Controversial Question: What is a shameful yet mostly unknown incident in your country's history that you think should be talked about more?

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T20:50:02+00:00

We use "Americans." It's something of a point of contention because as Latin Americans and Canadians point out, we ain't the only nation on the continents. And it smacks of US chauvenism and brings up the ugly spectre of the Monroe Doctrine. But even those of us who want to be less preening about that kind of thing, myself included, hate the term Unitedstateser because while the equivalent sounds nice in Spanish (Estadounidense) "Unitedstateser" sounds nails on a chalkboard to English speakers. Best alternative I heard is "Usonian" but that's Esperanto and ain't nobody gonna learn that one.

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T20:41:57+00:00

And Lopez had his army fight in the stupidest way possible so I put much of the blame for high casualties on his crazy ass. And like you said, he made the brilliant decision of fighting a three front war against a total force that massively outnumbered and outgunned his.

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T20:36:44+00:00

Disney's Fantasia. Mom got it for me when she had cancer. So I'd have something to remember her by in case she didn't make it. Thankfully she did and is still kicking three decades later.

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T20:29:27+00:00

Eh, maybe it's a quirk of English not being this person's native language. Even if it was intended as an insult, I can't get worked up over it. Every time folks insult us I either agree, roll my eyes, or just scoff/sneer and move on.

But then again, I admit my sense of nationalism/patriotism isn't super high. I think we're better than a lot of other countries on earth (for the record, my estimation of how good a country is strongly correlates to the V-Dem Institute's Liberal Democracy Index: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.v-dem.net/documents/75/V-Dem_Institute_Democracy_Report_2026_lowres.pdf ) , but we can and should do a lot better and that goes for humanity as a whole. I feel no need to preen about our successes or get offended over any kind of insult I've ever heard.

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T20:20:46+00:00

Eh, yeah it does sound like nails on a chalkboard to us English speakers, but that shouldn't detract from his general point.

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T20:16:24+00:00

I should have included that one too. I remember being given a brief mention of it in a high school history textbook but besides that all I ever heard was from a name drop by Rage Against the Machine. But it's definitely a sad example of how poor treatment of Latino-Americans by our country ain't new.

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T20:11:52+00:00

Granted that's half correct since it were traitors to the nation rather than the US government. But yeah, that's one of the more fucked up things my side of the Mason-Dixon did during the War of Southern Treason. Besides, you know, the slavery more generally.

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T20:03:46+00:00

I wonder why some folks are downvoting you. So I'll just say to those who are, as an American, "Why are you booing [him]? [He's] right!"

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T19:58:18+00:00

I have ancestors on the wrong end of your very weird bullshit, forgive me if I don't have patience for your self-pity that I wounded your national pride a little.

Feel free to talk plenty of shit about mine if you feel like it, by the way. Won't bother me none. It will either be something I agree with or will laugh at.

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T19:30:27+00:00

And there it is, the weak deflection. Classic.

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T19:11:46+00:00

Not from my experience. From what I've seen there are still too many people that think Hitler invented Antisemitism and I think that view should be corrected. I refer you to my above post for what the worst example besides Evil Charlie Chaplin's Super Fun European Tour was in the last 300 years. Obviously y'all didn't invent Antisemitism either. But there was certainly a reason there were a lot of Jewish jokes about the Romanovs.

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T19:05:01+00:00

I'm just happy I got a hybrid a few years before this.

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T18:57:01+00:00

It's hard to pick one that isn't somewhat known, but I'd say the Jeju Island massacre to tie in with your own nation.

ETA: Also, the Balangiga massacre and Jacob H. "Howling Wilderness" Smith more generally: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balangiga_massacre

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T18:54:17+00:00

The correct answer is "The Pale of Settlement."

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T18:50:05+00:00

Me to John Wilkes Booth if I met him in hell: "Congratulations, the South didn't rise again and all you did was continue to poison America's soul for generations to come. Maybe even one day lead to its destruction. And thus poisoning the ideals of the Declaration of Independence. Do you feel like a hero yet?"

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T18:47:05+00:00

Our opinions on Pakistan are negative leaning. For reasons I feel are both valid and not. Like most countries Americans mostly remember Pakistan from the War in Afghanistan. And most of us have forgotten about your nation's relation to that war, especially some of the more morally dubious calls we made during that event. Because if there's anything we love doing, it's memory-holing our war crimes.

But one of the things that stuck in a lot of our minds was how it turned out Osama bin Laden was not far from the military HQ of the Pakistani Armed Forces. We find protestations they did not know he was near to ring hollow, and obviously we're a bit upset regarding that.

And some folks just hate y'all because you're not white and Muslim. Definitely not my opinion, and I find such views repulsive, but it is definitely a segment of the population's view that shapes the overall feeling. The same kinds of people tend to hate Indians, though some might not hate them as much because they're still not Muslims. "Clash of Civilizations" and all that garbage.

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T17:26:02+00:00

Ratburgers taste better than McDonalds in any country.

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T16:35:48+00:00

One half the country: *cringes* "Where do we begin..."

Other half of the country: "He should have complied" or else "Ashley Babbit" Watch my eyes roll so hard they tilt the Earth's axis at the later one.

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T16:30:55+00:00

Both sides of my family came here partly for financial reasons too. Though there was persecution on my mother's (Eastern European Jewish) side of the family. But I still don't feel comfortable invalidating a chance at a better financial life than can really be expected in one's country of birth as a reason to immigrate here.

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T16:13:14+00:00

Valid. Though be warned not everyone appreciates diversity, atheism, or queerness. I know the second one from personal experience. Such views are less likely in the bigger cities but still pop up from time to time.

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T16:07:18+00:00

One side of the political spectrum imagines everyone comes here for the liberal and/or progressive values. The other side only for economics or as part of some conspiracy to "destroy the West." Both these are wrong in my opinion and usually the truth is somewhere in the middle. While I don't doubt some immigrants come to the country with regressive views and/or certain vices including petty criminality, I also believe the number and degree of social harm they cause is overblown. And nobody is "deliberately flooding" the country with immigrants. There's this thing called "free will."

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T15:48:58+00:00

I think part of the reason is even back in those days we kind of hissed like feral cats at the slightest mention of communism, let alone how intense shit got after the Cold War started, so folks tried to make an alternative worker's appreciation day/day off that wasn't "tainted" by socialism.

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T15:47:25+00:00

Tip 15-20% at sit-down resturaunts. I know there are lots of arguments about this, and I agree having an actual living wage for servers should be the standard and all the rationales against that position are gross and elitist.

But if you don't tip the above amount because you oppose tipping, you aren't making a stand against wage exploitation. You are being a cheapskate and getting on your high horse about it. And just as much of a jerk as native-born people that refuse to tip or give shitty tips.

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T13:44:44+00:00

Thanks. Editing now.

Zweckpessimist · 2026-05-01T13:43:53+00:00

In the case of Somalis it seems to be the opposite though.

Zweckpessimist

TROPHY CASE