The Brits are not pleased with him either
The Fowler story started to move across the atlantic. Here is a short list of newspapers in the UK:
US 'Wife Swap' Briton becomes hate figure after calling woman 'redneck'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/4743304/US-Wife-Swap-Briton-becomes-hate-figure-after-calling-woman-redneck.html
TV Brit's death threats
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/02/22/tv-brit-s-death-threats-115875-21142631/
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/guy-adams-one-englishman-the-us-doesnt-like-1632283.html
The most hated man in the US
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-most-hated-man-in-the-us-1628959.html
Wife Swap contestant is internet hate figure
http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news/north-east-news/2009/02/22/wife-swap-contestant-is-internet-hate-figure-79310-22980082/
US 'Wife Swap' Briton becomes hate figure after calling woman 'redneck'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/4743304/US-Wife-Swap-Briton-becomes-hate-figure-after-calling-woman-redneck.html
TV Brit's death threats
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/02/22/tv-brit-s-death-threats-115875-21142631/
One Englishman the US doesn't like
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/guy-adams-one-englishman-the-us-doesnt-like-1632283.html
The most hated man in the US
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-most-hated-man-in-the-us-1628959.html
Wife Swap contestant is internet hate figure
http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news/north-east-news/2009/02/22/wife-swap-contestant-is-internet-hate-figure-79310-22980082/
I think we should encourage ABC to run the episode again ASAP and then as frequently as possible. Other than the ABC message boards, can anyone suggest some way to make that happen?
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I agree 100 percent. Fowler's behavior is an example of why America is going down the drain. God bless that woman from the midwest who put up with his BS for a week.
If people who are self-proclaimed "geniuses" lack basic human common courtesy, they honestly need to examine their lives and make ammends to their creator and stop to consider what life is really about.
I hope the Fowlers lose everything, and learn a lesson from this!
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Morbidly fascinating story.
I understand everybody's under a 1-year ban on talking to media, per the contract with ABC.
I'm betting that, at the year mark, only a tiny few will remember this guy. But is anyone looking forward to seeing if, and how, Fowler (and/or the others) finally talk in public?
For example, I envision a People Magazine piece: "My Year of Internet Hell". I think it would be quite interesting to find out what kind of life changes and/or counseling people are getting. Maybe lessons will be learned after all.
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I don't appreciate the article stating that often the blogs are unprintable. I didn't find that. I think they're insinuating we're a bunch of poorly spoken, low-class people. The Telegraph is their least elitist paper, I thought, too!
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I think they meant some of the language was *#$%^!! type unprintable (offensive) - not a judgement on grammar.
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Home truths and a few put-downs delivered in a British accent is what this is all about.
Reality TV is not reality. How difficult is it for people to understand that?
(As for papers picking up the story - a lot of space to fill every day ...)
ps my last post was edited.
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hey damo, or should I say stephen? if this is all such a non-issue how come your wife has written an apology for herself and yourself and has publicly announced that you should seek "professional help". Have you had your first session of anger management already?
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We're not talking about a few put-downs. We're talking about personal attacks and verbal abuse. If you don't grasp the difference, dear Damo, you're either Stephen Fowler or you might as well be.
The issue isn't what accent he (you) spoke in, it's the abuse that got heaped upon somebody who didn't deserve it. The issue is that those children are being abused through ritual sleep deprivation, overwork and impossible standards, and they're being taught to be abusers by a heartless father who encourages their snobbish abusive behavior with praise.
If you're not Stephen Fowler, stop imitating him to get attention, troll. One Fowler is bad enough. Two, if you thrown in his (abused and too much of a wuss to stand up for herself) wife.
If you are Stephen Fowler, you, sir are a fraud. You're a fraud as a human being and you're a fraud as a parent. The fact that you appeared on a show like Wife Swap and the fact that you'd even bother to troll a blog proves that you're nothing but an insecure imitation of the intellectual snob you claim to be.
I think I speak on behalf of most of the people here when I say GO AWAY. And I don't just mean from the blog. I mean from the country as well. Hell, leave the planet too, if you can swing it.
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I think it's really fucked up he has to drag his kids into it. I'm sure they never sat down with the kids and said, Daddy's gonna go live with another lady on a reality show, what do you think? Daddy's gonna do it anyway, so who gives a f what you think.
And when you go to school this week and all the other kids are snickering behind your back about what a douche your Daddy is, then please don't come whining to Daddy about it, he's got enough to worry about.
He sounds like a typical bad stereotype of the stiff-upper-prick English toff, actually.
And it IS a shame he gets to "represent" us locals, adding more fuel to the fires stoked nationwide as to just how whack we all are out West.
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Thank you average american for all publishing such a great site so fast. Tis what makes America so beautiful.
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By swallowing evil words unsaid, no one has ever harmed his stomach. ~Winston Churchill
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check this website:
http://mcnorman.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/famous-san-franciscan-stephen-fowler-worst-husband-evah/
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Ok, don't yell at me...but now I am starting to feel sorry for the guy. Yeah, he's a total douche, but he's not Hitler or Charles Manson...or Madoff.
I wish we could mobilize this sort of public outrage to combat really serious human rights violations (honor killings, female genital mutilation, genocide). Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing anybody for posting on this blog-- I think it was a public service letting people vent here and give Fowler a taste of his own medicine. I did my share of venting too after all!
But now I'm putting myself in his shoes for a second-- I know I've said or done really insensitive stuff I regret, lashed out at friends and loved ones, used cruel words, etc. But I'd be sad and devasted that based on those mistakes I became an object of universal hatred, public scorn, ridicule, and then had my apology rejected. I know the guy brought it on himself, but it kinda seems like overkill at this point...
