My five seconds of fame

It was always going to happen.

I got obliquely referenced in "The Dice Tower" podcast, not for any interesting point I made on their forum, not for my achievements in board gaming, but for having a go at one of the hosts for being a flag waving yankee freak.

The host in question referred to the following as a "blasting". See what you think...

This is his little quote, regarding his irritation at his side, the Americans, being destroyed by his opponent playing as the French. The game in question is set in Napoleonic times, hence the different skills of the armies. Anyway, he brought up the perennial American asshole subject...

Furthermore, the French and British armies are rather balanced, and I remember the Americans whooping the British in the Revolutionary War.

OK, not a big deal, I know, but it caught me at a bad time.
My initial response:

Heh... I'm sure the American victory in the Revolutionary War was solely due to superior army skill and not the forty zillion other factors involved, not least the size of the forces involved.

In Europe the British and French armies were at a very similar level for hundreds of years before and then for years after the War you mention - hence why there was never a permanent victory for either side. In this sense I don't see a problem with the balance here.

So... to replicate the "whooping" you describe, the American army would just need to be increased in size. And get the French to help again.

Balance your flag waving with some humility, please.

A

Edit: Sorry for the overreactions.

So I sort of decide to say things, but went back to cross them out, to show they're a little bit of overreactions.

For the record, I didn't mean what I said as flag-waving. I was simply making a statement that was meant to support my thought that the armies shouldn't have been so far removed from each other in overall strength.

He apologised, and I decided to clarify a little further (as is my right) so he didn't think I was just being a jerk.

Thanks for clarifying your intent. I should clarify mine, since I am consistently coming over as short fused...

As for my use of the phrase "flag waving", I don't know how else to describe someone using the phrase "Whooping".

Especially given the factors involved were far more nuanced than that simplistic and factually questionable statement asserts.

Im sure you understand that and it was just an off the cuff statement, my reason to bring the whole thing up was that I would suggest that in fact the differential between the British and American armies in Manouevre, as you describe it, seems pretty accurate in the sense of a pitched battle between equally sized forces of that period in a hypothetical, neutral surrounding.

Thing is, no battles are ever that simple. I watched a game of Manouevre and I'm pretty sure it wasn't detailed as to supply lines and "campaign level" issues, so it is a purely skill based differential.

I think, like the British Empire did, the US is now finding out how hard it is to keep "allies" in foreign countries on your side with stretched supply lines and an apathetic parliament and populace.

To understand that I am not just being thin-skinned, how would an American feel if someone started talking about the Viet-Cong "whooping" the US army in Vietnam, or more relevantly, the North "whooping" the South in your Civil War?

Such talk would be inappropriate in any context. These things are never so simple as to sum up as a "whooping".

That's what I meant by humility. Whereas these things are in the past, we shouldn't fall into the trap of simplifying whole campaigns to serve our patriotic natures.

"Whooping" for me means Spurs beating Arsenal 5-1 in the cup, not the outcome of a horrific war of attrition, or the revolutionary war.

As I say, I'm not really trying to pick bones out of your off the cuff remark, but it caught me off guard, and I thought I'd explain my response further so you know I have actually got an opinion and aren't just trolling (since we keep disagreeing on things).

Was I an asshole here? I feel a bit embarrassed about the whole thing now. The internet is absolutely not the place to be tongue in cheek and the original intent of all my posts never come over.

A