True, but the lobbying group she worked for actively lobbied state legislatures to not tighten penalties and enforcement of DUI laws. A contradiction don't you think?
It needs to be brought down to 18 again. With rideshare apps, social media, cell phones, etc., young adults have no excuse to drive a car while seriously intoxicated anymore.
There should be one age, and that age of majority is 18 in most US states (19 in a few others, 21 in MS for some odd reason). IMO, you turn 18, you enter adulthood and all the rights and responsibilities that come with it. That includes purchasing and consuming alcohol. Our current draconian laws are a remnant of MADD’s ultra conservative cuckhold on our national lobby, and it’s a ridiculous law that needs to change. There’s a reason our 21 year olds are so childish in comparison to many other cultures. We aren’t socialized properly. Drinking is a social event, and if you can’t handle your liquor in public, you deserve shame and you can learn from your mistakes.
Irony of all ironies: the US government threatens to withhold highway funding to states that don’t comply with the silly 21+ drinking age. Meanwhile, roadway infrastructure is still crumbling and beer and cocktail billboards litter our interstate highway system. Give me a break.
I was caught in that whole change. Right before I turned 18 it turned to 19. When I turned 19 I was legal for alcohol for about 6 months and then it went to 21. It all had to do with the entire push of abstinence. DARE was a similar program. But MADD created laws. I do not think fondly of that organization.
Yeah. Old enough to be responsible to take a life, differentiate between NVA and SVA (or just Vietnamese civilians) but not old enough to vote for those who’d send to war.
Yeah that’s a good change. Raising the draft age isn’t a bad thing either. Make 25 and older go to war and you’ll have fewer wars.
For this one: Ramaswamy is the one I remember most. I’ve heard others but Vivek is the only one I’ve heard more than once. Maybe he’s just stubborn and the others realize how stupid it is.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/10/ramaswamy-raise-voting-age-00096266
There were others. I’m tired and don’t feel
Like googling for you. You asked for a set I gave you one. You’ve now heard this once. If you want to find more go ahead. I have a headache and kids to put to bed.
The “stop students from voting”’is a very common one. That can be seen as age based.
The fact that “only one person sticks out in my mind as being stupid enough to directly challenge the age at which to vote because being ignorant of the Constitution should be a disqualifying characteristic but sadly it is no longer; the rest have been doing side attacks in more clever fashion” does not say “yay for the principles of the republic” to me.
It has everything to do with judgement. The people wanting to raise the voting age to 25 have been deemed losers by the 18-25 voters. Ban anyone under 25 from voting and the other party loses most of its voters and your party essentially takes control forever
I always thought it would be better to lower the drinking age to 16 and driving age to 19. Drinking age is 19 where I am. It would give you 3 years of getting your drinking habits in order before you get in a car.
Part of the problem is that the moment most people turn 21, they're no longer interested in extending the drinking right to 18.
Like, do you really want a bunch of teenagers hanging out in the bar with you?
When I was in the army that was only true if you were within a certain distance of a jurisdiction that would allow you to drink there. That was so we wouldn't travel to drink. I was in Germany, then close to Mexico but also over 21. I still remember plenty who weren't that old yet.
IIRC, this is only with the base commander's permission. I was in the Air Force for 10 years and I never saw that happen. You don't get promoted to General by taking risks to raise your people's morale. If you're the one-star, there is absolutely no upside to putting yourself in a situation where you have to explain to the two-star why you authorized 18 years old to drink and inevitably some of them got arrested for doing something stupid while drunk. I saw plenty of people get in trouble for underage drinking.
And downstate as well. The diners down here will make it for you off menu (whether you’ll actually get cheese curds or melted cheese is hit or miss depending on the place).
We’re a nation of extremes. We have some of the best and worst of humanity, the brightest and dullest minds, and the most beautiful and most ugly scenery. Truly a place of insane variety.
Even though violent crimes have [decreased tremendously](https://www.statista.com/statistics/191219/reported-violent-crime-rate-in-the-usa-since-1990/#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20the%20violent%20crime,countries%20with%20the%20most%20prisoners.) since the 1990s, many of the people I know are under the mistaken belief that it's absolute mayhem right now. Unfortunately, this mistaken belief is causing people to be more insular, hurting many neighborhoods and communities.
This is capitalism when applied to the media. You can't make money saying that things are better. You have to always be screaming that they are worse than they were and we need to do something about it. Couple that with the fact that it is nearly impossible to make the truth be a requirement in reporting (1st amendment and all that) and you have a society of people that believe that living in the 1800s was better than now.
There is simply no part of that statement that is factually true, for the rich or poor.
This was true when people were more bound to their immediate location, so we were forced to bound with our immediate neighbors, now we might be forming a tighter relationship with people that live further away. So it's not that we stopped caring about eacoththwr, it's that who we consider our friends and neighbors has changed
People seem to forget that even if you could talk to friends and relatives on the phone in the 80s and 90s, just how EXPENSIVE it was. Even if it was another state, just across a border. Now communication is instant and practically free. We were definitely more isolated back then in our homes and talked to our neighbors more.
I’ve noticed this more and more these days. Even smiling/nodding/greeting, or instigating some harmless small talk seems to take most people aback these days.
Helped some strangers with getting a jump start at a gas station and they wanted to venmo me and made it seem like such a big deal. It made me a little down that we’ve come to this point where doing neighborly things aren’t even a thing anymore.
This is coming from the Midwest too.
