[worldwidetraveler]

(05-28-2017 10:34 AM)Leonard D Neubache Wrote:  

There are people out there who have watched their property values drop to shit as blacks moved into the area. There are people who have watched their districts and cities become mismanaged cesspits under black democratic regimes. There are people who have suffered violence and robbery at the hands of blacks and possibly lost loved ones to murder at the hands of blacks. The people who have lived in fear of racially motivated violence for decades are not black. This is the reality of a disproportionately large number of non-blacks. They are not carrying the grievances of people 100 years dead. They are carry the grievances of the living. And through it all most of them have said "I'm not going to let this change me and become a hateful person".

I think this is more of a socioeconomic type of situation. I have watched my old neighborhood change and the bad elements where always of a lower economic class.

I have seen this behavior in both white and black people.

While some of the best neighbors were more middle class in comparison. Again, both black and white.

I'd say people in different economic classes tend to be more alike with race having little to do with it. Again, this is based on my own observations. I have spent time in one neighborhood over roughly 40 years and have seen how it has changed over that 40 years.

Quote:

Then they turn on the television and see a bunch of black grievance-mongers tut-tutting whites over their inanimate, racist statues that hurt black feelings when blacks walk or drive past them each day. A day later they find out that the statues were sent to a scrap yard rather than a museum as promised. A day later they read "DIE WHITES DIE" on what remains of the monument. And yet nobody of import seems to give a shit about that.

I still think this is a minority of loud people wanting whitey to die. I have a very mixed neighborhood and you wouldn't know any of this if you didn't turn on the television.

I do agree that the whole "you're racist if you don't agree" is outplayed and losing it's bite. This type of rhetoric actually pushes people away if you're really trying to get people to understand your position. It puts people into a defensive posture so to speak.

[Enigma]

(05-29-2017 11:56 AM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:  

Symbols of old traditions and authority become fair game, because people have no other way to express their rage. Being poor in America is hard, hard, hard, because the culture here is cruel to people. They don’t care if you die in the street or not.

This is comically false.

Not only does the US spend more per capita on welfare than any country in the world, it provides said welfare to MILLIONS of non-citizens, many of whom aren't even here legally.

The only countries that treat their poor "better" are in Western Europe, and we all see how that's turning out, i.e., massive debt, rampant terrorism, etc.

Even then, the US has more non-citizens on welfare than the total population of half the countries in the EU.

And this is just the modern age. Even most Americans didn't even have electricity 100 years ago, at a time when we were already a global economic and military power.

But of course, it's not out-of-control welfare costs combined with unchecked immigration that's tearing at the social fabric of these countries, it's those evil, capitalist one-percenters.

Disappointing that this dressed up SJW rhetoric got so many likes.

[Simeon_Strangelight]

(06-08-2017 02:26 AM)Enigma Wrote:  

(05-29-2017 11:56 AM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:  

Symbols of old traditions and authority become fair game, because people have no other way to express their rage. Being poor in America is hard, hard, hard, because the culture here is cruel to people. They don’t care if you die in the street or not.

This is comically false.

Not only does the US spend more per capita on welfare than any country in the world, it provides said welfare to MILLIONS of non-citizens, many of whom aren't even here legally.

The only countries that treat their poor "better" are in Western Europe, and we all see how that's turning out, i.e., massive debt, rampant terrorism, etc.

Even then, the US has more non-citizens on welfare than the total population of half the countries in the EU.

And this is just the modern age. Even most Americans didn't even have electricity 100 years ago, at a time when we were already a global economic and military power.

But of course, it's not out-of-control welfare costs combined with unchecked immigration that's tearing at the social fabric of these countries, it's those evil, capitalist one-percenters.

Disappointing that this dressed up SJW rhetoric got so many likes.

Quintus is right - it is far easier to be on welfare or working poor in Europe than it is in the US. It is even far easier to be lower middle class, because you don't have to worry about medical expenditures, school costs, university fees. Anyone who works hard and is moderately gifted can get a good job in the EU.

