Europeans don't, maybe sometimes can't, understand the absolute crushing pressure and gaslighting that most Americans are put through to make us the way we are.
-
The rest of world never sees the poor and desperate America, they mostly stay in the decently rich bits of New York or California, and have no idea what a "food desert" is.
@quinn What's a "food desert"? My wife has on business trips to the USA stayed in neighbourhoods where it's impossible to buy what we in Europe would regard as real food - the only thing on offer is (extremely) junk "food" that is completely incapable of sustaining normal life. Is that what "food desert" means?
-
@pixie @quinn I think most Americans don't know what complete poverty looks like. Or what being bombed or shot in your home looks like. Or what slave labor looks like. All these things happen in the US today; but they usually target people with the least political power--like children, disabled, indigenous people, and racial minorities. So it's hushed up, or people don't care because "oh that'll never be me." This is the "peripheral" inside the US.
@pixie @quinn But outside the US, our government and corporations do this with far more impunity, and so a much larger impact scope. It's hard to even wrap my head around the effect of all these wars on people, not to mention the effects of the miriad of other horrible policy changes that are affecting people in other countries around the world.
-
@quinn I can't speak from an European point of view, as I'm south american, but what makes it hard to empathise is that the grinding machine that is the USA gaslights and crushes people everywhere, with different intentions, but outside it's "walls" the consequences are more dire.
And although I wholeheartedly agree that it's not the general people's fault, that the system is design to be this way, I find it very concerning when even the so called cultural or intelectual "elite", that has access to information, that travels, that sees the world, so many times do so with this vision as if they are coming from the centre of things, from the standard, and everything else is periferic and deviation. And I came to see thing like this after working for years with us-americans.
So, although I do feel bad for the people there, I feel worse for my people, as the poor here, when the US elects a supremacist, actuality die from hunger (and drug abuse and crime caused by lack of resources, etc).@pixie @quinn I think most Americans don't know what complete poverty looks like. Or what being bombed or shot in your home looks like. Or what slave labor looks like. All these things happen in the US today; but they usually target people with the least political power--like children, disabled, indigenous people, and racial minorities. So it's hushed up, or people don't care because "oh that'll never be me." This is the "peripheral" inside the US.
-
@pixie @quinn It absolutely makes sense that it's hard to empathize with the concerns expressed in the OP when you're seeing everyday far more dire impacts from these policies. I hear similar sentiments from many black people in the US, who are incredibly frustrated with how out of touch American leftist elites are with the realities of continuous government-sanctioned violence against their communities.
@pixie @quinn Personally I think one of the challenges of this moment is getting people to see how these struggles are related. But the responsibility there is on white people, leftists, elites, etc--those with privilege--to educate themselves on this struggle that so many people in the "peripheral" have been engaging in for so long already.
-
@pixie @quinn But outside the US, our government and corporations do this with far more impunity, and so a much larger impact scope. It's hard to even wrap my head around the effect of all these wars on people, not to mention the effects of the miriad of other horrible policy changes that are affecting people in other countries around the world.
@pixie @quinn It absolutely makes sense that it's hard to empathize with the concerns expressed in the OP when you're seeing everyday far more dire impacts from these policies. I hear similar sentiments from many black people in the US, who are incredibly frustrated with how out of touch American leftist elites are with the realities of continuous government-sanctioned violence against their communities.
-
@pixie @quinn Personally I think one of the challenges of this moment is getting people to see how these struggles are related. But the responsibility there is on white people, leftists, elites, etc--those with privilege--to educate themselves on this struggle that so many people in the "peripheral" have been engaging in for so long already.
@pixie @quinn Also I'm seeing now that I've written this out how I'm still using these "center" and "peripheral" concepts myself. Honestly it's like I need to flip it on its head to think about what is the "center" for this struggle against empire and capitalism? And what is the "peripheral" of the struggle? And it's completely opposite.
-
Europeans don't, maybe sometimes can't, understand the absolute crushing pressure and gaslighting that most Americans are put through to make us the way we are.
It's a decades long effort to turn most of the population into a money and power pump for a tiny elite class, all while grinding us into dust.
We're crazy and scared all the time, and have no idea what's going on in the rest of the world.
There's a reason dying of opiates seemed like a rational choice to a lot of people.
@quinn
35 years ago, in June of 1991, my wife and I honeymooned in Orlando and I recall being struck by the disparity across a single road.On one side, a walled suburb with fairly new 3000+ square foot houses, on the other, very old 400 sq ft homes, a fair percentage of which were dilapidated or boarded up.
I recall thinking it was an odd mix of 1st world and 3rd world in stark contrast.
-
@NickSchwanck @nazokiyoubinbou @quinn
I blame "the American Dream" convincing folk from birth they might be President, that they could be rich (even though virtually none will) as a means to convince them not to demand that the rich should be fairly taxed
And not forgetting the brainwashing of getting them all to swear allegiance to the flag at school every day....
Mind we're getting as bad here with demands from some that everyone has to buy and wear a poppy these days to be on Tele etc
-
@NickSchwanck @nazokiyoubinbou @quinn
I blame "the American Dream" convincing folk from birth they might be President, that they could be rich (even though virtually none will) as a means to convince them not to demand that the rich should be fairly taxed
And not forgetting the brainwashing of getting them all to swear allegiance to the flag at school every day....
