5 ms·

What the hell went on over there? I thought Denmark (of which Greenland is part) was supposed to be one of the happiest places on earth. But it going cashless

What the hell went on over there? I thought Denmark (of which Greenland is part) was supposed to be one of the happiest places on earth. But it going cashless and now this, it looks to me more like a scene of Brave New World.

unmole 4y ago
> I thought Denmark (of which Greenland is part) was supposed to be one of the happiest places on earth. Greenland literally has the highest suicide rate in the world.
- nix23 4y ago
  >Greenland literally has the highest suicide rate in the world. In fact more then twice as much as number two S.-Korea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_r...
klyrs 4y ago
Colonial powers thrive while they suppress the native population of the colonies. The US is one of the most prosperous countries on earth. Just don't look at Puerto Rico, Guam, etc.
- Georgelemental 4y ago
  Puerto Rico is much better off than its Carribean neighbors
  - ygjb 4y ago
    "Those Puerto Ricans should consider themselves lucky they get so many crumbs off the table."
    - nolls 4y ago
      The alternative is worse.
      - thomastjeffery 4y ago
        Picture now in your mind, the worst possible circumstances that could happen to you. Tada! Your current circumstances are suddenly (by comparison) so much better! And they didn't even change!
      - amazon_illegal 4y ago
        give me liberty or give me death
- type0 4y ago
  Virgin Islands (US territory) is on third place on murder rates, but I think it's artificially inflated compared to other places.
andsoitis 4y ago
> happiest places on earth Marketing.
thomassmith65 4y ago
These stories about happy Nordics may have started in the 2000's. I first came across such a piece circa 2005 after the publication of some 'happiness' survey. Is there really a big problem with cashlessness? It was something everyone used to look forward to. Then social media came along and with it a parade of zerohedge weirdos, paranoid neo-confederates, well-funded anti-taxation think tanks.
- danuker 4y ago
  > cashlessness I see banning cash as dismal, because state and corporate power over the individual is high as is, and blocking your bank accounts would grant them absolute power. No cash, no paying for food, fuel, utilities, and so on. Sure, it would limit crime, but it would also limit dissent, due to chilling effects, and then there is no obstacle to tyranny.
  - sidewndr46 4y ago
    In the US, cashless society would make the death penalty obsolete. All you would need to do is place a temporary indefinite hold on someone's bank account. The rest of the problem would sort itself out rather quickly.
- salawat 4y ago
  ...I hate to break it to you, but those crazies you're trying to paint are in reality a bunch of people who just want to be left alone to spend their money. It is now the case that every financial institution is: >Echoing every transaction over $600 to tax authorities >Filing an SAR anytime activity exceeds a particular threshold >Filing an explicit notice for law enforcement when a good chunk of money goes to cash, because it can't be tracked anymore. I.e. We have decided that a swathe of financial transactions that were previously legal, aren't, or are likely to coincide, despite them being reasonable sums for the economic conditions. Financial surveillance is still surveillance, and I'm getting just a bit tired of people looking at people who have some aerious concerns over things like this and brushing us off as crazies. With inflation in the mix, CBDC's on the horizon, and a lazy/LE leadable legislature, we're about putting a bow on any sort of financial privacy in the United States. Like it or not, not everybody is okay with that continuing to getting parceled off.
RugnirViking 4y ago
I live in Denmark and after moving here, the casual racism towards Greenlandic people here really shocked me. There is a real economic and social problem for them here, many of them ending up homeless. Of the homeless, they regularly meet up in large groups outside train stations etc and drink a lot of alcohol, which people both hate (complaining about the police not doing anything while constantly conflating antisocial behavior and simply being from Greenland) and also claim doesn't exist (there is a pervasive belief among Danes including young and left-leaning ones that Denmark isn't racist unlike "those countries" or that there are simply no homeless people because of benefits etc - they aren't visible because they are typically hassled by the police and begging is harshly prosecuted). Meanwhile having a slightly non-danish name/face (photographs are near mandatory on resumes and Danes are shocked when told its a terrible idea) makes it significantly harder to get a job, at least in my anecdotal experience from my fellow students. Not to mention several of my friends being confronted in public and subject to verbal abuse based on their skin color. It's a society very much in denial about having problems, which makes it appear much better from the outside. I can't speak as much for other wealthy western european nations but from my understanding from others its also very much the case there. There have also been several successive significant political scandals around treatment of immigrants. Such as systematically forcibly separating couples at the border, theft of valuables from immigrants in exchange for asylum, deporting folks back to syria during the civil war there etc. Several successive immigration ministers have been literally prosecuted yet the laws they made remain in place. Turns out when your news articles aren't in English, things like this are much easier to hide. The country has been good to me personally, and I try to do what I can to help (volunteered with Frelsens Hær, especially over covid etc. Incidentally, heard lots of horror stories while volunteering there about the dysfunction of society in Greenland proper, largely due to government/colonial interference in families in many ways such as this & moving children thousands of km to take school far from their parents, refusing to teach in native languages etc, all happening far more recently than anyone wants to admit). It (Denmark) is a nice place in many ways, and I don't want my negative comments to dissuade anyone from a visit, I just sometimes feel I have to balance the often unquestioning and glowingly positive view that exists out there.
nxmnxm99 4y ago
People need to stop taking those happiness surveys seriously. They’re complete and utter nonsense.

unmole 4y ago

> I thought Denmark (of which Greenland is part) was supposed to be one of the happiest places on earth. Greenland literally has the highest suicide rate in the world.

nix23 4y ago
>Greenland literally has the highest suicide rate in the world. In fact more then twice as much as number two S.-Korea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_r...

klyrs 4y ago

Colonial powers thrive while they suppress the native population of the colonies. The US is one of the most prosperous countries on earth. Just don't look at Puerto Rico, Guam, etc.