The only difference and you are right about that is when you are an illegal immigrant.

Also the total expenditure does not equate automatically how the cash is being used.

There are other metrics that alleviate poverty - for example low-cost high-ownership housing and low living costs in Eastern Europe or FSU. Those countries have little welfare, but living can be designed very cheaply there, so it takes little income to house and feed yourself on a minimum level. The same cannot be said about the US - the regions where the jobs are - they are usually pretty expensive to live in.

I have observed the working poor in many countries - it is much tougher in the US than in Western Europe and now increasingly even Eastern Europe. Sure - there are far worse places in the world, but we have to take into account the civilization standard and not compare the US with Somalia or Cuba.

[Leonard D Neubache]

Yeah, in fairness I could call 'back pain' and never work another day in my life.

I'd still have food, a place to live, clothes, health care, physiotherapy, medicine and everything I needed to live out a comfortable life with enough on the side to keep me in video games and porn until I died of old age. A bit of crime on the side and I'd have enough for a constant supply of weed or booze too.

I imagine it's much the same in Western Europe. More's the pity. When you "take care of your citizens" they often cease to take care of themselves. I know of several people on worker's compensation who get near 100k a year to do nothing because they're "overstressed from work".

There's certainly a balance. It seems the US falls below it and Australia falls well above it.

That said, God and the elites only know how you can have a license to print the world's reserve currency, run trillions of dollars of debt up and STILL have to fight tooth and nail for the providence of public services.

Consider that my dinky little nation runs a balanced budget as often as not and still provides all that stuff listed above.

The US is the richest nation in the world and it's also maxxing out all it's credit cards. You'd have to beg then question, where the hell is that insane amount of money going?

[Diogenes]

(06-08-2017 06:23 AM)Leonard D Neubache Wrote:  

The US is the richest nation in the world and it's also maxxing out all it's credit cards. You'd have to beg then question, where the hell is that insane amount of money going?

A lot of it is going here:

http://www.market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=231561

[Quintus Curtius]

(06-08-2017 02:26 AM)Enigma Wrote:  

(05-29-2017 11:56 AM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:  

Symbols of old traditions and authority become fair game, because people have no other way to express their rage. Being poor in America is hard, hard, hard, because the culture here is cruel to people. They don’t care if you die in the street or not.

This is comically false.

Not only does the US spend more per capita on welfare than any country in the world, it provides said welfare to MILLIONS of non-citizens, many of whom aren't even here legally.

The only countries that treat their poor "better" are in Western Europe, and we all see how that's turning out, i.e., massive debt, rampant terrorism, etc.

Even then, the US has more non-citizens on welfare than the total population of half the countries in the EU.

And this is just the modern age. Even most Americans didn't even have electricity 100 years ago, at a time when we were already a global economic and military power.

But of course, it's not out-of-control welfare costs combined with unchecked immigration that's tearing at the social fabric of these countries, it's those evil, capitalist one-percenters.

Disappointing that this dressed up SJW rhetoric got so many likes.

No, actually it's quite true.

According to the Census Bureau, about 15% of Americans are in poverty. Since the government always significantly underplays these numbers, it's likely closer to 20%.

Half of all Americans are living on the edge of poverty. On top of that, 76% of Americans are living from paycheck to paycheck.

Republicans and rich plutocrats are always squealing about "how good" the poor have it. Of course; this is what they have been doing for thousands of years. When someone is stealing from you, they are not going to confess to it.

In Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, education is heavily subsidized. Health care is heavily subsidized. In America, the government gives the average person nothing. Zero. You pay for your own school, and you have to pay for the (increasingly unaffordable) healthcare.

Do they pay more in taxes? Sure. But it all comes down to what kind of society you want to live in. Taxes are high there, but you actually get something for your taxes. Here, you pay for everything, and get very little. If anything.

People in Western Europe (on average) are not as beaten down, overweight, neurotic, stressed out, or as crushed by the system as most people are here. Go and see for yourself. Don't take my word for it.

