3 ms·
The what you call "reflexive anti-american bullshit" comes because of post like yours, which without evidence spout claims such as "we do more good than anyone
by cycomanic 5y ago
The what you call "reflexive anti-american bullshit" comes because of post like yours, which without evidence spout claims such as "we do more good than anyone else - by a assive margin".
The US (as in government) like all large powers are doing a lot of self interested power politics. They have overthrown many democratically elected governments and supported (and sometimes even put in place) some of the worst dictatorships in the world, because it was in their geopolitical interest. They invaded a sovereign country and presented lies to justify the invasion. They jave introduced a massive worldwide surveillance system, that is essentially spying on everyone. Have used that aperatus to spy on allies, and used it for to gain every economic advantage they could get.
Is pointing this out "anti-american bullshit". Has someone who did these things done more good than anyone else by a massive margin?
- analognoise 5y agoGo look up humanitarian giving. These are quantifiable numbers. We do more than the next 10 countries rolled up. We AGREE about the negative bullshit the US has done. We're actively trying to work on that shit, none of us like it. We've actually done a stellar job looking at our history and current practices and saying "That was fucked up" and "We should fix this going forward." But we still do WAY more good than, like I said, the next 10 countries combined. https://www.statista.com/statistics/275597/largers-donor-countries-of-aid-worldwide/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/275597/largers-donor-cou... So it's not all roses, but... Yeah, I wouldn't dismiss us as a net benefit.
- nautilius 5y agoYour source says that, per capita, Germany pays more than the US.
- analognoise 5y agoDid your per Capita calculation roll up the populations of the next 9 countries it would take to equal the US?
- nautilius 5y agoSo your point about why the US are great and morally ‘stellar ‘ (to use your word) is that it’s —- big? Wow, that’s anticlimactic.
- analognoise 5y agoAdd up all those populations. We're exceedingly generous, although less so than the Germans.
- nautilius 5y agoYou may want to run the numbers on Norway (5 mio people), Sweden, Netherlands, etc. and all the others that aren’t even on a list that only shows totals and not per capita ‘generosity’. See, I don’t know if this is helping the case you are trying to make against cycomanic. You come here claiming you are more generous than the next 10 combined, when, in reality, you aren’t even in the top 5.
- analognoise 5y agoIn terms of total dollars given, by far and away? If you add up the populations of the next 9 countries, it dwarfs the US population. Norway would fit in 1/3 of the most prosperous part of Los Angeles. I assumed we were talking about geopolitical powers.
- nautilius 5y agoYou provided the list, I can’t help that you now do not like it anymore.
- nautilius 5y agoI mean, believe what you want, just make sure I’m nowhere near when you explain to the waitress why your party of 20 tipping $11 is so much more generous than the one guy tipping $10.