I don't necessarily disagree with you, but I'm not sure what this article has to do with "American culture". ZeroHedge is a fringe website—hardly representative

I don't necessarily disagree with you, but I'm not sure what this article has to do with "American culture". ZeroHedge is a fringe website—hardly representative of the average American. Either way, I don't think it's a problem to compare aspects of one's state to more regressive ones. It is useful to point out that China under Xi looks a lot more like North Korea and that fundamentalist Christians hold views similar to Islamist extremists. In this case, the average, uneducated citizen might not be aware that their great America resembles "shithole countries" (their words) in many ways, and if a rude comparison is what's needed, so be it.