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> It's almost like there's something cultural happening in America Everyone can fill in their pet theory here, but mine is that so much of being American these

> It's almost like there's something cultural happening in America Everyone can fill in their pet theory here, but mine is that so much of being American these days is disempowering. Corporations have so much power that not only do they not care about us, but we can't even avoid using them. Get sick? Good luck fighting your giant health insurance provider or hospital conglomeration. Looking for an entry-level job? Navigate a Kafka-esque application system only to (if you're lucky) work for a miserable low-level manager who also has no power and transfers that anger onto you. Want to spend time with friends? Their preferred communication medium is now one of a couple of huge social media companies with horrific privacy policies and a history of emotionally damaging its users. Want to go to a show? Have fun buying overpriced tickets from one of the two or three ticket monopolies and then pay an exhorbitant, insulting "convenience" fee. So everyday, in many of our basic daily rituals, we are reminded of how little agency we have in our own lives and how much we both depend on and are subject to the whims of billionaires (who, meanwhile, are busy destroying the Earth).

Tycho 5y ago
> Get sick? While you wait for your appointment, research your condition using any of the free, high quality medical knowledge bases on the web, and/or connect with a community of other internet users with similar afflictions to get advice/perspective. > Looking for an entry-level job? Learn to code and become an in-demand knowledge worker. In the mean time, perhaps monetize your existing skills and assets by becoming an AirBnB host or Uber driver or delivery driver. > Want to spend time with friends? Use a widely available asynchronous messaging service to organize an outing, perhaps using a money-transfer app so that one person can take care of booking etc. If you can't meet in person, maybe you can have a video conference on one of the various free platforms, or just have an extended group chat with your friends. > Want to go to a show? Browse the web for a vast selection of shows you would never hear about otherwise. Not that these points negate your complaints, but I think you paint an unnecessarily miserable picture. I think that in itself is one of the big cultural problems of America and elsewhere.
- infogulch 5y ago
  Frustrated trying to just do normal human things because you're blocked by corporations and are powerless against them? Have you tried Just Don't Do That (TM)? Instead of doing what you wanted, try doing something we allow you to do. Powered By Technology Systems (R) will help you maximize what little agency you still have left, namely, to sit in your residence and consume the internet. The real world is no longer hospitable for humans, so just don't do anything!
  - inside65 5y ago
    Not to negate the issues presented, but the severity seems overblown. Since when is using social media to talk to friends or going to a show of the nature implied here a "normal human thing"? Pretty sure majority of the world's population are living their lives without these. Seems like first world problems. Maybe that's the real issue plaguing americans, and I say this as an american myself, they have too many "first world problems" and don't appriciate simpler things.
    - Dah00n 5y ago
      Try not using social media for friends, work, etc. and see how much you got left in a year. I did and there's no doubt many will struggle (lost friends, new job, not possible to have children (of you want them to gave a life or education). The only social media I ever use is HN. Society is broken up in those that use and those that don't.
- gazelle21 5y ago
