5 ms·

How to Not Die in America

33 points by mortenjorck 9y ago

grawprog 9y ago
Ya everything I've personally seen in and read about America really makes it seem like a third world death hole. Driving across 3 states and 500 miles all I encountered for a good 300 out of those 500 miles were endless highways littered with anti-suicide and anti-crystal meth bill boards. Then in the distance...the great golden arches of the towering 100 foot tall McDonald's signs 50 miles in the distance, then the arby's, then maybe a burger king or a chevron. Then you get to the 'town' which consists of the above mentioned fast food places, 3-5 churches a gas station and houses. That's it. No grocery stores, no schools, no hospitals. Just that and endless farm fields for a hundred miles either way. I have a friend who lives in south east asia. She eats home grown fresh food for less than $10 a day. Has more reliable and cheaper internet than me, has better surroundings than me and other than occasional random power outages, seems to have a better quality of life than me and most people in America.
- danso 9y ago
  Were you on the interstate system (where most tall McDonalds signs are placed)? You probably wouldn't see too many schools.
  - grawprog 9y ago
    So that means the people living in these places don't matter? There were hundreds of houses in these places, enough for 4 churches. I asked people living there. They eat nothing but the crap that they sell at the gas station or fast food. These are real people...thousands of them in just the states I went through. Their quality of life is completely fucking abysmal. Living in these places would be like living in hell.
    - protomyth 9y ago
      Where was this?
      - RALaBarge 9y ago
        Not op, but indiana, missouri, ohio for sure fit this catagory.
        grawprog 9y ago
        Eastern Washington, Idaho, Montana,and Wyoming
        protomyth 9y ago
        There were hundreds of houses in these places, enough for 4 churches. I asked people living there. They eat nothing but the crap that they sell at the gas station or fast food. I really don't believe that statement in any of the places mentioned. Rural areas have a lot of food options other than fast food (heck, often fast food isn't available).
    - danso 9y ago
      I'm saying you might not see schools easily off of the interstate (though it varies by state). I lived in a rural state (Iowa) most of my life, where small town life is pleasant enough that there's an annual bike ride during the summer during which highways are closed off so thousands of people can bike from town to town stuffing themselves with homemade pork chops and pie. You don't see a ton of niceties other than gas stations off of the major interstates because, unsurprisingly, people choose to not live next to heavy truck traffic. Undoubtedly there are people who are not well-off and don't have much choice but to live near freeways and train tracks, but I don't think that means the majority of America is in hellhole conditions.
- djokkataja 9y ago
  Don't worry, once we get self-driving cars sorted out you can just browse hacker news rather than suffer the misfortune of seeing such unpleasantries. :)
  - grawprog 9y ago
    Haha or not live on your third world shit hole. With no healthcare or support for your people.
- jstarfish 9y ago
  500 miles can be done in a day and still get you nowhere. You didn't see anything because you haven't actually been anywhere. Maybe 500 miles is a lot for someone coming from England, Switzerland or southeast Asia, but America is massive. 500 miles doesn't even get you through California. It would barely get you through Florida. In no case does your little collection of billboards represent the quality of life of "most" Americans. "Most" of us get on just fine without meth. You may as well have taken nothing but service roads for the full third world experience. Then you could complain about how nobody actually lives in America, it's full of unpaved roads and there is no infrastructure at all when you run out of gas on the side of a mountain.
- dang 9y ago
  Nationalistic swipes are not allowed here, regardless of which country you don't like. You've also posted other uncivil and/or unsubstantive comments and we've warned you before. If you don't want to be banned on HN, please post civilly and substantively only from now on. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
chb 9y ago
Quote from "Sorely Vexed," in the comments, points up one aspect of the scenario that's rarely discussed: "The US medical industry is a racket that uses patient fear and vulnerability to commit robbery. Doctors who keep themselves aloof from the dirty business of where their paychecks come from are just as complicit as the ripoff hospitals that employ them. Just because someone else slices up the the body before you eat it, doesn’t mean you’re not a cannibal."
King-Aaron 9y ago
I read these sorts of articles and honestly cannot fathom why so many people in the United States are/were against a taxpayer-funded public healthcare system. If I get sick here in Western Australia, I go down to the doctor, pay nothing, get a script filled in the chemist next door, and just carry on. If you have something life threatening happening, you get seen to pretty much right away. If you have private health insurance, you get a choice of a better hospital, your preferred practitioner, etc for sure. But if you're like the person in the article, you sure as hell aren't going to die because you can't afford treatment.
- gt_ 9y ago
  Yeah, there’s not any reason in the sense you’re looking for. The explanation is mostly rooted in cultural expression and associated social loyalties. There are political strings being pulled and all of that but you’re right. It’s totally baseless. There are no lucid reasons in circulation and the halfhearted rumors that used to suffice have been abandoned ever since when we mostly gave up on reasoning anyhow, a process that is more comfortable than actively acknowledging mistakes.
- vixen99 9y ago
  Maybe it's not a question of being against it but more a matter of wanting to see a reasonable solution as to how to balance infinite demand against finite cash. It's odd to see Brits coming to one of the poorest countries in the EU - Romania to get dental and eye treatments they can't get (unless they wait until it's too late) in the UK.
- RickJWagner 9y ago
  She's doing it wrong. She fell behind on her insurance (ACA) payments and lost her benefits. It may sound callous, but perhaps she should have taken on more work (a second job perhaps) as soon as cash was low enough that payments could not be made. Her health is largely her own responsibility (as it is for all of us).

