When I was in the 8th grade I had a friend who had two kids already. TBF he should have been a high school senior but he had been held back four times (this was before school districts had really grasped the concept of passing kids to get rid of them).
His favorite song was “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2” by Pink Floyd which was very popular at the time and featured the lyric “We don’t need no education”. Even at the time I remember thinking “Tracy, you might in fact need an education”. I think it’s under-appreciated how much that one line from that one song had to do with the success of that album.
Pink Floyd is probably the greatest rock band of all time in my opinion. Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2 is their worst song and so freaking unsatisfying to hear come on the radio. It’s like when people’s only reference to Fight Club is “We don’t talk about Fight Club.” Okay great, you missed not only the entire point of the movie, but you can’t even wrap your head around what that one single line actually meant. But that’s why Fight Club (and therefore Palahniuk and Fincher) and Pink Floyd made money and were able to continue making great art for the people who are capable of understanding and appreciating subtext, so I guess I can’t be too mad. But I am.
Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2 is their worst song
I mean, The Wall isn’t even close to being their best album. It’s not their worst, at least – thanks to Syd Barrett and The Final Cut.
Is it their best album? No. Is it still one of the greatest albums of all time? Definitely. Is Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2 representative of the album at all? Hell nope!
Uhh what age are middle schoolers?
The source of all wisdom and knowledge says 11—14. So perfectly fit for starting procreation in hunter—gatherer societies like — oh, wait…
It’s possible, we are talking about it so it’s happening
😬
Up to 14/8th grade. There were definitely people fucking that were younger than that when I was in middle school though.
1.75 grade?
That’s 35 fahrenheit.
Still don’t understand. How many football fields is that?
Approximately 2,000 cheeseburgers.
420 bald eagles
9-12 when I was there.
The good news is the baby’s parents already live together. Their mom could only afford a single wide two bedroom trailer.
I mean they’re probably siblings, so yeah…
That’s the joke, yeah.
You telling me they come in other si es?
Should have been more specific. How should god know if they meant Norway the country or any of the other Norways, such as Norway, Iowa/Nebraska/Kansas/Indiana?
On that note: Guess which is the largest of the four Norways in the U.S. mentioned above? Unlike mastodon it seems like lemmy doesn’t support multiple choice questions, at least I don’t know how.
spoiler
Norway, Iowa: 466 people
Norway, Indiana: 327 people
Norway, Kansas: 17 people
Norway, Nebraska: 0 people?
Wikipedia lists 7 more
East midlands, your grandma is 32 years old.
Hopefully got a respawn waiting
I rather be homeless in Mississippi than in Norway.
What do you have against Norway?
It’s a Potemkin village just like all the other “rich” and “social” European countries. They all claim to have defeated poverty. They all claim to have great welfare systems. But that’s not reality. In reality, all you get is a brochure (at best) with some bullshit feel-good talk (“Crisis as a chance”). As if you could rent an apartment with that or get medical treatment or a job. Europeans in general are the biggest liars on Earth. I rather choose the honest evil of the US than the phoniness of Europe.
I would agree with your that there is no perfect place and system on earth, but geez, there are HUGE differences in social welfare systems. Also, spreading misinformation does not help you to get your point across.
That’s not misinformation. I’m personally affected (And I’m not the only one). Oh, wait, I get it. You’re just another privileged rich asshole who thinks that everybody else is just as rich and privileged as you. Sweet sweet egocentrism.
I haven’t heard a single European country claim to have defeated poverty. My country (NL) has an increasing gap between rich and poor, and there are people living below the poverty line (mostly because people keep voting for stupid right wing parties that keep cutting social programs and welfare, but that’s a rant for another day)
But at least there still is welfare, there are still funds that people can ask for from the government.And yes, there’s homelessness here too. There’s also homeless shelters. Even in my dinky little town. It’s not great, but it’s something. And I can only hope that we can get some socialism back in our government so that those who need it can get a more humane treatment.
Socialism caused me to become homeless. And it makes sure I will never be housed again.
