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Most Americans have absolutely no idea what it is like to endure that sort of hardship. I mean, in the most extreme examples I know adults who act like they're

Most Americans have absolutely no idea what it is like to endure that sort of hardship. I mean, in the most extreme examples I know adults who act like they're going to starve because their peas were touching their potatoes.

midev 5y ago
> Most Americans have absolutely no idea what it is like to endure that sort of hardship Which is great! Despite the flaws of capitalism, it's literally the point! As supply chains were impacted, new businesses and solutions filled the void. Given the vast amount of competition in things like toilet paper, automotive, etc, "shortages" just meant not getting your favorite brand for a few weeks. > I know adults who act like they're going to starve because their peas were touching their potatoes. I would take this over the horror shows of communism any day. It's never a knock to say "your country is so good you've never had the massive hardships we have had!"
- ghaff 5y ago
  Just one (somewhat trivial but perhaps not) thing was all the entrepreneurial activity by individual and adjacent businesses to create more stylish/higher quality/etc. masks. Now perhaps one could make a rational argument that we'd be better off with just a bunch of standard N95 masks period. But people are funny and one shouldn't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
- code_duck 5y ago
  Yes, my criticism is not directed towards the effectiveness of the supply chain. It’s true that we are mostly rich with consumer goods. However there are also numerous very serious problems with how we live in the United States, such as sustainability, even distribution of resources, efficiency and waste. My point was that people in the United States do not have experience dealing with even very minor hardships effectively. If they were presented with truly difficult physical situations similar to what people in many parts of the world deal with frequently, they would not be able to handle it effectively on a number of levels.
  - midev 5y ago
    > My point was that people in the United States do not have experience dealing with even very minor hardships effectively Again, yes! Due to our success! These aren't at all a knock on American's. It's what every generation of ours has fought for. An easier life for our children. I am very very very grateful that my son does not have to deal with what people in other parts of the world deal with. I love that the idea of having no running water, defecating in the streets, surrounded by dead bodies is a completely foreign concept to him. That he wouldn't know how to deal with such a situation. And I hope his children have it even easier. That we're so wealthy we have UBI, and they can study art and music, and want for nothing.
    - code_duck 5y ago
      Sure, that’s all true. My concerns are somewhat unrelated to celebrating our success, though. I don’t believe Americans would have the experience, social customs, physical stamina, emotional fortitude or knowledge to survive reasonably well if conditions took a serious turn for the worse.
      - midev 5y ago
        > I don’t believe Americans would have the experience, social customs, physical stamina, emotional fortitude or knowledge to survive reasonably well if conditions took a serious turn for the worse. It wasn't flag football or nerf that got us to the top.... We literally dominated everyone in everything, and continue to do so. Whether it be the military, sports (we just got done dominating the Olympics), tech, whatever. It's absurd to think that given societal collapse, it would be the American's that struggle the most, and not, you know, the people that can't even make it when times are good... You can knock us with a bunch of made up criticisms, like "emotional fortitude". But at the end of the day, every country still bends the knee to our "physical stamina". So that doesn't really say much about the rest of you surviving if conditions took a turn for the worse.
        code_duck 5y ago

midev 5y ago

> Most Americans have absolutely no idea what it is like to endure that sort of hardship Which is great! Despite the flaws of capitalism, it's literally the point! As supply chains were impacted, new businesses and solutions filled the void. Given the vast amount of competition in things like toilet paper, automotive, etc, "shortages" just meant not getting your favorite brand for a few weeks. > I know adults who act like they're going to starve because their peas were touching their potatoes. I would take this over the horror shows of communism any day. It's never a knock to say "your country is so good you've never had the massive hardships we have had!"

ghaff 5y ago
Just one (somewhat trivial but perhaps not) thing was all the entrepreneurial activity by individual and adjacent businesses to create more stylish/higher quality/etc. masks. Now perhaps one could make a rational argument that we'd be better off with just a bunch of standard N95 masks period. But people are funny and one shouldn't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
code_duck 5y ago
Yes, my criticism is not directed towards the effectiveness of the supply chain. It’s true that we are mostly rich with consumer goods. However there are also numerous very serious problems with how we live in the United States, such as sustainability, even distribution of resources, efficiency and waste. My point was that people in the United States do not have experience dealing with even very minor hardships effectively. If they were presented with truly difficult physical situations similar to what people in many parts of the world deal with frequently, they would not be able to handle it effectively on a number of levels.
- midev 5y ago
  > My point was that people in the United States do not have experience dealing with even very minor hardships effectively Again, yes! Due to our success! These aren't at all a knock on American's. It's what every generation of ours has fought for. An easier life for our children. I am very very very grateful that my son does not have to deal with what people in other parts of the world deal with. I love that the idea of having no running water, defecating in the streets, surrounded by dead bodies is a completely foreign concept to him. That he wouldn't know how to deal with such a situation. And I hope his children have it even easier. That we're so wealthy we have UBI, and they can study art and music, and want for nothing.
  - code_duck 5y ago
    Sure, that’s all true. My concerns are somewhat unrelated to celebrating our success, though. I don’t believe Americans would have the experience, social customs, physical stamina, emotional fortitude or knowledge to survive reasonably well if conditions took a serious turn for the worse.
    - midev 5y ago
      > I don’t believe Americans would have the experience, social customs, physical stamina, emotional fortitude or knowledge to survive reasonably well if conditions took a serious turn for the worse. It wasn't flag football or nerf that got us to the top.... We literally dominated everyone in everything, and continue to do so. Whether it be the military, sports (we just got done dominating the Olympics), tech, whatever. It's absurd to think that given societal collapse, it would be the American's that struggle the most, and not, you know, the people that can't even make it when times are good... You can knock us with a bunch of made up criticisms, like "emotional fortitude". But at the end of the day, every country still bends the knee to our "physical stamina". So that doesn't really say much about the rest of you surviving if conditions took a turn for the worse.
      - code_duck 5y ago