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I even dispute the notion that there is anything wrong with being anti-American. It's not a personal insult unless one chooses to take it as such. I am American
by hestipod 7y ago
I even dispute the notion that there is anything wrong with being anti-American. It's not a personal insult unless one chooses to take it as such. I am American by birth, have lived abroad, and find the way things are done in the US to be abhorrent on many fronts. It seems to me anything done well elsewhere is rejected out of some weird sense of independence. America's profit driven healthcare business ruined my life and is still making it miserable. The only decent care I have ever received was in a European country. There is a default idea on the internet that America is the world. There is a default idea in much of America that conservatism is "true America". There is a default idea that success as a human is "being rich" and "winning". My family has this belief system and anytime those beliefs or the country are criticized, even if its one amongst 100 comments, its focused on as how everyone is biased against them and they are "victimized" by this. I find the incredibly common idea in the USA, that one should be less critical of the nation because "this is the best place for us to get rich" is the opposite to what I consider important values, and is in fact antithetical to the hacker ethos. The hackers I admire don't do so to enrich themselves...they do it to fix problems and improve the world, even if only for one other person.
- P_I_Staker 7y agoThe only thing I'll say is that I get annoyed by certain knee jerk anti-American, pro foreign sentiments. It can be a bit much. Especially when other countries are wrestling with the same issues, and may even be worse in some regards. Otherwise, I agree. Specifically, the criticism of our health care system. How people can see no issue with it is beyond me. There's conservatives that literally think the problem is us treating people in the ER, instead of letting them die. Disgusting. OP is completely off base on this issue. The examples he gave are not an apples to apples comparison. The idea that we wouldn't criticize an EU company for making boneheaded business/engineering decisions that cost lives is ludicrous.
- hestipod 7y agoI just don't think nationalism is anything but damaging. I am a human being. My self worth isn't related to where I was randomly born. I have no allegiance or pride owed to a passport. Such tribalism is used to justify wars and greed and lots of bad stuff. Even in in posts like these the conversation at its root is "offense" at criticism of "team". Poor behavior is poor behavior regardless of who is doing it, but some teams think theirs is more justified. The team that I think matters is humanity. Nationality is an administrative bother to me.