Being poor in America means being subjected to bad or unsafe housing, expensive banking services, predatory credit mechanisms, bad food, and substandard health care. This is the reality, whether people want to admit it or not.

The culture in America glorifies materialism and crass expenditure in a way that Europeans do not. In America, it's all about money, all the time. People are made to get the message that if you have money, you are god, and if you don't, you are shit. This is not sustainable.

Meanwhile, the rich have never had it so good. The top 3,000 make more than the poorest 23 million. Income disparities are the highest they have ever been since 1928. It this a recipe for a stable, just society? The US chooses to put all its money into its military and for corporate welfare: that is, favored treatment for the rich. Don't take my word for it. Do your own checking and see for yourself.

It's disappointing that we, as a society, have so easily abandoned a basic sense of humanity and compassion about these problems. The media dulls everyone with fake patriotism and flag-waving bullshit. Facts are simply waved away. Meanwhile, serious problems fester with no end in sight.

[RIslander]

The confederacy rebelled against the United States and lost. Their right to flags and monuments at public locations was lost the moment they capitulated.

[Simeon_Strangelight]

Also a misunderstanding about healthcare in the US vs for example a half-private-half-state-run single payer system like in Switzerland is that the single payer state option lowers price for basic treatments and surgeries tremendously. And I make the comparison to Switzerland, because the living standard there is higher there than in the US and they still pay less for medical expenses.

The next topic are schools and colleges - it is free and dependent on the talent of your kid. They do have private schools which are even much better, but it if your kid wants to go to a different school, then he can apply - the worst thing is that he would have to commute for an hour to a better school. You could be working at the Migros - Swiss Walmart and your kid can be working as an Investment Banker - it is 100% dependent on his sweat and endemic intelligence. That is why social mobility in countries like Switzerland or Sweden is some 300-400% higher than in the US. They should call it the Swiss dream instead of American dream.

The only difference is that if you make it, then you make it much bigger in the US, but that is little solace for those who suffer tremendously at the bottom 50%.

[Enigma]

(06-08-2017 02:59 AM)Zelcorpion Wrote:  

Quintus is right - it is far easier to be on welfare or working poor in Europe than it is in the US. It is even far easier to be lower middle class, because you don't have to worry about medical expenditures, school costs, university fees. Anyone who works hard and is moderately gifted can get a good job in the EU.

The only difference and you are right about that is when you are an illegal immigrant.

Also the total expenditure does not equate automatically how the cash is being used.

There are other metrics that alleviate poverty - for example low-cost high-ownership housing and low living costs in Eastern Europe or FSU. Those countries have little welfare, but living can be designed very cheaply there, so it takes little income to house and feed yourself on a minimum level. The same cannot be said about the US - the regions where the jobs are - they are usually pretty expensive to live in.

I have observed the working poor in many countries - it is much tougher in the US than in Western Europe and now increasingly even Eastern Europe. Sure - there are far worse places in the world, but we have to take into account the civilization standard and not compare the US with Somalia or Cuba.

Western Europeans countries, as a whole, are more homogoneous, less populated, have less illegal immigrants (until recently), and piggyback on the US' defense budget...

Yet are still massively in debt.

The Western European model does not extrapolate to the US. This has been debunked over and over again. It's a socialist pipe dream.

And the question was not whether America's healthcare, for instance, can be improved. Of course it can.

The question is whether a lack of welfare is the source of things like Confederate statues being torn down and having "die whites die" spraypainted on them, as QC claimed.

If that were the case, social justice and leftism wouldn't be so prevalent among the middle to upper class and students at $30,000 a year universities, nor would you have refugees in places like Europe turning around and blowing people up.

[Enigma]

(06-08-2017 03:13 PM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:  

Republicans and rich plutocrats are always squealing about "how good" the poor have it.

I've spent about 25% of my life split between poor, majority black Section 8 (welfare) neighborhoods in the American South and some of the poorest countries in the world.

I'm speaking from personal experience, from things I've seen, lived, interacted with, spoken to.

