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231 points rntn | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0.014s | source
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hunglee2 ◴[] No.35413150[source]
I think we (Americans and Europeans alike) wholly underestimate how Americanised European culture is becoming.

This is an observation rather than a criticism as I don't know whether this is 'good' or 'bad' but it is noticeable phenomena manifest through language, and probably an unintended consequence of the dependency of Europe on US communication technology, leading to the import of US communication styles, political priorities and cultural values.

France have always been conscious of this, no doubt as a result of their centuries old conflict with England, but it is interesting now to see Italian nationalists responding similarly. It's futile of course, as neither Italians, French nor any combination of European countries can or will make an internet independent of the US

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_vbnz ◴[] No.35413290[source]
Yeah, it was shocking here in Stockholm when there were BLM protests in 2020.

It's like people are more involved in US politics than their national politics.

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forinti ◴[] No.35415749[source]
I had to get books on MLK and Rosa Parks for my kid's school.

Why?? This drives me crazy. They are not part of my country's history and we have plenty of local heroes.

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wolverine876 ◴[] No.35415813[source]
Why restrict your kid's knowledge? I know about plenty of people in plenty of countries.
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pessimizer ◴[] No.35416463[source]
Did you have to read books about Slovenian history in school? There's not enough time to include everything about everyone. The history of the descendants of US slaves might be more interesting to people because of our cultural reach, but it's not necessary for Slovenian kids to learn except as an example of a well documented protest movement.
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aa-jv ◴[] No.35421711[source]
Serious question: does Slovenia have civil rights events in its history comparable to those in the USA? Because, try as I might, I can't think of another country with as serious a history of civil rights (abuses and promotion) than the USA - I'd love to hear of an underrated civil rights movement in Slovenia.
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1. forinti ◴[] No.35421794[source]
You see, that's the whole issue right there. Slovenia has its own history, its own problems, and its own heroes. Those things are important for the Slovenian people, not the problems created and sort of solved by the US.

In my country (Brazil if you must know) the cultural avalanche that comes from the US is such that some people genuinely admire the US civil rights movement and its leaders, but will not tolerate anything similar locally. Such is the power of propaganda: you get tied up in the problems of the US and ignore your own.

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2. aa-jv ◴[] No.35421824[source]
Very good point, and I agree. But I don't see how it'll ever change for as long as the Slovenian people who know about the countrys' history never speak up and let the rest of the world know about it.

America is good at one thing: being very loud, when everyone else isn't. It's a pity that we therefore associate being loud as being American...