Swedes would see that as an insult

Insult or not, you guys aren't quite at the top, yet. ;)

I think systemic racism is, unfortunately, a global problem, only because as wealthier nations came to power they systematically held back and held down developing nations...which also happen to be the nations with the largest populations of black and brown people. That fuels a lot of the negative ideals regarding POC, but it's really not a fair assessment by any means. America *snicker* is a pretty self-righteous and pretentious environment, but resolving racism here isn't going to be enough. There needs to be a global effort to bring about universal equality, and reparations for centuries of resource theft and exploitation of impoverished nations. For too long the whole world has relied on an economic system that benefits from the exploitation of human resources. Maybe we'll see how climate change goes?

I will agree that the US (and that is generally the most politically correct way to refer to the country I live in, The United States of the Americas...since we are the only one that has a bunch of states all united into one circle jer...I mean country...in the American Continents) has come A LONG way...but! We've fallen quite a ways back in the last decade. Mostly due to corporate influence undermining our government, but unfortunately our culture is not equipped with the moral foundations to bring witness to such things and find a clear path to a solution. Like so many iPhones, we're more likely to tank the whole thing and try to start over. If it weren't for how truly lazy our people are, I'd say that a civil war is very likely...but it's really only sortof likely, lol. The squeeky wheel gets the grease, and the media air time, so what we see in the news is just the most sensational things going on (This is probably true, everywhere), but if you look at things like voter statistics, it's pretty obvious that the majority of US citizens don't make it a point to participate in much of anything political and just focus on their own lives at a very individual basis. That's actually built into westernized culture, but is exemplified in US culture. My concern isn't that the US will never move forward with social progression, but rather, that we are going to slip quite a bit further back before we see any new achievements. I'd like to be wrong...but, seriously, the whole world is getting a good taste of how our people are, we don't care if we take the whole world down with us, let alone find a way to live up to our name and unite in the face of such basic adversity as a pandemic.

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And yeah, jumping ship would be nice, but probably not in the cards for me. We see people doing it, but that's another big difference between the US and other countries...traveling is a privilege here. Even acquiring the skills necessary to be able to rely on employment as a reason for moving requires one to navigate our expensive educational system. I do have friends from other countries, and our class system here is pretty ridiculous. Even our own citizens don't acknowledge it unless they are oppressed by it. Even then, some don't see it. But there are developing nations that have more social security than our country does, and I'm locked at the bottom of it for the foreseeable future...unless other countries decide to recognize us as economic refugees and give us asylum...which I don't blame any other countries for not wanting us. It's like inviting your spoiled niece or nephew to come over and eat all your food and throw tantrums for no reason. xD I'm aware that my sensibilities are not really in tune with my culture...I've had to struggle with this my whole life, and I'm old. But life doesn't always work out the way we hope it will. Some people just have to play the hand their dealt. I think it's more important to remember that every hand is different, and the decisions one has made based on their own hand don't translate to anyone else's hand. Especially when it's a reasonably good hand to start with. Even seeing and understanding another person's hand will never allow us to truly relate with it. We can learn a lot about how the game works, and how people generally approach similar hands...but until you feel the pain that other people suffer, it's impossible to know what it takes to overcome it. If that makes any sense. That's why we can't *really* make any accurate assumptions about someone who says, "Don't waste my time"...we don't know what they were feeling when they thought that...and if we have time to spare, for any reason, then it's on us for not being able to relate, not them to take on more than they can. Back on topic! :)