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If Stephen or Renee Fowler regretted what they said or did, it would be a different situation. They aren't sad or devastated, and they haven't apologized. It's reached this point because they're absolutely devoid of any empathy for Gayla Long or anybody else they hurt and insulted with their pious words and unyeilding superiority complex.
They (and their defenders) are blaming everybody else for all of this backlash. Maybe if they stopped blaming everybody else and started taking on the responsibility for it themselves, theyd get somewhere toward putting it all to rest.
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I'm surprised The Telegraph mentioned the Facebook group, but not this website. Most articles DON'T mention the Facebook group, but mention this site. The name and existence of this site speaks volumes on the outrage, than some obscure Facebook group.
The article was written by their New York based reporter. That's absolutely poor reporting. I wonder if we can contact him and ask him about it. Could it be that the 'sucks' part is a no-no for their "high standards"?
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I wish I could believe that the lead-off line ("The Brits are not pleased with him either") is, in fact, accurate.
Unfortunately, while A FEW OF the Brits may have taken notice of Mr. Fowler and his comments, there don't seem to be any Brits at all who are in any way, shape or form "displeased with" either Mr. Fowler personally or with his comments.
I just ran a quick search on The Guardian newspaper's talkboard section. There is no mention of him whatsoever.
Mind you, this isn't exactly surprising. I previously stated that many Brits - and especially, MOST urban-dwelling London leftists - emphatically share and support Mr. Fowler's venomous and hateful views toward Americans in general and toward Americans living in rural areas of the Midwest and South in particular.
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...what he said.
Lived in London for 3 years. Never felt such hatred in my whole live-long life. Kept askin' me how many oilwells I had, thinkin' they was bein' cute. Hell, you shoulda seen their faces when I told 'em, "TWO, not countin' the one in the back yard!"
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Phil, and also travelin hick,
Both of you are playing the same game Stephen Fowler is and need to shut the F up. I'm an American living in London right now and have no patience for what either one of you are trying to do. Traveling hick, your name speaks volumes at how you most likely presented yourself to people while you were here. And 3 years, really if it was so bad why'd you stay. Either you actually DID like it OR you were only in it for the money, both of which makes you look a-lot like Stephen Fowler. Your name shows you, yourself, are interested in perpetuating stereotypes.
And Phil, you act as if one character from a reality t.v. show's antics should have the whole nation of Britain prostrate at your feet(as you personify yourself as America) begging for forgiveness cause they somehow mistook your overwhelming brilliance, a whole nation THAT NEVER EVEN HEARD OF THIS GUY or you either. Sorry to freak out your world view, but guess what, people in London, a city of 8 million, don't know or care enough about this Wife Swap to have a strong opinion one way or the other, they have their own lives. They have their own Wife Swap here, too. In fact the American show was farmed out from the UK, just like American Idol, the Office, Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, Supper Nanny, Survivor, all started in Britain. But they had to be changed in order to be shown in America, cause it was deemed Americans wouldn't want to see something too "foreign" on t.v.. Well plenty of American shows are hits in the UK w/o having to be re filmed first to fit the palette of the locals...
What conclusion could someone draw from that if they were looking to exploit overwrought national stereotypes and prejudices? In my experience the UK and the US are so similar it's scary, the only thing in between us having the same damn national personalities is CANADA.
Oh and traveling hick, "God Bless Obama" (wink wink, nod nod)
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Chris Woltman:
I suggest that you take your own advice and learn to shut the **** up, because you clearly have no idea WTF you are talking about.
You behave as though I based my opinion on one single individual (the revolting, reprehensible and in my opinion typically elistist Brit, Stephen Fowler).
If you had bothered to actually READ my earlier comments, you might have learned that I spent a number of years reading news articles and engaging in discussions on bulletin boards on "The Guardian", a Veddy British and decidedly left-of-center newspaper.
If you are really and truly interested in learning what actual Brits think of Americans, I suggest that you spend some time reading the comments made by Brits on "The Guardian's" bulletin boards. Their raw hatred for America and Americans is quite palpable and not the least bit "disguised" at all. It's very readily apparent.
Yeah, a few hit TV shows in the U.S. were based on and copied from similar shows in the UK. So f***ing what? Yeah, the original UK shows weren't offered on U.S. television networks. But it had utterly nothing to do with somebody worrying that "Americans wouldn't want to see something too 'foreign' on TV" -- that's a total crock.
The reason why the UK versions of those shows weren't shown on U.S. TV networks was because
(a) the actors and actresses in the UK shows had such thick British accents, hardly anyone in the U.S. would have been able to make out what the Hell they were saying or understand the dialogue -- and it's hard for a show to gain an audience, when the prospective audience can't even understand what's being said; and
(b) the actors and actresses in the UK shows used 'local' British slang and grammar -- words which, once again, would have been virtually incomprehensible to American audiences.
If you had ever bothered to actually pay close attention while watching a popular American TV series, you might have noticed that scripts, dialogue and even the tone and accents on American TV shows are deliberately written using very generic English -- they don't use any kind of colorful local 'slang' or 'lingo'.
That's because they're intended for a wider English-speaking audience, whether that audience is in America, Canada, Britain, Hong Kong or India.
That's why you don't see many shows on television in the U.S. in which characters speak with a southern U.S. accent, unless the accent is itself intended to be part of the humor (i.e. redneck jokes).
Get a clue, dude.
Sorry to freak YOUR world view out, but the exact same Brits whom you claim never even heard of Stephen Fowler and whom you state don't particularly care or have an opinion because they have their own lives, have utterly no problem with memorizing reciting and reprinting the words of whatever American living in the Midwest or South whom they think "proves" their world-view that America is some kind of brutal nightmarish place inhabited by violent primitives.
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