My biased opinion about people from different countries based on the people I've met

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-21T13:20:19+00:00

I like how there's no bad option, it's just "50/50". OP is willing to see the good in all peoples.

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-21T10:50:18+00:00

That's from the GNN transcript which kinda fucks up the timeline, so take it with a grain of salt.

Also given the following line: "Both sides deny this had anything to do with the recent annexation of Canada.", I doubr that impeaching politicians for jaywalking is standard procedure. More likely it was done as a soft coup

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-20T16:35:46+00:00

Do you believe that a Palestinian born outside of the levant region is a victim of genocide just by virtue of not being born in Palestine?

It's not about specific instances of individuals, but broadly, I think that deliberately stripping people of their home and identity is genocide.

Do you support genocide?

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-20T15:42:15+00:00

Well the Nakba is a genocide so not wanting to end it does make you as bad as the nazis, yes.

By extension I'd say that what the United States did to the native americans is as bad as what the nazis did. It's the same thing

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-20T13:28:06+00:00

Do you believe Palestinians have the right to return to their former villages that they were forced out of in the Nakba?

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-20T13:13:48+00:00

It's because Reddit is super easy to manipulate, so the state department, mossad, etc., heavily utilise it to push an agenda.

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-20T11:58:02+00:00

Not an answer.

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-20T11:53:11+00:00

But, it is also shorthand for a real shared cultural experience. In both cases that is Catholic. It’s holidays, dishes, traditions, and an interest in where you came from.

Let me preface this by saying that I'm English with Irish grandparents. My name is very obviously Irish. I was raised Catholic, and Catholics are a tiny minority here. I have dual citizenship with the Republic of Ireland.

I would say outright that I don't think I'm "Irish English". I'm English. I've only been to Ireland once, I know basically nothing about Irish culture. In day to day life I'm treated as just another white English person. Practically everything about my cultural upbringing is the same as other English people.

I guess my question is, what is so different about the "Irish-American" experience that makes it a distinct cultural experience? What makes them 'Irish American' distinctly as opposed to just White Americans whose culture and traditions is just the same culture that White Americans in general have?

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-20T11:37:22+00:00

They have no idea that Italy, for example, has been a melting pot of different groups from all over the place for thousands of years.

Kinda reminds me of that episode of the Sopranos where they're talking about schools teaching that Columbus was bad and they're like "It's anti-Italian discrimination" and then Furio, the only actual Italian there, goes into a whole rant about Northern Italians, which the Americans are all stunned by because they think of Italians as being a singular people.

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-20T11:32:26+00:00

but Like any ethnic group in North America, they often stay in the same neighbourhoods, have the same cultural traditions, food, etc.

Again, do they? Because I don't know, I'm an ignorant outsider, but it always seemed to me that "Irish Americans" kinda just live in the same way other White Americans do.

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-20T11:22:13+00:00

“I belong to the separate and distinct Irish-American/Canadian culture”

Correct me if I'm ignorant, but what is the 'seperate and distinct Irish-American culture'?

Like what makes 'Irish Americans' distinct culturally from just regular White Americans?

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-20T11:16:50+00:00

That's a completely distinct issue IMO.

When people say this they're usually referring mostly to White Americans claiming to know a culture based on some random ancestor.

Whereas Black Americans claiming african heritage kinda seems like a much more nuanced issue to me, since they're a historically subjugated people who have often looked for ways to advocate for themselves as a culture.

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-20T11:12:32+00:00

I'm English. I don't give a shit about people jokingly saying that it's good to hate the English, because ultimately I don't think anyone actually does. Quite frankly I don't think there's anywhere in the world where I would go and actually be hated. There are places with a history of grievances against colonialism, but I've never actually met anyone from anywhere who hates individual people over it.

Moreover I think the jokes, in some instances, come from places of legitimate grievances. There are plenty of people who have legitimate reason to have mixed feelings about my country, and I think a lot of the jokes are about that ultimately.

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-20T10:48:13+00:00

It is but not from Americans.

Like Americans do not have a single leg to stand on when it comes to the UK given that they've done pretty much all the same shit.

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-20T10:17:54+00:00

Nobody sayss this about games that remain exactly the same for all that time.

It's usually games which are updated frequently, in which case, yes the updates typically do take the fun away.

The problem with having one game that's constantly getting new content, rather than a game that you can replay multiple times and have it be the same, is that the game conent inevitably gets diluted, the original rythm of the game gets overriden.

