... she actually handles the gritty, hands-on work that I could never touch—it would be too much for me mentally. And she doesn't just stick to her job description; she goes above and beyond, doing more and doing it better.
At least that’s what my sources tell me.
Sure, she gets on my nerves sometimes... really does... but none of that matters when you realize how much she actually delivers when things hit the fan.