  I cant tell if you are trolling or not. In case you aren't, all of your solutions involve a large amount of free time and money. Something a lot people don't have, I worked in the restaurant biz before moving to tech. It was brutal, even getting a day off to go to the doctor would cost me a large portion of my pay check. I was able to "escape" due to having a solid support system, a lot of my former coworkers did not have this.
  - 5y ago
fxtentacle 5y ago
Agree. I've had this experience far too many times where I call tech support and explain the problem to me and they're like "sorry there is no button for me to enter that into the computer" or when I need some report/export and people are like "sorry my computer cannot do that". You're talking to a human, but they behave like a broken robot. Also there's the 30 minutes waiting music that repeats every 1 minute a cheerful recording of someone saying "your call is important to us". It's obvious that it isn't, or else they'd hire more people so that they can pick up the phone more quickly.
- bserge 5y ago
  On the other side, you get "Sup, the fuck do you want? I'm not getting paid enough for this shit"
  - nickstinemates 5y ago
    Most of the time I'd prefer that to what you get instead.
- ufmace 5y ago
  I've mostly found the humans pretty helpful actually, at least at the places I've called. What drives me nuts with most phone support is that it makes you spend 20 minutes wading through a phone tree offering the same automated options as the website. If I'm calling, it's always for some weird thing that isn't handled automatically, if I wanted to do one of the easily automated things, I would have already done it on the website.
  - dTal 5y ago
    I'm willing to bet there are huge sections of the population who will insist on talking to a real person, no matter how mundane or trivially automated their request. The 20 minute hazing ritual exists to deter them, not you. The more of a pain in the ass it is, the lower the call volume they have to deal with.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
bserge 5y ago
None of those are exclusive to America. Not even the first one. Get sick in Europe? Best hope overpriced Ibuprofen works or you're gonna do a hell of a lot of waiting. Just to get some dipshit who tells you to take a paracetamol and chill. Try to get a fucking job in Europe. No one is hiring because you're a tax burden. "But you're protected". Just not for the first 6 months. Or anytime they decide to fire you for bullshit reasons and you get told to move the fuck out of your decent apartment and drain your bank accounts if you want any benefits. Friends? Heh. Shows? Overpriced and garbage.
- Doches 5y ago
  > Get sick in Europe? Best hope overpriced Ibuprofen works or you're gonna do a hell of a lot of waiting. Live in France, _cannot confirm_.
  - bserge 5y ago
    Well, let's hope one day you need an actual specialist.
  - drstewart 5y ago
    >Live in France Live in America, _cannot confirm_ your little anecdote about all Americans assuming the worst. It's funny how Quail's front page seems to be filled with glowing reviews from cynical aggressive Americans but none from the cheery French. Weird.
- yunohn 5y ago
  > Best hope overpriced Ibuprofen works or you're gonna do a hell of a lot of waiting. Just to get some dipshit who tells you to take a paracetamol and chill. I live in the Netherlands, and this is the most frustrating thing about the healthcare system. I’ve had innumerable instances where the local GP recommends Paracetamol and my family doctor actually diagnoses the real problem. It’s a running joke in this country: https://amsterdamshallowman.com/2019/07/dutch-healthcare-paracetamol.html https://amsterdamshallowman.com/2019/07/dutch-healthcare-par...
  - 5y ago
truthwhisperer 5y ago
totally agree. If you want to value the christian values are might be cancelled by the big companies because you are not woke enough. Time's over. US
Spooky23 5y ago
Part of the cost cutting culture is embracing incompetence and using IT systems to provide a consistent, albeit shitty experience. Everyone aspires to make their customer facing business like McDonalds because it’s cheaper to measure outputs from a broken system than to effectively lead humans.

