• DJDarren@thelemmy.club
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    6 days ago

    Non-American here.

    I don’t dislike America. I was a teenager in the ‘90s, when the culture was peaking in influence here in the UK, so I have great nostalgia for American things (which really helps when playing the daily NYT games). I’ve visited a few times, and always enjoyed my time there.

    But I am real fucking tired of the American influence on the internet, on politics, and on attitudes around the world.

    I’m tired of the American view being the default on social media, because the majority of social media sites are American, populated by Americans.

    I’m tired of saying something that would completely uncontroversial outside the US that attracts a rash of people bitching at you because it’s not normal over there. Like letting our cats outside. I once said something on Reddit about my cat getting killed by a car, and got a bunch of replies from people telling me how irresponsible I am for letting her go outside.

    I don’t use TikTok, but my wife does, and part of her kinda wants the US ban to go ahead, so that her feed is a bit more balanced towards Europe. And I get that.

    :edit: I accept that this isn’t the fault of individual Americans, and hold no ill-will towards them. It’s down to the vast majority of global tech wealth being held in the US, giving the illusion that the whole internet is an American thing.

    I also accept that this is rank hypocrisy coming from a Brit. If we’d had the internet 250 years ago, the whole world would be speaking English now, as opposed to most of it.

  • Asafum@feddit.nl
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    7 days ago

    Love our land, loath our society.

    The natural beauty of America is amazing, but the people seem to be mostly absolute shit.

  • terminally_offline@infosec.pub
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    7 days ago

    Non-American here. You all keep making up the vilest “jokes” about French people. The sheer level of ignorance and disrespect deserves nothing but contempt and derision. And that’s what you’ll get from me and most of Europe.

    Better learn to cope 😒.

  • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    7 days ago

    The United States has done far more harm than good for humanity at large. The individualistic values it champions have led to a society that is fragmented and leaves many citizens in misery. Its global hegemony has resulted in the destruction of numerous countries, with countless lives lost due to its military interventions, coups, and regime change operations around the world. Moreover, the US’s extractive policies have prevented other nations from developing their own economies, perpetuating a cycle of underdevelopment and dependency. Additionally, as one of the largest consumers of energy per capita and major producers of fossil fuels, the United States is among the worst offenders when it comes to climate change, exacerbating global environmental crises with its unsustainable practices.

  • DavidDoesLemmy@aussie.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    7 days ago

    As a non American who used to live there, I can say some things are amazing and some things are awful.

    I love the nature. The national parks are so beautiful. I like many of the people. And there are good job options there in tech.

    But the awful things were a deal-breaker for me, and why I’d never want to live there again. The wealth inequality, the guns, the crime, the homelessness, the healthcare system, the partisan politics, etc.

    So ultimately I probably fall on the side of not liking it.

  • PeepinGoodArgs@reddthat.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    8 days ago

    Yes. As a black man, America has produced a long very involved legacy of which I’m proud being my heritage.

    Sure, it was absolutely founded on treating people like as sub-human, and there are people today that are trying to return me to that state, but fuck them as they’ve been fucked for the last century and a half. I’ll be damned if I let them represent America.

    • TheGalacticVoid@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      8 days ago

      I’m genuinely glad we live in a country that recognizes the horrors of its past. Even with all of the “whitewashing” that occurs in textbooks in parts of the country, like “states’ rights” in the Civil War and praising Columbus, there’s still an overwhelming consensus that minorities were wronged for our entire history.

  • 1984@lemmy.today
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    8 days ago

    No, but I like it more than China and Russia.

    America is addicted to money however, and has a warped idea that working hard is somehow what life is about. But it’s still not close to fascism and there is some accountability still.

  • MagicShel@programming.dev
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    8 days ago

    I love America. I’m rather less fond of some of the people in it. The land is beautiful and varied. There is so much space here. And the constitution is really special, I think, though not perfect. The biggest flaw is people haven’t been taking politics seriously and have elected unserious people.

    I swore to defend it many years ago. At the time I was a kid just paying lip service to a required oath, swearing to a god I never believed in, but the truth is I do love it and I would fight for it, warts and all.

    • oxjox@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      8 days ago

      people haven’t been taking politics seriously and have elected unserious people.

      This is the inherent flaw. We have a representative government that never intended “people” to take politics seriously. Politics was for the landowners.

