People downvoting you are failing to recognize that while we are a colony of the English throne and have germanic overlords on our money, the current colonization process by the USA is through capitalism, entertainment, and geopolitics.
Much of canadian resentment comes from the wearing away of our differences by sheer bulk of exposure exacerbated by the typical lack of awareness by colonizers of their own personal role in this damaging process and its effects, interpersonally.
Colonizers often deny their association with the process.
Oh maybe some visitors or US migrants understand intellectually. But culture is not very conscious behaviour, and the heroic individualism and assumptions of cultural supremacy that they bring will rankle most Canadians at some point.
This is just anti-immigrant sentiment disguised as anti-colonization rhetoric.
That said, I am curious about your thoughts. What if one thinks culture itself is just window dressing and don’t care? People who identify as part of an in-group and hate the out-groups are insufferable, and being attached to a regional culture is just a form of that, cultivating hatred for the ‘other’.
Admittedly, I dislike the very region of the US I live in and think the culture here is a combination of intellectually vacuous, sexually puritanical/traditionalist, and generally boring nonsense. I view the individuals who attach themselves to my local culture as kind of pathetic. My feelings towards them somewhat mirror Emil Cioran’s negative view of his own countrymen. I have no desire to spread this culture, I’d like to escape it: I’m functionally culture-less as one can be.
I’ve just been chronically too broke to escape. The election has lowered the bar for what I’m willing to put up with in my escape, but unfortunately so have my resources been somewhat lowered, slowing me down.
You are taking the discussion very personally. It’s an individualist complaint. You might be an awesome person and a great benefit to Canadian society. So if you immigrate here and overcome the baggage of being a colonizer citizen and cultural perspectives that are probably invisible to you, fukan a, congrats and welcome. You will be rare as a gem. Your response tells me you have a ways to go before decolonizing your mind. First you must acknowledge your inadvertent participation in the bullshit.
I keep seeing “don’t blame me” posts from USA folks who don’t want to take any responsibility for the society they live in… and they want to bring that attitude here!
As a Canadian I would not move to Bolivia, because our mining companies are neocolonial blights on their economy… unless I could be clearly employed mitigating that colonialism.
I apologize for the late response, I only use this account during breaks/lunch at work and I couldn’t help wanting to continue the conversation.
Your response tells me you have a ways to go before decolonizing your mind. First you must acknowledge your inadvertent participation in the bullshit.
I’m going to try some extra effort to internally translate what you probably mean and respond to that from both a personal and meta perspective starting with the personal if only to hear your thoughts on both and sate my curiosity:
On a personal level: I’d be willing to listen to any counter arguments of any ideological belief I hold. I thrive on challenging my own and other’s belief systems through discourse. Its a major reason why I spend time on Lemmy (and used to spend time on Reddit writing novelas in response to other novela sized posts). If one’s argument is compelling enough, I will change my views (and have had my views changed in the past via this very method.)
On a meta level: What I think would be unreasonable to expect of anyone is to tell them they must believe in anything in order to live somewhere outside of some very basic things. On a systemic level it would be authoritarian and draconian otherwise.
That said, if I were to interpret your words here less charitably, it sounds like almost like you are asking people to repent for the sin of having been born and raised in the US regardless in order to take refuge by going through a re-education program or something.
I keep seeing “don’t blame me” posts from USA folks who don’t want to take any responsibility for the society they live in… and they want to bring that attitude here!
Individuals are not responsible for the society they are born in and are raised in, regardless of context. People don’t even choose to be born in the first place, let alone where.
As a Canadian I would not move to Bolivia, because our mining companies are neocolonial blights on their economy… unless I could be clearly employed mitigating that colonialism.
Are you as a Canadian, directly responsible for the neocolonial blights in Bolivia because you are a Canadian citizen?
Are you as a Canadian, directly responsible for the neocolonial blights in Bolivia because you are a Canadian citizen?
More than 1/40,000,000th responsible, yes. Directly, I don’t think so, I’m not aware of investments in Canadian mining. My spouse’s pension plan may be investing there, because even though they have some ethical oversight, money, uh, finds a way.
“Direct” is a bit of a false dichotomy however. I benefit from those atrocities in various ways. I pay taxes, I use government services, and the CA government enables this neocolonialism. I work for clients who have done I-don’t-know-what, I use products that are cheap because of this exploitation, and I fail to track many details of the supply chain that would help me avoid participating.
More, I have not donated to miningwatch.ca for years, I haven’t written any letters to officials about it in decades, and I haven’t even been tracking news about the problem lately.
