Americans are kinda real fucked up

Danhedonia

Danhedonia

Noted duckfat enthusiast
Spent a little too much time on the internet lately, including Reddit. Without going on and on, I like Reddit: much more good than bad there, and plenty of random items that are really interesting.

That said, I have recently participated in a few threads where there has been a single experience that recurs. One thread was in the 'guitars' subreddit, and another was in a Red Sox subreddit. Without shining on myself too much, I'm fairly knowledgeable about those subjects, I think.*

In each case, I was singled out by some 'dude' who had unbridled aggression and really bit in hard on the ad hominem attacks. Look, I 'get' the internet, and I understand that as white males lose privilege, they have anger issues, but ....

.... the level of anger is what disconcerts me. Americans are really, really angry. Like, profoundly angry.

All of a sudden, I saw how things like Charlottesville happen: the anger just grows when it's unchecked.

Not sure where I was headed with this, perhaps I should conclude with a massive thanks to Mark for his stewardship, and for the really great people on here. I don't think I'll lose sleep over Reddit posts, but it does make me worried about our society.


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* - at least knowledgeable enough to know that someone whose tips to a potential buyer include "throw anything that says 'Squier,' Made In China, or 'Epiphone' in the trash is an asshole
 
Danhedonia said:
The blend of ignorance and anger was certainly not circumstantial ... and it was just so ...

I dunno. I used to remember when people were ashamed to be obviously stupid. Now they're proud.
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and.....umm.....you know who to thank for that.....right?

sorry for your un-fun experience there (never been there...for a reason).
 
Danhedonia said:
The blend of ignorance and anger was certainly not circumstantial ... and it was just so ...

I dunno. I used to remember when people were ashamed to be obviously stupid. Now they're proud.
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Humans have always been stupid. And the stupid always have the loudest voice. We'll continue to be stupid so long as we let ourselves be divided.
 
mongooz said:
and.....umm.....you know who to thank for that.....right?

sorry for your un-fun experience there (never been there...for a reason).
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This is not a recent development. From a Newsweek article 37 years ago:

"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”
-- Newsweek: “A Cult of Ignorance” by Isaac Asimov, January 21, 1980, p. 19. PDF.
 
GDSmithTX said:
This is not a recent development. From a Newsweek article 37 years ago:

"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”
-- Newsweek: “A Cult of Ignorance” by Isaac Asimov, January 21, 1980, p. 19. PDF.
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You know, that citation in your post is very un-American.
 
The anonymity of the interwebz bids many to post and act in a way that they would (in the vast majority of instances) never do in person. For some reason it also seems to shorten people temper or thin out their skin. And often over incredibly trivial things. I see stuff daily on FB or other social media sights that I find offensive. Life is offensive. I move on.
 
You are certainly free to your opinions on any subject but lets go back to your first sentence where your credibility hit rock bottom. "Spent a little too much time on the internet lately, including Reddit." is where you lost me. :tongue:
 
The anti-intellectual thing goes all the way back in American culture. A lot of it has to do with the particular strains of Protestant and populist thought that were present almost as soon as white folks set up shop here. (Say what you will about Roman Catholicism, but you can thank the institutional church for a lot of our intellectual institutions.)

There was a very reasonable history of this matter written all the way back in the 1960s by Mister Reasonable Liberal Famous History Guy.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-intellectualism_in_American_Life

And couple that with American forms of masculine honor-making and you have every internet argument ever. "Some egghead isn't gonna tell me something that is JUST THEIR OPINION...I'm just as good...[garbled logic + substandard rhetorical skills]...I say, I say...I demand satisfaction...you stupid [insert homophobic insult]."

It's not surprising that we're goobers when you look back and see that our one great contribution to philosophy has been Pragmatism and our great religious innovations have been Transcendentalism and the great torrent of mystical, cultish woo unleashed by the Great Awakenings. As a culture, we're really good at some stuff (sports, advertising, film, pop music, personal freedom, paving the road to hell with good intentions) but we're not a particularly thoughtful people and we lack a rigorous academic tradition.

And the internet is a big public record of every idiot's shoddy arguments. I recommend killing it with fire.
 
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Peen Simmons said:
And the internet is a big public record of every idiot's shoddy arguments.
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DFB said:
People suck .We should invade Poland or France. That will make us feel better.
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According to David Letterman's top-ten list, France installed speed bumps on their highways after the German reunification, to help slow down the panzers. Based on that, Poland might be an easier mark :embarrassed:
 
Jbird said:
According to David Letterman's top-ten list, France installed speed bumps on their highways after the German reunification, to help slow down the panzers. Based on that, Poland might be an easier mark :embarrassed:
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russia is already working on that.
 
Look, 50% of the population is below average. This self-loathing, navel-gazing doesn't make it better. Blaming the government is another popular pastime that doesn't make things better. The Internet is a cesspool and we're swimming in it; mmmmmm good!

America is a great country that has accomplished amazing things in the past and is capable of greatness in the future.

Get up in the morning, put on your big boy pants and go do something that makes a difference.
 
wagdog said:
Look, 50% of the population is below average. This self-loathing, navel-gazing doesn't make it better. Blaming the government is another popular pastime that doesn't make things better. The Internet is a cesspool and we're swimming in it; mmmmmm good!

America is a great country that has accomplished amazing things in the past and is capable of greatness in the future.

Get up in the morning, put on your big boy pants and go do something that makes a difference.
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This kind of non-reflective, can-do, pragmatic attitude is exactly that Hoffstadter was talking about.
 
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