  • oxjox@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    8 days ago

    The country was founded in large part as a nation for those escaping oppression and persecution for their beliefs. It was designed to provide everyone certain freedoms the founders claimed to be inalienable.

    While this is still an immensely powerful idea, it can not function without guidelines and government involvement.

    Two hundred fifty years ago, it made sense for sparsely populated states to operate mostly independent of the federal government. In time, land became more dense and borders dividing populations and cultures and commerce blurred. Now, the entire world is instantly connected.

    Somehow, generation after generation, it was not self-evident that all people should be treated equally. The police force and prison system still largely resemble what they were initially intended to do - serve the wealthy and enslave people for profit.

    The United States affords everyone the same freedoms and opportunities by way of doing nothing at all. Everyone has the opportunity to work hard and make a fair living for themselves. But some people win the genetic lottery and inherit extra opportunities and extra freedoms.

    We all have the freedom to be complete idiots and that’s considered a win.

    Our constitution needs to be re-written. In my opinion, it needs to be explicit about what all the citizens of the United States should be afforded: education, health care, clean air and water, shelter, the right to not be lied to by the people who draft and pass legislation impacting our lives, the right to a source of information that’s not subject to special interests.

    No. I can’t say I like it. I don’t like how our government is intent on making our lives worse by their inaction. They take more and more of our money while we get less and less in benefits.

    We have no leadership. We have influencers and celebrities. Some people complain about globalism because they know we can’t compete on a global scale. People are prejudice of foreigners who take their jobs because they’re complacent with doing as little as possible. Our most successful form of entertainment is ragebait. Who’s helping us progress as a country? Who’s helping to make us smarter and healthier and happier? Who exactly is promoting general welfare and domestic tranquility?

    It’s the land of the me and home of maybe. And our constitution supports your freedom to be this way. Some people love that and claim the freedom to do nothing is what makes America great.

    A great America, to me, is one built for everyone to prosper, that promotes self-worth and civil respect, that strictly enforces the idea that my freedoms can not be infringed upon by you freedoms or beliefs. A great America is one that doesn’t have elections where you have to vote for the person you dislike the least. Politics should be positively engaging. We should give a damn about our leaders and they should have to deal with consequences of their actions, like anyone else.

    Though it’s not perfect, the one thing I really love about America is our immigration policy. It’s the best place on the planet for people to escape for a better life. Our country is built by and thrives because of immigrants. It’s the one thing that has held true for hundreds of years. How we treat immigrants is a sin. How our government fails to properly fund our immigration system is appalling. I believe most people are in support of legal immigration yet they fail to support proper funding of our immigration department. It wreaks of racism and bigotry.

    America is, by design, the land of the self-righteous. The only people in favor of that are the self-righteous.

  • breadsmasher@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    8 days ago

    I would feel better about america, as a non american, if the country on the whole would accept they aren’t the only country in the world, and didn’t continuously consider themselves the greatest. Actually acknowledge their history and the atrocities committed to get it to where it is today.

    Have some god damn humility

  • Skunk@jlai.lu
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    8 days ago

    I’m European and I have mixed feelings about the US.

    There are some great sceneries, nice peoples and my accent does wonders there. I like its smaller towns and countryside.

    But at the same I hate its cities. You can see the most widen gap between poverty and absurdly rich peoples in the same street. You can have a wonderful avenue and once in the back alley it looks like third world. I’ve never seen that many weird people than in the us. There’s too much violence and capitalism. And don’t get me on the fucking tipping culture.

  • PM_ME_VINTAGE_30S [he/him]@lemmy.sdf.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    8 days ago

    America sucks. The government and the “America” it upholds is an institution of evil, a factory for global war and oppression all while insultingly calling itself “land of the free”, and anyone who latches onto its historical “achievements” probably sucks too.

  • Moonguide@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    8 days ago

    America, americans, or american politicians? I’ve got different opinions. The common american may be misguided or misinformed, but they’re not hateful. America itself, has done incredible damage to the world, all while claiming they’re all for liberty and freedom after being dragged into the most clear-cut good vs. bad war almost a hundred years ago. Ever since, it’s has been dragged kicking and screaming towards progress, and fighting very hard to go back to the stone age. American politicians are nearly all wastes of skin.

    For reference, I’m latino.

  • LinkOpensChest.wav@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    8 days ago

    This is a nation founded on the ideals of genocide, slavery, and white nationalism. No I do not like the US. I’d not trust anyone who does. The USA should be dissolved.