Society & Politics

Is it time we build an Internet firewall and make the EU pay for it?

Let’s face it — when this forum was founded in Saint Louis, Missouri, way back in 2011, it probably wasn’t part of the founders’ vision to create an online Ellis Island for the world’s most passive-aggressive Europeans.

But here we are, thirteen years later, and GaG is overrun with international “visitors” who seem to treat every American opinion like it’s a war crime, not to mention make our our beloved president Donald J Trump look like a clown.

We’ve got them chiming in from Sweden — land of neutrality and Ikea furniture that breaks if you breathe on it — to lecture the rest of us on morality while he does his daily paperwork for a government that takes 60% of his paycheck.

Then the Brits (s) troll in, still bitter about the colonies, correcting our spelling like it’s 1776 again and they think adding a “u” to “color” gives them the moral high ground.

And don’t forget the Aussies, who spend half their time calling Americans dumb and the other half talking about their feral cat problem, something North Americans are intelligent enought o own guns for.

Now, I’m not saying all international users are bad. Some come here, respect our boundaries, and contribute in a meaningful way without demanding that we all bow before the altar of NHS, Eurovision, or soccer (oh excuse me, “football”). But, come on, there's a reason we left the Old World, and it wasn't to get criticized on the Internet.

But when you start to wonder if you’ve stumbled into the comments section of The Guardian or a UN climate summit, it’s time to ask:

Should anti-American visas be mandatory? Should we finally build a digital firewall — and make the EU pay for it?

Old World firewall
Old World firewall
Is it time we build an Internet firewall and make the EU pay for it?
Post Opinion