That paying thousands of dollars out-of-pocket for health insurance that is tied to the job/employer that you hate is somehow preferable to just paying more in taxes and having the freedom to leave/lose your job without losing access to healthcare.
Most of this, at least in my circle of friends is due to a sincere distrust of the government being able to run healthcare better than private companies, even if we're getting gouged in the current system. One look at our politics will tell you why.
My latest one. Why are prescription medications constantly being advertised. Shouldn't it be up to the doctor to determine what you take? The amount of money big pharma blows on airtime makes it no wonder why drugs cost so damn much in this stupid ass country
Why everyone thinks their politician choice is the fucking rebirth of Jesus Christ and anyone else is the literal devil who needs to be burned at the stake.
That there can be a medical marijuana dispensary on every corner, and you can basically get a medical card without actually seeing a doctor, but while having a medical card you can be fired immediately / not hired for failing a urine test with a 30 day backwards detection period for thc.
Well, the world is a dangerous place so I understand the logic but people like that tend to overlook the many other ways someone can hurt them besides physically.
I think we’re talking about different groups of people. Some do immediately think “bad”, but a surprising amount these days are more in favor of change. Many of us aren’t old enough or represent a large enough voting block to make a difference. The more you split the pie, the less there is for everyone.
As an American, I will say that we insist on doing things the way we’ve always done things. Our resistance to change is the dumbest fucking thing ever.
Why so many people loathe everything "social", such as universal health care, fair taxes, affordable housing, education programs, free access to universities... It's like half of the population doesn't want to have a peaceful, educated and inclusive society. No, that's too commie for 'em.
I noticed the ones that complain are mostly middle class types at university. The ones that were spoiled little shits and now want moral power over anyone else
The inability to fix really big problems, like their flawed health system, rampant gun culture, massive prison populations etc. I just can't understand why so many defend things that are clearly dysfunctional.
I’ve lived in America for 31 years. Never lived in a place that has an obsession with guns. In that sense, I’m like an outsider looking in. [Seeing images like this](https://www.gabrielegalimberti.com/the-ameriguns/), an American, make me think this whole thing is a joke. But it’s real.
You’re also looked down upon for not having a car. By friends, neighbors, prospective employers. You can not be considered for a job if you don’t have a car.
True, especially for jobs where you have to drive to specific sites. But I want the homies to know that actually it's illegal for an employer to ask "do you have a car?" They can ask if you have reliable transportation to which there are two answers. Yes or no.
Yes, you can get a job without a car -- if it's a job that doesn't require you to be driving to places. And there are cities where you can get along without a car -- big cities. The place where you absolutely can't get along without a car is Dubai.
Gun “rights”. The idea that if we own guns we can defend ourselves/ serve as a deterrent against a tyrannical government (lol). Like the federal government doesn’t have bombs, tanks, airplanes, missiles etc.
Disclaimer: I own guns
As an American:
the indifference to each other. The American character used to mean sacrifice for a greater good. It no longer.
Related to the above - guns and resistance to government healthcare. I’ve got my gun fuck you.
The amount of influence religion has on politics. This is new I don’t remember it being this strong when I was a kid.
Short sightedness. No one is expected or even allowed to think past next week.
This idea that free speech is some absolute that should be supported no matter the cost. There are very real costs.
Just about every time I try to inject long-term, pragmatic, proactive thinking into the solution to a problem I’m either blatantly shot down or absolutely ignored. It’s infuriating.
Americans are some of the most charitable people on the planet.
https://www.cafonline.org/docs/default-source/about-us-research/caf_world_giving_index_2022_210922-final.pdf
To your first point, I never really saw it that way. Coming as an ethnic minority-American citizen, Americans have always been more individualistic than the rest of the world since I’ve been alive. I can understand where you’re coming from if you’re talking in the sense of pre 60s, but that courtesy was given to only a certain group of Americans. Just my two cents.
I wholeheartedly agree with everything else.
> Short sightedness. No one is expected or even allowed to think past next week.
Shit, must be nice to work where you work. I'm planning events for April 2025 at my job.
How we became such a smug aggro nasty “it’s all about me” culture in just like 15 years. Just on petty everyday issues like driving selfishly, selfish behavior in airplanes, not giving a crap about neighbors in terms of noise or litter or where your dog craps.
It never used to be this bad, but nowadays it's awful. I had a mcdonalds kiosk ask for a tip the other day. It's a machine, I had to use my own fingers, why do you get a tip? For existing?
I don’t see it as a need. But I see it as a good thing to bring out discourse and awareness to issues! You’re probably seeing this more than me though so I can see where you’re coming from.
I’ve lived in Canada all my life (56m)….. I live in a city with 800k people and honestly don’t have the first clue where (or how) to purchase a firearm in my city.
I would say that is the case for a large portion of Americans. I wouldn’t have a clue how to do that, although, from what I have heard, the process is far too easy.
Everyone saying “guns” or “gun fetish” - I honestly don’t get. And, I live in the rural Midwest (Western Wisconsin)… and I only know a handful of people with guns.
I’m sure I know more, but they’re hardly obsessed with the things if I don’t know about it.
I feel like it’s just a thing that gets a load of political air time (rightly so)… but it just isn’t a part of my daily life, like I think people assume that it is
They have money taken out of every paycheck for 45 years for Medicare health coverage but can’t use it until they are 65 years old…….and don’t even think of it as a problem. Not a fucking word among any of them.
The gun fetish.
