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People who generalize as if the US is one government instead of one big inept government and then 50+ governments that have districts and counties and cities are aggravatingly ignorant and smug. (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by to c/unpopularopinion@lemmy.world
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"The US should do X and they suck because they don't!" Each state has it's own laws on education. Some places suck, some do not. It's not a monolith.

"The US has shitty beer lol" We have some of the best beer in the world but it's local/state/region only and never exported unlike fancy Euro beer.

The US for better or worse is a, hmmm 🤔 a unity of government states under a federation called America. It's very hard to get federal laws and bills passed, especially for education. The states want the power to chooses for themselves what they do, and the federal government hangs above them, sometimes intervening.

We are a huge country that has a relatively unique circumstance of government, population, and young brutal history. I'm a Californian and I live in the Bay Area which almost literally a different country than most of America, especially the South and Midwest.

I'm so sick of people, especially smug Europeans, talking like they know Americans and America but they don't really know shit about us except the movies and going to NYC and Miami.

Yes I am having a bad day.

To be honest I love Europe and have friends there that I miss dearly! I've been many times. But dumbassery is dumbassery.

EDIT: You people are an exhausting swarm of pecking ravens and I've spent all the "toxic" energy I want arguing with half you because you just hear what you want to hear and fit the stereotype I loathe I think you only commented out of trained reflex and a few of you are just unsophisticated haters. Whatever, fuck you, and all that jazz.

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[–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

Birmingham's county is not an independent state from Manchester.

Yes because those are cities. Not states. So you're purposely making a bad comparison.

Scotland and England are partially independent countries, so would be the far more appropriate comparison to different US states. And is why i mentioned them as such in my previous comment.

but we are a federation of countries

No, you are a federation of STATES hence the 'S' in USA, with a couple of exception your states weren't their own countries. Unlike say the UK where Scotland England and Wales have been their own individual countries before unification for longer than there have been white people in the Americas. And now still have their own governments, laws and culture and as such are as or more individual than US states. And it's the same with German states as well and most of my other examples too.

And we are special and different at good, bad, and evil things.

I wish you'd said this at the start so I wouldn't have wasted my time replying to someone that unironically believes in American exceptionalism.

But when outsiders do it based off ignorance, complete ignorance

It's not complete ignorance. I have much better grasp of American internal politics than you do of any other country.

I really wish we left people like you behind on reddit.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    You mentioned counties of the UK, so I mentioned the cities because I have no idea what counties they are in but assume they are different. If you're talking about the countries then yeah, that's more similar to the US. I should have said so.

    But you're wrong about the federation. A solid handful of them were (briefly) countries before they were "STATES", but some were properties/colonies of foreign governments, and with the exception of the 13 colonies, all independent lands with their own laws and currency. Also, this is beside the fact the natives were murdered and their land stolen by Europeans and/or Americans. Then, the idea of statehood was floated as a way of keeping them independent under a common roof, analogous to countries. I suppose there's a room for interpretation, but not by much. They operated under their own law, money, norms, cultures, and religions. They were founded as, and remain separate but united states (From MW: a politically organized body of people usually occupying a definite territory - especially : one that is sovereign)

    German states are very much a bunch of old countries and tribes, sure. Cool. And? Why are you under the impression that being similar is in anyway important?

    Read the fucking post. I said, paraphrasing, people who generalize/judge America don't know how America works and are ignorant and smug. I wouldn't do the same to your fucking country, but here I am, defending mine from smug ignoramuses.

    And yeah, wooooow we get it, the Old World is older than the New World. Amazing how that is such an unearned point of pride from Europeans that only Europeans make. The Chinese don't play that card, the Egyptians don't play that card, and the Japanese don't play that card but lo and behold some clown online regularly goes to a dingy pub established in 1698, in some backwater village, and they're the Wise Grandfathers of America.

    You call it American Exceptionalism, I call it the country everybody moves to and makes cool shit, choking the poor on their way, and bombing people on occasion.

    And it isn't a high bar to know more than me about other nation's internal politics, except Mexico and Canada. None of Europe's or anybody's matter to me or anyone else here besides the big stuff. I have 50+ states/territories in my own backyard to care about. It literally doesn't matter because Europe, for example, is 3.5k miles or more away and I'm not going to be an arrogant, self-righteous, know-it-all, ignorant, condescending, annoying fucking asshole to those people about their dramas and politics when I talk to them.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    I wouldn't do the same to your fucking country, but here I am, defending mine from smug ignoramuses.

    This whole fucking post is you doing this.

    The Chinese don't play that card, the Egyptians don't play that card, and the Japanese don't play that card

    What the fuck are you on about? Have you ever actually met someone from another country? Or have you lived your entire life in like rural Oklahoma or something? All of those people are very proud of their long histories and absolutely do "play that card."

    You call it American Exceptionalism, I call it the country everybody moves to and makes cool shit, choking the poor on their way, and bombing people on occasion.

    Okay so you're just a troll. I'm kind of ashamed it took Mr this long to realise when this is basically a "ShitAmerkcansSay" highlight reel.

    I'm not going to be an arrogant, self-righteous, know-it-all, ignorant, condescending, annoying fucking asshole to those people about their dramas and politics when I talk to them.

    Way way way too late for that one mate, lol.

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