News helicopters collide in Phoenix

[Bob Scott 7,721]

>Why do you live in Chile anyway if you don't mind me asking?It's where my employer decided I needed to be.>Do you get any grief for being an American down there?Not for being American. It's not really a question of getting grief, but rather seeing some common and ugly misperceptions people have about the US from watching our TV programming, and especially our news media.And it's not just here in Chile. A few years ago I was waiting for a connecting flight in Nairobi, having a beer at a little bar in the terminal corridor. There was a 13" B&W TV above the bar...and playing on it was none other than the Jerry Springer Show, with a couple of hideously overweight trailer-trashies (mother and daughter, or more aptly, cow and calf) throwing punches after the mother discovered her inbred daughter and fourth husband were making the most of their father-daughter outings or some-such. That's JUST what I want an african traveller to use as a basis of his opinion of American society.RegardsBob ScottATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VSantiago de Chile

[AWACS 12]

>>That's JUST what I want an african traveller to use as a basis of his opinion of American society.<>(mother and daughter, or more aptly, cow and calf)<

[John_Cillis 2,406]

Thanks Bob. That's why I placed the "sarcasm" warning, in my post as I know you would be the last to generalize over someone's race, creed etc... But I perceived your comments as generalizing over the media. I have lived outside of the U.S.--met my wife while living in Latin America. I've seen our country from both sides--actually from an even rarer perspective, as my Godfather was (God rest his soul) from Cuba and we spoke at length about how the U.S. was perceived. Surprisingly, he had a very open mind.My point is you just as you can't generalize about a race, you can't do that when it comes to a profession. My wife's job today is Media Relations Coordinator for one of the school districts here in Phoenix. She works with the media on issues that influence the Latino community. She has met and worked with the staff on Channel 3 and Channel 15, and the other stations here as well. If it was all about greed, they wouldn't donate their time to help communicate to the families in her district. They wouldn't waste airtime on "Amber Alerts". I grew up hearing "All Lawyers are Bad" believing it into adulthood. Until one donated an hour of his time knowing we were from out of town, helping my wife and I get her residency processed. We never saw him again, and trying to tell someone in Phoenix that some lawyer in Reno is responsible for my wife being able to stay in the country for the past dozen years--well, word of mouth wasn't what he was looking for as he knew we'd be long gone. He just wanted to help. I used to think Mortgage Brokers were Robber Barons, until one donated $2000 cash to pay our closing costs after I was called out of the country at close of escrow. I tried to pay him back and he refused. I was sad to see he passed on a few years back, much too young. But I know even some Morgage Brokers have a place in heaven.No profession is perfect, and thus I can't agree that those lives were wasted--I don't know what was in the minds of those aboard the choppers but I don't think it was just the thought of a scoop. What I can appreciate is the respectful way you responded. It's easy to disagree with someone when they articulate rather than attack...Take Care,John

[Guest PARADISE]

This is also what out Middle East friends see on their TVs. That and the ultra right wing TV media networks promoting their 'USA is holier than thou editorials' are causing a misconception of what the American public is really like. It makes it easier for fanatical groups to promote their hatred towards us ,(the western world), by showing this garbage and asking, "Is this what you want our society to become?"John M