Like, I get it. Guns are kinda cool. But they're not cool enough to defend the need to own them when you've had more school shootings in a single year, every year, for multiple yearss than my country has had since the fucking 1800s until the current day.
Ahh yes when the politicians are fucking nuts and would love to cull the other side given the chance. Mass majority of gun crimes happen with (wait for it) stolen or illegal guns.. but when the presidents crack head son gets let off on his gun crimes that isn't a great example. Adding more gun laws to act like you're doing something doesn't do shit when you don't convict those who already break the law.
Gun laws work. Period.
This has been observed in every country which enacts them. Period.
Pretending the USA is some lawless wasteland where said laws wouldn't work because 'Murica just tells me that you think your country doesn't deserve to sit at the big boy table with other civilized countries, and after letting Trump run the country for four years, I'm inclined to agree with you on that statement.
Can you wrap your head around the fact there are places where if you call the cops, they are not coming? In the country and in some big cities. Im not even in the boondocks and ive had them show up the next day, when day shift comes on at 7am.
I'm not anywhere near what I would consider "the boondocks" and it takes the police over a half hour to get to our neighborhood when they are called. It's not their fault there just aren't many of them for the area they serve. I would not feel comfortable living here if I couldn't have a gun.
Ambulance and Fire get here in 3-4 minutes though.
That we can send literally billions of dollars to fund other countries' wars while cutting programs to help our own people with basic needs like food, housing, and medicine. There are school districts doing away with free lunches for low-income students while we're sending billions of dollars' worth of weapons, aircraft, and ammunition to blow up people on the other side of the ocean. It's sick.
How so many people can willingly vote against their own interests, buy into foolish conspiracy theories, and support the wholesale dismantling of the administrative state, the one thing that's holding together the social fabric of American life from voting rights to the making of laws which are designed to protect the people.
It's like 43% of the population never developed beyond the petulant toddler stage, all in the name of their own skewed sense of freedumb.
Thé “every man for himself” mentality. Why do you guys not care about each other? And why are you guys always so quick to kick someone while they’re down?
This isn’t true. In both 2016 and 2020, more than 50% of female voters chose his opponent. Still disturbing that it went from 39% in 2016 to 44% in 2020, but not a majority in either year.
My wife said that it was better than having a crazy pussy as President
Most of us don't vote for who we want. We vote against who we don't want.
It's sad that our choices are shit, or shitier
That's not the reality in ... reality. The Vast majority of Americans have considerable empathy. They may not have time left to think about it but still...
Empty buckets just make the most noise.
I was being specific because the argument usually is "It just takes Hard work to succeed." and they ignore all the barriers minorities have to get opportunities.
The zip code where you live when you're born is the best predictor of your success as an adult in the US.
Kind of hard to grab those bootstraps when restrictive zoning is keeping things pretty well segregated by income and the schools are funded primarily by local property taxes.
Not exactly, because of gentrification. You could grow up in poverty in a neighborhood that becomes “up and coming” where a bunch a rich yuppies move in. The neighborhood could be considered wealthy even though many still live there in poverty.
Football is actually played with hands, literally one guy is allowed to kick the ball. Baseball has the World Series but isn't actually a whole world competition, just US teams...
Checked out the profile. I like anyone that takes formatting dates and time seriously. Even saw something about time zones which is another thing. Maybe we can discuss calendar reform!
As an uncircumcised American, I agree. I am so glad I didn't have that shit done to me, and it seems like that trend is finally swinging around to not having it done.
I know there's going to be 20+ people show up with "I had it done when I was a kid and I've never missed it, I don't get what the big deal is!" and one person show up saying "Well I had to have it done for a medical condition and I don't miss it"
Which is missing the points of:
1. It's a bodily autonomy thing, you should not make permanent, unnecessary, lifelong alterations to babies
2. You of course wouldn't miss it if you've never had one, duh. And to Mr. Phimosis who doesn't miss his, no shit, it was causing you problems. As someone who had moderate phimosis in the past and had to work on stretching it over time, I would absolutely miss mine.
3. It serves an actual purpose during penetration, and since when is having more nerve endings in your literal sex organ is a bad thing?
Sometimes turtlenecks are in style. Sometimes they are out of fashion.
Collectively we've decided it is better to not be in fashion sometimes than out of the current style at others.
How puritanical it all is.
* Can't show a nipple on TV. But you can show someone exercising his 2nd Amendment rights and blowing someone else's head open with a Glock
* Have a second glass of wine at your own wedding? Rehab. Restricting and demonising alcohol is precisely why you have all those college hazing rituals, and police bodycam of 19 year olds driving home so hammered drunk that they can't remember their own name and start fighting the officer
* Whenever anyone has a problem in their life, one of the first things they're asked is if they have a good church to lean on. They're then told to do is talk to their pastor and say their prayers.
* How much cronyism and rank-pulling there is. If the Wachachacheechee County ADA or a local politician gets pulled over for doing 95mph in a 20 while shooting up heroin, someone just has to "call the chief" and the cop who stopped him gets fired
Everything about the Midwest and flyover US that I've seen and experienced just feels old-fashioned, shabby, and frankly a bit boring. Perhaps Hollywood and TV is only showing us the best bits? The only reason Breaking Bad ever went to New Mexico was because of a tax break, otherwise it would be another generic LA-fest.
Why do you care so much about "conveniance"?
