Alexis

Most of my friends in Paris/London have a distorted view of the US, and sometimes a weird superiority complex. They think only the top 1% lives well and everyone else is trapped in social collapse (guns, healthcare horror stories, obesity, politics, LA homelessness, NYC dysfunction). Then they visit random suburbs in Texas, Florida or the Midwest and see middle-class families clearing $300k+/year with huge houses, multiple cars, space, AC, full restaurants, youth sports complexes and mass retail abundance. The uncomfortable reality is that a lot of “ordinary” Americans live materially better than European elites. Idk if it's media manipulation, denial of reality or straight ignorance, but we’re getting underclassed and most people only realize it when they land there.

I asked Claude about the air conditioning debate in Europe, and it really didn’t pull any punches.

In college, I found polling data from the student newspaper (Vanderbilt Hustler) archive dated November 17, 1967. - 78% wanted more bombings in Vietnam - 20% supported using nuclear weapons in Vietnam - only 4% wanted decreased U.S. intervention in Vietnam n = 186 (162 students + 24 faculty members) While hawkish polling softens heading into the early 70s, the popularity of the war among young people remains interesting and under-explored. Contrary to the popular "mass youth mvmt" anti-war narrative, protests were driven by vocal minorities concentrated in a few geographies (famously, Columbia, Berkeley, University of Wisconsin, Kent State). The reality is many other campuses remained solidly pro-war late into the conflict. The obvious response to: "Why didn't Nixon wind down the war sooner?" "Containing communism remained popular, at least with the base, and including with young people late into the war." (yes, support in the base weakened incrementally for a variety of reasons, including regression in the Tet Offensive, the expansion of the conflict into Cambodia, revelations in the Pentagon Papers, perception of stalemate, and scaling up of the draft - but a core "frustrated hawk" demo remained solidly pro-war to the end).

I think Americans misunderstand why AC is less common in Europe. For a lot of Europeans, comfort is not always about controlling everything artificially. It is also about opening the windows, letting air circulate, using shutters, living with the seasons, and keeping life simple. It is not necessarily backward. It is just a different relationship with comfort, energy, and everyday life.

Certain Anti-Islam ex muslims instantly lose me when they argue that "islam is an arab religion" lmfaooo

Il y a quelqu’un qui a dit que le mariage donne même la possibilité aux hommes les plus pauvres d’avoir une esclave

It’s not a knife It’s a traditional Scottish Kirpan You are racist if you try to take it away from him