Can you tell us how please?
You wouldn’t believe me. You only would if you walked in my shoes. But if you walked in my shoes I would not have to tell because you already knew.
Oh, so you’re full of shit. Got it.
Shouldn’t you be over on gab?
Gee good for you there’s internet at 7/11 for your “homeless” rants.As if homeless people couldn’t have a smart phone, you dumb fuck.
Weird priorities but sure.
Btw personal attacks don’t really affect me but do continue with your baseless rants about Norway, i find them entertaining.
I don’t know a ton about Norway, nor have I visited. Can you edify me on the reality compared to the Potemkin village facade? Are there social safety nets? How do they work/not work in practice? What’s phony about other European countries? The closest I’ve been to Norway is Denmark and I had a lot of conversations with locals about healthcare and qol and they all seemed better off than what we have in America.
I’ve met a few homeless Norwegians here in Central Europe. They told me enough stories about how “good” their welfare system works. The patterns were the same as in all other European countries. You have a certain amount of homeless people, then you open up temporary shelters for less than one percent of them (And those shelters are always the worst places imaginable, much more filthy and dangerous than the streets, often just as cold as outside because nobody pays for heaters). And of course plenty of housing first projects nobody can ever get into because they’re all fake, all you ever get is a stupid brochure. But it’s good material for propaganda in newspapers which helps “social” parties keep and attract voters (The rich “left” bourgeoise love this type of stories). So all that has been achieved is to push homeless people around Europe, always looking for that one country that doesn’t suck, it’s a neverending loop of misery. And the only people they have to talk to are other homeless. Not a single housed person listens, they only silence you (“No, Europe is Utopia, you have plenty of options, you just don’t want to be housed again!”). And of course no newspaper reports about any of this either, political parties make sure no such article will ever be released by threatening to take press subsidies away.
And that’s just about homeless shelters. The same applies to welfare benefits, disability benefits, “universal” healthcare and so on. I met disabled people who only got 40 Euros emergency assistance per month. How can you buy food, clothes, hygiene products, medication and pay for the homeless shelter too (most are not free) with just 40 Euros? I didn’t believe it until I saw the official documents myself. That’s the real Europe. That’s the “social” Utopia dumb/uneducated US citizens dream about.
There is one difference though: Police here is much more chill, they rarely harass you or destroy your stuff for fun. That is indeed much worse in the US. Here they just tell you to go away and look for another place.
Fuck you.
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No problem then, just be happy the way you like it.
I would like everything to be very different in both the US and Europe. But that’s not going to happen.
Ah, so you’ve never been to Norway. What tipped it off is that Norway is not in Europe.
I guess you are trolling, right? It is in Europe but it is not part of the European Union. Jesus.
Less than 10 seconds of research required to find out (if it wasn’t part of school education)…
It is in Europe, just not in the union. Just like Canada is in (North) America.
I’m so curious: Before others replied, which continent did you think Norway was in?
What’s it in, the lost continent of Arctica?
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe.
(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway)
So you dumb fuck don’t even know that Norway is part of Europe. But you claim to know how well Norway’s welfare system works. Sure buddy.
So the Eurpoean union regulates Norway’s welfare system? Tell us more, thee who is so wise in the ways of Europa.
I’m sure someone in Oslo thinks President Trump rules Canada’s welfare system because it’s close to the Gulf of America.
I can’t imagine anybody from Oslo or even Europe would think that. But i guess that’s the difference between Europeans and Americans.
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I’d imagine generational wealth matters more than location. Also don’t know if someone with more melanin than this child would want Norway lol. Urban US/Canada would be vastly superior in terms of high development index without being stared at like you just landed from Mars.
Norway has a sovereign wealth fund, everyone has generational wealth there.
Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund is currently valued at. ~$1.9 trillion USD.
They have a population of ~5.6m people.
They works out to be ~$340K USD for every man, woman and child in the nation. That’s a lot, but not anywhere generational levels of wealth.
