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this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2023
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I disagree. I think the reason why we hear about these stories is because the U.S. is supposed to be the 'land of the free' and the place for 'your tired, your poor, your huddled masses.' And then it turns out that no, it's actually a shithole. And then it turns out that it's especially bad for minorities due to whatever specific situation the story is about. So I think you've kind of got it backwards.
I don't see your comment as addressing the same thing at all.
The land of the free was never really a thing. If you are even considering that as part of the discussion, I think you're being naive. America (us and Canada) just has a lot of resources in the sense that it was guaranteed to be a world power for geographic reasons. ("Guns, germs, and steel" is an interesting, but accessible, but also dated, discussion of that)
Any trivial understanding of US, European, or world history will show you the same. Getting people to interact well with out groups is extremely hard. especially in the event of diaspora.
My ancestors, like most of everyone poor brought to the new world, were transported here as human garbage. They weren't taken as chattel slaves, but a share cropper or indentured servant is still not something to be admired either.
We're talking about addressing racial issues. My ancestors were "non white" whites. They disappeared because they didn't have an observable difference. We're now addressing the observable ones.
"Shithole"?
Strongly disagree. Whatever problems the USA has, there are far more places that are far worse, and very few that are better.
Just because there are worse places in no way means that America is not a shithole as well ... specifically because it promises hope and freedom and but gives murdering cops and killer capitalism instead.
Then all countries are shitholes and the term is rendered meaningless.
In this spirit, I suggest "porta-potty" country. A step up from shithole, since we have structure and something to sit on, but it's still unpleasant and bad in many ways.
"shithole" does not imply that it's better or worse than anywhere else. It's simply "shithole". Don't overthink it. The state of things in other countries has absolutely zero to do with whether or not the US is a shithole.
So, what does it mean to be a shithole?
Even if I gave my opinion it would be subjective. Reach your own conclusion.
You do you man.
"Better" and "worse" are such useless qualifiers in this context. If 99.9% of all people have nothing and one dude has half the world's money, it can be the richest country in the world and statistically lead in all categories yet still have most of the population be ruined if they ever need an ambulance transport, let alone price-gauging medical treatment.
The first Catholic elected as President of the United States was assassinated, and no one said shit about Biden being the second Catholic to be elected as President. There were articles about Kamala Harris being elected Vice-President though. That was noteworthy because she's a woman and she's a person of color. Visibility is a huge factor in these stories.