this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2025
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[–] voodooattack@lemmy.world 3 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (1 children)

For me, it’s the American belief that their laws apply in other sovereign countries. Calling Julian Assange a traitor when he’s Australian and never held American citizenship for example. Demanding his extradition and strong-arming other countries when he’s not beholden to American laws nor constitution as a non-citizen, and believing that it’s their right to do so.

And that’s from speaking with countless American who believe that this is totally justified and above-board.

[–] SirSamuel@lemmy.world 22 points 9 hours ago (4 children)

Not the weirdest, but I didn't realize this until it was pointed out.

The fascination with work, and how one's employment or career is tied to personal identity. It's a basic conversation starter, "What do you do for work?" Not "What do you enjoy doing?" or "Do you have any hobbies?" or "Where do you go to relax?" Nope.

What to you do for work.

It's a weird question that is tied up in judgement and classism. And it's so normal here

[–] Zink@programming.dev 3 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

Good god, yes. This is something I had to break myself from. It is so insidious and pervasive in our culture that I don’t think most of us realize it’s even a thing.

I’ve been to a lot of outdoor birthday parties this summer, and there are so many boring dads who I will hear strike up a conversation about what’s going on at work. I usually make sure to wander in the opposite direction.

And I like my job! But the “talk about work” is usually less about interesting projects or creations and more about what has been going on with that individual’s status. Like yeah Kevin I want you to do well at work and enjoy it, but if it’s all the same to you I’m going to go get chased by kids with squirt guns instead of pretending I care about how your manager is impressed by your team’s metrics.

[–] SirSamuel@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 children)

It is so insidious and pervasive in our culture

AmErIcAnS DoN't hAvE A CuLtUrE

lol j/k

Yeah pervasive is right. I'd rather talk about the campaign I'm running and what my players did in our last game, but it's taken a lot of retraining my brain to allow myself to talk about what is fun instead of what I'm "supposed" to do.

[–] Zink@programming.dev 2 points 4 hours ago

‘allow myself to [do things good for me] instead of what I’m “supposed” to do’ is like a full half of what it took to figure out how to try to enjoy life.

[–] gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

but if it’s all the same to you I’m going to go get chased by kids with squirt guns instead of pretending I care about how your manager is impressed by your team’s metrics.

kids sure know how to have fun. we have a lot to learn from them

[–] Zink@programming.dev 3 points 4 hours ago

More true than most realize.

After getting through a lot of shit over the past several years, and having a very good & healthy summer, I am convinced that so many of our ills (metal especially) are from this mistaken assumption that more virtual and more high tech and more consumption are positives for our health rather than negatives.

Like I said, I like my job. I have no problem explaining it to anybody who asks. But the funny thing is, nobody asks, lol. A lot times per year I get the “what do you do” question, but then they’re satisfied with that answer. Many people just volunteer their stories because they think they’re supposed (just learned behavior) to or they’re conditioned to brag about work to feel good & valid.

But despite my decent job (software for embedded linux systems — totally on brand for Lemmy!) the absolute best time I’ve spent this summer has been getting wet and muddy in the back yard. Literally.

By turning my hyperfocus and my time and some of my budget towards a big hobby project (upgrading my koi pond) I have set myself up with an activity that gives me:

  • Something good to look forward to
  • Results to enjoy
  • Fresh air
  • Physical exercise, a lot, including lots of lifting
  • Lots of meditative time, even though I physically look very busy
  • Exercising my instinct/desire/need to create things
  • Learning new interesting things that are relevant to the real world but outside my normal area of study/work. In high school I took a hard turn away from chemistry and towards physics. Now I am all about the nitrogen cycle, organic chemistry, oxidation/reduction potential, microorganisms, and so on, in my own way.
  • Opportunity to hang out with my kid and a bunch of our pets with room to run.
[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 7 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Trevor Noah has a section about this in a recent standup. Something likei if you ask a European what they do they answer with hobbies, americans answer with their job title.

[–] Kira@lemmy.today 3 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Just my experience from germany but when people ask what you do, you usually say what Job you have and where the Company is.

[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 hours ago

Germany might be more like america then Europe in that case.

[–] HugeNerd@lemmy.ca 8 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Why are you typing comments when you should be earning money for your boss?

[–] SirSamuel@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

My boss is a real asshole. I can't stand him and he doesn't pay me enough.

I'm self-employed

[–] HugeNerd@lemmy.ca 3 points 7 hours ago

Have you tried sleeping with him for a raise?

[–] r0ertel@lemmy.world 4 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

I've found this only to be true in white collar professions. Hanging out with blue collar people, your job rarely comes up, but it's one of the first questions with white collar people.

[–] Revan343@lemmy.ca 3 points 7 hours ago

It's definitely true with blue collar workers in Alberta, or at least it was when I still socialized (guess when I stopped)

[–] SirSamuel@lemmy.world 3 points 7 hours ago

I grew up blue collar and am still a tradesman. I technically live in the Midwest, but lots of Appalachian people. Of course my social circles include a vast swathe of socio-economic levels so you might still be right.

