3 ms·

I honestly think one of Americas greatest strengths is the ability to move here from where ever and be able to join society with relatively low friction. Peopl

I honestly think one of Americas greatest strengths is the ability to move here from where ever and be able to join society with relatively low friction. People go on and on about racism in America, but I have generally found that those people have absolutely no fucking idea what racism in a society actually looks like. You wanna see racism? Go be a minority in any country with a 90% majority race/culture. Edit: Invariably people need to confuse "Racism is a bigger issue in other countries than the US" with "Racism never existed in the US".

alephnerd 3y ago
I literally got into an argument with a couple Germans on HN about this earlier today.
giraffe_lady 3y ago
I don't think that's cause to dismiss the very real experiences of racism that people do have in the US. Racism kills people here too.
silverquiet 3y ago
When my dad was a kid, black Americans couldn't use the same water fountain as whites; it's not exactly ancient history. My grandparents wouldn't share rooms with black people at their nursing homes, and I'm talking about a couple years ago. It didn't all end because LBJ signed the Civil Rights Act. At some point I think it might have been better when it was all out in the open, so at least you knew what was going on.
- throwaway743 3y ago
  Stories of discrimination would come up quite a bit about my father (black). One time, he and my mother (white) were apartment hunting and this one landlord was excited to show them, when speaking over the phone. Once they showed up to check it out, that asshole slammed the door in their faces. Discrimination persists through all aspects of life, employment, housing, etc. It's pathetic, really.
walthamstow 3y ago
Racism in the US is less to do with the people who moved there and more to do with the people who were taken there. The USA was an apartheid country in the Jim Crow era. What could be more racist than segregation? Jim Crow apartheid was so deeply pervasive that WW2 soldiers blood transfusion packets were segregated, so a stricken white soldier wouldn't be tarnished with black blood. That's quite something when you're fighting against the Nazis.
- Workaccount2 3y ago
  Yes, America was extremely racist. But contemporary examples, especially against immigrants, contrasted against immigrants to mono cultural countries, would be much more relevant to the point I am making.
  - walthamstow 3y ago
    Look, your first paragraph was perfectly sensible and, in my view, true. It's one of America's greatest strengths. Your second paragraph was a car crash of racism denial and you should probably take it back, rather than insisting it's everyone else's fault for reading it wrong > "You wanna see racism? Go [somewhere else]"
    - Workaccount2 3y ago
      They're not reading it wrong, they are packing an agenda into it. People chronically bring up the American south of 60+ years ago as examples of how contemporary full span America is racist. Just look at all the replies. The outward shameless and crippling racism of 1940's American south is still in full force in many countries, but they never get attention for it because the minorities there are too minority to even show up on the radar. Japan is probably going to collapse because giving a foreigner a position of power (commercial or government) is basically unthinkable. Meanwhile America "the most racist country on Earth" just had a black president for 8 years and has a congress composed of 25% minorities.
      - 3y ago
throwaway743 3y ago
> I honestly think one of Americas greatest strengths is the ability to move here from where ever and be able to join society with relatively low friction. It really depends on where you move to and where youre from. Also, let's not sweep discrimination under the rug. It's ugly and wrong all around. Some places worse than others, but it's still bullshit and shouldn't be tolerated, especially when it comes to employment.

alephnerd 3y ago

I literally got into an argument with a couple Germans on HN about this earlier today.

giraffe_lady 3y ago

I don't think that's cause to dismiss the very real experiences of racism that people do have in the US. Racism kills people here too.

silverquiet 3y ago

When my dad was a kid, black Americans couldn't use the same water fountain as whites; it's not exactly ancient history. My grandparents wouldn't share rooms with black people at their nursing homes, and I'm talking about a couple years ago. It didn't all end because LBJ signed the Civil Rights Act. At some point I think it might have been better when it was all out in the open, so at least you knew what was going on.

throwaway743 3y ago
Stories of discrimination would come up quite a bit about my father (black). One time, he and my mother (white) were apartment hunting and this one landlord was excited to show them, when speaking over the phone. Once they showed up to check it out, that asshole slammed the door in their faces. Discrimination persists through all aspects of life, employment, housing, etc. It's pathetic, really.

walthamstow 3y ago

Racism in the US is less to do with the people who moved there and more to do with the people who were taken there. The USA was an apartheid country in the Jim Crow era. What could be more racist than segregation? Jim Crow apartheid was so deeply pervasive that WW2 soldiers blood transfusion packets were segregated, so a stricken white soldier wouldn't be tarnished with black blood. That's quite something when you're fighting against the Nazis.

Workaccount2 3y ago
Yes, America was extremely racist. But contemporary examples, especially against immigrants, contrasted against immigrants to mono cultural countries, would be much more relevant to the point I am making.
- walthamstow 3y ago
  Look, your first paragraph was perfectly sensible and, in my view, true. It's one of America's greatest strengths. Your second paragraph was a car crash of racism denial and you should probably take it back, rather than insisting it's everyone else's fault for reading it wrong > "You wanna see racism? Go [somewhere else]"
  - Workaccount2 3y ago
    They're not reading it wrong, they are packing an agenda into it. People chronically bring up the American south of 60+ years ago as examples of how contemporary full span America is racist. Just look at all the replies. The outward shameless and crippling racism of 1940's American south is still in full force in many countries, but they never get attention for it because the minorities there are too minority to even show up on the radar. Japan is probably going to collapse because giving a foreigner a position of power (commercial or government) is basically unthinkable. Meanwhile America "the most racist country on Earth" just had a black president for 8 years and has a congress composed of 25% minorities.
    - 3y ago

throwaway743 3y ago

> I honestly think one of Americas greatest strengths is the ability to move here from where ever and be able to join society with relatively low friction. It really depends on where you move to and where youre from. Also, let's not sweep discrimination under the rug. It's ugly and wrong all around. Some places worse than others, but it's still bullshit and shouldn't be tolerated, especially when it comes to employment.