There are tons of things to critisize about plenty of places. I totally get the desire to do so. I’m not talking about any flavor of it in particular. Like idc what your politics are it still applies. I just find it so pointless. Other than cases like Israel where they’re like publically slaughtering thousands of innocents and the entire world is in agreement over it being a problem. (And the US is also pretty responsible for that anyway).
Like the US is a mess. It’s by far the most destructive force on Earth. It bombs, pollutes, economically sanctions, etc to other countries. It treats its own people like shit too. No healthcare, Student debt, etc.
So if you’re in the US why would you ever waste your limited time critisizing like for example, Chinese internet censorship, or Mexico having a crime problem, or any of this other bullshit? When there are so many more pressing issues to be worried about right in your own backyard? We all have limited energy and time. 100% of that should be going towards the things that need fixed in the US itself. Everything else is just a distraction.
Edited to add this image before I stop interacting with this post because I think it was the best comment on the post. To anyone mad at my post ask ChatGPT what “White Man’s Burden” means. :)
We’re not criticizing “as Americans”, we’re criticizing as humans. And, we have the right to do that. Whether anyone else will listen because we happen to have been born in, and can’t leave, and perhaps don’t fully support our country is out of our control. I think you’ll find that plenty of Americans are harshly critical of the country they live in, as is true of everyone, everywhere.
Did you read my entire post?
They’re making a better point that you did
They’re literally not addressing what I said in the slightest. They also did a false quote “As Americans”. Which is such a typically American thing to do. I never once used the term American.
You’re nowhere near as clever or original as you think you are, kid
people from The USA
The Americas are a big place. There are lots of countries here. That is why I try not to use the term American when talking about people from the USA. It’s something I do slip into sometimes but I’m trying to break the habit. That is why I pointed it out as many people from Latin America would call people from the US estadunidenses for example. It’s more precise. Less ignorant.
Imagine being like OP. Don’t be like OP.
Could you elaborate as to how people shouldn’t be like me? I’m really curious to hear your advice on how I can improve myself as a person based on this lemmy post of mine you saw.
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Is that what I said or is it what you decided I’d said?
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So me saying we should focus our energies on domestic problems and not waste time complaining about something happening in a country we’ve never been to doesn’t make sense? This is exactly how the US elites want people acting. Too concerned about Iran, or China, or Russia, or wherever they’ve decided is the new bad guy of the week to see your real enemies are in Washington DC. And I’m not talking about the partisan horse race. They’re all the problem.
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More than one thing can be true. Multiple places can be experiencing sucky timelines.
Yeah, I never said other countries didn’t have problems. If you read my post I’m very clearly saying that I think people from the US should be focused on their own country. I’d like to fix the problems here. I think it’s pointless to focus so much on other countries when there are so many things to fix in the US. Once the US is not a dumpster fire I’d have no issue with people here talking about other countries problems. It just seems like a massive distraction tactic by the ruling class. Like “Don’t talk about how you don’t have healthcare! Talk about this bad thing a country 3000 miles away is doing!”
So if you’re in the US why would you ever waste your limited time critisizing like for example, Chinese internet censorship, or Mexico having a crime problem, or any of this other bullshit?
Why would I not? Just like YOU can waste your limited time criticizing the USA in spite of your own countries problems, we can do the same.
Your time is very limited, why are you wasting it being bothered by other people behaving exactly as you do? I don’t get it, but you do you, be bothered. This pleases me.
I’m from the US…
Why would you waste your time criticizing what others are talking about when you could focus your efforts on improving yourself? We all have limited energy and time after all. 100% of that should be going towards the things that you need to improve upon within yourself. Everything else is just a distraction.
Yeah you’re right about that. I shouldn’t be wasting my time on trying to fix a bunch of reactionary’s unproductive behaviors. Gonna go read some Stalin thanks for the wake up call.
Yes, the unchooseable place you were born in definitely determines what you’re allowed to critisize /s
it’s hypocritical for them to be criticizing other countries when they are the ones destroying most of them.
this
I added u to the post btw because i liked ur comment so much
hey thanks
Tell me where you’re from and I’ll talk shit about that place instead
The United States
As an american fuck that shit-hole country
You are arguing for what-aboutism.
There will always be something worse going on somewhere.
We don’t ignore things and pretend they arent an issue because somewhere, horrible atrocities are being committed.
I mean. Israel’s Nazi run is pretty much at the top right now. Not much is going to top their reign of horror.
China censorship is still an issue.
Is China’s censorship an issue though? Does it have any effect on your life what so ever? My entire point is that we’ve got bigger fish to fry here domestically. Stuff that actually effects us. That we shouldn’t be doing what-aboutism to other countries and should focus on our own problems.
Authoritarianism spreads. Chinese censorship actually impacts U.S media.
They do the same thing Trump admin does. Try to restrict anyone from criticizing the government. This means our knowledge of their systems is also impaired. Think of how well Israeli censorship has worked for decades. Allowing them to do what they do with most people bring unaware.
Also I care about people from other countries. They are still humans.
Only caring about ourselves is counter productive.
For example.
Someone might say the u.s government shouldn’t be involved with aids relief or hiv treatments for people in some parts of africa.
But when Trump pulled out aid to this cause, AIDS and HIV rates skyrocketed.
Do you think that doesn’t affect Americans ?
Or is it possible that higher rates of HIV/Aids in Africa makes it more likely to spread to other parts of the world. Like the U.S. ?
Humans prosper when we help each other. We screw ourselves over when we get selfish.
There are many things here in Canada that suck. Is it better or worse than that of other countries? Should we try to copy what someone else is doing or come up with a different solution altogether? The way to figure that out is to critically evaluate what’s going on elsewhere, and that comes with engaging in discussions with others on those topics, which can come in the form of criticisms. We may also want to convince others that the state of things in those countries are bad and we should not try to model them, and that also often comes in the form of criticism for that foreign country.
Canada is not the Global Hegemonic Superpower first of all, and also there is a big difference between saying, “Maybe we should examine other countries healthcare systems to see what works and what doesn’t.” to saying “The US media told me Mexico is riddled with crime and a horrible place to live. I, as someone who has never set foo there, think their government should do X, Y, and Z to fix it!”
And what’s that difference? Both will get you into a discussion on the merits of the other country’s system and the proposed solution.
