# I pit America **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 6, 2024, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759 "2024-11-06T05:57:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/81 "2024-11-06T14:54:05Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > I feel like we’re experiencing The Great Filter as it happens. This is actually pretty astute, and I would not be surprised if you’re right. Seriously. If I’m one of the short-term survivors sitting in the smoking rubble, I will definitely tell everyone left that @Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank was spot on. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/82 "2024-11-06T14:54:09Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > Still laughing. And I haven’t posted in the BBQ Pit in years. But since I’m in the cesspit, let me make it clear that I’m laughing at **you**. Thanks for letting me know who you are. Hadn’t noticed you before, and won’t notice you again. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/83 "2024-11-06T14:55:02Z")
Surprised you haven’t noticed. He’s a longtime asshole. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/84 "2024-11-06T14:57:32Z")
Perhaps we run in different circles. No matter, won’t run into them again. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/85 "2024-11-06T15:01:47Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > Did it push LW media farther to the left in the process. I think so. Who are you talking about and how? I think you’re probably falling for some illusion of false balance because the supposed “liberal” media like the NYT and CNN have moved right and sane-washed Trump consistently. Or you’re just seeing the right wing move off into la la land where they invent their own realities, and so any media that sticks with actual reality seems so stark in contrast that you’re assuming they must’ve changed too. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/86 "2024-11-06T15:10:21Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > If I’m one of the short-term survivors sitting in the smoking rubble, I will definitely tell everyone left that @Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank was spot on. (Zoidberg voice) At last, Face will be the popular one! Oh wait. . . ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/87 "2024-11-06T15:22:07Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > > [@madmonk28](#): > > > > America is a horrible fucking place full of horrible fucking people who just elected an insane fascist game show host to be president. > > Yeah, it is. > > You know what? There are still a shit-ton of places even worse than America. It’s a fucked up world where that’s the truth. There are also a shit-ton of places much **better** than America, places that do far more for thier people than America does, and they do it with far fewer resources. If America wasn’t obsessed with the kind of greed and hate and “other-ism” and basic ignorance that defines Trumpism, it could be the greatest country in the world in the terms that really matter – quality of life for its citizens, and a stable, peaceful, and just society. Instead, last night’s election appears to have been the final step in turning this benighted land into a large-scale banana republic led by a vengeful, mentally defective self-serving tyrant. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/88 "2024-11-06T15:23:34Z")
I love that some peoples’ defense of America is that there are bigger shitholes in the world. ---
**Author:** ![We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/89 "2024-11-06T15:30:44Z")
I love that when you call this place a shithole, you don’t think it’s acceptable for others to say, well, comparatively, actually it’s not. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/90 "2024-11-06T15:32:30Z")
The comparatively is what kills me. Sure if you compare it to the developed world, we suck, but what about Somalia or 8th century Bulgaria? ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/91 "2024-11-06T15:32:37Z")
American here, and I agree completely. What’s so great about us? Exceptionalism is bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/92 "2024-11-06T15:36:29Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > The comparatively is what kills me. Sure if you compare it to the developed world, we suck, but what about Somalia or 8th century Bulgaria? it has to be comparatively, what other standard are you using to judge a country except in comparison to other countries, Plato’s theory of Forms? Now did the US just go down a few rungs? To be determined but probably a good bet. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/93 "2024-11-06T15:42:08Z")
But you’re not comparing us to peer countries, other rich developed liberal democracies. Because those comparisons go badly for us. So instead you compare us to undeveloped places that do not have our wealth, security, or resources. So yes, it’s probably better to live in Trump’s America than Somalia. So congrats on that, you’ve made a point that’s super interesting and valuable to the discussion. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/94 "2024-11-06T15:43:40Z")
“American Exceptionalism” is (in one sense of the term) the fundamental belief that we’re better than every other nation, in every other way. But we’re not. We’re not, and no end of objective, quantitative information bears out that fact. Some people’s insecurities won’t allow them to see when there’s a better way of doing something. Those people tend to revel in pointing to worst practices – who does something worse than the US. And why not? It allows those people to be jingoistic, nationalistic, complacent, and smug. But those same people won’t ever look at best practices – who’s doing something better than we are – and then try to emulate it? For the “American Exceptionalism” crowd who think America is great, to whatever degree it is great, it got that way in spite of them, not because of them. “American Exceptionalism” is a clear impediment to substantive progress. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/95 "2024-11-06T15:49:22Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > But those same people won’t ever look at best practices – who’s doing something better than we are – and then try to emulate it? Worse; they’ll _do_ that and claim it won’t work in America because America is Just Different. I saw that a lot in the debate over national health care from people claiming that it didn’t matter if it worked everywhere else; it wouldn’t work _here._ They’re perfectly happy to claim that America is exceptionally _bad_, as long as it serves the same function of declaring that the rest of the world has nothing to offer ---
**Author:** ![We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/96 "2024-11-06T15:53:55Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > So yes, it’s probably better to live in Trump’s America than Somalia. So congrats on that, you’ve made a point that’s super interesting and valuable to the discussion. so it’s not a shithole, glad we clarified that. And in a thread that is literally entitled “I pit America”, yes I think that is a point that is valuable to the discussion. Or do you just think the 100th post saying this is the end of days and America is fucked is more valuable? ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/97 "2024-11-06T15:56:42Z")
It is a shithole. It’s full of hateful people who choose ignorance and hurting others over making anything better. It’s moving in the wrong direction fast. No country that’s not a shithole could gleefully elect a man like Donald Trump TWICE. I can’t believe you think “Somalia is a worse place to live so ha ha owned, libs!” is a winning argument. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/98 "2024-11-06T15:59:25Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > It is a shithole. It’s full of hateful people who choose ignorance and hurting others over making anything better. It is moving in the wrong direction fast. No country that’s not a shithole could gleefully elect a man like Donald Trump TWICE. > > I can’t believe you think “Somalia is a worse place to live so ha ha owned, libs!” is a winning argument. When you have to start comparing your situation to one of the worst ones out there things are definitely bad. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2024, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/99 "2024-11-11T16:20:03Z")
3 posts were merged into an existing topic: [Everlong88 Cornfielded Posts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everlong88-cornfielded-posts/1010082/58) ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/100 "2024-11-06T16:02:50Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1010082/58): > > When Trump lost in 2020 there was a lot of rhetoric from Trumpists about how they had lost the country or similar remarks but they never said they hated America or called it vile names, etc. That’s standard; as the saying goes the Right loves America but hates Americans. “America” to them is just a flag they wave as they persecute the people who live there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759.md?page=6)