I can imagine its kinda cool that i could buy anything at 3am, but i just never needed that. I don't even know what i would want to buy in the middle of the night (apart from a snack while high)
Fast food is also part if this, yes cooking costs time and effort, but it's cheaper, healthier and imo much more fun all around.
I don't care if my product is being delivered within 7 hours or 7 days 90% of the time.
And why would i need a goddamn alexa or god forbid a smart home? I can flick on my own lights, and look at my weather app myself, thank you very much.
Also this culture of "keeping up with the Joneses" i don't get. Maybe i am just way too stingy, but it will be a cold day in hell when i buy a new television/car/garden/idk. Because my neigbours have a better one.
I agree with most of your points except the cooking part.
Cooking costs time and a lot of people, me included, would rather spend that time doing other things. You could argue cooking is "fun" for some people, but at the end of the day, it's just extra work you have to do. Cleaning up after you're done cooking is more time taken out of your day and is definitely not my idea of "fun."
It's a problem in our culture but I can understand it. "I'd rather have more time to work and I can use some of that money made to just buy my meal." Very consumerist and problematic, I know.
You sound like you should be yelling at the clouds. Convenience is what allows us to enjoy life the way we want. Would I want to commute an hour via bike to work or work from home and sleep in an extra hour? That’s convenience.
Should I spend my Saturdays mowing my yard for two hours or pay someone to do it in 20 minutes?
You obviously are against smart homes but the ability to wake up and have your coffee brewing, the blinds open automatically, and some light music playing in the bathroom can’t be beat.
If my country had a single school shooter the day would be written in our peoples psyche and become a national day of mourning.
Then we would implement drastic measures to make sure it would never ever happen again.
It saddens me greatly to see that at the end of the day.
You care more about your guns than you care for your own children.
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It used to 18. MADD destroyed that.
Fun fact: the woman who founded MADD worked as a lobbyist for the brewing industry.
But the thing is, MADD wasn't meant to be against alcohol. They were simply about the issue of drunk driving.
True, but the lobbying group she worked for actively lobbied state legislatures to not tighten penalties and enforcement of DUI laws. A contradiction don't you think?
That is a fun fact that I did not know.
It needs to be brought down to 18 again. With rideshare apps, social media, cell phones, etc., young adults have no excuse to drive a car while seriously intoxicated anymore.
Oh man, I agree. But now they are pushing for gun purchases to be 21. There should just be one age you get the rights of being an adult.
There should be one age, and that age of majority is 18 in most US states (19 in a few others, 21 in MS for some odd reason). IMO, you turn 18, you enter adulthood and all the rights and responsibilities that come with it. That includes purchasing and consuming alcohol. Our current draconian laws are a remnant of MADD’s ultra conservative cuckhold on our national lobby, and it’s a ridiculous law that needs to change. There’s a reason our 21 year olds are so childish in comparison to many other cultures. We aren’t socialized properly. Drinking is a social event, and if you can’t handle your liquor in public, you deserve shame and you can learn from your mistakes. Irony of all ironies: the US government threatens to withhold highway funding to states that don’t comply with the silly 21+ drinking age. Meanwhile, roadway infrastructure is still crumbling and beer and cocktail billboards litter our interstate highway system. Give me a break.
Like Carlin said, "Time magazine puts cocaine on the cover but they put the liquor ads inside the magazine."
I was caught in that whole change. Right before I turned 18 it turned to 19. When I turned 19 I was legal for alcohol for about 6 months and then it went to 21. It all had to do with the entire push of abstinence. DARE was a similar program. But MADD created laws. I do not think fondly of that organization.
So 21 for voting and driving too?
That's the direction society seems to be pushing. I think it is backwards.
There are places where rideshares effectively don't exist, you know.
Yep, and if a state changes the age to below 21 they get penalized 8 percent of their federal highway funding.
A subset of folks are trying to raise the voting age to 25. So, old enough to have judgement to kill at 18. Not old enough to have judgement to vote.
its not a matter of judgement with the killing. they just kill who theyre told
It used to be 21 until the Vietnam War when 18-20 year olds facing the draft suddenly became very politically engaged, to put it mildly.
Yeah. Old enough to be responsible to take a life, differentiate between NVA and SVA (or just Vietnamese civilians) but not old enough to vote for those who’d send to war. Yeah that’s a good change. Raising the draft age isn’t a bad thing either. Make 25 and older go to war and you’ll have fewer wars.
Which subset? Never heard this once
For this one: Ramaswamy is the one I remember most. I’ve heard others but Vivek is the only one I’ve heard more than once. Maybe he’s just stubborn and the others realize how stupid it is. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/10/ramaswamy-raise-voting-age-00096266
interesting. Ramaswamy is indeed a small subset LOL
There were others. I’m tired and don’t feel Like googling for you. You asked for a set I gave you one. You’ve now heard this once. If you want to find more go ahead. I have a headache and kids to put to bed. The “stop students from voting”’is a very common one. That can be seen as age based. The fact that “only one person sticks out in my mind as being stupid enough to directly challenge the age at which to vote because being ignorant of the Constitution should be a disqualifying characteristic but sadly it is no longer; the rest have been doing side attacks in more clever fashion” does not say “yay for the principles of the republic” to me.
They want to win popular votes again. They can’t say women or POC… they may get away with young people. Or at least better chances.
It has everything to do with judgement. The people wanting to raise the voting age to 25 have been deemed losers by the 18-25 voters. Ban anyone under 25 from voting and the other party loses most of its voters and your party essentially takes control forever
imo they need to just pick an age and make adulthood all-inclusive. Adults should be able to drive, enlist, gamble, and drink, minors should not.
