Apparently Lauren Upton is one of the 20% of Americans who don’t own maps. Or something.
From the Miss Teen USA Pageant (24 August 2007):
“Recent polls have shown a fifth of Americans can’t locate the U.S. on a world map. Why do you think this is?â€
Miss South Carolina, Lauren Caitlin Upton:
“I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uhmmm, some people out there in our nation don’t have maps and uh, I believe that our, I, education like such as uh, South Africa, and uh, the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and I believe that they should, uhhh, our education over here in the US should help the US, uh, should help South Africa, it should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future, for us.â€
Meh, I’d say cut her some slack. She’ll get mocked enough already, and she’s obviously just nervous and trying to anticipate the “correct” answer. If anything, blame the contest for favouring this sort of completely insincere philanthropy.
How stupid can you be ?
Proof that these contests are fraudulent and inane.
Lauren Upton you are a dolt.
You represent all that is wrong in this world and you are a shining example of the moranic thinking that dominates this planet.
Shame on you.
We are all ( the Universe ) dumber for listening to you answer.
In your search for fame, all that you will be famous for is being an idiot.
Congratulations.
Hoi Poloi
I am a college instructor and that is about par for the course these days. She will probably graduate with a degree by answering multiple guess answer tests, or memorizing the material.
She obviously had rehearsed and praticed the “wolrld peace” speech. When she was asked to “think” she couldn’t. I really don’t know why the contest expects them to be intelligent, noone else does.
I think Svengalli hits the nail on the head! It couldn’t be said any better.
Looks – 10
Brains – 0
As an educator and as an American, Miss South Carolina is the epitome of what this nation LACKS more frequently than not: common sense & an ignorance of what the heck is going on in the world outside our borders. Her response is representative of the ignorance that permeates.. from the top-down. Unfortunately, this is from the bottom-up… so “bottoms-up” Miss Teen. You’ve got some work to do!
No,no,no…forget the “education in this country” nonsense.
This girl is beautiful,and there is no nothing more important than being a beautiful girl.
She will either become a supermodel,actress or just marry a millionaire.
It’s just funny how nature gave her all looks and no brains.
Let’s give the young lady a break, she was very nervous and she flubbed a question. Can’t we remember when we were young and made a mistake or got nervous and flubbed something? Were we all perfect when we were her age? She seems like a nice young lady and we should cut her some slack due to her young age and support her and laugh with her about it and say its ok…..
Mmmmmmmmmmm, that’s one good looking gal. I’d like to teach her a little geography.
she shows that people go for looks over brains she said she only heard like two words of questions so instead of just asking for the question again she though she could just bluff her way. well it didnt work and she show her self to be the loser she really is. and now she thinks she can redeem her self by answering same question. have her answer a new question then see how she can do…
Beauty X Brains = Constant
Hey Lauren, shake it off. No big cabumba. You are more famous now than the winner, whatever her name is. I think you are hot and I hope everyone will lay off of you soon. Public speaking kinda sucks. Don’t worry, be happy!!! Love ya.
T.A.Gionet and others proclaim themselves to be “educated” but they lack the common vocabulary and spelling concepts that are part of our communication. And yet they put down and dismiss this lovely and imbecilic creature…lol.
Your grammar, spelling and sentencing are appalling… as are your ideas. Go home and study a little more.. and please don’t try and educate any of my kids or my friends.
She is destined to become a stripper. Pole dancing is in your future. You can have a map of America on your g-string as you throw it into the crowd. Good luck with your career and please never speak again.
Most disturbing is that she and her fellow finalists were probably given the 5 questions ahead of time to prepare answers; they just didn’t know which of the five they would get asked. Effectively, this was her best go at a take-home test.
BTW, what is in South Africa? the maps or the US?
This video is almost as funny as all of the “idiots” trashing her. I seriously doubt if many of you have ever stood in front of a crowd and had to answer any question or ever held a microphone (your mr. microphone or local karaoke doesn’t count!) Yes, she flubbed it horribly, Yes it’s a STUPID STUPID cattle contest in the first place with ridiculous “world peace” questions. But to trash her personally? … now THAT is stupid. She will most likely achieve much more than most of you losers sitting behind your computers watching U Tube all day. I hate pageants probably more than the next guy but for many of these poor girls, it is a way of getting ahead in life. We all use what we have to make a living. If it’s looks?… then great… use it and good luck to you Lauren!
Dear Educators,
You two, inadvertently as it may have been, have proven your point…the problem here is the poor education that most young people receive.
To the “college instructor” … “no one” is two words. It is not “noone”. I certainly hope that you do not teach English.
To Svengalli the “educator”… you say that “Miss South Carolina is the epitome of what this nation LACKS… an ignorance of what the heck is going on in the world outside our borders.” So, according to you, Miss Upton is in touch with “what the heck is going on in the world.” Hmmm…
Have either of you ever heard of the expression “don’t throw stones…”? You two yourselves are the epitome of what this nation lacks: the self-restraint to refrain from criticizing without a basis to do so and the foresight to stop and think about what you want to say before you speak.
That being said, I do not mean to support Ms. Upton in anyway. She deserves to be embarrassed for being so unprepared and careless. While it does play a role, these kinds of mistakes can’t completely be blamed on poor education. If Ms. Upton cared to watch even 15 minutes of any news program, she would not be making such mistakes. Nervous or not, the only excuse for using the phrases “U.S. Americans” and “the Iraq” is a lack of concern for anything outside of your own happy world. Hopefully, this will be a wake-up call for Miss South Carolina.
Okay, I must admit that I really enjoyed her speech. It was a great way to introduce a section on world geography in one of the classes I teach!
Everyone who agrees that there is something seriously wrong with our education system, please do your part and volunteer as a tutor, big brother/sister with students in the schools in your area. We can all laugh but there are many “Laurens” out there who do not have a clue. We can throw stones or we can use the education we have to try to change the direction in which our students–those future Americans who will replace us in our places of work–is heading.
God bless!
My goodness. Three self-proclaimed educators, all functionally illiterate. No wonder the kids are ignorant.
I can teach her some Geography, first thing will cover is penisulas. If you don’t get that joke, you are as smart as Miss Upton.
Good night, US Americans!
Paris Hilton will be the death of this country.
The most disturbing thought is…
She DOES NOT represent the real uneducated america…
That IDIOT represents ineffective “private” education. Follow?
Don’t feel sorry for her. She was raised in private education and CHOSE not to learn!
That is VERY different than poor children who try to learn, that are upstaged due to social upheaval.
anybody care to venture an answer towards the original question – why americans cant find the US on the globe..that too a fifth of them..if that fact is true (somehow i doubt it), then she has definitely lived up to be the true american..lol :)
Whats the big fuss about.
Your have a President who doesn’t know where Pakistan, Afghanistan, or Iraq is on a Map.
This girl no matter how she sounds will go on to live a good life. Drive a better car, own a better house and breed more kids than half the guys and galls posting on this thread.
I see a playboy / penthouse center fold in her future.
Men prefer dumb blonde’s. They are the hottest.
I don’t know why some people are defending her. Its not like its a hard questions. There is no correct answer; the question is simply asking her what she think about the fact that 1/5 of americans can’t locate the US on the world map. Oh wait, the word “think” must have thrown her off.
Hello everybody, well, I believe that girl is an example of a youth with brain, she says “U.S. Americans” (in spanish Americano de los Estados Unidos) and all the people who lives in this continent is American by geography, the Mexicans, the Colombians, the Brazilians, the Argentinians, etc… is Americans, not only the people of the United States.
It´s very stranger the youth in the United States who says “U.S. Americans”, but it´s not bad, because they use the correct term.