Mind you, the above numbers aren’t perfect as it doesn’t take into consideration non-citizens living in Norway (who may not be eligible), as well as ex-pats living abroad (who would).
Norway has a massive refugee and immigration rate. They have historically been (near or at) the highest per capita. Their refugee system actually puts people all throughout the country. It’s surprisingly diverse, especially in cities.
Not to say there’s no racism, it’s just dead silent when compared to the seething hatred for melanin that permeates the fabric of US culture/structure.
Beyond that it’s rather egalitarian in effect and you’d actually get similar quality of life and outcomes as white Norwegians.
it’s just dead silent when compared to the seething hatred for melanin that permeates the fabric of US culture/
OK, tell that to this guy…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Behring_Breivik
Beyond that it’s rather egalitarian in effect and you’d actually get similar quality of life and outcomes as white Norwegians.
Cool story that unsurprisingly doesn’t align with reality.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_statistics_by_ethnic_group
Wow a neo-nazi. Certainly those aren’t a problem in the US or the rest of europe!
Race/ethnicity/migration doesn’t work the same way between US and europe, nor does it work the same across europe.
Your statistics page is misleading. It does not differentiate between first and second generation immigrants. Being BORN in Norway leads to roughly equal outcomes as if your parents were Norwegian. Immigration can be hard on the first generation depending on culture.
That would suit in firstworldproblems community. People in the US don’t get it how lucky most of them are.
And then there’s Mississippi
spoken like a person who has never stepped foot in the US in the last 8 years.
Still born in a first world country though
Are we still clinging to that claim, at this stage?
Yeah, the US have a crazy man at the helm but a very strong and resilient ship. Not the best in every regard but it’s still a very good country to be born in.
I haven’t seen a doctor in fifteen years. I haven’t been able to afford a car since my last one died seven years ago. I’m thirty years old having to split rent three ways. This country is a labor camp with a first world facade.
You are still better of than most of the world. Not saying that you have to accept the way they require you to live just because other’s got it worse.
Living a boss’ minor inconvenience away from being scraped off the street by a bulldozer while sleeping in mid winter is about as bad as you can have it short of being on the street, prison/labor or genocide.
“Freeedums” doesn’t mean much when your life is a cycle of work-work-work-eat(maybe)-depression/stress/anxiety-sleep(if you’re lucky).
I guess you can still say the words, “fuck trump” but we’ll see ig.
That’s kinda like saying “China is a good place to be born in, at least its not North Korea”.
Sure, the US isn’t nearly the worst, but I would never choose to be born here if I have, say, Norway to choose from.
No. Depends on the area and your minority status.
Born in the middle of the Appalachias? You’re likely to be more poor than many “3rd world” countries with little to no access to modern medicine or education.
Born in a red state as a trans person not in a major city? Get ready to get shit on by most people and your local government and maybe killed if you’re too open!
Get born in the wrong parts of NC or similar? Better hope a “once in a lifetime” storm doesn’t blow through or you’ll have tons of coal ash poisoning your yard and life in general.
There is a MASSIVE difference in quality of life across the country and it’s not all good.
To be fair, you do have the legal ability to relocate to a better place within the country. Its much harder to leave a developing country.
Legal ability and actual ability are two wholly different things. Besides, under capitalism, the better places cost a lot more money to simply exist in. No poor person from the Appalachias is going to be able to roll in to Seattle and survive off the streets.
*depend on the skin colour you’re born with
Yes, USA is the #1 violent empire.
The US is a third world country with Prada bags.
Inb4 someone informs you you’re wrong
Only by the technical, cold war definition of “The First World,” that being everywhere under the American political & economic umbrella.
Current conditions in the US aside, Mississippi is just soy beans, mosquitoes, and poverty. It’s a shithole.
Still better than South Africa where you get to mine nickel as a child and possibly either die in a cave which entrance has crumbled in, or die afterwards of toxic air pollution to your body due to mining.
Well, the Musks got to make money, too.