Mind we're getting as bad here with demands from some that everyone has to buy and wear a poppy these days to be on Tele etc
@NickSchwanck @nazokiyoubinbou @quinn
That and allowing racist thugs to hang flags off lamppostsAnd paint red crosses on zebra crossings and mini roundabouts!!
-
Europeans don't, maybe sometimes can't, understand the absolute crushing pressure and gaslighting that most Americans are put through to make us the way we are.
It's a decades long effort to turn most of the population into a money and power pump for a tiny elite class, all while grinding us into dust.
We're crazy and scared all the time, and have no idea what's going on in the rest of the world.
There's a reason dying of opiates seemed like a rational choice to a lot of people.
@quinn don't worry about it. Europeans variously conquered the world and extinguished cultures and ecosystems, the US has simply taken over the lead in systematic oppression. We should change that system, navel-gazing won't do that.
-
Europeans don't, maybe sometimes can't, understand the absolute crushing pressure and gaslighting that most Americans are put through to make us the way we are.
It's a decades long effort to turn most of the population into a money and power pump for a tiny elite class, all while grinding us into dust.
We're crazy and scared all the time, and have no idea what's going on in the rest of the world.
There's a reason dying of opiates seemed like a rational choice to a lot of people.
indeed in Europe it's the same, they take all the money and cut every public-services...
-
@quinn What's a "food desert"? My wife has on business trips to the USA stayed in neighbourhoods where it's impossible to buy what we in Europe would regard as real food - the only thing on offer is (extremely) junk "food" that is completely incapable of sustaining normal life. Is that what "food desert" means?
@TimWardCam @quinn AIUI a "food desert" is a place where it's impossible to get to a place to buy basic grocery items without long distance drive by a car you may not have.
-
@TimWardCam @quinn AIUI a "food desert" is a place where it's impossible to get to a place to buy basic grocery items without long distance drive by a car you may not have.
@dalias @TimWardCam @quinn yep. There are some maps of this in the US but here’s an explainer for it https://gisportal.ers.usda.gov/portal/apps/experiencebuilder/experience?id=a53ebd7396cd4ac3a3ed09137676fd40
-
@quinn What's a "food desert"? My wife has on business trips to the USA stayed in neighbourhoods where it's impossible to buy what we in Europe would regard as real food - the only thing on offer is (extremely) junk "food" that is completely incapable of sustaining normal life. Is that what "food desert" means?
@TimWardCam @quinn I've heard it used in uk for eg estates where the local supermarket has no fresh fruit or vegetables.
-
@TimWardCam @quinn AIUI a "food desert" is a place where it's impossible to get to a place to buy basic grocery items without long distance drive by a car you may not have.
-
The rest of world never sees the poor and desperate America, they mostly stay in the decently rich bits of New York or California, and have no idea what a "food desert" is.
@quinn for decades your TV overwhelmingly presented an affluent white suburban middle class to be the normal way everyone lives. It took a very long time for media with a different perspective to reach us in any volume
-
@quinn I've been saying this forever; the defining characteristic of Americans for a while now has been fear.
It only dawned on me after a conversation between a bunch of photographers talking about equipment when shooting solo at night. Little old English ladies talking about tea flasks and 30 year old ex military in the USA talking about how many guns.
-
Europeans don't, maybe sometimes can't, understand the absolute crushing pressure and gaslighting that most Americans are put through to make us the way we are.
It's a decades long effort to turn most of the population into a money and power pump for a tiny elite class, all while grinding us into dust.
We're crazy and scared all the time, and have no idea what's going on in the rest of the world.
There's a reason dying of opiates seemed like a rational choice to a lot of people.
@quinn
began with the murder of social movement leaders in the 60's (MLK, JFK, X)
then,systematic dismantling of unions and shipping of blue collar and manufacturing jobs overseas by the investor class. then piss on you from above is sold as trickle down econ omics while social and educational programs get gutted... -
Europeans don't, maybe sometimes can't, understand the absolute crushing pressure and gaslighting that most Americans are put through to make us the way we are.
It's a decades long effort to turn most of the population into a money and power pump for a tiny elite class, all while grinding us into dust.
We're crazy and scared all the time, and have no idea what's going on in the rest of the world.
There's a reason dying of opiates seemed like a rational choice to a lot of people.
@quinn @quinn Many of us do, at least to a degree. Singing national anthems at school never seemed healthy to me.
And the USA has invented the “taking systemic faults and say they’re individual failures” that our (EU) neocon parties have so successfully copied.
The American Dream has always been pointing to the top 10% to make the 90% feel bad (‘motivated’). Say unions are for stupid people, then job insecurity and low wages will keep people from organizing.
-
@quinn Americans also often don't travel within our own country.
One of my current neighbors thinks she would need pepper spray to travel abroad and she's disinterested in traveling more than a state or two away from home. She's so extremely angry but the other neighbors are so sweet to her. The fear has her trapped in this small corner of life and the smallness of her life has her angry, resentful, and clingy.
Folks have ideas about the other states informed by tv and news.
@clarablackink @quinn I had a friend who lived in a major city in Texas who was afraid of NYC and convinced you'd be immediately mugged or pickpocketed if you went there. The man has traveled to many places including tourist destinations in Mexico but somehow had NYC framed as a boogie man...