Are you?

The poor in America do have it "good" in comparison to the poor of almost every civilization in the history of mankind. That is a basic fact.

The only examples you can give me that are "better" either have completely different populations and/or are seeing their own system fail.

Sweden, for instance, has had negative interest rates for years. Not to mention their widespread societal problems.

Again, does that mean that America's systems can't be improved? No. And I never suggested anything nearly so black and white.

But claiming that the source of America's problems are not giving out enough welfare is ridiculous.

[worldwidetraveler]

(06-09-2017 12:58 AM)Enigma Wrote:  

(06-08-2017 03:13 PM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:  

Republicans and rich plutocrats are always squealing about "how good" the poor have it.

I've spent about 25% of my life split between poor, majority black Section 8 (welfare) neighborhoods in the American South and some of the poorest countries in the world.

I'm speaking from personal experience, from things I've seen, lived, interacted with, spoken to.

Are you?

The poor in America do have it "good" in comparison to the poor of almost every civilization in the history of mankind. That is a basic fact.

Wouldn't you need to experience being poor in other countries to know the difference? I don't see how your experience in America gives you a better understanding when comparing other countries.

[AnonymousBosch]

(06-08-2017 03:25 PM)RIslander Wrote:  

The confederacy rebelled against the United States and lost. Their right to flags and monuments at public locations was lost the moment they capitulated.

So what you're saying is: since Blacks in America are the result of African Tribes being conquered in War by their Kinsmen and then sold to Jewish Slave Traders, then Blacks should understand that those defeated in battle have lost their rights, and, as such, should just accept slavery as their natural state?

How awfully-racist of you.

[Quintus Curtius]

@Enigma:

I never said that that the reason why some vandal spraypainted something on a monument was because he's not getting enough welfare. That's unfairly distorting my statement.

What I said was very clear: I said that the root cause of most of the social and racial antagonisms in the US today is due to the tremendous and growing income disparities between rich and poor. I'm saying that the failure of the elites in the US to create and maintain a just society for all of us is the root cause of most of our problems.

What I said was that arguing over old statues is a distraction from the real issues that affect people today. I'm saying that the plutocrats want us all to be fighting about bullshit that doesn't matter, while they continue to disenfranchise all of us.

That's what I said. I'm saying that we wouldn't be seeing a lot of these problems if the elites had not systematically dismantled the economy and made it a huge funnel to enrich themselves at the top. If saying this makes me a "SJW" then so be it.

I'm also saying a basic truth: other Western countries invest far more in their citizens than the US does. In Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, there is a social safety net, and subsidized education. I think we should have that here. And we could have it here, if the rich were not so interested in stealing everything for themselves.

I believe in subsidized education, and I also believe that we should have universal healthcare here in the US, just like other countries do. (I suppose this makes me a pseudo-socialist. If so, I gladly accept the title!)

I work everyday with the poor, the dispossessed, and those who have nothing. We help them with bankruptcy and criminal defense problems. I don't glorify them; many of them are victims of their own choices. But there are institutional factors at work that doom many of them to permanent servitude.

So I am speaking from personal experience. I did not grow up rich, either.

[SamuelBRoberts]

(06-09-2017 11:42 AM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:  

@Enigma:

I never said that that the reason why some vandal spraypainted something on a monument was because he's not getting enough welfare. That's unfairly distorting my statement.

What I said was very clear: I said that the root cause of most of the social and racial antagonisms in the US today is due to the tremendous and growing income disparities between rich and poor. I'm saying that the failure of the elites in the US to create and maintain a just society for all of us is the root cause of most of our problems.

I agree, but I think the issue goes deeper than that. I think the real issue in the US is the complete collapse of American society. The "society" just doesn't exist anymore. Everyone hates each other. The blacks think the whites are oppressing them. The whites think the hispanics are taking their jobs. The hispanics hate the blacks with an unparalleled fury, to the point where many formerly black neighborhoods like Compton have been ethnically cleansed. The women think the men are scheming to keep trapped barefoot in the kitchen. The men think the women are all batshit crazy. The poor think the rich are stealing all the money. The rich think the poor are useless eaters who need have their jobs outsourced. The atheists think the Christians are scheming to form a theocracy. The Christians think the atheists are trying to shut down their churches.