I'll have to watch closer to see if there's a pattern

I'd say your definitely correct when it comes to people with "low skill" or high turnover type jobs. If they work at dollar general or McDicks they don't talk about work much. Also, there's no such thing as a low skill job, and we all know who was essential and who could stay home for a few months

[–] ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one 15 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Flags. Americans are obsessed with the American flag.

[–] r0ertel@lemmy.world 2 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

I was asked this while traveling in another country. I didn't have a good answer. FWIW, I don't own any clothing with any flags on them.

[–] JcbAzPx@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Wearing depictions if the flag is against flag code anyway. Not a legal standard, but if someone actually cared for real, they wouldn't use it as decoration.

[–] tehmics@lemmy.world 3 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Code is for the government. The people should be free to celebrate the freedom it's meant to represent.

[–] JcbAzPx@lemmy.world 0 points 3 hours ago

Sure, but if they really had the respect for it they pretend to have, they wouldn't be wearing it.

[–] radiofreebc@lemmy.world 5 points 7 hours ago

American exceptionalism, especially lately.

[–] dellish@lemmy.world 18 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

The apparent obsession with money. Some people claim to be religious but it's clear the Almighty Dollar is their God. I know we make jokes about needing a "profit motive", but there is a grounding in reality. It's truly bizarre, from an outside perspective, just what lengths and depths people will sink to in order to increase profit. I'm not saying this is an American Only thing, but it's VERY apparent in the USA just how far people will go.

[–] turtlesareneat@discuss.online 8 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

I stopped talking politics with my FIL when I realized money was his singular driving force. He really believes, and IDK where he got this, that capitalism is itself a perfect system, and that any regulation on it breaks the system. Basically laissez faire libertarianism, wrapped in a flag and wearing a cross. Considering it's a well understood concept, in the rest of the world (and US history) that capitalism requires regulation to work safely, it's maddening to argue anything when we can't agree on basics.

All people with money = inherently good. All brown people = inherently bad. This is the driving socioeconomic philosophy among conservatives.

[–] smayonak@lemmy.world 3 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

I started listening to AM radio and Fox News (their stream) to understand them. These people arent even the worst strain of propaganda consumer. But they get it from one of the two schools of austrian economics.

But even morally bankrupt people still believe in the truth. Like no matter how capitalist someone is, the Epstein connection to Trump is not going away. The money itself is not proof that someone doesn't diddle children

[–] MisterOwl@lemmy.world 2 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Maybe, but to them the money makes it okay that Trump diddled children.

Morally bankrupt people will believe in whatever "truth" best serves their interests.

[–] smayonak@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

It depends on whether they hear about the abuse from their in-person social networks. the propaganda networks will never cover what trump has been doing to children

While there are right wing cults that will accept pedophiles as their leaders, for the majority of those who watch propaganda channels, child rape is the only crime they won't abide. It goes back to their foundational beliefs on abortion.

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[–] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 3 points 7 hours ago

Flag heilling

[–] GladiusB@lemmy.world 7 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

That we dont want to be trailer trash, but a good 95 percent of us are.

[–] SirSamuel@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

Excuse you

I'm a double-wide recyclable

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 3 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

We're weird about foreskins for one

[–] Bloomcole@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

That's bcs you're all very gullible to marketing/disease mongering in your hyper-consumerist 'society'.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

I really don't see how hyper-consumerism has anything to do with our cultural bias against foreskin that comes from our history of sexual prudishness.

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[–] But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world 8 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Mine is that every 20 years or so, America picks a country or region to decimate, colonize, pillage and take over. They treat the people in that country like refuse. Then 20 years later they move on to the next country. Throughout all this they moralize to you and police the world and try to tell other countries to stop their wars, while they enjoy the benefits of their own invasions.

[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 2 points 8 hours ago

We have a quota in america for weapons manufacturing. If noone needs weapons then make a new conflict. Its not super complicated but it is absurdly morally bankrupt.

[–] Dr_Box@lemmy.world 17 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (8 children)

Where I live almost everyone assumes you are a right wing Christian. They don't even take into consideration that you're not and if they figure out you aren't they stop talking to you in most cases. I've never had anyone straight up call me an idiot but I've had good friends freeze up when they found out and then start avoiding me afterwards. You get looked at like a lizard in human skin.

To add to this, I've heard the talk that gets passed around before they found out that I wasnt. If you are a woman they will straught up call you a witch

[–] andros_rex@lemmy.world 10 points 10 hours ago (4 children)

I’m a passing trans guy, and where I live is like this.

It’s just fucked walking around and know that if they knew, I would essentially lose all humanity to them. It happened with my divorce lawyer, it happens with doctors. I’m like an alien hiding in the place I was born.

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[–] Smoogs@lemmy.world 5 points 11 hours ago

And then get weirdly surprised and entitled about it when someone does do something about it.

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