top gear in Alabama

[SLO-BOB]

Originally posted by berettafan
Watch it the dagriff or we'll come up to your neighborhood and....and............LITTER!

Funny you should say that. Last time I was in Toronto, I was appalled to see a number of people just toss litter out of their cars on to the street. I thought that was a capital offense in Canada.

[Nostril Cheese]

Originally posted by Racerbvd
I keep hearing how tolerant europe is, yet back in the 80s, when I was still chasing championship points on my BMX bikes, I was invited to a championship race known as the "Worlds", it traveled around the globe each year, and would take the top 10 in each class. I went to England, and one day a few of us were riding our bikes, not being rowdy, loud or rude, we were wearing our Team USA shirts. Most people were very nice, and I had a great time, but there were a few old people who went out of their way to tell us they didn't likes Yanks there and we weren't wanted, it didn't sit very well when we told them we were invited.

+1

I have NEVER felt more unwelcome than in London. Everywhere I went, people pretty much went out of their way to tell me how much they hated Yanks.

[Racerbvd]

Originally posted by svandamme
this thread however is about Alabama and how it's apparantly dangerous to drive around with slogans about general things on yer car..because of rednecks calling "the boys" and takign care of bidness
and how that is apparantly something that ticks off the rural general population ( i say general , because they are apparantly not enough of a minority to not find em on your tail real fast) and don't go saying that this is a not general trend, because afterall, several Americans from Those parts have indicated, they wouldn't have the balls to do it , simply because it IS to dangerous...

I would say staged, as if the lady had really called The Boys and a pick up truck loaded showed up good ole boys would have axe handles & baseball bats, they wouldn't be throwing rocks, they would be swinging the bats. It isn't that those in the area don't have the balls to pull such a stupid stunt, just just aren't stupid enough to do that. Next time you are in Cali, paint Rap Sucks, MLK was a commie, you are in jail, because you belong there on your Turbo look and let us know how that goes!!

[dagriff]

Originally posted by SLO-BOB
Little late foor the punchline eh?

consider where Canada would be without the United States along most of it's southern border.

Warmer & closer to Mexico ?

[SLO-BOB]

Originally posted by dagriff
Warmer & closer to Mexico ?

Lol! That would certainly be an improvement!

[Dueller]

OK...I went back and watched the whole episode. In context, the alabama piece was more humorous. Sophomoric but funny. Why? The whole show was based on how goofy the TG crew was trying to be. In many ways it was a parody of themselves as strangers in a strange land. As far as their car shopping exploits, how goofy are their choices of vehicles. A clapped out Camaro RS called a "muscle" car? SHEESH! I can see a group of U.S. college students doing a similar sequence of "Let's buy a POS old car for under $1000 and take a road trip on spring break and goob the locals and film our exploits."

That being said, MUCH of the show was staged... it had to be to punch up the entertainment factor. C'mon...searching for roadkill for dinner? A cow on top of the Camaro? Buying cars in the Miami 'hoods? And what a pu$$ the host was when he was saving the "tortoise" (or box turtle as we like to call them). He was downright effeminate.

As far as the Alabama sequence being almost totally staged? Look at the "escape" sequence footage. In their desparate race for their lives, what are the chances the film crews captured a perfectly framed shot of their shadows in their frightened run for survival.

The one thing that did offend me was the commentary upon their arrival in NOLA to the effect of criticizing Americans for not doing anything to help Katrina victims. Perhaps it was a personal affront as I have made many volunteer trips to do my little part in the recovery effort as have countless others. The devastation was so extreme that its hard to see the progress for someone who wasn't there a week after the storm.


Like I say, in context the show was humorous. At least they refrained from a bunch of buggery jokes the Brits love so much.

[Craig 930 RS]

The UK remains a divided, class-ridden society.
The actions in the video only furthers that reputation of snobbery and divisiveness.

That atitude is evident in the TG show, as funny as it is at times.

Where are all the UK guys? - come on, respond to this discussion...

[berettafan]

Originally posted by Craig911
The UK remains a divided, class-ridden society.
The actions in the video only furthers that reputation of snobbery and divisiveness.

That atitude is evident in the TG show, as funny as it is at times.

That attitude is most evident in the portion of the show where the hosts are in the studio and the audience is present.

At least to me it seems that way.

[Craig 930 RS]

I'd even go so far to say that the UK seems to be a frustrated, downtrodden, overtaxed & oppressive country.

