Hacker News Reader

Comment by elfbargpt | Hacker News Reader

I guess we'll find out. I'll be waiting with bated breath for the collapse in Palestinian support once ByteDance no longer runs TikTok.

View on HN

It'd be nice if Gen Z became less anti-American. America deserved it in the Vietnam war. Now, not so much.

If wanting better conditions in the US is something Gen-Z wants, that does not make them anti-American. Criticism of our government and corporations is one of the most pro-American action one can be.

They want an America that is humane and cares for its citizens. Good for them. Anything less makes for a subhuman individual.

I get the impression it's less about constructive criticism and more about hating America by the scenes of young protestors in America burning the flag of the United States. Both the left and the right should be mindful of not becoming traitors giving comfort to enemies that would like to destroy our goverment and make America their colony.

Burning the American flag does not make for a traitor. It makes for an individual expressing the greatest right we have — freedom of speech.

Suppressing freedom of speech is the most anti-American stance one could take.

I don't give a shit about flags but as a veteran it still pains me. I think flag burners like Koran burners just like causing pain.

This is supposed to get everyone's attention. Symbilolicly it represents the betrayal the protester feels from the government. Sadly, too many people are desensitized to this. I guess if the only thing that will get real attention is burning yourself in protest, then there will be fewer protesters and the government and corporations can continue doing whatever they want.

As a veteran have you considered that you have a mental blindspot caused by your military training?

As a flag burner have you considered you've fallen for propaganda that seeks to divide the nation rather than fix it's problems?

There's literally nothing wrong with being happy to be an American despite it's flaws

Rather be a happy human than a happy <insert warring tribe here>.

I guess my point is: it seems like a lot of people believe China is subtly manipulating public opinion via TikTok, but I think it's more likely that these feelings are just organic and they surface in TikTok because people agree with them.

Gen Z is the future of the US and I'm glad for it. The kids are alright. They want better conditions and a better future for themselves and others. This isn't anti-American at all.

I think ignorance like this is the true source of many problems in the US. Maybe its a side effect of our individualistic culture to not consider what another group might be going through?

>It'd be nice if Gen Z became less anti-American.

It'd be nice if Gen Z wouldn't have to graduate with a ton of college debt into a post pandemic job market that now treats their newly minted CS degrees as worth less per day

It'd be nice if Gen Z could have a viable pathway to live in an area with the remaining good jobs and be able to buy a home to start a family

>America deserved it in the Vietnam war. Now, not so much.

You sure about that?

I came of age in the 70's with the fallout from the Mai Lai Massacre, oil embargoes, 16% inflation, high unemployment, New York City going bankrupt (Gerald Ford to NYC: Drop Dead). That's why I joined the military. It never occured to me to become anti-American. Other countries weren't doing so hot either. What does blaming "America" for my problems get me? "America" is not responisble for the pandemic or greedy colleges that prey on vulnerable high school students who want to get ahead. We need new laws to fix these problems, which means electing politicians who will fix these problems.

You forgot Iraq?

I don't recall a lot of violent protests against the war in Iraq after the initial protests. It seems young people lost interest. They certainly care very little for the vets that return broken.

Forgetting the 99 WTO protests? going into the 00s there were scores of cancellations and career ending events during the early years of the Iraq war. Remember Bill Maher, the dixie chicks etc.?

Also consider, it was more difficult to organize due to lack of ubiquitous broadband and tooling. Now with the democratization of information and tooling to organize protests (things like Slack, Discord, Google Docs sharing features all running on a super computer in everyones pocket) it has grown in scope.

Finally Gen Y and Gen Z took different paths. Gen Y graduated into the new great depression, got duped by Obama's Hope and Change, and then when they finally got back on track headed right into the post-pandemic economy. GenZ never had any illusions given what they saw their older siblings go through.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com