Given that those are all choices I have made, whether active or passive, I bear a little extra responsibility above the basic citizenship share, yes. It’s a lot less responsibility than the choice I made to have children, let’s say, but it is each individual’s to some degree. My life is full of such things. It’s not a burden! It’s the bitter irony of awareness, which is a blessing.
It’s also the basis for a civic mindset that will get us through the great filter.
TL;DR: you leave a wake as you pass through life, those ripples wash up somewhere
I think you believe I and other Canadians are saying no USA citizens should move to Canada. I have heard a few people mention this but it’s fringe.
Refugees in particular, and that has been mentioned in this thread, well we’re readying up for that like we always have. Active dinner table discussions about how to handle an influx of trans folk and other victims of fascism, beds available, resources for support, secrecy protocols, etc.
What has changed, though? A declaration of war, and yes it isn’t official but it feels surreal and inevitable at this point. I can’t stress this enough: Canada is on fucking edge and the threat is a complete elimination of identity, mass death and suffering, and generations of oppression and resistance.
You know, colonialism.
What I think would be unreasonable to expect of anyone is to tell them they must believe in anything in order to live somewhere outside of some very basic things. On a systemic level it would be authoritarian and draconian otherwise.
Oh, basic things like being in favour of a colonial outcome? So it sounds like you are suggesting we should welcome those who hold us in contempt by hiding behind ideology. “Oh you’re just overreacting” say the US centrists.
So yes, perhaps we should be screening immigrants for their position on our pending invasion. I’m not asserting that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if security protocols are enacted at borders.
What I am talking about is reception. How any US citizen moving here will have to deal with the social reality. After 100+ years of low level colonialism from the south, we have some attitudes that you will have to deal with.
it sounds like almost like you are asking people to repent for the sin of having been born and raised in the US regardless in order to take refuge by going through a re-education program or something.
lol well statistically a large number of US immigrants do believe in original sin. However I am pointing out that it will be difficult for someone who was raised in a highly individualistic culture to take responsibility for the society they come from, and for the beliefs they carry forward. So yeah, if you come to Canada, and pretend we are just as individualistic as the USA, you’re going to feel like a hero around all these meek and diminished folk. And that has been happening my whole life, “americans” who move here and talk down while acting convivial and take over all the little ponds they swim in. It’s a type. Usually professional or middle class. Often they are “fleeing” the States… but not really. I grew up with an influx of draft dodgers, and yeah, they were welcomed, but there were problems, and here’s the thing: they are often oblivious to the fundamental cultural differences.
So when I refer to ‘decolonize your mind’ that is something we are actively trying to do as average residents of Canada, as we draw a long running genocide to conclusion. It’s a common enough phrase that you can research it yourself, cf. Freire, Pedagogy of the Opressed and related ideas.
The sharp point of colonialism wielded in our direction from the south means we’ve had to put up with a lot of bullshit.
So, to clarify, if you move here as a refugee because you object to your government, but aren’t a direct victim yet, and call yourself a refugee, expect doubt. Expect irony as your privilege is obvious. Expect to prove you aren’t the enemy in spirit, and expect to do some work shedding the things that made your country the enemy.
This includes culture and attitudes that you aren’t aware of.
Individuals are not responsible for the society they are born in and are raised in, regardless of context. People don’t even choose to be born in the first place, let alone where.
That is just a bizarre conservative attitude that works well for neo-aristocracy goals. It’s destructive to other societies and we wish you wouldn’t export that unwelcome shit in your media and migrants.
So fucking tiring. The world is not black and white, yes we carry collective responsibility. It’s a matter of degrees, culture doesn’t just magically happen and society springs forth from culture. If Assata Shakur can take responsibility so can you.
I think you believe I and other Canadians are saying no USA citizens should move to Canada. I have heard a few people mention this but it’s fringe.
I never thought this, you made it clear that wasn’t your belief. No worries here.
So it sounds like you are suggesting we should welcome those who hold us in contempt by hiding behind ideology. “Oh you’re just overreacting” say the US centrists.
I’m not fan of centrists, but I don’t think requiring people to be leftwing to enter Canada would be good.
So yes, perhaps we should be screening immigrants for their position on our pending invasion. I’m not asserting that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if security protocols are enacted at borders.
I actually kind of think that would be a reasonable thing to ask. But of course I’ll admit it’d be likely impossible to verify. You’d at least filter out the most brazen rightwing US patriots.
