User blog comment:KatDWolf/I wonder..../@comment-2004850-20100516192735

Agree. I'm still not sure how the French fanbase takes France's nature. Though, I've never seen him described the same way that that Armenia OC was, and the two situations are quite different.

I agree about South Africa; with the US, we have some different cultures and backgrounds and ancestry, but there is still this unified feeling. America could easily have interests, quirks, clothing, and foods from each state, and could reference them whenever. From what I've learned about South Africa, there seems to be a huge gap between some groups and social classes; just look at the 1995 rugby tournament (also detailed in the film "Invictus") and the South African Animal Cops series. Things are improving, of course, but there's still a way to go.

I'll check out Rose Island. Micronations are all-around pretty interesting.

I get annoyed by it too; my basic thought process is "okay, we're doing really well with this. Now, let's work on this!". A country will always have flaws. At the same time, I don't think hatred towards the US as a country, or its citizens, is warranted. American super-nationalism isn't any better or worse than Canadian or Finnish super-nationalism, y'know? I think my problem with some of the anime fandom is that they don't realize that Japan isn't some ultra-awesome country who accepts everyone and goes above and beyond to ensure rights, as if Japan is better than everyone else. I have issues with their current situation regarding animal rights and abuse, as well as dog fighting. Also, gays and other groups aren definitely not accepted throughout Japan. I'm not saying it's a bad place to live (though I've heard that work is extremely time-consuming), but it's not this godly country where everything is perfect and better than the US, UK, Canada, etc.

Wow, I was out all night and had no idea that that had happened...It's sad...Though, I honestly don't know much about the situation surrounding it, or if the Thai government truly is having huge corruption problems. If the third Hetalia volume is printing, it's probably too late to do anything if Thailand has been added. Hopefully nothing bad will come of it.

It is a bit funny...I'd be fine having a discussion with a non-fan if they were articulate and didn't call me an idiot for liking a series. I agree that there is a definite line between bashing and criticizing. And there is no place for bashing here.

(random thought: Netherlands is referred to as Holland here, but all the scans and many/most fans have been using Netherlands, which is the official name of the country. Do you think there should be discussion about changing it?)