[Dueller]

Well, I guess it would not have been as nearly entertaining had the Brits looked for what they had in common with Southerners. For example, my mother did her doctoral thesis in linguistics and found that the southern accent is very similar to the British accent.

And of course, green toothed peckerwood rednecks have almost identical attitudes as the English of all social classes toward dental hygiene.

[Stanley]

James May wrote about their time in Alabama on his blog.

Sweet home Alabama?

Posted by James May at 10:10AM on Tuesday 13 February, 2007 8 Comments

James MayThat bit in our American Holiday Video where we were attacked by the rednecks in the Alabama petrol station: I realise now that I should have seen it coming.

We'd been warned by some American modernists - i.e. Californians - that the southerners wouldn't take kindly to any of our light mockery of the things they hold dear - Bush, heterosexuality, NASCAR, Country and Western, short hair...

But I never really believed they would take it quite that badly.

But then, earlier that day I had stopped at another petrol station and looked at the selection of T-shirts on sale to the locals. One proclaimed 'God, pick-ups and beer' with a picture of a Dodge like Hammond's on it. Another sported some legend about the right to bear arms.

And yet another depicted the Confederate flag and a picture of, er, General Stonewall Jackson. I think this may have been a vital clue to the mentality of the hicks.

Wasn't Jackson a general from the civil war? And didn't he die from complications resulting from the amputation of his arm after he was inadvertently shot by his own men?

And, more importantly, wasn't all this rather a long time ago? And what's with the confederate flag? Do they still lament the abolition of slavery or something?

It's been pointed out to me that the old flag, rather than standing for a discredited set of social and political values, is now just a fanciful graphic.

The Dukes of Hazzard, after all, had one on the roof of their car, and no one thought it was in any way distasteful. It was just the good ol' boys from the South being sentimental about their roots.

And that seemed like a fair comment. I like a sense of history as much as anyone. But then something else occured to me.

I've never met anyone in Europe wearing a swastika T-shirt.

http://www.topgear.com/blogs/planettopgear/027-sweet-home-alabama/

[stevepaa]

Originally posted by Nostril Cheese
+1

I have NEVER felt more unwelcome than in London. Everywhere I went, people pretty much went out of their way to tell me how much they hated Yanks.

-1 just the opposite experience. What did you do to get that response?

[scottbombedout]

Originally posted by Craig911
The UK remains a divided, class-ridden society.
The actions in the video only furthers that reputation of snobbery and divisiveness.

That atitude is evident in the TG show, as funny as it is at times.

Where are all the UK guys? - come on, respond to this discussion...

Hya Craig just in from work, I'll have my dinner and then lay into you rednecks again

[berettafan]

I don't suppose you'll be having..............




AND MORE

[stevepaa]

I think this is over dramatized, but it is the South. It is the South I saw two years ago in Birmingham, it is the South from 15 years ago in Georgia.


Just like the "Whites only" sign I made mention of in a different post, this too shall pass. Things have gotten much better than 36 years ago when I first experienced the South, but they will change in their own time frame and will go kicking and biting if dragged.



They missed their chance to really display hostility, Just put a circle with a line through it over the confederate flag.

[svandamme]

Originally posted by berettafan
I don't suppose you'll be having..............




AND MORE

nothing British about SPAM ... it's a US product

[Moses]

Originally posted by svandamme
nothing British about SPAM ...

I beg to differ.

[scottbombedout]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by scottbombedout
Yawn, late for 2 world wars

Typical sentiment expressed by a young and thankless generation who weren't there and know dick.

and early for the 3rd?

Uhhh, well ya got us there. When are your boys gonna join the fight?

Russia would have seen off the Germans on there own eventually. I think the debt has been repaid with Korea, 2 Gulf Wars and the halting of Communism .
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bob, missed this one last night.

I served in the British Army.
My Dad served in the British Army.
My Grandad was killed in August 1944 serving in the British Army.
My Great Grandad was gassed in the first world war while serving in the British Army.

So I am not part of the thankless generation who knows dick.

And now my oldest wants to join up when he is older!

Worse thing ever was when we let you lot have your independence. One of my relatives was probably serving then as well

[svandamme]

Originally posted by Moses
I beg to differ.

well it's based on a big loathing of US Made SPAM... not on a big love for the stuff..

[berettafan]

Knight- What does a Brit wear?
Peasant- Black socks with shorts!
Knight- And what does a Brit eat?
Peasant- Spam!
Peasant 2- So if he wears black socks with shorts and eats spam, he's a Brit!
Knight- And what do we do with Brits?
Peasants (all)- Laugh at them!