33 points by mortenjorck 9y ago

Ya everything I've personally seen in and read about America really makes it seem like a third world death hole. Driving across 3 states and 500 miles all I encountered for a good 300 out of those 500 miles were endless highways littered with anti-suicide and anti-crystal meth bill boards. Then in the distance...the great golden arches of the towering 100 foot tall McDonald's signs 50 miles in the distance, then the arby's, then maybe a burger king or a chevron. Then you get to the 'town' which consists of the above mentioned fast food places, 3-5 churches a gas station and houses. That's it. No grocery stores, no schools, no hospitals. Just that and endless farm fields for a hundred miles either way. I have a friend who lives in south east asia. She eats home grown fresh food for less than $10 a day. Has more reliable and cheaper internet than me, has better surroundings than me and other than occasional random power outages, seems to have a better quality of life than me and most people in America.

danso 9y ago
Were you on the interstate system (where most tall McDonalds signs are placed)? You probably wouldn't see too many schools.
- grawprog 9y ago
  So that means the people living in these places don't matter? There were hundreds of houses in these places, enough for 4 churches. I asked people living there. They eat nothing but the crap that they sell at the gas station or fast food. These are real people...thousands of them in just the states I went through. Their quality of life is completely fucking abysmal. Living in these places would be like living in hell.
  - protomyth 9y ago
    Where was this?
    - RALaBarge 9y ago
      Not op, but indiana, missouri, ohio for sure fit this catagory.
      - grawprog 9y ago
        Eastern Washington, Idaho, Montana,and Wyoming
        protomyth 9y ago
        There were hundreds of houses in these places, enough for 4 churches. I asked people living there. They eat nothing but the crap that they sell at the gas station or fast food. I really don't believe that statement in any of the places mentioned. Rural areas have a lot of food options other than fast food (heck, often fast food isn't available).
  - danso 9y ago
    I'm saying you might not see schools easily off of the interstate (though it varies by state). I lived in a rural state (Iowa) most of my life, where small town life is pleasant enough that there's an annual bike ride during the summer during which highways are closed off so thousands of people can bike from town to town stuffing themselves with homemade pork chops and pie. You don't see a ton of niceties other than gas stations off of the major interstates because, unsurprisingly, people choose to not live next to heavy truck traffic. Undoubtedly there are people who are not well-off and don't have much choice but to live near freeways and train tracks, but I don't think that means the majority of America is in hellhole conditions.
djokkataja 9y ago
Don't worry, once we get self-driving cars sorted out you can just browse hacker news rather than suffer the misfortune of seeing such unpleasantries. :)
- grawprog 9y ago
  Haha or not live on your third world shit hole. With no healthcare or support for your people.
jstarfish 9y ago
500 miles can be done in a day and still get you nowhere. You didn't see anything because you haven't actually been anywhere. Maybe 500 miles is a lot for someone coming from England, Switzerland or southeast Asia, but America is massive. 500 miles doesn't even get you through California. It would barely get you through Florida. In no case does your little collection of billboards represent the quality of life of "most" Americans. "Most" of us get on just fine without meth. You may as well have taken nothing but service roads for the full third world experience. Then you could complain about how nobody actually lives in America, it's full of unpaved roads and there is no infrastructure at all when you run out of gas on the side of a mountain.
dang 9y ago
Nationalistic swipes are not allowed here, regardless of which country you don't like. You've also posted other uncivil and/or unsubstantive comments and we've warned you before. If you don't want to be banned on HN, please post civilly and substantively only from now on. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

chb 9y ago

Quote from "Sorely Vexed," in the comments, points up one aspect of the scenario that's rarely discussed: "The US medical industry is a racket that uses patient fear and vulnerability to commit robbery. Doctors who keep themselves aloof from the dirty business of where their paychecks come from are just as complicit as the ripoff hospitals that employ them. Just because someone else slices up the the body before you eat it, doesn’t mean you’re not a cannibal."

King-Aaron 9y ago

I read these sorts of articles and honestly cannot fathom why so many people in the United States are/were against a taxpayer-funded public healthcare system. If I get sick here in Western Australia, I go down to the doctor, pay nothing, get a script filled in the chemist next door, and just carry on. If you have something life threatening happening, you get seen to pretty much right away. If you have private health insurance, you get a choice of a better hospital, your preferred practitioner, etc for sure. But if you're like the person in the article, you sure as hell aren't going to die because you can't afford treatment.

gt_ 9y ago
Yeah, there’s not any reason in the sense you’re looking for. The explanation is mostly rooted in cultural expression and associated social loyalties. There are political strings being pulled and all of that but you’re right. It’s totally baseless. There are no lucid reasons in circulation and the halfhearted rumors that used to suffice have been abandoned ever since when we mostly gave up on reasoning anyhow, a process that is more comfortable than actively acknowledging mistakes.
vixen99 9y ago
Maybe it's not a question of being against it but more a matter of wanting to see a reasonable solution as to how to balance infinite demand against finite cash. It's odd to see Brits coming to one of the poorest countries in the EU - Romania to get dental and eye treatments they can't get (unless they wait until it's too late) in the UK.
RickJWagner 9y ago
She's doing it wrong. She fell behind on her insurance (ACA) payments and lost her benefits. It may sound callous, but perhaps she should have taken on more work (a second job perhaps) as soon as cash was low enough that payments could not be made. Her health is largely her own responsibility (as it is for all of us).