I've got my own ideas about which of these groups have legitimate complaints, and I'm sure you do too, but after a certain point it doesn't even matter. You can't have a country like this, with every group constantly at each other's throats. It makes politics impossible, because even the worst guy on "your" side is preferable to anyone on the other side. Think back to the last election: if it did come out that Trump was actually a sleeper Russian agent, how many guys here would have still voted for Trump? How many democrats saw what a monster Hillary was and voted for her anyway? And the result of this awful system is that we end up with awful leaders, just because we feel the alternative is so much worse.

And awful leaders lead to an awful government. Our government is running on pure inertia; we can't even build a bridge anymore. I can't remember the last time we won a war, with the possible exception of the time we steamrolled Hussein in the early 90s (Only to stop, then go back ten years later to continue the fight and lose it.) California passed a bond to build a train line back in 2008. Train lines are 150-year old technology, they predate the civil war. And yet the thing still isn't built, and it will probably never be built, despite millions being poured into it.

It's bad enough that while I agree with your solutions, I don't think they would even really help. I agree that the amount of debt we're saddling our graduates with is monstrous. It's an atrocity, and it's insane. But what good would subsidizing education do when the colleges are making the kids dumber than when they went in, and when there are barely any jobs available for those who come out? What good is universal health care when the food we eat is fucking poison? (And I grow more convinced by the day that it's the food: Americans sitting on their butts and watching TV all day has been a cliche since the 80s, and yet every year the obesity rate goes up. If we're living the same lifestyle we were then, then why are we so much fatter?)

I don't know what the solution to this is. I don't know if there is a solution.

[PapayaTapper]

(06-09-2017 11:42 AM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:  

What I said was that arguing over old statues is a distraction from the real issues that affect people today. I'm saying that the plutocrats want us all to be fighting about bullshit that doesn't matter, while they continue to disenfranchise all of us.

The answer is to become one of the elite. "Plutocrats" live incredible lives, surrounded by luxury and insulated from risk and discomfort. The problems of the wealthy are much more palatable than those of the poor.

[SamuelBRoberts]

(06-09-2017 12:32 PM)PapayaTapper Wrote:  

The answer is to become one of the elite. "Plutocrats" live incredible lives, surrounded by luxury and insulated from risk and discomfort. The problems of the wealthy are much more palatable than those of the poor.

It's the answer for the individual, or at least, the talented and/or lucky individual. I know you have a pretty sweet setup. Quintus spends a lot of with girls half his age in Brazil, and when he's not on dates he's challenging jaguars to contests of bite strength and eating smoked game meats. I don't lead quite that kind of lifestyle, but it's 10:30 on a Friday and I'm typing out forum posts before I go to the gym, so I don't really have much cause to complain about my life either.

But as an American, I'd really like my country and my countrymen to succeed, and it makes me really sad to see that for the vast majority of them, that option is closed off.

[Quintus Curtius]

@SamuelBRoberts:

Great comment, and I agree with much of it. But I'm not quite ready to throw in the towel yet. I think that reforms are still possible that can right the ship, and restore some equitable balance to the whole system.

@PapayaTapper:

Yes, I guess this looks like the only logical conclusion, based on everything we see around us. I can't deny that. But I'm disappointed that we haven't found any better alternatives.

As we all know, the reality is that only a tiny fraction of people is ever going to wealthy. If we subscribe to the ethic of the modern US culture, the response is: "Hey, fuck you! I got my money! You guys can go piss off, while I live in my gated community!" This is not the right way to build a healthy society. We have to move from more of an individualistic ethic to a more communitarian ethic. Otherwise we will all go down the tubes.