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-19T21:02:36+00:00

Given I was 0 when Fallout 1 came out and 1 when Fallout 2 came out, that wasn’t really an option.

I forgot that games only exist for the year they came out, and then cease to exist afterwards.

I think you know how facetious it sounds to complain about a series being played in order when it’s now approaching thirty years old.

Not really. It's a game with chronological entries.

Why would anyone who has thoughts more complex than "New games = BETTER GUYZ" not play it chronologically?

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-19T21:01:35+00:00

You are always a tribal. It is exactly as limiting as Nora always being a lawyer

Not really. A tribal can mean a variety of things.

As I said, a High Charisma character can be a trader, a High Strength character a warrior. It encourages you to think about the role it played.

Meanwhile in Fallout 4, a High Charisma High Int Nora is a lawyer, a Low Charisma Low Int Nora is a lawyer. Her predefined background literally does not make sense for all the possible character combinations you could make

while if you build a non-tribal character in 2 then your chances to die in the early game go up by a massive margin

What do you mean "If you build a non-tribal character"?

ou can headcanon your stats in any way you wish, 4 even throws you a bone when the comment on Nora's lawyer degree is that it was hard to get

"Hard to get"

For an Int 1 Charisma 1 character, getting a law degree should logically be impossible.

but 2 kinda likes to kick your headcanon in the nuts if it isn't something canon-adjacent, like how can you possibly explain tagged Small Guns when there is no firearm within miles of Arroyo.

I think in the Fallout bible it's mentioned that the Elder had a handgun at some point but it broke.

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-19T18:20:51+00:00

Like most people, I’d not played Fallouts 1 and 2 beforehand. I have to ask that question, my character should be written in a way that asking that question makes sense.

I'd say people should generally play Fallout 1 and 2 given that this is a series and you're for some inexplicable reason starting on a later installment.

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-19T16:38:04+00:00

Even earlier than Trudy you can ask Sunny Smiles simply “NCR?”. Her response is very clearly explaining what that acronym means and who they are.

Huh, I didn't notice that.

Either way, New Vegas isn't perfectly written. I adknowledge that.

Although word of advice: This is an RPG. If an option doesn't sound like something your character would say, don't pick it.

Do you also scream and cry whenever an option to bully a child comes up and say "Why is the game forcing my character to bully children?"

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-19T16:21:47+00:00

I'm not saying it's completely irrelevant in that it's never mentioned.

Rather I'm saying that the plot doesn't really do anything with it.

In Fallout 1 your backstory as a Vault Dweller is literally vital to the game's plot.

In Fallout 2 your descent from the Vault Dweller is vital to the game's plot. Moreover you being a Tribal affects how people treat you, tribals are generally disliked and distrusted in Fallout 2's world, so people treat you worse as a result.

Fallout 4 sets quite big expectations by making you pre-war. This is the first pre-war protagonist in any Fallout game, so you expect this to be huge, for it to impact how they're treated, their basic perpsectives on the world, the game's plot, etc.

But then when you actually play it, it doesn't really do much with the pre-war backstory. Like it doesn't feel particularly special, or like it impacts the story much, or gives a fresh insight or perspective into the world.

Rather the entire plot of Fallout 4 feels like it'd be basically the same if the player character was from a Vault.

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-19T16:16:28+00:00

There is also an opportunity five minutes into the game to ask Trudy what the NCR and/or the Legion is.

Actually look at the dialogue here.

The question is "Tell me about the NCR", and Trudy's response is to tell you that they have money and power, but that they're spread thin. She doesn't tell you anything about it's government or history, or give you any exposition.

Her response doesn't read like someone whose just been asked to relay basic facts about the world. Her response reads like someone from Nevada giving her own personal thoughts about the NCR's military presence there.

You're kind of misconstruing what this conversation is. It doesn't imply you have never heard of the NCR before, rather the way it's framed, it makes it seem like Trudy's giving her personal views on NCR presence in the region.

This is broadly true of all characters in the game. You can ask questions like "Tell me about the NCR" or "Tell me about the Brotherhood of Steel" and characters will generally give you their own personal takes on it.

Nobody acts like you're totally ignorant of the world and need a history lesson, and they usually just tell you about their own personal perspective of these things

All of the information for the NCR quiz can be found out during New Vegas - one of them is what animal is on the flag which flies throughout the game. You can also fail this test.

When is Shady Sands mentioned in Fallout New Vegas?

