Absolut Nut

It's amazing how much resentment a simple drawing can whip up. At Smirnoff they can't believe their luck!

The Americans are pissed off. They're really very angry. And it's not because of a war, a terrorist attack or anti-Yank demonstrations somewhere in the Middle East. Nor has it anything to do with their own internal economic turmoil or even human rights in Tibet. No. The reason why they're so mad is a vodka advert. One that displays a pre-1848 map of Mexico - back to when it incorporated chunks of the current United States.

Little did they know at Absolut that their ad was to turn out the ultimate taunt, a cardinal sin worth the mother of diplomatic rows. You simply can't count the number of forums like this one where all sort of abuse is being hurled at the Mexicans. "Hands off our land", "beaners", "people who don't like their trabajo" and other Mexican-hating gems sat gently alongside calls to "nuke the fuckers". Many even pledged to stay off Absolut vodka for ever. At Smirnoff they can't believe their luck!

The amount of repressed anger that is being unleashed is difficult to comprehend for us limp-wristed Europeans. But it will probably ring familiar to those Islamic fundamentalists who, a couple of years ago, threatened to raise Denmark to the ground because of a comic strip. God and Land, God and Land. Territorial pissing and supernatural worship. It's amazing how much resentment a simple drawing can whip up, the kind that was run of the mill in the days of the Neanderthal and that never went away.

[This picture was brought to our attention by our friend Adam from Wisconsin who was keen to point out that he is ashamed and that not all Americans are like those Gringos].