And this is how the system is perpetuated: by pitting everyone against everyone, and dangling that slender hope--however delusional or unrealistic--in front of people that they MIGHT one day be counted among the aristocracy. It's a sham. It's a lie.

We can't just "write off" 50% of the population and throw them to the wolves. And this is what has been happening.

[SamuelBRoberts]

(06-09-2017 12:45 PM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:  

@SamuelBRoberts:

Great comment, and I agree with much of it. But I'm not quite ready to throw in the towel yet. I think that reforms are still possible that can right the ship, and restore some equitable balance to the whole system.

I'd like to think you're right. I just can't imagine what those reforms might be. If a family is miserable because the wife's sick, you can give her medicine. If they're miserable because the husband lost his job, you can give him a new job. But if the family is miserable because they all hate each other, there's not much you can do.

This is one of the reasons why I like your work so much, and why I think it's so important. The hatred in this country is so strong, and worse, so long-running, that many of us have forgotten that patriotism is even a thing. Even a casual comment of Sallust's, like the opening to The Conspiracy of Cataline where it says, "To perform good works for one's country is a beautiful thing; to speak well in her favor is not out of place." is like a giant lightning bolt in the middle of a dark night. It's a reminder that the hatreds and divisions in our country are a historical aberration, and that better men than us took patriotism, and concern for their fellow citizens, very seriously indeed. Reading any of the Romans is a reminder that things in the US, and the west in general, are very, very wrong here.

How do we connect that knowledge that things are wrong to a solution? That, I don't know. I just hope that a solution presents itself in time.

[PapayaTapper]

(06-09-2017 12:45 PM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:  

@SamuelBRoberts:

Great comment, and I agree with much of it. But I'm not quite ready to throw in the towel yet. I think that reforms are still possible that can right the ship, and restore some equitable balance to the whole system.

@PapayaTapper:

Yes, I guess this looks like the only logical conclusion, based on everything we see around us. I can't deny that. But I'm disappointed that we haven't found any better alternatives.

As we all know, the reality is that only a tiny fraction of people is ever going to wealthy. If we subscribe to the ethic of the modern US culture, the response is: "Hey, fuck you! I got my money! You guys can go piss off, while I live in my gated community!" This is not the right way to build a healthy society. We have to move from more of an individualistic ethic to a more communitarian ethic. Otherwise we will all go down the tubes.

And this is how the system is perpetuated: by pitting everyone against everyone, and dangling that slender hope--however delusional or unrealistic--in front of people that they MIGHT one day be counted among the aristocracy. It's a sham. It's a lie.

We can't just "write off" 50% of the population and throw them to the wolves. And this is what has been happening.

I understand but where are the lines? How much time should someone contribute to the "crusade for a better society" if one isn't already in a position to make a difference?

Achieving success and wealth arent isn't for those (of us) not born into it. It never has been. Ever in the history of humanity. That's why the poor have always outnumbered the wealthy.

But neither is it impossible. It does requires focus, work, and the almost obsessive desire and a little luck. Luck = Preparation meets opportunity

My point is: Every minute spent on the "injustice" of it all could be put to better use

[Quintus Curtius]

Every man has to decide for himself. Everyone has lines beyond which they will push back.

People can have conversion experiences, too. Your views on life can change, based on what you see and experience. When you see people getting screwed over all the time, it changes you. When you see lies and injustice, you can't help but be affected. Every man has to decide for himself his response. Some do nothing, and don't care. Some decide that they have to do what they can do.

And what happens when you are the one getting screwed? What makes anyone think that his name will not come up on the chopping block? Sooner or later, we all make a choice. Sooner or later, the system hits you. And then it's not so abstract anymore. Then, it's not someone else's problem. It becomes your problem. And then you have to fight back. Then you find out how tough you really are.

[Dusty]

[url=https://twitter.com/coreystewartva/status/872943850226016256][/url]

[RexImperator]

Footage of close to 90 year old Confederate veterans doing the Rebel Yell:

[Quintus Curtius]

^^^^

Very cool. I had never heard what the "rebel yell" actually sounded like. Love these old recordings and films. A couple years ago I heard about the only existing eyewitness account of Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address. The listener was a boy at the time, and 75 years later he had his impressions recorded.