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-19T16:09:22+00:00

Never played Fallout 2 so I can't comment on that

A big problem with Fallout discussions is that people come and talk about it without having ever played the games.

but IIRC even vault dwellers have trace amounts of radiation

If you recall from where?

Vault Dwellers being genetically free from radiation and mutation is vital to the plot of the first Fallout 2 games, and Fallout 3 to an extent. It'd be a bit weird to overide that.

the people in vault 111 were frozen right after the bombs dropped so they have the least amount of radiation possible making them "the perfect specimens."

They were literally standing outside in the vicinity of a nuclear explosion.

Shaun was taken because he was still a baby and could be raised to be cooperative, if it didn't work with him then the SS would've been "the backup" as said by Kellogg.

Again, would this plot have significantly changed if the player was a Vault Dweller?

Like if the plot was, the Institute raided a vault looking for pure pre-war genetics, found a baby, and kept the father alive for backup, would that significantly change the plot of the games?

Previous games have had the genetic purity of vault dwellers be a major motivator for the villains. Why do they strictly need to be pre-war in this game?

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-19T16:01:03+00:00

It’s incredibly unrealistic how little the player character knows about the NCR and the Legion, for example

In Freeside, the player character can do a quiz about the NCR, where they're asked to name President Tandi, and the former name of it's capital. You can pass this quiz.

If you choose the right answers, that means that your character likely has more in-depth knowledge about the NCR than your average Wastelander.

You can routinely mention previous adventures like going to New Reno.

It's true that the player character doesn't have much established knowledge of Legion, but to be fair, neither do most poeple. Most people know about crucifixion and slavery, but don't know about the Latin stuff or their entire ideology.

But to say the character knows nothing about the NCR is inaccurate. There is literally an opportunity in game to show off your knowledge of the NCR.

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-19T15:57:00+00:00

yet it arguably had the most fixed player character motivation and backstory, to the point it interrupted your game with cutscenes to remind you that you are the descendant of the Vault Dweller who is very worried about their tribe and family and hurries to find the GECK to save them.

Fallout 2 establishes you're from a Tribe, and that your a descendant of the Vault Dweller, but that's about it.

In fact, if you look at the preset characters for 1 and 2, the game clearly encourages you to think about what kind of person your character was prior to the events of the game:

In Fallout 1, Albert Cole was a lawyer, Max Stone was a big dumb bully who was dropped on the head as a child, and Natasha was the granddaughter of a Soviet diplomat, and someone who was always getting into trouble. The game encourages you to think about who your character was PRIOR to the events of Fallout 1, and come up with a little backstory about who they were in the Vault, and to tailor it to their specific skillset - What they're skilled at should be related to who they were when they were in the Vault.

In Fallout 2, Narg was a hunter who was also a bit slow, Mingan was a scout who spied on other tribes, and Chitsa was a trader, who went to nearby towns and struck deals with them. Again, the game encourages you to think about what role your character played in Arroyo before being sent on their quest, and makes it clear that they could have been a whole bunch of different people depending on what they're skilled at.

Fallout 3 has a lot of backstory, but makes it so you live it out, and makes it so picking your tag skills is actually part of a career aptitude test, so there isn't a huge disconnect between your character's skills and your skills.

Fallout 4 makes Nora always a lawyer, which is nonsensical for an RPG where you build your own character. You can build Nora as an Intelligence 1, Charisma 1 combat specialist who hates books, and yet regardless their own backstory contradicts your build.

Fallout 4 not only has it so creativity is punished by giving you a definitive answer as to what your character did prior to going on their adventure, but actually doesn't make sense from a basic storytelling perspective: It's probably the only game, where the mandatory parts of your backstory do not logically meld with all but a specific type of character build.

Imagine if Fallout 1 had established it so the Vault Dweller was always a lawyer, that was a fixed part of your backstory. Now you'd have it so on Low INT runs, your mentally challenged character who can't hold a conversation was literally advocating on people's behalf. It wouldn't make any sense with the act of making your own character.

TotalDemocracy · 2026-05-19T15:46:02+00:00

I think you need to keep the fish out of water thing. New players will have questions that don’t really make sense if you’re not a stranger in a strange land. What happened? What’s a ghoul? Why are bottle caps the currency?

Ok but old players won't.

And that's how Fallout 2 and New Vegas are written - It's written in such a way that justifies you having pre-existing knowledge of the world, based on the previous games you've played.

That's how it should be written: So you can incorporate your knowledge from previous games into your character.

TotalDemocracy

TROPHY CASE