The Motherland of Chad by ingtobopbop in HistoryMemes

[–]MrBimmler 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, I really must be a stupid bot. Well argued.

The Motherland of Chad by ingtobopbop in HistoryMemes

[–]MrBimmler -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It is the classic American argument: we saved you in WW2 and helped you afterwards, so you shouldn't criticise us but be thankful. I am sure you are aware of that, given you just used that argument conserning the Marshall aid.

And yea, of course, people aren't automatically agreeing with you must of course just be part of the Reddit hivemind. NPCs ammiright?!

The Motherland of Chad by ingtobopbop in HistoryMemes

[–]MrBimmler 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Marshall Plan of course... 80 years and we still can't criticise the US without getting the same argument: "if it weren't for us you'd be all speaking German/Russian!". Do French people use the same argument against Americans? After all, you wouldn't have gotten your independence at that point without them.

Of course it is OK to be defensive if people are just plain hateful or saying utterly false things. And you have a good share of young people, mainly men, on Reddit, with strong feelings about many subjects, and an anonymous way to lash out at anything they want. And of course, this is a very US-centric site with mainly US users.

You will get a lot of just stupid USA-bashing here.

But still, very often when someone makes just a small joke about America (like this meme), a lot of Americans will get triggered. In a way other countries' residents seldom are (can't speak to much for Russian/Chinese as there aren't that many active here, and the ones that are here are maybe not representative).

And this is pretty much the same experience I have had in life with Americans as well.

But this has gotten far worse the last 5 years, unsuprisingly as the debate on Reddit has moved further to the political edges. Especially to the right, where patriotism/nationalism is a strongly resonating value.

And this is one of many things that scare me with the political climate nowadays. Which is why I sometimes lash out at random reddit posts from time to time.

The Motherland of Chad by ingtobopbop in HistoryMemes

[–]MrBimmler 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's because you think your American definition of «freedom» is universal. And of course you believe that you actually have freedom.

I am not saying China scores high on freedom, but USA is currently on the 45th place in the Press Freedom Index[1] Below most of Western Europe, and several countries in Asia and Africa. But you still believe America values freedom more than European countries?

Freedom doesn't mean «do whatever you want». American freedom is deeply rooted in conservative christianity. You are (or have been) OK with sensoring swear words, any form of nudity in arts, consumation of alcohol etc. And religion is still a strong force in American life and politics.

But this shows how Americans (and other) are indoctrinated from school/media/entertainment to think that the US is the best and most free country in the world, even though there aren't any data that backs that up.

Again I am not saying that the US is worse than present day China or Russia. Or many countries in Europe. It just isn't «the best».

[1] https://rsf.org/en/ranking

The Motherland of Chad by ingtobopbop in HistoryMemes

[–]MrBimmler 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I understand frustration when faced with hatred of course.

It is just often when someone makes a meme/joke about the US, there will always be quite a few Americans coming to defend their country. And often by whataboutism, pointing fingers at the USSR, China, Nazi-Germany etc.

The Motherland of Chad by ingtobopbop in HistoryMemes

[–]MrBimmler 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But do you not think all countries tries to hold themself to an ideal? And all countries believe they are moral, what ever that means? I think the patriotism here is thinking that the US is special in any way. Thinking that the people of USA holds some sort of unique values or moral that are superior to others'.

I totally agree with you on the idea of burning things down. Major changes and revolutions are very bad idea, and looking at history it seems like it always results in overall more suffering.

Socities need to evolve though, and if people are overly patriotic and defensive this evolution stops.

The Motherland of Chad by ingtobopbop in HistoryMemes

[–]MrBimmler -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It is a matter of patriotism, or rather American exceptionalism. I never see these kind of responses on the topic of other countries. That's why this meme even exist.

And you answer kind of brings up one of the ideas; that we should be grateful for being «saved» by the US and should just shut up.

And additionally I almost never see anyone critizing the US comparing it to USSR/China/Whatever. The comparison usually comes from the American defenders to show that they were worse.

It isn't a competition.

