4 ms·

So extrapolating HN is more global than US oriented.

ggm 4y ago
Statements made by others about social trends in the US are so often misconceived and misconstrued, you will have to forgive me if I don't make many serious points, but on the low levels of voter participation and under the gerrymander it would be almost impossible to say the 49/51 class split in voting was indicative of real social trends. US media is quite progressive overall. US education system is quite progressive overall. I am amazed the women of America did not rise up and slaughter their political classes and judges in the red states and the federal courts, but that goes to my bewilderment at the mixture of progressive and regressive tendencies which make up America. To all practical purposes at this time in many ways the US is an illegal theocracy operating in a nation state which constitutionally forbids it. More of them are practising Christians than any other comparable democracy. Yet, they legalised cannabis and stop kids drinking until they're 21, after they can die for their country. It's strange. HN isn't only about America, but the progressive regressive questions tend to be from an American perspective.
- cato_the_elder 4y ago
  > I am amazed the women of America did not rise up and slaughter your political classes and judges in your red states and the federal courts Then perhaps you probably don't know much about American politics. Until recently, there wasn't a huge gender gap on the issue. [1] > You are to all practical purposes at this time in many ways an illegal theocracy operating in a nation state which constitutionally forbids it. The declaration of independence explicitly says that our fundamental rights are endowed to us by our Creator. [2] The pledge of allegiance calls the US "one Nation under God". [3] The US, unlike France [4], isn't afraid of God. [1]: https://news.gallup.com/poll/245618/abortion-trends-gender.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/245618/abortion-trends-gender.a... [2]: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcrip... [3]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance [4]: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/12/france-god-religion-secularism/620528/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/12/france-...
  - ggm 4y ago
    The pledge of allegiance dating from the 19th century has no constitutional status, and "under God" is a product of the 1950s cold war. A previous generation of the Supreme Court upheld it's complete irrelevance. Maybe that will change again, but I struggle to see it really. This current court is black letter law, if the 1770s didn't require it, then it takes heavy process to make it happen, for them. The stats on views of abortion were fascinating! Thanks. I am unsure yet they go to my side of things or yours. The definitely legal and sometimes legal count, appears to me to be consistently pro abortion rights. They've just had flat denial from the court on a federal right and a push back to (often distorted) states rights. You think this isn't going to hurt electorally? You know what: I don't know. I think it foolish for me to even try.
  - feet 4y ago
    Mentioning a creator is not equivalent to stating that the US is a theocracy, let alone a christian one
bradwood 4y ago
No. Despite a global membership, it still appears (to my foreign eyes) to be overwhelmingly (and annoyingly) US-centric. Many posters demonstrate this through their language (why say 401k when you could say pension scheme), assumptions (guns are legal), and the scope of their posts and commentary. You only need to read threads on crypto, gun control, politics, etc for this to become abundantly clear (irrespective of the side of the argument taken by a commenter). Of course, there are exceptions, but, by and large, HN does seem to be like this. Many posters and comments just _assume_ a US frame of reference without stopping to consider whether a global one, or a non-US one might be better.
- ggm 4y ago
  Same as Google. Announces new product, initially solely in the US. There are 5x as many Google consumers or more outside the US than inside and they kill the product on a whim if it "fails" some US centric market test. I wonder if the American Python community (for instance) even realises Guido is Dutch. Or marvels at his fluency in English. Many HN participants are FAANG and so US centric thinking is strong, noting of course the huge disparity on pay and conditions and inside and outside the US. There may also be a time of day effect. I'm gmt+10 so maybe I'm camping on end day ranked stories, responding to midnight owls in the US who tend to more extreme views.
  - junofan 4y ago
    I guarantee people know Guido van Rossum is Dutch because his name is not Americanized.
  - bradwood 4y ago
    I don't think it's just a FAANG thing. There are FAANG employees outside of the US also. I think it's simply that many US-based people are just blinkered to the world beyond. It's a cultural thing. For decades the US has aimed to export its values, democracy, world view, etc, to other parts of the world. They think of themselves as the world's protector, the upholder of what is right, the benchmark for freedom and liberty in the world. This is not to say those values are wrong - I think, by and large, they are indeed good, but the arrogance with which they are expressed by the US often just doesn't help. This is a superiority complex which is ingrained and, frankly, tiring -- there are many places in the world which can legitimately claim those accolades, but many US citizens just seem incapable of acknowledging that.