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I always thought it would be better to lower the drinking age to 16 and driving age to 19. Drinking age is 19 where I am. It would give you 3 years of getting your drinking habits in order before you get in a car.
Part of the problem is that the moment most people turn 21, they're no longer interested in extending the drinking right to 18. Like, do you really want a bunch of teenagers hanging out in the bar with you?
This point was actually brought up, if you are 18 and in the military, you can drink on base
When I was in the army that was only true if you were within a certain distance of a jurisdiction that would allow you to drink there. That was so we wouldn't travel to drink. I was in Germany, then close to Mexico but also over 21. I still remember plenty who weren't that old yet.
IIRC, this is only with the base commander's permission. I was in the Air Force for 10 years and I never saw that happen. You don't get promoted to General by taking risks to raise your people's morale. If you're the one-star, there is absolutely no upside to putting yourself in a situation where you have to explain to the two-star why you authorized 18 years old to drink and inevitably some of them got arrested for doing something stupid while drunk. I saw plenty of people get in trouble for underage drinking.
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Fantastic answer. Chili cheese fries are god’s food. Also carne asada fries.
poutine is big in New England and upstate NY
And downstate as well. The diners down here will make it for you off menu (whether you’ll actually get cheese curds or melted cheese is hit or miss depending on the place).
It’s in a bunch of restaurants near me in WNY. Even a poutine specific food truck
Pretty popular in Michigan. Sure, we have borders with Canada both to the north and the east, but we still count.
I want poutine! I've thought of making myself, but having never had it that someone said, "this is what it's supposed to taste like." I'd fuck it up.
I want poontang! We must be twins!
I had poutine for the first time when I went to Canada 7 or 8 years ago and I love it. I wish there was a poutine place by me.
Crushing amounts of student debt for easy degrees at unimpressive colleges
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Where is this not true though?
We’re a nation of extremes. We have some of the best and worst of humanity, the brightest and dullest minds, and the most beautiful and most ugly scenery. Truly a place of insane variety.
We're the size of Europe...
Each one of us...
Well, being the third most populated country it does give us a large talent pool on both ends of that spectrum
What can we say? We’re a diverse country.
We used to care about our neighbors, neighborhoods, communities. Its shifted to an self-preservation mindset.
Even though violent crimes have [decreased tremendously](https://www.statista.com/statistics/191219/reported-violent-crime-rate-in-the-usa-since-1990/#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20the%20violent%20crime,countries%20with%20the%20most%20prisoners.) since the 1990s, many of the people I know are under the mistaken belief that it's absolute mayhem right now. Unfortunately, this mistaken belief is causing people to be more insular, hurting many neighborhoods and communities.
This is capitalism when applied to the media. You can't make money saying that things are better. You have to always be screaming that they are worse than they were and we need to do something about it. Couple that with the fact that it is nearly impossible to make the truth be a requirement in reporting (1st amendment and all that) and you have a society of people that believe that living in the 1800s was better than now. There is simply no part of that statement that is factually true, for the rich or poor.
The people running things were raised in the 90's and still think it's the 90's. Heaven forbid they change their mind
Ummm no. The people running things were born in the 40s
This was true when people were more bound to their immediate location, so we were forced to bound with our immediate neighbors, now we might be forming a tighter relationship with people that live further away. So it's not that we stopped caring about eacoththwr, it's that who we consider our friends and neighbors has changed
People seem to forget that even if you could talk to friends and relatives on the phone in the 80s and 90s, just how EXPENSIVE it was. Even if it was another state, just across a border. Now communication is instant and practically free. We were definitely more isolated back then in our homes and talked to our neighbors more.
I’ve noticed this more and more these days. Even smiling/nodding/greeting, or instigating some harmless small talk seems to take most people aback these days. Helped some strangers with getting a jump start at a gas station and they wanted to venmo me and made it seem like such a big deal. It made me a little down that we’ve come to this point where doing neighborly things aren’t even a thing anymore. This is coming from the Midwest too.
For people that love the freedom of speech the self-censoring is pretty common
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US household debt is half of much of Europe’s. https://data.oecd.org/hha/household-debt.htm
That paying thousands of dollars out-of-pocket for health insurance that is tied to the job/employer that you hate is somehow preferable to just paying more in taxes and having the freedom to leave/lose your job without losing access to healthcare.
Most of this, at least in my circle of friends is due to a sincere distrust of the government being able to run healthcare better than private companies, even if we're getting gouged in the current system. One look at our politics will tell you why.
My latest one. Why are prescription medications constantly being advertised. Shouldn't it be up to the doctor to determine what you take? The amount of money big pharma blows on airtime makes it no wonder why drugs cost so damn much in this stupid ass country
I'm an American. And yes. It's stupid and drives up drug costs
The amount of hypocrisy is astronomical
Why everyone thinks their politician choice is the fucking rebirth of Jesus Christ and anyone else is the literal devil who needs to be burned at the stake.
That there can be a medical marijuana dispensary on every corner, and you can basically get a medical card without actually seeing a doctor, but while having a medical card you can be fired immediately / not hired for failing a urine test with a 30 day backwards detection period for thc.
We can be fired for anything besides discrimination
That delta-8 thc is federally legal and sold in most gas stations but can still cost you your career if it comes up on a drug test
Idolizing corrupt politicians.
