Is America a third world country?

[IrishEyes]

Interesting post, frightful events. But, mm, the armed official responses were to riots.

Yes, my point was riots appear to happen from people conflicting over things our leaders were not addressing and trying to prevent
prior to the event. Most riots I think begin with what are supposed to be Peaceful demonstrations because We The People are not being heard or taken serious enough for leaders to set aside their ego's and wants (on BOTH sides) to find a solution before disaster happens. Yes, there will be cases where that is not the beginning but prevention probably was possible before the destruction.

 

[Paco Dennis]

@IrishEyes I think you have touched upon one of the, maybe the most important dynamics in acting in ways that begin to improve our lives. Fanning the flames of telling others they are wrong, bad, evil...and so on is bound to cause defensive behavior. It is time to drop the fighting and begin to listen.

Have you heard of any good riots lately? Or maybe some good wars?

 

[IrishEyes]

@IrishEyes I think you have touched upon one of the, maybe the most important dynamics in acting in ways that begin to improve our lives. Fanning the flames of telling others they are wrong, bad, evil...and so on is bound to cause defensive behavior. It is time to drop the fighting and begin to listen.

Have you heard of any good riots lately? Or maybe some good wars?

I am not a political expert by any means I just know how I feel, I am sick of hearing the confusion and not knowing what is true.
So I have to trust my feelings. We need a 2 party system so one does not over power the other (checks and balances) but there
has to be give and take in that.
If (let's say a Mayor) is great at programs, keeping the city in good financial balance, that mayor may not be as good at enforcing
law and surely needs help. What is wrong with going to the feds and saying can you send an advisor to us and give us a prevention plan to avoid harsh results? I want to scream it sometimes. I wish someone would try it.


I hope I don't get banned for this, I am not saying anyone is wrong. I just feel like we need to rub their noses
together and make them sit down and figure out something before we end up where this looks like it's going.

 

[IrishEyes]

@Paco Dennis Have you heard of any good riots lately? Or maybe some good wars?
do they even show them on tv? Or on podcasts? I sure haven't heard or seen one.

 

[VaughanJB]

This topic, San Francisco vs Thailand, is not political. The OP has not specified any rules. It seems to me that oslooskar's posts are within bounds of our subject: IS AMERICA A THIRD-WORLD COUNTRY?

And I made no claim otherwise. My desire to end the discussion is based around the observation that it had already become a fruitless back and forth which neither informed nor moved the topic along. In fact, it might even dissuade others from joining in.

 

[gruntlabor]

And I made no claim otherwise. My desire to end the discussion is based around the observation that it had already become a fruitless back and forth which neither informed nor moved the topic along. In fact, it might even dissuade others from joining in.

I just believe that, with regard to San Francisco and some other American cities, we must have order. The first requirement of civilization is order.

 

[VaughanJB]

I just believe that, with regard to San Francisco and some other American cities, we must have order. The first requirement of civilization is order.

The US allows states, and even cities, to define their own way forward. Local people, making local decisions.

No-one, not even the homeless, are in favor of homelessness, helplessness, and a life lost to addiction. No-one is choosing that. They find themselves there, for a multitude of reasons. The trouble with this whole thing is the toothpaste analogy - you squeeze these people out of one area, they simply go elsewhere. What's needed are solutions that actually resolve, rather than move people around.

When it comes to Thailand v. the US, expectations are radically different. Plus, as an American, you enter such a country at a huge advantage financially. As such, from a first person perspective, things can seem terrific. From a third person, or native perspective, things can be very different.

I have lived as a migrant on three continents. It changes you. It brings new perspectives. I've been that foreigner taking the job of a local person. I've been an immigrant to a country where I didn't speak the language. Trust me, it's not the easy option.

I'll try to give an example. I had a discussion today about some menial thing about MS Windows 11 v. Apple iOS. I won't go into details. People like to compare Microsoft and Apple. What people don't always appreciate is that there's a massive difference. Apple essentially define and own the hardware. Microsoft on the other hand supports all and sundry, big, small, whatever. Apple have a level of control Microsoft have never attempted to achieve.

This brings big advantages to Apple. On the other hand, they stifle third-party development. This, they market themselves as a high-end brand to cover the fact that you're going to be restricted.

Now, what kind of America do you want? And Apple America, or a Microsoft America? Conformity from the top down, to conformity from the bottom up? Try telling a Texan they must do something they don't like.

 

[gruntlabor]

The US allows states, and even cities, to define their own way forward. Local people, making local decisions.

Now, what kind of America do you want? And Apple America, or a Microsoft America? Conformity from the top down, to conformity from the bottom up? Try telling a Texan they must do something they don't like.

States may define their own way within limits, of course.

And I don't want either an Apple America or a Microsoft America. Monopolies are illegal, but they're back with a vengeance anyway.