Could still happen in the US during their lifetime. Never give up hope.
MAGA dipshit: “How do I get out of this third world country simulator”
“Lol you can’t, you voted for this”
It has, and recently.
February 22, 2024
U.S. authorities have accused another sanitation company of illegally hiring at least two dozen children to clean dangerous meat processing facilities, the latest example of illegal child labor that officials say is increasingly common.
The Labor Department asked a federal judge for an injunction to halt the employment of minors by Tennessee-based Fayette Janitorial Service LLC, saying it believes at least four children were still working at one Iowa slaughterhouse as of Dec. 12.
https://apnews.com/article/illegal-child-labor-slaughterhouses-8f95aef240050c6910aa8e1b6bce1c6a
That’s bad RNG, but there are worse spawn locations.
Sure, but that is a low bar to set for yourself.
Speaking of which my youngest sons contact for his mom is Spawn Point and I think that is hilarious.
Tell me about it…
People’s Republic of China (I was born there, later moved abroad). The only thing keeping me sane right now, is the variety of entertainment I can obtain. Can’t imagine having to watch WW2 tv drama about resistance against imperial japan (watched too many of those), or like romance dramas, or some show about some old dynasty in history, those are basically the only things that exist in Chinese media. And its so cliche, there isn’t even anything like the GoT style thing where “any character can die” trope happens, I’ve watch so much of those dramas as a kid, I could literally predict plot points.
There is HK drama which is slightly better, but still they follow similar recipes.
Authoritarianism really limits how much creativity there is in writings and media.
And yes I know VPNs exist, but would I even have knowledge of VPNs in the other timeline where I remained in mainland China?
And that’s only the access to information aspect.
There is literally no “mental health awareness” in China like there is in the west. You are either viewed as “lazy” or you’re “completely insane”, there is no in-between. Nobody would give a shit about depression, “stop being lazy” is what you would get told. You can shit on the US all you want, but at least the Americans with Disabilities Act is a thing, wheelchair ramps are a thing. In China? Nope. Very ableist mindset. And if you don’t ger married? You get basically socially ostricized. If I was still in China, I’d probably have either killed myself or killed some CCP Goons (the cops) in a fit of rage because I’ve lost my sanity in that state-capitalist society, then be sentenced to death penalty.
Healthcare? LMFAO Nope. Everything is just as expensibe as in the US. But you also have to compete with a billion people on jobs.
Also, Hukou restricts where you can settle, because kids can’t go to a public school in a place that’s not where your Hukou is registered. Its kinda like undocumented immigrants in the USA, except its in your own country, your own borders, like you’re supposed to be a “Citizen”, but apparantly, Hukou is like the intra-country’s citizenship.
Overtime pay? Nope
Unions? Nope. I mean unless you are talking about the CCP’s “union” or whatever BS organization that doesn’t do shit. 无牙老虎 basically (tiger with no teeth)
Workplace safety? Nope.
If your employer refuse to pay you after you worked there for a month, well good luck buddy, there is no “Deparment of Labor” to help you with that (there probably is de jure someone you can complain to, but de facto nobody would do anything).
Toxic masculinity, “You’re a boy, stop crying” (To be fair, Americans also have this mentality, but its more prevalent in China).
LGBTQ? If you are transgender, oh my, you are gonna get so ridiculed by people. They say stuff like: “男人扮女人， 成和体统” (“Men pretending to be women, wtf” actually idk how to translate “成和体统”), or they’ll call you “变态” (“Perverted”).
As bad as the US is, if you’re a white dude you can just easily move out of your maga infested shithole and go to a liberal city and improve their life by 70% (well, you can’t fix the collapsing economy tho, but at leat the social aspects and “age-verification laws” aren’t a thing (not yet at least)). In China? Good fucking luck. Aside from the very minority of people who have progressibe values, its a conservative-infested shithole, on par with magaland (republican states) in the US.
The US is about average on the good/bad scale (at least when it comes to what happens inside the country,), considering how evil and cruel humans around the world can be.