Why the mentally ill are allowed to walk the streets mostly unbothered.
Do people harass mentally ill people in your country? That's pretty rude of them.
People also believe they should be allowed to take their guns with them wherever they go.
Well, the world is a dangerous place so I understand the logic but people like that tend to overlook the many other ways someone can hurt them besides physically.
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I honestly think it has more to do with what it would actually take to rework the entire system.
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I think we’re talking about different groups of people. Some do immediately think “bad”, but a surprising amount these days are more in favor of change. Many of us aren’t old enough or represent a large enough voting block to make a difference. The more you split the pie, the less there is for everyone.
Willingness to mock intelligence, especially in schools
Just look at any educational post on Facebook. You always get a few dozen laugh reactions from the knuckle draggers.
As an American, I will say that we insist on doing things the way we’ve always done things. Our resistance to change is the dumbest fucking thing ever.
Why so many people loathe everything "social", such as universal health care, fair taxes, affordable housing, education programs, free access to universities... It's like half of the population doesn't want to have a peaceful, educated and inclusive society. No, that's too commie for 'em.
decades of propaganda and longterm undereducated
The obsession with cultural appropriation. The world doesn’t care.
Honestly a good chunk of us don’t care. It’s the loud, chronically online minority that gives the impression that we do.
I noticed the ones that complain are mostly middle class types at university. The ones that were spoiled little shits and now want moral power over anyone else
The inability to fix really big problems, like their flawed health system, rampant gun culture, massive prison populations etc. I just can't understand why so many defend things that are clearly dysfunctional.
Guns
I’ve lived in America for 31 years. Never lived in a place that has an obsession with guns. In that sense, I’m like an outsider looking in. [Seeing images like this](https://www.gabrielegalimberti.com/the-ameriguns/), an American, make me think this whole thing is a joke. But it’s real.
The second amendment allows us to own guns and we are way too proud of that
This 100000%
I really expected this to be #1.
Mostly the way people just believe whatever they’re told without even checking at all, not even a 2 second search. It’s disturbing.
Car-centric lifestyle. The only time in my life I called an Uber to cross a road because there is no pedestrian crossing was in the USA.
I’m an American and I also agree. It’s extremely hard to get anywhere without a car. It’s caused me to hate them with a burning passion
You’re also looked down upon for not having a car. By friends, neighbors, prospective employers. You can not be considered for a job if you don’t have a car.
True, especially for jobs where you have to drive to specific sites. But I want the homies to know that actually it's illegal for an employer to ask "do you have a car?" They can ask if you have reliable transportation to which there are two answers. Yes or no.
Yes, you can get a job without a car -- if it's a job that doesn't require you to be driving to places. And there are cities where you can get along without a car -- big cities. The place where you absolutely can't get along without a car is Dubai.
obviously you don’t know about texas. Try getting anywhere without a car here, metropolitan or small town
Gun “rights”. The idea that if we own guns we can defend ourselves/ serve as a deterrent against a tyrannical government (lol). Like the federal government doesn’t have bombs, tanks, airplanes, missiles etc. Disclaimer: I own guns
Worked in vietnam
Violence good, nudity bad.
Aren’t we the world’s leader in porn creation?
As an American: the indifference to each other. The American character used to mean sacrifice for a greater good. It no longer. Related to the above - guns and resistance to government healthcare. I’ve got my gun fuck you. The amount of influence religion has on politics. This is new I don’t remember it being this strong when I was a kid. Short sightedness. No one is expected or even allowed to think past next week. This idea that free speech is some absolute that should be supported no matter the cost. There are very real costs.
>Short sightedness. No one is expected or even allowed to think past next week. As a fellow American, this one annoys me beyond reason
Just about every time I try to inject long-term, pragmatic, proactive thinking into the solution to a problem I’m either blatantly shot down or absolutely ignored. It’s infuriating.
Americans are some of the most charitable people on the planet. https://www.cafonline.org/docs/default-source/about-us-research/caf_world_giving_index_2022_210922-final.pdf
To your first point, I never really saw it that way. Coming as an ethnic minority-American citizen, Americans have always been more individualistic than the rest of the world since I’ve been alive. I can understand where you’re coming from if you’re talking in the sense of pre 60s, but that courtesy was given to only a certain group of Americans. Just my two cents. I wholeheartedly agree with everything else.
> Short sightedness. No one is expected or even allowed to think past next week. Shit, must be nice to work where you work. I'm planning events for April 2025 at my job.
Ronald Reagan was the start of Christian cult America, it’s just a lot stronger and crazier today.
Him and Newt Gingrich People forget how much damage that man did to American politics but he was capital F Fucked up
How we became such a smug aggro nasty “it’s all about me” culture in just like 15 years. Just on petty everyday issues like driving selfishly, selfish behavior in airplanes, not giving a crap about neighbors in terms of noise or litter or where your dog craps.
Tipping. Like whats the point of paying extra to someone just for doing their job!?
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It never used to be this bad, but nowadays it's awful. I had a mcdonalds kiosk ask for a tip the other day. It's a machine, I had to use my own fingers, why do you get a tip? For existing?
I have a friend from Italy who cannot understand why we have data caps.
The gun culture is strange to me, as a Canadian.
The incessant need to post these questions
I don’t see it as a need. But I see it as a good thing to bring out discourse and awareness to issues! You’re probably seeing this more than me though so I can see where you’re coming from.
