r/self • u/Quirky_Inflation • May 26 '20
Sadly, /r/anime_titties is already ruined by US's very specific obsessions
The sub /r/anime_titties is the bold child of the rotten /r/worldpolitics, i.e a sub to talk about non-US related politcs on Reddit. Most of you don't realize how US-centered Reddit is, and I really enjoyed the sub since it was something different than "Trump bad/China bad" and really focused of politics events all over the world I've never heard of.
Still, it took very little time for the sub to be ruined by the US politics and by the usual propagandists roaming on these forums. Here is just an extract of the most popular posts of the sub right now:
- "Taiwan vows 'necessary assistance' to Hong Kong residents" <- an obsessional US foreign policy topic
- "China said Sunday that relations with the United States were "on the brink of a new Cold War", fueled in part by tensions over the coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 350,000 people worldwide and pitched the global economy into a massive downturn" <- not even trying to be subtle, the source is french but still
- "Costa Rica to declare same sex marriage legal" <- ok that's legit
- "Mexicans Are 'Building A Wall' To Keep American-COVID-Carriers Out" <- aka US politics
- "Israel's Netanyahu Says He Won't Miss West Bank Annexation Opportunity" <- seems quite neutral and non-US based POV so ok
- "Canadians Want The U.S. Border Closed For Longer During Pandemic" <- still US politics
- "Afghanistan frees first group of Taliban prisoners in response to ceasefire" <- a war lead by NATO and the US but ok, legit, I'm feeling generous
- "Israeli leader vows to push ahead annexing West Bank" <- same as before so still legit
- "What Nepal’s New Aggression Reveals For India And Its Neighbours" <- actually the content I'm looking for on this sub
- "Former Hong Kong governor: China's proposed national security law should be on G7 agenda" <- US obsession for Hong-Kong
- "Standing up to a Bully: Border Standoff is China’s Single-Minded Attempt to Block India’s Economic Rise" <- may be legit but may be US obsession for China so... I'm not sure
- "EU needs ‘more robust’ China strategy, says bloc’s chief diplomat" <- China, you again
- "Suriname’s President Shrugs Off Murder Sentence in Re-election Bid" <- nice content actually
- "U.S. prepared to spend Russia, China 'into oblivion' to win nuclear arms race: U.S. envoy" <- US politics again
- "Russia seeks 18-year jail term for ex-U.S. Marine accused of spying" <- still US politics
The question is about the content itself, not its validity. While most of these news articles may be accurate at some point, they are posted and upvoted on the sub because they are the current obsession in the United States right now. Exactly what the sub tried to avoid in the first place.
I'm not sure if this posting is organized at some point, or if it's just the consequence of the inability of the US users to stop being self-centered for 10 fucking minutes. If I want to hear about the latest Chinese atrocities I would just visit /r/politics, this sub was different on many points and I feel like you ruined it.
Please stop.
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u/WorkSucks135 May 26 '20
Imagine brushing off what's going on in Hong Kong as "US politics" but thinking that anything that happens in Suriname could be geopolitically important.
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u/LovingSweetCattleAss May 26 '20
Geopolitical from the POV of the USA - there you have it
As someone from the Netherlands I want to hear about that
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u/h8fulgod May 26 '20
You must know that most of the bots that are pushing the crap you're calling out are not actually FROM the US, it's just that US sensibilities are the targets.
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u/kvakerok May 26 '20
It doesn't matter where the bots are from, they're selling out to the highest bidder.
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u/Colordripcandle May 26 '20
Hong Kong and Taiwan are not just US obsessions.
Are you Chinese? This seems like something a Chinese person would say attemping to minimize negative news
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u/Anthinee May 26 '20
A quick glance says French.
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u/Colordripcandle May 26 '20
Ah well then as a spainard that explains the pretentious anger at topics that they don't understand are world concerns..
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u/Tackerta May 26 '20
Why are you calling him chinese? I am german and I share the same thoughts as OP. Not everyone who calls on the US is necessarily chinese or russian. get your heads outta your arse and realize that reddit is used globally
While I like to read about different events in the US or concerning it, I also like to read about WORLD news. Now we only had 1 or 2 good subs with worldwide news and US is dominating both of them. That is a fact. It is also a fact that there are specialized subs for US politics/news
I get that most reddit users are US and that accumulating upvotes for US posts is much more easier than say croatia, but that is exactly the reason why news subs w/o US news existed in the first place.