I’ll even go so far as to say that in some level of my own fleeting suicidal ideation, I’ve thought about joining the Canadian military on the front line. And I’d be lying if I did not fantasize a little about seeking revenge on my “excompatriots”… quite directly via such a route. Specifically of the MAGA variety.
I’d probably be a bit more Sherman-esque in my attitude.
These MAGA people… they are simply no longer people I’m interested in empathizing with at virtually any level. My hatred of them is at an intensity that is almost certainly irrational and self destructive.
I’d bet there are many other Americans that feel very similarly.
lol well statistically a large number of US immigrants do believe in original sin. However I am pointing out that it will be difficult for someone who was raised in a highly individualistic culture to take responsibility for the society they come from, and for the beliefs they carry forward. So yeah, if you come to Canada, and pretend we are just as individualistic as the USA, you’re going to feel like a hero around all these meek and diminished folk. And that has been happening my whole life, “americans” who move here and talk down while acting convivial and take over all the little ponds they swim in. It’s a type. Usually professional or middle class. Often they are “fleeing” the States… but not really. I grew up with an influx of draft dodgers, and yeah, they were welcomed, but there were problems, and here’s the thing: they are often oblivious to the fundamental cultural differences.
The amount of self reported individualism in Canada vs the US is virtually identical. https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2004/01/14/americans-and-canadians/ (under “Values: Similarities and Differences”) this is an old survey, but I would be doubtful the numbers have meaningfully shifted since.
But this is besides a far more interesting point for me that I really hope you will engage with.
That is just a bizarre conservative attitude that works well for neo-aristocracy goals. It’s destructive to other societies and we wish you wouldn’t export that unwelcome shit in your media and migrants.
And here is the most interesting element of the conversation and I’ll admit its almost a tangent. That said, I’m disagreeing in good faith.
Its not an “attitude” it is factual. Before you were born, did you get some kind of “create a character” prompt? Of course not.
It is sheer pure reality: no one chooses to even be here or anywhere for that matter. That would make no sense.
Nonetheless, to support the pressure to conform and serve a society that arguably as a collective has a far more significant culpability for one’s non-consentual existence as an individual I find as a sort of absurdity. Individuals should respect each other, but they owe nothing to the society (or parents) that birthed them, if anything society (and parents) owe them an unpayable and infinite debt.
Of course, I also don’t believe in free will, and that in of itself complicates my thoughts on these matters.
It’s great that you want to throw in with defense of our country. You do understand that any USA person who does that would have to check their head for attitudes right? And there would be a high trust bar to vault.
Regarding self-reported individualism: maybe? Definition and study quality matters. The experience of difference is markedly clear, especially to those of us with family on both sides of the border.
And also, ideology is like halitosis, it’s always someone else’s problem, eh?
Responsibility for society starts at young adulthood, which is a fuzzy line because it varies per person. Bizarre that you would try to dissociate being a member of a culture and society without acknowledging participation and maintenance and responsibility… but very “American.” It capitulates to authority.
I keep seeing a response to words like “welcoming” as though it is a binary, for instance. Are you writing as though there’s welcome and deny, and that’s it? Fox News does this sleight of mind, for instance, reducing things to absolutes. It’s how single issue voters are created. Question it.
I once documented a youth conference of diasporic Black students from Windsor, Detroit, and Toronto. As director and editor I had to pay attention closely to the discussion. Some amazing things became clear: fundamental differences in identity and worldview. In particular, the Canadian youth got where the USA youth were coming from, but not the reverse, at least during the discussions.
It was more than about identity, it was about nuance and complexity. Something just made it really hard for the Detroit folks to think in terms more than black white latino asian and a few others, as well as simplifying broader topics. Looking for easy conclusions. The Toronto folk counted over 100 languages spoken at their school and thought in terms of ethiopian, africanadian, igbo, jamaican, trini, etc. The Windsor folk were like, “yeah that and we’re distinct yet linked, our local history explains a lot, and we have to work together across divisions.” Social complexity is pretty natural in canadian discourse.
This, this is one of the difficult things to explain across the border. It’s one of the key things we are worried most about losing in an annexation. And like most colonial relationships, the understanding generally goes one way.
You do understand that any USA person who does that would have to check their head for attitudes right?
Attitude as in instability or propensity to commit war crimes against MAGA people? I might fail that check admittedly.