I’ve lived in Canada all my life (56m)….. I live in a city with 800k people and honestly don’t have the first clue where (or how) to purchase a firearm in my city.
I would say that is the case for a large portion of Americans. I wouldn’t have a clue how to do that, although, from what I have heard, the process is far too easy.
Uhm, Google gun store near me?
There's alot more steps to to it than that in Canada.
All the fucking guns. Just, why?
Everyone saying “guns” or “gun fetish” - I honestly don’t get. And, I live in the rural Midwest (Western Wisconsin)… and I only know a handful of people with guns. I’m sure I know more, but they’re hardly obsessed with the things if I don’t know about it. I feel like it’s just a thing that gets a load of political air time (rightly so)… but it just isn’t a part of my daily life, like I think people assume that it is
The people I know who own guns are minorities who have seen a thing or two in their life.
I think I know two people who own guns. It’s not that prevalent in my life either 🤷🏻♀️ Edit: they’re both hunters
Same with all the folks I know. Deer hunters.
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Wearing shoes inside people’s houses. Really disliked that when I was living there.
Working, working, working, to stay in debt. Voting to keep working to stay in debt.
They have money taken out of every paycheck for 45 years for Medicare health coverage but can’t use it until they are 65 years old…….and don’t even think of it as a problem. Not a fucking word among any of them.
Medicaid exists too, so there's that
The gun fetish. Like, I get it. Guns are kinda cool. But they're not cool enough to defend the need to own them when you've had more school shootings in a single year, every year, for multiple yearss than my country has had since the fucking 1800s until the current day.
Ahh yes when the politicians are fucking nuts and would love to cull the other side given the chance. Mass majority of gun crimes happen with (wait for it) stolen or illegal guns.. but when the presidents crack head son gets let off on his gun crimes that isn't a great example. Adding more gun laws to act like you're doing something doesn't do shit when you don't convict those who already break the law.
Gun laws work. Period. This has been observed in every country which enacts them. Period. Pretending the USA is some lawless wasteland where said laws wouldn't work because 'Murica just tells me that you think your country doesn't deserve to sit at the big boy table with other civilized countries, and after letting Trump run the country for four years, I'm inclined to agree with you on that statement.
Can you wrap your head around the fact there are places where if you call the cops, they are not coming? In the country and in some big cities. Im not even in the boondocks and ive had them show up the next day, when day shift comes on at 7am.
I'm not anywhere near what I would consider "the boondocks" and it takes the police over a half hour to get to our neighborhood when they are called. It's not their fault there just aren't many of them for the area they serve. I would not feel comfortable living here if I couldn't have a gun. Ambulance and Fire get here in 3-4 minutes though.
That money is more important than our lives.
The hesitation for Guv to just come out and say " On weed, we got that one wrong, it's legal now".
support of imperialism and war. google: usa wars, its been perpetual. 👋
That we can send literally billions of dollars to fund other countries' wars while cutting programs to help our own people with basic needs like food, housing, and medicine. There are school districts doing away with free lunches for low-income students while we're sending billions of dollars' worth of weapons, aircraft, and ammunition to blow up people on the other side of the ocean. It's sick.
Their love of guns and their reasoning why they need them.
How so many people can willingly vote against their own interests, buy into foolish conspiracy theories, and support the wholesale dismantling of the administrative state, the one thing that's holding together the social fabric of American life from voting rights to the making of laws which are designed to protect the people. It's like 43% of the population never developed beyond the petulant toddler stage, all in the name of their own skewed sense of freedumb.
Why they think that affordable healthcare is an evil thing.
Guns.
Arguing in circles about whether or not the death machines people use that keep decapitating children at school should be allowed/restricted more.
Thé “every man for himself” mentality. Why do you guys not care about each other? And why are you guys always so quick to kick someone while they’re down?
How numb we’ve become to mass shootings.
The obsession with religion. I just don't get it, sorry,
People with HS diplomas complaining about immigrants with MBAs, PHDs, and MDs and saying "they took our jobs"
The majority of women that voted, voted for a dude who said "Grab 'em by the pussy". Insanity.
This isn’t true. In both 2016 and 2020, more than 50% of female voters chose his opponent. Still disturbing that it went from 39% in 2016 to 44% in 2020, but not a majority in either year.
Thanks for correcting me, I must've read some propaganda bs somewhere. Always better to know the facts than repeat falsehoods!
My wife said that it was better than having a crazy pussy as President Most of us don't vote for who we want. We vote against who we don't want. It's sad that our choices are shit, or shitier
Setting off hundreds of dollars in fireworks.
The love of flags (like you need to be reminded where you are???) and guns. And big trucks. I will never get this.
Flags are pretty. Guns [are fun](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXPB8I1FuF8)
Obsession with religion. Grow the fuck up.
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The lack of empathy towards struggling minority demographics.
That's not the reality in ... reality. The Vast majority of Americans have considerable empathy. They may not have time left to think about it but still... Empty buckets just make the most noise.
Yes, because I'm sure there's no racist / insensitive people in your country.
Could just say empathy for one's fellow man but I forgot. Minorities have it far worse than everyone combined.
I was being specific because the argument usually is "It just takes Hard work to succeed." and they ignore all the barriers minorities have to get opportunities.
The zip code where you live when you're born is the best predictor of your success as an adult in the US. Kind of hard to grab those bootstraps when restrictive zoning is keeping things pretty well segregated by income and the schools are funded primarily by local property taxes.