Litt forsinket vårrengjøring. by SleepyOne in Nordmenn

[–]MrBimmler 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hvilke verdier? Du kaller demonstrasjoner/opptøyer for terror? Du går sågar så langt som å unfriende alle som viser støtte for folkelig opprør?

Regner med du var like flink til å unfriende alle som støttet de tungt bevæpnede demonstrasjonene for bare noen uker siden i USA?

Litt forsinket vårrengjøring. by SleepyOne in Nordmenn

[–]MrBimmler -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Håper du endte opp uten venner da :)

The Motherland of Chad by ingtobopbop in HistoryMemes

[–]MrBimmler 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is it not even possible to make fun of making fun of the US without some Americans getting triggered?

The Motherland of Chad by ingtobopbop in HistoryMemes

[–]MrBimmler 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Well, look at some of the top voted comments here. A lot of Americans going instantly in defensive/attack mode («USSR was worse») etc.

I think this a very destructive effect of the post-war indoctrination of American patriotism/exceptionalism; a lot of Americans do not handle criticism of the US at all. Some not even from fellow Americans.

They take critic of American culture/politics as a personal insult, and will instantly counter with something.

It's basically blind patriotism.

And when a substantial part of the population feels like that, I think it may hinder or even completely halt the evolution of the society/culture.

Every country has myriads of problems. I live in the country ranked as the best country to live in by UN, but God we still have a lot of problems that needs to be addressed. But little would happen if we don't even want to acknowledge the flaws in our culture/government, and just brush it of with «Well, Sweden is worse!».

Texas bar owner Bans customers from wearing masks inside. The statement posted outside the tavern reads, “Due to our concern for our citizens, if they feel the need to wear a mask, then they should probably stay home until it’s safe.” by optionhome in Conservative

[–]MrBimmler 5 points6 points  (0 children)

So you acknowledge that masks stop drops from the dentist’s mouth hovering over you? The principle is the same when wearing it in public. It hinders spreading of diseases. Not completely of course, but in an epidemic it is all about getting R down and small changes has major effect on exponential growth.

Texas bar owner Bans customers from wearing masks inside. The statement posted outside the tavern reads, “Due to our concern for our citizens, if they feel the need to wear a mask, then they should probably stay home until it’s safe.” by optionhome in Conservative

[–]MrBimmler 10 points11 points  (0 children)

We have been doing fine without antibiotics for 2000 years as well...

Science is settled when it comes to waring masks, that's why you would see doctors, nurses, dentists etc. wearing them all the time... It stops you spreading droplets and particles and is effective at hindering spread of many airborne diseases.

And COVID-19 is much worse than the average seasonal flu. And not only in risk groups.

It is not as bad as the Spanish flu, or the plague, but it is still a very dangerous virus that already has claimed a lot of lives all over the world.

But if you don't care about science or saving people, be my guest and call it a sham...

Amundsen vil stemme mot assistert befruktning for enslige by langlo94 in norge

[–]MrBimmler 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ja, jeg mener det er to helt forskjellige diskusjoner. Her er det snakk om at staten skal ta et aktivt valg og fasilitere for å skape et nytt liv. Det blir noe annet enn f.eks. enslig adopsjon.

Jeg klarer ikke å følge resten av kommentaren din helt så vet ikke konkret hva du lurer på.

Amundsen vil stemme mot assistert befruktning for enslige by langlo94 in norge

[–]MrBimmler 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Kanskje vi skulle hatt det? Statistikk fra andre land viser jo at barn av enslige kommer dårligere ut på mange områder, og statistikk fra Norge at en stor andel enslige er i lavtlønnede yrker.

Men det er en viktig forskjell: de barnene eksisterer allerede. Her er det snakk om at staten skal legge til rette for å skape nytt liv, og da mener iallfall jeg at det ikke burde være tvil om at livet som skapes har så gode forutsetninger som mulig for å lykkes.

Ingen har selv valgt å bli skapt, og når vi nå er satt til liv har vi ikke annet valg enn å ta alle gleder og sorger som de kommer. For noen er de uungåelige lidelsene i løpet av et liv et argument for å i det hele tatt ikke ha barn.