Responsibility for society starts at young adulthood, which is a fuzzy line because it varies per person. Bizarre that you would try to dissociate being a member of a culture and society without acknowledging participation and maintenance and responsibility…
I’m not “trying to dissociate” anything of the sort. I’ve thought and read and debated about about the nature of human existence for an abnormally long time and what I’ve told you is simply a major piece of my current conclusions.
If anything I’m ravenously seeking out someone to convince me my ideas are wrong. Partly because when someone does that it to me it means my beliefs become just that much more refined and accurate. Not enough people are willing to challenge their own beliefs or actively engage in defending them. They attach their ideology to their very identity and react emotionally to counters to their beliefs. I don’t do that or respect that. My loyalty is to reality, not my sense of belonging or identity.
Another reason is a lot of my own beliefs about life and existence (and for instance the current political realities of the country I live in) are quite unpleasant and many of them I’d like to be rid of if I could find some counters convincing enough to break from them I’d honestly be relieved.
If anything my lack of dissociation is making me cripplingly depressed and angry and probably part of why I’m on track for a high blood pressure diagnosis.
but very “American.” It capitulates to authority.
I can assure you that my specific beliefs are not the norm for Americans. Most Americans do not have any desire to think deeply about their own ideology at all, and even those that talk of ideology often just embrace some well developed “counter cultural” identity and call it their ideology without much further analysis.
People downvoting you are failing to recognize that while we are a colony of the English throne and have germanic overlords on our money, the current colonization process by the USA is through capitalism, entertainment, and geopolitics.
Much of canadian resentment comes from the wearing away of our differences by sheer bulk of exposure exacerbated by the typical lack of awareness by colonizers of their own personal role in this damaging process and its effects, interpersonally.
Colonizers often deny their association with the process.
Oh maybe some visitors or US migrants understand intellectually. But culture is not very conscious behaviour, and the heroic individualism and assumptions of cultural supremacy that they bring will rankle most Canadians at some point.
Also take off yer fukan shoes in my house, eh!
This is just anti-immigrant sentiment disguised as anti-colonization rhetoric.
That said, I am curious about your thoughts. What if one thinks culture itself is just window dressing and don’t care? People who identify as part of an in-group and hate the out-groups are insufferable, and being attached to a regional culture is just a form of that, cultivating hatred for the ‘other’.
Admittedly, I dislike the very region of the US I live in and think the culture here is a combination of intellectually vacuous, sexually puritanical/traditionalist, and generally boring nonsense. I view the individuals who attach themselves to my local culture as kind of pathetic. My feelings towards them somewhat mirror Emil Cioran’s negative view of his own countrymen. I have no desire to spread this culture, I’d like to escape it: I’m functionally culture-less as one can be.
I’ve just been chronically too broke to escape. The election has lowered the bar for what I’m willing to put up with in my escape, but unfortunately so have my resources been somewhat lowered, slowing me down.
Your response is just a colonial perspective.
You are taking the discussion very personally. It’s an individualist complaint. You might be an awesome person and a great benefit to Canadian society. So if you immigrate here and overcome the baggage of being a colonizer citizen and cultural perspectives that are probably invisible to you, fukan a, congrats and welcome. You will be rare as a gem. Your response tells me you have a ways to go before decolonizing your mind. First you must acknowledge your inadvertent participation in the bullshit.
I keep seeing “don’t blame me” posts from USA folks who don’t want to take any responsibility for the society they live in… and they want to bring that attitude here!
As a Canadian I would not move to Bolivia, because our mining companies are neocolonial blights on their economy… unless I could be clearly employed mitigating that colonialism.
I apologize for the late response, I only use this account during breaks/lunch at work and I couldn’t help wanting to continue the conversation.
I’m going to try some extra effort to internally translate what you probably mean and respond to that from both a personal and meta perspective starting with the personal if only to hear your thoughts on both and sate my curiosity:
On a personal level: I’d be willing to listen to any counter arguments of any ideological belief I hold. I thrive on challenging my own and other’s belief systems through discourse. Its a major reason why I spend time on Lemmy (and used to spend time on Reddit writing novelas in response to other novela sized posts). If one’s argument is compelling enough, I will change my views (and have had my views changed in the past via this very method.)
On a meta level: What I think would be unreasonable to expect of anyone is to tell them they must believe in anything in order to live somewhere outside of some very basic things. On a systemic level it would be authoritarian and draconian otherwise.
That said, if I were to interpret your words here less charitably, it sounds like almost like you are asking people to repent for the sin of having been born and raised in the US regardless in order to take refuge by going through a re-education program or something.
Individuals are not responsible for the society they are born in and are raised in, regardless of context. People don’t even choose to be born in the first place, let alone where.