Georgelemental 4y ago
Puerto Rico is much better off than its Carribean neighbors
- ygjb 4y ago
  "Those Puerto Ricans should consider themselves lucky they get so many crumbs off the table."
  - nolls 4y ago
    The alternative is worse.
    - thomastjeffery 4y ago
      Picture now in your mind, the worst possible circumstances that could happen to you. Tada! Your current circumstances are suddenly (by comparison) so much better! And they didn't even change!
    - amazon_illegal 4y ago
      give me liberty or give me death
type0 4y ago
Virgin Islands (US territory) is on third place on murder rates, but I think it's artificially inflated compared to other places.

andsoitis 4y ago

> happiest places on earth Marketing.

thomassmith65 4y ago

These stories about happy Nordics may have started in the 2000's. I first came across such a piece circa 2005 after the publication of some 'happiness' survey. Is there really a big problem with cashlessness? It was something everyone used to look forward to. Then social media came along and with it a parade of zerohedge weirdos, paranoid neo-confederates, well-funded anti-taxation think tanks.

danuker 4y ago
> cashlessness I see banning cash as dismal, because state and corporate power over the individual is high as is, and blocking your bank accounts would grant them absolute power. No cash, no paying for food, fuel, utilities, and so on. Sure, it would limit crime, but it would also limit dissent, due to chilling effects, and then there is no obstacle to tyranny.
- sidewndr46 4y ago
  In the US, cashless society would make the death penalty obsolete. All you would need to do is place a temporary indefinite hold on someone's bank account. The rest of the problem would sort itself out rather quickly.
salawat 4y ago
...I hate to break it to you, but those crazies you're trying to paint are in reality a bunch of people who just want to be left alone to spend their money. It is now the case that every financial institution is: >Echoing every transaction over $600 to tax authorities >Filing an SAR anytime activity exceeds a particular threshold >Filing an explicit notice for law enforcement when a good chunk of money goes to cash, because it can't be tracked anymore. I.e. We have decided that a swathe of financial transactions that were previously legal, aren't, or are likely to coincide, despite them being reasonable sums for the economic conditions. Financial surveillance is still surveillance, and I'm getting just a bit tired of people looking at people who have some aerious concerns over things like this and brushing us off as crazies. With inflation in the mix, CBDC's on the horizon, and a lazy/LE leadable legislature, we're about putting a bow on any sort of financial privacy in the United States. Like it or not, not everybody is okay with that continuing to getting parceled off.

RugnirViking 4y ago

I live in Denmark and after moving here, the casual racism towards Greenlandic people here really shocked me. There is a real economic and social problem for them here, many of them ending up homeless. Of the homeless, they regularly meet up in large groups outside train stations etc and drink a lot of alcohol, which people both hate (complaining about the police not doing anything while constantly conflating antisocial behavior and simply being from Greenland) and also claim doesn't exist (there is a pervasive belief among Danes including young and left-leaning ones that Denmark isn't racist unlike "those countries" or that there are simply no homeless people because of benefits etc - they aren't visible because they are typically hassled by the police and begging is harshly prosecuted). Meanwhile having a slightly non-danish name/face (photographs are near mandatory on resumes and Danes are shocked when told its a terrible idea) makes it significantly harder to get a job, at least in my anecdotal experience from my fellow students. Not to mention several of my friends being confronted in public and subject to verbal abuse based on their skin color. It's a society very much in denial about having problems, which makes it appear much better from the outside. I can't speak as much for other wealthy western european nations but from my understanding from others its also very much the case there. There have also been several successive significant political scandals around treatment of immigrants. Such as systematically forcibly separating couples at the border, theft of valuables from immigrants in exchange for asylum, deporting folks back to syria during the civil war there etc. Several successive immigration ministers have been literally prosecuted yet the laws they made remain in place. Turns out when your news articles aren't in English, things like this are much easier to hide. The country has been good to me personally, and I try to do what I can to help (volunteered with Frelsens Hær, especially over covid etc. Incidentally, heard lots of horror stories while volunteering there about the dysfunction of society in Greenland proper, largely due to government/colonial interference in families in many ways such as this & moving children thousands of km to take school far from their parents, refusing to teach in native languages etc, all happening far more recently than anyone wants to admit). It (Denmark) is a nice place in many ways, and I don't want my negative comments to dissuade anyone from a visit, I just sometimes feel I have to balance the often unquestioning and glowingly positive view that exists out there.

nxmnxm99 4y ago

People need to stop taking those happiness surveys seriously. They’re complete and utter nonsense.