Of course EU is better than the US, but acting like the US is the worst place on the planet is really a privilaged mindset.
I wish more Americans had this much nuance in their views. You can recognize that we have it better than China and Africa while still fighting to make things better for everyone.
Just because things can be worse doesn’t mean we should settle for status quo. (Though I’ll admit status quo is looking pretty hot right now.)
acting like the US is the worst place on the planet is really a privilaged mindset
Couldn’t agree more. Even Chile, where I live, is p privileged.
the Americans with Disabilities Act is a thing
…for now…
People’s Republic of China
Lemmy.ml wants to know your location
The most liberal thing I’ve ever read. Almost sounds satirical.
Classic .ml
Show me on the matryoshka where the liberals hurt you.
India
wat about it?
Worse spawn location than Mississippi.
Djibouti.
Are you one upping me or smth?
You asked for worse so I gave you are small lesser known dictatorship in the Horn of Africa as an example. Hell I think even North Korea would be better than Djibouti.
Wait I am just be autistic, completely misunderstood you saying tell me about it.
Wait I am just be autistic, completely misunderstood you saying tell me about it.
Haha I relate to this so much. I’ve been there with that exact phrase many times.
No worries, friend. I didn’t know this factoid and it actually sparked my interest. Might look into it later.
And yeah, I’m pretty autistic too, so no prob. Was just joking around. :)
If you want a weird place to start look up their national anthem on YouTube, shittiest quality it’s great.
Sure. Not like I got anything better to do. Thanks for the recommendation!
Surely Chile isn’t the worst one either.
Agreed. There are always worse places and better places. Believe it or not, I’m actually grateful for living in a us vassal state/economic sandbox game. Genuinely. Most of the world has it worse off… in the material terms all those ads tell us to obsess about, at least.
Definitely, but a red state in 2025 is right up there with third world countries at war for the umpteenth time in terms of bad spawn locations if Trump continues doing his thing.
My original spawn was a dictatorship, I wasn’t supposed to be born.
Guess what, I left that dictatorship, now I’m in a different dictatorship (I mean its better, but only slightly better, with unique challenges like having to deal with xenophobes). Isn’t life just so wonderful? 🫠
Please don’t be Earth, give me a Class 3 civilization with a post-scarcity civilization.
China, I guess ?
Probably, but was it first or second their dictatorship?
Lol the other way around wouldn’t make sense.
China does not accept immigrants, The US does (or at least they did before 2025, idk about now).
First dictatorship, the one I was born in, is People’s Republic of China.
The second dictatorship I’m referring to, the one I’m currently living in and have citizenship of, is the 2025 trump regime.
Better jump the train to the EU. We don’t have a dictatorship, we only have a neighbour who tries to invade.
Service guarantees full citizenship!
;)
Why is your avatar the ROC flag if you’re from PRC?
Because its a protest flag done out of spite.
Just like people can wave a Ukraine flag to protesr against Russia, or Palestine flag to protest againsr Israel. Its for solidarity.
Oh you’re just a troll, that explains things
Explain how they are a troll, troll.
It says lemmy.troll behind your name why is that?
There are left wing dissidents in china. That’s what tiennamen square was. There are left wing dissidents in America, we’re just disorganized
From the Chinese immigrants I know that were actually at that event, they say China was not like it was today. There was “democracy” and open exchange of ideas, but as the left pushed for more and the government was changing it came to a head.
I think eerily similar to what is happening in USA with Trumps admin.
After the clash, their government went full authoritarian, and hunting down protestors.
It looks like USA left movements have been too slow to become the tank man guy though.
It’s a LARPer.
“I didn’t do 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school, and 4 years of residency to be called ‘sir,’ baby.”
Eh, the nurses do most of the real work.
And since this is America.
“Take on 500k in student loan debt.”
Let’s be real, 50% chance their life up to 40 was bankrolled by The First National Bank of Mommy and Daddy if they’re a doctor in the US.