Are you as a Canadian, directly responsible for the neocolonial blights in Bolivia because you are a Canadian citizen?
More than 1/40,000,000th responsible, yes. Directly, I don’t think so, I’m not aware of investments in Canadian mining. My spouse’s pension plan may be investing there, because even though they have some ethical oversight, money, uh, finds a way.
“Direct” is a bit of a false dichotomy however. I benefit from those atrocities in various ways. I pay taxes, I use government services, and the CA government enables this neocolonialism. I work for clients who have done I-don’t-know-what, I use products that are cheap because of this exploitation, and I fail to track many details of the supply chain that would help me avoid participating.
More, I have not donated to miningwatch.ca for years, I haven’t written any letters to officials about it in decades, and I haven’t even been tracking news about the problem lately.
Given that those are all choices I have made, whether active or passive, I bear a little extra responsibility above the basic citizenship share, yes. It’s a lot less responsibility than the choice I made to have children, let’s say, but it is each individual’s to some degree. My life is full of such things. It’s not a burden! It’s the bitter irony of awareness, which is a blessing.
It’s also the basis for a civic mindset that will get us through the great filter.
TL;DR: you leave a wake as you pass through life, those ripples wash up somewhere
Ah, nice that you took the time.
I think you believe I and other Canadians are saying no USA citizens should move to Canada. I have heard a few people mention this but it’s fringe.
Refugees in particular, and that has been mentioned in this thread, well we’re readying up for that like we always have. Active dinner table discussions about how to handle an influx of trans folk and other victims of fascism, beds available, resources for support, secrecy protocols, etc.
What has changed, though? A declaration of war, and yes it isn’t official but it feels surreal and inevitable at this point. I can’t stress this enough: Canada is on fucking edge and the threat is a complete elimination of identity, mass death and suffering, and generations of oppression and resistance.
You know, colonialism.
Oh, basic things like being in favour of a colonial outcome? So it sounds like you are suggesting we should welcome those who hold us in contempt by hiding behind ideology. “Oh you’re just overreacting” say the US centrists.
So yes, perhaps we should be screening immigrants for their position on our pending invasion. I’m not asserting that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if security protocols are enacted at borders.
What I am talking about is reception. How any US citizen moving here will have to deal with the social reality. After 100+ years of low level colonialism from the south, we have some attitudes that you will have to deal with.
lol well statistically a large number of US immigrants do believe in original sin. However I am pointing out that it will be difficult for someone who was raised in a highly individualistic culture to take responsibility for the society they come from, and for the beliefs they carry forward. So yeah, if you come to Canada, and pretend we are just as individualistic as the USA, you’re going to feel like a hero around all these meek and diminished folk. And that has been happening my whole life, “americans” who move here and talk down while acting convivial and take over all the little ponds they swim in. It’s a type. Usually professional or middle class. Often they are “fleeing” the States… but not really. I grew up with an influx of draft dodgers, and yeah, they were welcomed, but there were problems, and here’s the thing: they are often oblivious to the fundamental cultural differences.
So when I refer to ‘decolonize your mind’ that is something we are actively trying to do as average residents of Canada, as we draw a long running genocide to conclusion. It’s a common enough phrase that you can research it yourself, cf. Freire, Pedagogy of the Opressed and related ideas.
The sharp point of colonialism wielded in our direction from the south means we’ve had to put up with a lot of bullshit.
So, to clarify, if you move here as a refugee because you object to your government, but aren’t a direct victim yet, and call yourself a refugee, expect doubt. Expect irony as your privilege is obvious. Expect to prove you aren’t the enemy in spirit, and expect to do some work shedding the things that made your country the enemy.
This includes culture and attitudes that you aren’t aware of.
That is just a bizarre conservative attitude that works well for neo-aristocracy goals. It’s destructive to other societies and we wish you wouldn’t export that unwelcome shit in your media and migrants.
So fucking tiring. The world is not black and white, yes we carry collective responsibility. It’s a matter of degrees, culture doesn’t just magically happen and society springs forth from culture. If Assata Shakur can take responsibility so can you.
I never thought this, you made it clear that wasn’t your belief. No worries here.
I’m not fan of centrists, but I don’t think requiring people to be leftwing to enter Canada would be good.
I actually kind of think that would be a reasonable thing to ask. But of course I’ll admit it’d be likely impossible to verify. You’d at least filter out the most brazen rightwing US patriots.
