i used to think the us was an incredible place to live, and that most people saying otherwise were just amplifying its faults from a sheltered perspective. one single trip to nyc of all places changed that. it’s impressive how broken the us is, the decay isn’t just an abstract concept, it’s literally everywhere in a physical sense. even places that were supposed to be nice were rough around the edges in so many ways.
You should drive through Mississippi. They’re so far below Alabama that you could drop me on any given back country highway, or in any given city, and I’d had a solid guess as to which state I was in.
The major cities in both states are wastelands. Birmingham is so nasty is doesn’t belong in America and the Jackson, MS (the capitol!) airport is smaller than some mansions.
It’s the fact that so much in this country is about money. We can’t have basic infrastructure or maintenance because the money it would take to build and maintain it means the guy at the top earns less, and we can’t have that. I fucking hate it here and wish that I had any hope of living elsewhere, where people are treated like people instead of numbers and a paycheck.
Yeah it’s really noticable as an australian too. The bottom is allowed to fall out in ways that feel scandalous. So many things are just shabby. So many systems are just bafflingly, solvably dysfunctional.
The US isnt that beautiful if you’re looking at this from a European perspective.
HOWEVER, if you’re from a place even worse, the US could look like paradise to you.
Don’t forget that if you have regular access to a relatively uncensored internet and can drink water straight from the tap, you have it better than half of the world, which is not to say you shouldn’t strive for better, you definitely should protest, contact your congressperson, vote, all that stuff (as best as you can mentally handle), but sometimes you have to pause and appreciate what you do have.
Context: I was born in the People’s Republic of China circa 2000 and now resides in the US. I mean yes China’s public transit looks better but everything besides that isnt all that nice really. I lived in a part of a city that looks absolutely filthy and deteriorated
(And yes, NYC is dirty, especially Manhattan, but some places in Brooklyn look quite okay, if you could afford living there lol.)
i used to think the us was an incredible place to live, and that most people saying otherwise were just amplifying its faults from a sheltered perspective. one single trip to nyc of all places changed that. it’s impressive how broken the us is, the decay isn’t just an abstract concept, it’s literally everywhere in a physical sense. even places that were supposed to be nice were rough around the edges in so many ways.
(edit: just to clarify, i’m a european)
You should drive through Mississippi. They’re so far below Alabama that you could drop me on any given back country highway, or in any given city, and I’d had a solid guess as to which state I was in.
The major cities in both states are wastelands. Birmingham is so nasty is doesn’t belong in America and the Jackson, MS (the capitol!) airport is smaller than some mansions.
It’s the fact that so much in this country is about money. We can’t have basic infrastructure or maintenance because the money it would take to build and maintain it means the guy at the top earns less, and we can’t have that. I fucking hate it here and wish that I had any hope of living elsewhere, where people are treated like people instead of numbers and a paycheck.
Yeah it’s really noticable as an australian too. The bottom is allowed to fall out in ways that feel scandalous. So many things are just shabby. So many systems are just bafflingly, solvably dysfunctional.
The US isnt that beautiful if you’re looking at this from a European perspective.
HOWEVER, if you’re from a place even worse, the US could look like paradise to you.
Don’t forget that if you have regular access to a relatively uncensored internet and can drink water straight from the tap, you have it better than half of the world, which is not to say you shouldn’t strive for better, you definitely should protest, contact your congressperson, vote, all that stuff (as best as you can mentally handle), but sometimes you have to pause and appreciate what you do have.
Context: I was born in the People’s Republic of China circa 2000 and now resides in the US. I mean yes China’s public transit looks better but everything besides that isnt all that nice really. I lived in a part of a city that looks absolutely filthy and deteriorated
(And yes, NYC is dirty, especially Manhattan, but some places in Brooklyn look quite okay, if you could afford living there lol.)
every society is like that.