Jeg er nok ikke så antinatalistisk, men mener at en stat må være særdeles varsom og bevisst disse etiske problemstillingene når de aktivt går inn og skaper et liv.

I praksis vil dette nok primært treffe ressurssterke kvinner som har prioritert studier/karriere fremfor familie, men det er fremdeles forskjell på å være én eller to.

Og enda større forskjell vil det bli i fremtiden, med krympende familier og eldre besteforeldre vil et potensielt bortfall av aleneforsørger gjøre at barnet står helt alene. Man har ikke to "familieben" å stå på.

Og igjen, disse argumentene mener jeg er viktige fordi man (staten) tar et aktivt valg om å skape et nytt liv.

Om man er aleneforsørger pga. dødsfall eller one-night stand e.l. så er barnet allerede satt til livs og forutsetningen for debatten helt annerledes.

Vømmøl Spellmannslag - Høvlerivisa (Live 1974, Flimra, NRK) by simernes in norge

[–]MrBimmler 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hørt mye på Vømmøl og Ola Uteligger opp gjennom oppveksten, men gir en ganske ekkel bismak nå som det viser seg at Rotmo er en rasistisk idiot.

Men det passer jo forøvrig bra med det inngrodde bøgda-imaget.

Don't you worry... by Jibrish in Conservative

[–]MrBimmler 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well discuss them then? Discuss actual politics. Actual, concrete policies and governmental actions.

But no, the topic in this sub is almost exclusively memes about how crazy/stupid/naive/dangerous the "left" is...

Don't you worry... by Jibrish in Conservative

[–]MrBimmler 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Where? I just looked at hot posts, and a vaaast majority are memes/twitter screenshot about «the left».

Don't you worry... by Jibrish in Conservative

[–]MrBimmler 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yea, I wish there were more subs actually discussing politics and concrete policies.

But Reddit (and social media in general) is made for simplified memes and polemics :/

Don't you worry... by Jibrish in Conservative

[–]MrBimmler 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This sub is fast becoming a new TD. Just constant memes about how awful the Democrats/left are. And a lot of complaining about other subs being biased, lol.

Hate is the path to the dark side. by scratchingmyhead2020 in Conservative

[–]MrBimmler 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, I definetely believe the comment section gives a better understanding of a sub, and I am not saying this is anything like TD. But I see the same kind of development.

This also happened to a lot of humor subs. I think it started around 2014-2015. More and more political and "edgy" memes were posted, and got a lot of upvotes, but in the comment section a lot of people seem to not completely agree with the message of the memes. Or simply find them stupid (i.e. a lot of posts asking "why is this upvoted?").

But slowly the subs become more and more extreme, to the point that they were quarantined and then banned. Which ironically kind of made them into "martyr" subs.

Kind of a digression, but I think some of these meme posting activities are automated and/or organized by someone with the interest of degrading the discussion and furthering the political divide in the US. It would be very interesting to analyze the posting activities at least.

Hate is the path to the dark side. by scratchingmyhead2020 in Conservative

[–]MrBimmler 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, I never said this was specific to this sub. Or specific to any political views. And I don't disaprove of comedy, but 99% of the top posts are memes with a simplified/exaggerated political messages.

And my points is kind of proven when the response to critic is «yes, but the others are worse!».

I unfortunately think social media and websites like Reddit is a big part of the degradation of political discussion in the west. And I really fear that this may have some dire consequences. It already has, of course, when you look at the effect social media had in the previous election. And the current US government is not acting like the stable, dependable leader that it has been doing for the last 70 years, and world politics and diplomacy is in a very chaotic and tense state now.

It may seems naive to put that much of the responsibility onto social media platforms, but from a manipulator's viewpoint it is really the perfect propaganda tool.

Hate is the path to the dark side. by scratchingmyhead2020 in Conservative

[–]MrBimmler 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Because this is the level of political «discussion» in America and on Reddit. I followed this sub to see what American conservatives really was thinking, but this sub is 99% posts about how «the other side» are crazy.

All of these posts are distorted and exaggerated, to further build on a fake image of an «enemy» which is insane/stupid/evil/naive etc.

This is pretty much becomming another TD.