Really simple way to answer your false declarations:
Then how come Hacker News exists and I can say what I want here?
Try that in China some time =)
Then how come Hacker News exists and I can say what I want here?
Try that in China some time =)
You obviously have extremely little first hand experience with America. Look up the crime stats for Boise, Idaho some time on city data. America is an extraordinarily diverse nation, the most diverse nation in world history to be exact, and it has every sort of living style and environment you could want to choose from.
Don't like the crime in Chicago, move to a safer city at your leisure. Seattle is beautiful, and so is Austin TX. Don't like Florida? Move to Virginia. Don't like Vermont, move to NYCity. Don't like NYC? Move to San Francisco. Don't like urban, America is massive and extremely low population density, so move rural. And on and on.
Also, your urban/population density points would apply to China.
Neither are relevant to the topic and nor is this whole article HN-worthy tbh, though China's retaliatory actions here are interesting. :)
You'll note that in no way have I said China doesn't have exactly the same, safe rural areas, or even safe urban areas.
What I said is: America does have those things. My response was to point out that the notion of America being nothing but a giant crime wave or an extraordinarily dangerous place is pure myth. The reality is: America has just about everything, pick what kind of life you want accordingly, and pursue it.
And Morg: the points about Europe would be interesting, except most of Europe allows exceptionally little immigration. So how can outsiders even consider benefiting even if it were the safest place on earth crime wise?
Look up the immigration rates for: Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway, etc. I'm sure you already know this however. Then look up America's extreme immigration over the past 100 years. How do you think 20% of our population got to be hispanic? We have a long history of allowing a relatively high amount of immigration (particularly compared to the rest of the world). It's how we become the world's melting pot.
It's not easy to get into America, but it's radically easier than becoming a citizen of most European nations just based on the extremely limited numbers they allow in.
Racism imho is one of the minor issues though, I'm far more concerned by the police state aspects of the US than the cultural details (such as everyone is fat woohooo).
And if you want to talk about shadow immigration, or people that fall through the cracks, Europe has plenty of that. You must know that. Take a look at the African immigration in France and Spain over the last 20 years, and then look at how many are under the radar. Europe also gets a massive amount of abuse from immigrants that leech off the social systems and never work and contribute properly, which is helping to make the looming EU bankruptcy even worse, which is amping up the rapidly rising xenophobia currently going on Europe, such that the Nazi Party is rising in Greece, and the extreme right is gaining in many nations.
The whoohoo on your fat comment certainly betrays to the flippant nature of it. 26% to 27% of people in the UK are obese, in America it's about 33%. Australia and New Zealand is around 24% to 25%. Chile is 25%. Ireland is 23% to 24%. Canada is 25% obese as well. Mexico is about the same as America on obesity. Clearly the problem is greatest in America, but it's hardly alone in the obesity problem.
If you've ever read the book, The China Study, you obviously understand why these countries have such obesity and higher cancer rates that, for example, China has traditionally avoided. However, now China is gradually switching to a killer western diet, particularly among the affluent, and they're seeing skyrocketing obesity and heart disease rates.
You're concerned about the police state aspects of America? So am I, I live here, and it's very disturbing. China is a police state almost by definition, but that doesn't seem to concern you at all. And the police state is rising all over the place, take a look at some of the police state actions and laws being passed in Britain where you practically can't step out your front door without showing up on a cctv.
What I mean is if we're going to talk about countries, we take country-wide data and not cherrypick.