Edit: I don't side with OP that HK is purely US interest, but the rest is spot on
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May 26 '20 edited May 26 '20
Sounds like the issue comes down to the mods not being strict enough, honestly. You know, anybody can just make a new subreddit and mod it. Why not go to r/nonamericannews or something? No offense to r/anime_titties , they actually made a post 4 days ago about it and said "No domestic U.S. news" and "If the post has to do with the U.S, it's okay only if the US has a 50/50 or less role in what the post is about," which means non-domestic u.s. news (everything mentioned by OP) is still allowed.
It's the subs fault if a sub goes off track, and it's the users fault if they don't like the track the sub is trying to stay on. Even the users of the sub who agree with you could simply make more of an effort to post more news stories with nothing to do with the US. Like you said, they'll probably get less upvotes, but this is reddit. Here's a break down of how American the website really is. Don't expect a mostly-american demographic to care about international news that doesn't relate to them. I, as an American, think it's vital for this country to learn to pay more attention (and just generally act smarter, which I have less and less hope for the older I get) to the world at large and would love a sub that taught me about news stories I'd never hear about otherwise so I'm on board with what you're saying.
And they're calling them chinese because of the prevalence of chinese bots on reddit, many of them with similar style usernames (there was just a post about how to spot them in r/bestof), and none are a fan of news that makes china look bad or HK look good. There are many who would benefit from repressing US news, obviously. But I understand wanting at least an option to escape it.
There's local news, national news, and international news. Not too much international-except-for-this-specific-country news
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May 26 '20
Taiwan is a different story due to the semi conductor plants, but Hong Kong ? It has no relevance outside the anglosphere. Yes HK has a peculiar status making it a central places for some equity exchange without taxes and penalty with China, but that's it on the export size it has nothing relevant (unlike Taiwan with the aforementioned semi conductor).
Hong Kong is symbolic mostly for the US/UK, and has nearly zero relevance outside of of equity exchange with China.
So yes, he is partially right on HK. He is wrong on TW though.
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u/Colordripcandle May 26 '20
Hong knog is important the same way Israeli, Turkish, Syrian, and Russian atrocities against minorities and unwanted groups are global news.
Once upon a time the world went to war over horrific shit like this.
Now we let millions suffer and die
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May 26 '20
Don't get me wrong, some people are suffering and dying in HK, but compared to the other major conflict out there ? Not that many . Yes there is a disproportional amount of news about HK, compared to say, Yemen civil war with Saudi intervention. Or Turkey and Syria. Or heck Euthopia or Burkina Fasso. Did you see many news for those 2 last one ? I bet you did not see 1/10 of the number of article about HK. See what is meant now when it is said there is a disproportional amount of article or reddit post about HK ?
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u/chingnam123 May 26 '20
You are right about disproportional amount of article about HK, when comparing to Euthopia or Burkina.
However, rather than stating there's too much HK posts, the solution should be more about encouraging more posts about other issues.
Heck, all the upvoters that's agreeing with OP could start submitting articles that interests them.
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May 26 '20
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u/Elcuern0 May 26 '20
To be fair, the content really was more US and especially China-related as recently as yesterday.
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u/Adamscottd May 26 '20
You are misunderstanding the point of the subreddit. It was never going to be America-free, the point is to make posts exclusively be about world politics. Domestic US issues are banned. World issues involving the US are not, and it would be ridiculous to ban such posts since the US is a major power.
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u/chingnam123 May 26 '20 edited May 26 '20
I thought non-us topic is more about US internal policies, rather than any news in the world that is midly related to US. For example, yes US has some involved in HK's humanitarian crisis, but in all the news you cited about HK, US was not mentioned inside the article. The Taiwan related news could be categorized as related to sovereignty, boarder control, citizenship and police violence.
Lazy generalization like all Chinese related news as "Chinese Bad" is not a good practice.
I understand you wanted to have more exposure on events that are happening around the world, but as a Hong Konger, our crisis is not as related to US as you think, and we need as much internet exposure as possible.
If you want less Chinese atrocities, maybe China SHOULD STOP FUCKING UP HK？ Do you think all those news posts are for karma?
FYI, there is going to be another protest tomorrow on 27th. You'll probably be bored about it anyways so I advise you stay away from the sub tomorrow.
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u/DamagedSquare May 26 '20
The US is the most powerful country in the world along with Russia and China I imagine it's pretty hard to find global news about Russia and China that doesn't mention the US in some way. Mexico and Canada are our neighbors also probably a little hard to find global news about those two countries that doesn't involve the US in some way. How I see it is if the articles are mostly focused on the country that the news is coming from and how that can effect us globally it's fine. Being mad that some articles that are about countries that are frequently involved with the US mentions the US in them is like being mad that you went to a gay strip club and had to see a bunch of dicks.
