On Sun, 25 Jan 2004 13:03:50 GMT, Jaques d'Alltrades
wrote:

from Frogleg contains these words:

We're not *all* hopeless, you know. Nor are all of you. :-)

I wasn't suggesting you were all hopeless. We rather enjoyed the company
of our guest. At the same time though, there was the a fellow at the
other end of the scale.

Typical cartoon of everyone's idea of a Texan - everything was bigger
and better there. There wasn't any malice in him, he was just a rancher
(yes, really a rancher) who was superproud. Nothing wrong with that, but
he had a habit of putting his foot in it with an ill-turned phrase.

regretfully snip another amusing story

Yeah, but...having an over-large mouth isn't a characteristic
exclusive to any one nation. I realize it's more, um, interesting or
notable when it's a foreigner. Particularly if the behavior can be
related to some popular stereotype. However, Americans seem to be a
free-for-all target. Many say Americans all enjoy this or behave like
that, while few would *dare* to write "all Irish or Italians are..."

I'm sorry to be so sensitive, but I *do* get tired of persistant
slanging about the manners, speech, habits, food tastes, and general
alertness of "Americans," and being accused of blind chauvinism when I
beg to differ. (Not that *you* have, but some do.)

OTOH, having grown up in New Mexico, I'm free to go on at length about
how awful Texans --- all Texans of any stripe whatsoever -- are. :-)