Natanox

The article I've read also talked about people in a hotel lobby. There was a cop as well, but also at least 3 other people?

Unfortunately also a lot of other people. Hope upcoming sequels are written more nuanced.

Also big box stores are usually not too far away by design I'd wager. I've heard zoning laws caused most of the US to be a complete desert for shopping unless you have a car since everything is so centralized. Depending on the state a "secluded heaven" might very well be dozens of kilometers away from the market, right?

I can't even imagine this… no matter where I lived so far in Germany, let it be countryside, city or at the city border, there always were small shops, kiosks and/or bakeries nearby (<1km). I can't fathom having to drive even if I'm just craving some candy while living in what's supposed to be a proper neighborhood.

I once had a distant relative react to a worried conversation about the extreme reduction of insects in nature with "but that's great! Way less moscitos, and a clean windshield!".

I swear to all higher beings, I never wanted to punch a stupid person more than in that moment.

It's hard to detangle lawns from middle class America without stopping middle class kids play sports in their gardens.

They still play on the lawn? Thought by now they're kept mostly indoors (or in cars) for helicopter-parent-reasons, safety or sth. At least that's what I heard. A german news moderator for the US also mentioned it once, some Karens in the neighborhood thought of child neglect because the kids were playing in the front yard or going to the playground alone (gasp!).

Not really getting the point though. Most lawns are huge, there's enough space for playtime and some nice flowers or vegetables. Most houses even have a front and back lawn...

HOAs are indeed common in the "land of the free".

If you have to agree to it to buy something as basic as a home then it isn't truly consensual. Hell, it isn't even truly consensual for less necessary stuff like cars (you "agree" to surveillance - arguably a necessity in less developed places), digital goods (same - also more or less necessity), games (you agree to not own dogshit) and other things. Hell, you keep "agreeing" to workplace rules supposedly "freely", but we all know it isn't.

There are certain basic rules everyone has to agree to (laws) to uphold society, but other than that any agreement like HOAs have to be truly optional if your argument is supposed to work. And no, just "going elsewhere" isn't a fucking option in the current disastruous market. Especially since that nonsense appears to be so common in the US.

Jesus girl would side with the payment processor.

I heard of that, I think it was some propaganda piece. Like "look at those poor sovjets, have to grow their own food because the state can't provide. Meanwhile we're so civilized and advanced". (Interesting sidenote: The culture of huge lawns came from the UK I think, rich people in the 1800 and 1900 displayed their wealth that way).

Not saying it wasn't like that in some places, just that it's so unfathomably stupid. And now there are US Tiktokers talking about "lifehacks" of growing your own food, with other US Tiktokers calling people who do that libtard commies and whatnot. US culture is a disaster on life support.

I just can't fathom why seemingly a whole class of US citizens apparently aren't able to use their damn heads and still do this nonsense.

I'll never understand why US suburbs like to utterly nuke any kind of nature around their houses and replace it with "lawns". Like, I'd rip that stuff out and at least plant some potats and shit immediately.

I once had someone attack me on Mastodon for the Palestine flag in my profile (next to the Ukraine one), telling me that "those people" would happily kill me too for being trans and whatnot. So I was obviously an indoctrinated idiot.

I still cringe about that selfish ignorance. As if a constant state of war and terror would enable anyone to be more open and progressive. As if a society that successfully eradicates another one would be like that either. It's so phenomenally short-sighted.

At which point does our educational (and healthcare -> therapy) system fail to teach the simple fact that the only way to lasting peace and prosperity is to ensure safety, rights and wellbeing of even those who we may not like or who may not like us? Obviously a lot of people in this world would like to see me dead or incarcerated. But that wouldn't change if I could suppress them, on the contrary.

We clearly still have a very long road ahead of us (if we survive as a species without destroying the planet first) to true enlightenment and peace.

What you describe can be boiled down to lack of enlightenment. Like, the thing our ancestors fought really hard for in the past 500 years or so (historians please correct me), the very foundation on which things like a stable democracy are build upon.

The USA always had really weak education and overbearing religious tomfoolery, but now it blew up to a damn crusade against everything enlightenment stands for. For the foolish it's "one-upping the libs", for the uneducated or indoctrinated it's "doing gods work", the powerful see it as an opportunity to shift power to their own "rightful" rule. Meanwhile the only thing it actually is is a damn tragedy that leads to suffering and death.

Sorry if my english is somewhat clunky.