ggm 4y ago

Statements made by others about social trends in the US are so often misconceived and misconstrued, you will have to forgive me if I don't make many serious points, but on the low levels of voter participation and under the gerrymander it would be almost impossible to say the 49/51 class split in voting was indicative of real social trends. US media is quite progressive overall. US education system is quite progressive overall. I am amazed the women of America did not rise up and slaughter their political classes and judges in the red states and the federal courts, but that goes to my bewilderment at the mixture of progressive and regressive tendencies which make up America. To all practical purposes at this time in many ways the US is an illegal theocracy operating in a nation state which constitutionally forbids it. More of them are practising Christians than any other comparable democracy. Yet, they legalised cannabis and stop kids drinking until they're 21, after they can die for their country. It's strange. HN isn't only about America, but the progressive regressive questions tend to be from an American perspective.

cato_the_elder 4y ago
> I am amazed the women of America did not rise up and slaughter your political classes and judges in your red states and the federal courts Then perhaps you probably don't know much about American politics. Until recently, there wasn't a huge gender gap on the issue. [1] > You are to all practical purposes at this time in many ways an illegal theocracy operating in a nation state which constitutionally forbids it. The declaration of independence explicitly says that our fundamental rights are endowed to us by our Creator. [2] The pledge of allegiance calls the US "one Nation under God". [3] The US, unlike France [4], isn't afraid of God. [1]: https://news.gallup.com/poll/245618/abortion-trends-gender.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/245618/abortion-trends-gender.a... [2]: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcrip... [3]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance [4]: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/12/france-god-religion-secularism/620528/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/12/france-...
- ggm 4y ago
  The pledge of allegiance dating from the 19th century has no constitutional status, and "under God" is a product of the 1950s cold war. A previous generation of the Supreme Court upheld it's complete irrelevance. Maybe that will change again, but I struggle to see it really. This current court is black letter law, if the 1770s didn't require it, then it takes heavy process to make it happen, for them. The stats on views of abortion were fascinating! Thanks. I am unsure yet they go to my side of things or yours. The definitely legal and sometimes legal count, appears to me to be consistently pro abortion rights. They've just had flat denial from the court on a federal right and a push back to (often distorted) states rights. You think this isn't going to hurt electorally? You know what: I don't know. I think it foolish for me to even try.
- feet 4y ago
  Mentioning a creator is not equivalent to stating that the US is a theocracy, let alone a christian one

bradwood 4y ago

No. Despite a global membership, it still appears (to my foreign eyes) to be overwhelmingly (and annoyingly) US-centric. Many posters demonstrate this through their language (why say 401k when you could say pension scheme), assumptions (guns are legal), and the scope of their posts and commentary. You only need to read threads on crypto, gun control, politics, etc for this to become abundantly clear (irrespective of the side of the argument taken by a commenter). Of course, there are exceptions, but, by and large, HN does seem to be like this. Many posters and comments just _assume_ a US frame of reference without stopping to consider whether a global one, or a non-US one might be better.

ggm 4y ago
Same as Google. Announces new product, initially solely in the US. There are 5x as many Google consumers or more outside the US than inside and they kill the product on a whim if it "fails" some US centric market test. I wonder if the American Python community (for instance) even realises Guido is Dutch. Or marvels at his fluency in English. Many HN participants are FAANG and so US centric thinking is strong, noting of course the huge disparity on pay and conditions and inside and outside the US. There may also be a time of day effect. I'm gmt+10 so maybe I'm camping on end day ranked stories, responding to midnight owls in the US who tend to more extreme views.
- junofan 4y ago
  I guarantee people know Guido van Rossum is Dutch because his name is not Americanized.
- bradwood 4y ago
  I don't think it's just a FAANG thing. There are FAANG employees outside of the US also. I think it's simply that many US-based people are just blinkered to the world beyond. It's a cultural thing. For decades the US has aimed to export its values, democracy, world view, etc, to other parts of the world. They think of themselves as the world's protector, the upholder of what is right, the benchmark for freedom and liberty in the world. This is not to say those values are wrong - I think, by and large, they are indeed good, but the arrogance with which they are expressed by the US often just doesn't help. This is a superiority complex which is ingrained and, frankly, tiring -- there are many places in the world which can legitimately claim those accolades, but many US citizens just seem incapable of acknowledging that.