Listen to the old-fashioned, refined way people spoke back then.

http://www.historyonthenet.com/authentic...thvon.html

.

[Leonard D Neubache]

(06-09-2017 07:39 AM)AnonymousBosch Wrote:  

(06-08-2017 03:25 PM)RIslander Wrote:  

The confederacy rebelled against the United States and lost. Their right to flags and monuments at public locations was lost the moment they capitulated.

So what you're saying is: since Blacks in America are the result of African Tribes being conquered in War by their Kinsmen and then sold to Jewish Slave Traders, then Blacks should understand that those defeated in battle have lost their rights, and, as such, should just accept slavery as their natural state?

How awfully-racist of you.

And Anonymousbosch comes in through the wall like the Kool-Aid Man...

Welcome back. Hope the road treated you well.

[Matt Forney]

I should add something to Quintus' comments on being poor in Europe versus being poor in the U.S.

European peoples (at least in eastern Europe: the only western country I've been to is Sweden so I don't have a huge sample size) view themselves as a cohesive culture. This is in part why being poor here isn't such a big deal, because people will collectively pitch in to help the members of the community who are struggling, usually through institutions like the church.

For example, while Hungary is supposedly "poorer" than the U.S., there aren't nearly as many bums lining the streets of Budapest as in New York or Chicago. For that matter, the homeless people here are better-dressed and healthier-looking. You don't see the despondency or the pushiness from American homeless. Same deal in Ukraine (or at least in Lviv, I haven't been anywhere else in the country). Even in the Philippines, most people have a family unit who will pitch in to help them (for example, the extended family will help with raising children).

Americans don't view each other as part of a united tribe, even with Trump promising to Make America Great Again. Americans view each other as adversaries and individuals with whom they have nothing in common and no collective stake in the future. That's why if you're poor in America, it's seen as your fault and you're on your own.

This also informs how Americans respond to social problems. When Americans run into issues at home, their default response is to run away. Overtaxed? City turning into a ghetto? Don't like the new gun laws? Just move! And when you get to your new home, immediately start wrecking it by voting for the same policies that forced you to move in the first place. New Hampshire is turning blue thanks to Massholes, North Carolina ousted a perfectly good GOP governor last year thanks to New Yorkers, and Colorado has decriminalized shitting in public thanks to Californians.

(Same process is going on in Canada, and I presume Australia and New Zealand as well. I remember AnonymousBosch talking about how lefty white hipsters were fleeing the diverse and vibrant Melbourne in favor of whiter, safer Wellington, New Zealand.)

Consider how Hungarians dealt with the influx of Muslim rapefugees to their country: they built a border wall, told the left to fuck off when they complained, and are actively resisting the E.U.'s attempts to resettle migrants from Germany. This isn't just because they have nowhere to flee in the event of disaster---Hungary's not that big, and it lost most of its territory after World War I---but because Hungarians don't want to flee. They feel tied to the land, they settled and fought for it for centuries, and they'll be damned if they have to give it up because Angela Merkel said so.

The problem Americans are running into is that there's nowhere left to run. The frontier is settled, the economy is shot, and as Obama's Department of Housing showed, even if you go to an all-white area, the government will just relocate migrants there anyway.

Americans don't truly have their backs to the wall yet. When they do... things are going to get bad. Really bad.

With regards to the Confederate statues being removed, that's par for the course. Whenever a place is conquered, the conquerors (if they're smart) try to destroy any and all traces of the conquered peoples' history. The Taliban blew up Buddhist statues in Afghanistan, ISIS is destroying Babylonian ruins in Iraq, the U.S.S.R. replaced Christianity with a Stalin cult.

Cities like New Orleans are occupied territory: the people running them have no connection to the descendants of the Confederates and view them as enemies. They're destroying the statues solely to demoralize and deracinate their subjects. That's all there is to it.