I’ll even go so far as to say that in some level of my own fleeting suicidal ideation, I’ve thought about joining the Canadian military on the front line. And I’d be lying if I did not fantasize a little about seeking revenge on my “excompatriots”… quite directly via such a route. Specifically of the MAGA variety.
I’d probably be a bit more Sherman-esque in my attitude.
These MAGA people… they are simply no longer people I’m interested in empathizing with at virtually any level. My hatred of them is at an intensity that is almost certainly irrational and self destructive.
I’d bet there are many other Americans that feel very similarly.
The amount of self reported individualism in Canada vs the US is virtually identical. https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2004/01/14/americans-and-canadians/ (under “Values: Similarities and Differences”) this is an old survey, but I would be doubtful the numbers have meaningfully shifted since.
But this is besides a far more interesting point for me that I really hope you will engage with.
And here is the most interesting element of the conversation and I’ll admit its almost a tangent. That said, I’m disagreeing in good faith.
Its not an “attitude” it is factual. Before you were born, did you get some kind of “create a character” prompt? Of course not.
It is sheer pure reality: no one chooses to even be here or anywhere for that matter. That would make no sense.
Nonetheless, to support the pressure to conform and serve a society that arguably as a collective has a far more significant culpability for one’s non-consentual existence as an individual I find as a sort of absurdity. Individuals should respect each other, but they owe nothing to the society (or parents) that birthed them, if anything society (and parents) owe them an unpayable and infinite debt.
Of course, I also don’t believe in free will, and that in of itself complicates my thoughts on these matters.
It’s great that you want to throw in with defense of our country. You do understand that any USA person who does that would have to check their head for attitudes right? And there would be a high trust bar to vault.
Regarding self-reported individualism: maybe? Definition and study quality matters. The experience of difference is markedly clear, especially to those of us with family on both sides of the border.
And also, ideology is like halitosis, it’s always someone else’s problem, eh?
Responsibility for society starts at young adulthood, which is a fuzzy line because it varies per person. Bizarre that you would try to dissociate being a member of a culture and society without acknowledging participation and maintenance and responsibility… but very “American.” It capitulates to authority.
I keep seeing a response to words like “welcoming” as though it is a binary, for instance. Are you writing as though there’s welcome and deny, and that’s it? Fox News does this sleight of mind, for instance, reducing things to absolutes. It’s how single issue voters are created. Question it.
I once documented a youth conference of diasporic Black students from Windsor, Detroit, and Toronto. As director and editor I had to pay attention closely to the discussion. Some amazing things became clear: fundamental differences in identity and worldview. In particular, the Canadian youth got where the USA youth were coming from, but not the reverse, at least during the discussions.
It was more than about identity, it was about nuance and complexity. Something just made it really hard for the Detroit folks to think in terms more than black white latino asian and a few others, as well as simplifying broader topics. Looking for easy conclusions. The Toronto folk counted over 100 languages spoken at their school and thought in terms of ethiopian, africanadian, igbo, jamaican, trini, etc. The Windsor folk were like, “yeah that and we’re distinct yet linked, our local history explains a lot, and we have to work together across divisions.” Social complexity is pretty natural in canadian discourse.
This, this is one of the difficult things to explain across the border. It’s one of the key things we are worried most about losing in an annexation. And like most colonial relationships, the understanding generally goes one way.
Attitude as in instability or propensity to commit war crimes against MAGA people? I might fail that check admittedly.
I’m not “trying to dissociate” anything of the sort. I’ve thought and read and debated about about the nature of human existence for an abnormally long time and what I’ve told you is simply a major piece of my current conclusions.
If anything I’m ravenously seeking out someone to convince me my ideas are wrong. Partly because when someone does that it to me it means my beliefs become just that much more refined and accurate. Not enough people are willing to challenge their own beliefs or actively engage in defending them. They attach their ideology to their very identity and react emotionally to counters to their beliefs. I don’t do that or respect that. My loyalty is to reality, not my sense of belonging or identity.
Another reason is a lot of my own beliefs about life and existence (and for instance the current political realities of the country I live in) are quite unpleasant and many of them I’d like to be rid of if I could find some counters convincing enough to break from them I’d honestly be relieved.
If anything my lack of dissociation is making me cripplingly depressed and angry and probably part of why I’m on track for a high blood pressure diagnosis.
I can assure you that my specific beliefs are not the norm for Americans. Most Americans do not have any desire to think deeply about their own ideology at all, and even those that talk of ideology often just embrace some well developed “counter cultural” identity and call it their ideology without much further analysis.