The U.S. Culture(s) thread

So horrible we finally won it a year ago and hosted it this year, ''decades'' after we entered it.

Then again, the 'chicken sounds' song by Israel won this year, so, you might have a point there.

edited 11th Jun '18 1:45:58 PM by Quag15

Couldn't have been worse than the chicken song…I actually started a list of good or memorable Eurovision songs and went fairly far back to dig up some gems which are nowadays classics...wait...are you talking about Hard Rock Halleluja? Take that back, the song and the performance is awesome! One of the most memorable winners ever.

Anyway, every country has its set of problems. But I admit openly that Trump has manage to put the US on my personal black list for travel. And not because I have anything against Americans, I was actually thinking of a nice little trip to Orlando. But I am not ready to suffer through what passes as border control in the US nowadays. I like my privacy, thank you very much. The stupid body scanners are bad enough.

Well if we can all agree on one thing worldwide, it is that we all hate the TSA.

@Spooky, granted, I'm from Texas, but New York City seems to have a reputation as a place where the citizens are kind of apathetic/used to crazy shit happening right in front of them and just going on with their day.

When you are constantly invaded by aliens, exotic armies, super powered individuals and mystical beings, it is hard to be surprised.

Happy MURICA' (Fuck Yeah!) day.

Edited by TroperOnAStickV2 on Jul 4th 2018 at 4:08:18 AM

Just as Planned

Reminder of how we got there:

From Cracked: 5 More Problems That Should Infuriate Americans

• 35 states have legal loopholes that let police officers avoid investigation for sexual assault

• Missouri's marriage laws are so lax people have used it to get away with statutory rape

• Meals on Wheels isn't getting enough money, leading to elderly people dying while also costing the USA even more money due to the costs of emergency room treatments for said elderly people.

• Plenty of homeless people do still work for a living but it's still not enough to afford even an apartment.

• America's bridges are collapsing at an alarming rate.

I'm not sure if posting this article on the Fourth of July was either the least appropriate day to do it or the most appropriate day to do it.

Edited by M84 on Jul 4th 2018 at 11:59:24 PM

Given that everyone here already complain about USA all the time. It feels like inappropriate in the context.

But I'm not American and I'm talking from a Latin-American perspective on social customs. To us, the Anniversary of your country is the day where you can go full "(country) fuck yeah!!" without any irony and then go back to complaining.

So. Dunno.

Edited by KazuyaProta on Jul 4th 2018 at 11:04:31 AM

For the Fourth of July, I've been wondering what are the feasible ways liberal and progressive Americans can reclaim patriotism for their side. It feels like the right have for decades controlled the narrative about how only they can be patriotic and have done everything possible to equate liberalism with treason, to the point where even a number on the left believe it.

I think that one hits the perfect balance between "the US is great" and "well, maybe there are some problems to solve…"

By, eh, "Not being a Manchurian Candidate"? This seems to be a minimum bar for claiming patriotism..

Edited by Izeinsummer on Jul 5th 2018 at 1:46:58 AM

Actually believing in America.

Vox just put up an article saying that the American Revolution was bad because, tl;dr - the US didn't turn out like Cananda. "Adam Ruins Everything" pretty much did the same thing (and proceeded to tick off every hipster stereotype in the process).

A patriot believes in their country. But even a true patriot can see need for improvement:

A patriot can question or stand against war, but love soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. A patriot can question law enforcement tactics, but be in favor of community based policing(a Clinton-era initiative that helped many communities).

The lefties I admire are those who say that, because they love this country they are standing against those laws or policies they fell are unjust.

Americans don't care what Canada/Europe/The Federation has for polices. If there is a problem, we'd like to see someone try to solve it.

Edited by TairaMai on Jul 5th 2018 at 10:24:23 PM

I want to love my country, but I feel like one of the first things it needs is a little humility.

That Americans don’t care about what other countries do is part of the problem. We are extremely self-centered, looking for our own, AMERICAN solutions to problems that other countries have already solved, and that’s if we acknowledge that the problems exist in the first place. That’s not to say that other countries don’t have their own problems, mind you, but we can’t afford to act like we’re better than them.

I'm reminded of a tweet from someone who had an acquaintance come over, see the American flag they have in their house, and ask in an apprehensive tone if they were a Trump supporter.

That's what Trump has done. He's made Americans afraid of the American flag.

As a fellow American, I can only say... Fuck America.

Remember when people said "America Fuck Yeah!" unironically?

Pepperidge Farm remembers.

...Man, I could really go for a Soft-baked Molasses cookie now. Or a Snickerdoodle.

Edited by M84 on Jul 5th 2018 at 11:47:39 PM

The above posts are why I sat out the 4th. I'll start celebrating it again when I feel like we deserve to.

Which reminds me, in the End, did Trump get his military parade?

Edited by Medinoc on Jul 6th 2018 at 12:17:31 PM

Honestly. If a shitty president make people being ashamed of their own country, then American patriotism was a lot weaker than what I imagined.

Also. Seeing someone waving a American flag and believing that is a Trump supporter is weird.

I mean, I'm not even a patriot and we almost choose the daughter of a dictator twice and the populace cheered when her party did push out our Moderate Right Wing president out of office, forcing him to renunciate. But I'll hardly see the level of self-disgust even from the biggest lefty.

If American Patriotism is based on believing in their (moral) superiority, then it was never patriotism. That maybe was the issue in first place.

Edited by KazuyaProta on Jul 6th 2018 at 6:31:50 AM

That's real easy to say when you don't come from a country that A) the entire rest of the world is watching and B) is judged by the person running it and the people that put him in charge.

I'll also echo what Karkat said; part of the problem with America is our complete resistance to emulating anything from Europe, insisting either that it won't work because America is just different somehow, or that that's just not the way things should be done here. For some reason, a significant amount of Americans need to think we're special for some reason.

@Medinoc: I haven't heard anything about it, so I'm assuming he didn't. I also assume he hasn't tweeted anythign about it, so he probably just forgot.

Edited by PhysicalStamina on Jul 6th 2018 at 9:53:50 AM

Really Kazuya? You're shitting on people here for not feeling particularly patriotic?

Do you realize just how insensitive and rude you're coming across as?

For the record, I actually do feel pretty patriotic still. But I'm not going to fault any fellow American for not feeling the same way.

It's also rather hypocritical of you to do this, considering how many of your posts have amounted to complaining about your own country and how self-loathing is endemic to it.

Edited by M84 on Jul 6th 2018 at 7:55:07 PM

Honestly. Your posts irks me of European Overlords Masterrace overtones.

Basic human decency isn't a European-only virtue. The GOP didn't start to support those measures if Europe stoped doing them, so doubt if refusal to imitate Europe has anything to do. That's the excuse, not the motivation.

And honestly, the fact that we self loathe our country so much but still celebrate it but Americans get so disappointed with it is precisely my point. Is just weird comparing them.

I'm not shitting on anyone. Is just weird seeing how it works from a foreign perspective.

PD: Also. Peruvian self loathing is based on race more than nationality.

Edited by KazuyaProta on Jul 6th 2018 at 6:58:52 AM