A few points... (and a massive apology for such a long post - it's very late on Friday night/morning and I've been drinking. Never an optimal time to post, so I don't blame you for not responding. I don't think there's much point since this has turned into a rant, rather than an attempt at a reasoned argument. It started off well enough - again my apologies - Shit,, we Brits do apologise a lot don't we? Sorry about that ;) )
The commander of the U.S.ship called the behavior "unprofessional"
Hardly an unbiased opinion is it? I've been in an aircraft (RAF Nimrod - not aircrew, was on a "'jolly'') that buzzed a Soviet submarine as a matter of routine (then dropped pingers as soon as it dived to show off that we were still detecting them) as we circled around it at wave top height as it moved around underwater.
Judging by the very many photographs of Soviet Commanders flicking the finger adorning the walls of the Squadron, this wasn't something they did just to impress me.
This is something every country does. Dick waving/flying the flag/show of force, call it what you will, we do it, they do it. It's not normally news, but now that Western governments can renew Russia as the worlds boogeyman again to distract from actions at home, obviously it gets saturation coverage in the western press.
Not many who make real- world decisions call us bullies.
Really? You really ought to diversify your news sources a bit. Surely you've been online long enough to have realised that the rest of the world doesn't share Americas views it's the great country it thinks it is. You don't really think it's because the world is jealous do you?
Pay more attention to whats said by world leaders in the UN about the behaviour of the US on the international stage and you'll realise what an absolutely naive statement that was that you made.
The US bullies with trade deals, threats of violence, secret abductions and prisons, support of rebels, basically everything that would meet any dictionary description of the term bullying.
I'm a Brit, I know it's not a pleasant feeling when suddenly people start pointing out your nations flaws (See every bad guy in a Hollywood movie or your average American Redditor on British history), but I accept it because what is said about our past is true for the most part. We're not the worlds only Superpower at the moment though, you are. And you don't get to be a Superpower by playing nice and you definitely don't get to pretend you aren't the worlds bully.
Sorry for the longer than intended post, but it irks me no end when I see the double standards on display. It's not in your best interests as a citizen to blindly follow how your government tells you to think. trust your countries news sources given how intertwined they are with your government.
The worst atrocities to happen to American citizens by your own government happened under the distracting influence of the Cold War (McCarthyism, Syphilis experiments, Project MKUltra, antiwar protest being killed by your national guard, the demonising of socialism), so it's not necessarily other countries that are going to be doing the suffering.
I'll stop now as I'm dangerously close to shouting "wake up sheeple" like a mad conspiracist, though unlike the former, the information I've said is all over the internet in credible sources.
We've already covered who was the real threat to world peace in the Cold War from an historical perspective, do you think the people at the time realised they were the bad guys? Or do you maybe think perhaps they blamed the worlds ills on the Soviets?
Well guess what, you're the one now living in these times. How do you think future historians will write about this period in your history?