Tycho 5y ago

> Get sick? While you wait for your appointment, research your condition using any of the free, high quality medical knowledge bases on the web, and/or connect with a community of other internet users with similar afflictions to get advice/perspective. > Looking for an entry-level job? Learn to code and become an in-demand knowledge worker. In the mean time, perhaps monetize your existing skills and assets by becoming an AirBnB host or Uber driver or delivery driver. > Want to spend time with friends? Use a widely available asynchronous messaging service to organize an outing, perhaps using a money-transfer app so that one person can take care of booking etc. If you can't meet in person, maybe you can have a video conference on one of the various free platforms, or just have an extended group chat with your friends. > Want to go to a show? Browse the web for a vast selection of shows you would never hear about otherwise. Not that these points negate your complaints, but I think you paint an unnecessarily miserable picture. I think that in itself is one of the big cultural problems of America and elsewhere.

infogulch 5y ago
Frustrated trying to just do normal human things because you're blocked by corporations and are powerless against them? Have you tried Just Don't Do That (TM)? Instead of doing what you wanted, try doing something we allow you to do. Powered By Technology Systems (R) will help you maximize what little agency you still have left, namely, to sit in your residence and consume the internet. The real world is no longer hospitable for humans, so just don't do anything!
- inside65 5y ago
  Not to negate the issues presented, but the severity seems overblown. Since when is using social media to talk to friends or going to a show of the nature implied here a "normal human thing"? Pretty sure majority of the world's population are living their lives without these. Seems like first world problems. Maybe that's the real issue plaguing americans, and I say this as an american myself, they have too many "first world problems" and don't appriciate simpler things.
  - Dah00n 5y ago
    Try not using social media for friends, work, etc. and see how much you got left in a year. I did and there's no doubt many will struggle (lost friends, new job, not possible to have children (of you want them to gave a life or education). The only social media I ever use is HN. Society is broken up in those that use and those that don't.
gazelle21 5y ago
I cant tell if you are trolling or not. In case you aren't, all of your solutions involve a large amount of free time and money. Something a lot people don't have, I worked in the restaurant biz before moving to tech. It was brutal, even getting a day off to go to the doctor would cost me a large portion of my pay check. I was able to "escape" due to having a solid support system, a lot of my former coworkers did not have this.
- 5y ago

fxtentacle 5y ago

Agree. I've had this experience far too many times where I call tech support and explain the problem to me and they're like "sorry there is no button for me to enter that into the computer" or when I need some report/export and people are like "sorry my computer cannot do that". You're talking to a human, but they behave like a broken robot. Also there's the 30 minutes waiting music that repeats every 1 minute a cheerful recording of someone saying "your call is important to us". It's obvious that it isn't, or else they'd hire more people so that they can pick up the phone more quickly.

bserge 5y ago
On the other side, you get "Sup, the fuck do you want? I'm not getting paid enough for this shit"
- nickstinemates 5y ago
  Most of the time I'd prefer that to what you get instead.
ufmace 5y ago
I've mostly found the humans pretty helpful actually, at least at the places I've called. What drives me nuts with most phone support is that it makes you spend 20 minutes wading through a phone tree offering the same automated options as the website. If I'm calling, it's always for some weird thing that isn't handled automatically, if I wanted to do one of the easily automated things, I would have already done it on the website.
- dTal 5y ago
  I'm willing to bet there are huge sections of the population who will insist on talking to a real person, no matter how mundane or trivially automated their request. The 20 minute hazing ritual exists to deter them, not you. The more of a pain in the ass it is, the lower the call volume they have to deal with.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

bserge 5y ago

None of those are exclusive to America. Not even the first one. Get sick in Europe? Best hope overpriced Ibuprofen works or you're gonna do a hell of a lot of waiting. Just to get some dipshit who tells you to take a paracetamol and chill. Try to get a fucking job in Europe. No one is hiring because you're a tax burden. "But you're protected". Just not for the first 6 months. Or anytime they decide to fire you for bullshit reasons and you get told to move the fuck out of your decent apartment and drain your bank accounts if you want any benefits. Friends? Heh. Shows? Overpriced and garbage.

Doches 5y ago
> Get sick in Europe? Best hope overpriced Ibuprofen works or you're gonna do a hell of a lot of waiting. Live in France, _cannot confirm_.
- bserge 5y ago
  Well, let's hope one day you need an actual specialist.
- drstewart 5y ago
  >Live in France Live in America, _cannot confirm_ your little anecdote about all Americans assuming the worst. It's funny how Quail's front page seems to be filled with glowing reviews from cynical aggressive Americans but none from the cheery French. Weird.
yunohn 5y ago
> Best hope overpriced Ibuprofen works or you're gonna do a hell of a lot of waiting. Just to get some dipshit who tells you to take a paracetamol and chill. I live in the Netherlands, and this is the most frustrating thing about the healthcare system. I’ve had innumerable instances where the local GP recommends Paracetamol and my family doctor actually diagnoses the real problem. It’s a running joke in this country: https://amsterdamshallowman.com/2019/07/dutch-healthcare-paracetamol.html https://amsterdamshallowman.com/2019/07/dutch-healthcare-par...
- 5y ago

truthwhisperer 5y ago

totally agree. If you want to value the christian values are might be cancelled by the big companies because you are not woke enough. Time's over. US

Spooky23 5y ago

Part of the cost cutting culture is embracing incompetence and using IT systems to provide a consistent, albeit shitty experience. Everyone aspires to make their customer facing business like McDonalds because it’s cheaper to measure outputs from a broken system than to effectively lead humans.