Who sez we are Anti-Americans?

[struggle4progress]

I READ with great interest the extensive (very extensive) interview by editor Paget deFreitas with US Ambassador Sue Cobb .... Among the many things of which she spoke, I was drawn to ... the perception of American tourists that there is growing "anti-Americanism" here.
<snip>

There have always been people who have a problem with the "attitude" of Jamaicans. At one time, there were even those who thought we were uppity to promote ourselves as "More than a beach: we're a country".
<snip>

Despite a view that we're undereducated and over-preoccupied with violence, we happen to be a people who have always been alert to other matters, like world events. Our views are not going to be always what some people would like to hear, but we reserve the right to think for ourselves, and that we do. If that is what is the basis of the current perception of Anti-American, then somebody should tell our guests that they are missing a very big boat.

Some visitors have been known to read anti-Americanism into the fact that Customs and Immigration officers do not smile and sing the "Banana Boat Song" in welcome. That has always been a burden for the tourist industry. However, I would've thought that, by now, everybody in the world had come to recognise that Customs and Immigration are the guardians of national borders and not mere hospitality hosts. While this does not preclude civility, they should not be judged by the "smile test".
<snip>

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/html/20040610T230000-0500_61062_OBS_WHO_SEZ_WE_ARE_ANTI_AMERICANS_.asp


Apparently the US Ambassador to Jamaica Sue Cobb has accused Jamaicans of being anti-American. I wonder if Cobb got an international diplomacy degree from one of those mail order colleges ...

[DIKB]

1. Once they lose accreditation

all you have to do is dial 1-800-DIPLOMA