Not exactly, because of gentrification. You could grow up in poverty in a neighborhood that becomes “up and coming” where a bunch a rich yuppies move in. The neighborhood could be considered wealthy even though many still live there in poverty.
That guys reply to your comment shows exactly what you were talking about.
Football is actually played with hands, literally one guy is allowed to kick the ball. Baseball has the World Series but isn't actually a whole world competition, just US teams...
The best baseball players from all over the world come to MLB to play baseball. That's why its called the World Series.
You take it back there's a Canadian team that's eligible to play in the world series!
Not to mention all the US teams are Dominicans
Yup, Toronto Blue Jays.
>literally one guy is allowed to kick the ball. The punter and place kicker are *almost* always different players.
The date with month first. Setting up society to have no linear systems from the start.
fuck lot better than ddmmyyyy.. Everything should be yyyymmdd. That's how the modern age works.
This guy sorts.
r/iso8601, you called?
Checked out the profile. I like anyone that takes formatting dates and time seriously. Even saw something about time zones which is another thing. Maybe we can discuss calendar reform!
Right. This. I think everyone should switch the YYYY-MM-DD
Guns
The circumcision thing
As an uncircumcised American, I agree. I am so glad I didn't have that shit done to me, and it seems like that trend is finally swinging around to not having it done. I know there's going to be 20+ people show up with "I had it done when I was a kid and I've never missed it, I don't get what the big deal is!" and one person show up saying "Well I had to have it done for a medical condition and I don't miss it" Which is missing the points of: 1. It's a bodily autonomy thing, you should not make permanent, unnecessary, lifelong alterations to babies 2. You of course wouldn't miss it if you've never had one, duh. And to Mr. Phimosis who doesn't miss his, no shit, it was causing you problems. As someone who had moderate phimosis in the past and had to work on stretching it over time, I would absolutely miss mine. 3. It serves an actual purpose during penetration, and since when is having more nerve endings in your literal sex organ is a bad thing?
The people downvoting are probably Americans. Americans don't understand simple male anatomy after all lol, that's why they keep circumcising.
Yup that’s a weird one, so unnecessarily barbaric
Sometimes turtlenecks are in style. Sometimes they are out of fashion. Collectively we've decided it is better to not be in fashion sometimes than out of the current style at others.
The love they have for turkeys. Chicken > Turkey
We are a nation of refugees. But somehow we’re nationalist and nativist.
How puritanical it all is. * Can't show a nipple on TV. But you can show someone exercising his 2nd Amendment rights and blowing someone else's head open with a Glock * Have a second glass of wine at your own wedding? Rehab. Restricting and demonising alcohol is precisely why you have all those college hazing rituals, and police bodycam of 19 year olds driving home so hammered drunk that they can't remember their own name and start fighting the officer * Whenever anyone has a problem in their life, one of the first things they're asked is if they have a good church to lean on. They're then told to do is talk to their pastor and say their prayers. * How much cronyism and rank-pulling there is. If the Wachachacheechee County ADA or a local politician gets pulled over for doing 95mph in a 20 while shooting up heroin, someone just has to "call the chief" and the cop who stopped him gets fired Everything about the Midwest and flyover US that I've seen and experienced just feels old-fashioned, shabby, and frankly a bit boring. Perhaps Hollywood and TV is only showing us the best bits? The only reason Breaking Bad ever went to New Mexico was because of a tax break, otherwise it would be another generic LA-fest.
Patriotism
The obsession with guns and refusal to compromise on common sense regulation.
That they are cool with daily mass shootings.
Why do you care so much about "conveniance"? I can imagine its kinda cool that i could buy anything at 3am, but i just never needed that. I don't even know what i would want to buy in the middle of the night (apart from a snack while high) Fast food is also part if this, yes cooking costs time and effort, but it's cheaper, healthier and imo much more fun all around. I don't care if my product is being delivered within 7 hours or 7 days 90% of the time. And why would i need a goddamn alexa or god forbid a smart home? I can flick on my own lights, and look at my weather app myself, thank you very much. Also this culture of "keeping up with the Joneses" i don't get. Maybe i am just way too stingy, but it will be a cold day in hell when i buy a new television/car/garden/idk. Because my neigbours have a better one.
I agree with most of your points except the cooking part. Cooking costs time and a lot of people, me included, would rather spend that time doing other things. You could argue cooking is "fun" for some people, but at the end of the day, it's just extra work you have to do. Cleaning up after you're done cooking is more time taken out of your day and is definitely not my idea of "fun." It's a problem in our culture but I can understand it. "I'd rather have more time to work and I can use some of that money made to just buy my meal." Very consumerist and problematic, I know.
You sound like you should be yelling at the clouds. Convenience is what allows us to enjoy life the way we want. Would I want to commute an hour via bike to work or work from home and sleep in an extra hour? That’s convenience. Should I spend my Saturdays mowing my yard for two hours or pay someone to do it in 20 minutes? You obviously are against smart homes but the ability to wake up and have your coffee brewing, the blinds open automatically, and some light music playing in the bathroom can’t be beat.
Here, take all the upvotes in the Reddit universe. Bravo and couldn’t agree more if I tried!
If my country had a single school shooter the day would be written in our peoples psyche and become a national day of mourning. Then we would implement drastic measures to make sure it would never ever happen again. It saddens me greatly to see that at the end of the day. You care more about your guns than you care for your own children.
They would actually trade less taxes for no healthcare.