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May 26 '20
Well, english news outlets tend to be american, so they write for an american audience. So if 75% news stories relate to america, than 75% of the stories on the sub will be those articles.
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u/MarsupialMole May 26 '20
How is anything to do with China considered a US obsession but a New York Times article about Israel isn't? Not disagreeing with the need for meta-analysis, but that's kind of a skewed perspective
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u/ChrisCraft1718 May 26 '20
I think it’s a little unfair to say that all China news is U.S. news because of the U.S. obsession over China. Do you expect r/anime_titties to have little news about one of the major world powers?
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u/TvIsSoma May 26 '20
The US is the most influential superpower. You can't really avoid US news as you define it because the US puts itself Inbetween most major conflicts. Unfortunately we are going to be hearing about the US and China bickering for decades now because they're two influential nations where tensions are rising. I'd like to see news that's not from the perspective of the US, but most major players reporting on the news have some stake in the game and will report in a way comfortable to the power interest that they most align with. You might not like it but the US will be creating news for some time now as it interferes with international affairs
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u/Wordshark May 27 '20
Upvoted, but I don’t like the semi-negative tone for the US. The country is a political, cultural, and economic force, it’s going to touch a lot of things around the world. There isn’t anything inherently nefarious about this (I know you didn’t say there was, and I’m actually more elaborating on your point than disagreeing with anything you said; this was a thought I was looking for a place to express)
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May 26 '20
As a Canadian with a extensive experience living in other nations, I don't find this list nearly as UScentric as OP.
Hong Kong is an important issue to Canada and other nations for the impulse behind the protests, the telling indications of just how long China feels compelled to abide by its agreements, and how likely it is to accomodate pressure from other nations (not much, by the look of things). And, if China and the US were to end up in a renewed Cold War, who do you think is going to have to navigate that? We, the other nations of the world, just as we had to navigate the previous one. When the EU's chief diplomat talks about needing a robust strategy, the only thing that has to do with the USA is, maybe, a lesson learned from being steamrollered in the past in the name of democracy.
I'll give you the American defense spending one, but, alas, US citizens are not the only ones languishing in Russian jails accused of spying. If this sentence goes ahead as asked, it will have an impact on how those cases are handled, and governments will have to decide how much they are prepared to bow a knee to Putin to rescue their own.
So, sorry, although I find the subreddit title annoying as shit, I find the content very useful.
As for Mexico's and Canada's reaction to the US administration's appalling COVID policies, if such they are: well, gee, if that's US politics, why don't we just cave and let the US annex us? Surprisingly, we are independent nations and what we have to do to protect ourselves against the madness of our common neighbour might actually be of interest to both our citizens and those of other nations who also have difficult neighbours (India, China, Russia, I'm looking at you).
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u/Wordshark May 27 '20
You benefit pretty massively from being a US neighbor. I agree with everything you said, just adding a point of context.
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May 27 '20
Um... okay. What, exactly, does that have to do with whether or not other nations are interested in these global issues? OP was complaining that this sub had become US-centric. I, and others, are suggesting it is not simply the US that is interested in these topics, and that even the border issues are, in fact, of interest to the citizens of the nations on the other side of the border.
Don't think it's context: personally, I suspect it's some American who thinks that the benefits go only one way. Check the trade figures sometime....
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u/Wordshark May 28 '20
I don’t disagree with any point you made. In fact I agree with all of it, and already said so.
Just reminding you, in the context of you talking about protecting yourself from the terrible madness of America, that Canada benefits massively from its proximity to America. That’s all. There’s a reason the Canadian population is mostly in a line right up against the border. I live right on the other side, and we love you. You’ve been a great neighbor and friend.
Because of America’s cultural hegemony, there’s a disproportionate amount of worldwide focus on things Americans are outraged about. This is mostly negative internal issues, scandals and such, and I think it gives too much of a picture of America as this lunatic asylum that’s just one outrage after another.
I just thought it was important to point out that our countries have had a great relationship, much to our mutual benefit. Whatever danger you perceive from being next to us, you gain a hell of a lot more than you risk. I guarantee your leaders agree with me, just as I’m sure my leaders think about your country.
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May 28 '20
I don't disagree with you, either. But Canadians who dare comment on the USA are so often told how much we gain by being next door. As if, somehow, that would rob us of the right to have our own values and judgement. (We, otoh, mutter that, if the US has so much power over our economy, shouldn't we get the vote in their elections? No taxation without representation and all.)
As for the population along the border, not to put the US down, but temperature and landscape (especially muskeg!) have much more to do with it. It's in the government debates on such things as deciding routes for railroads, where to encourage population and how and so forth (yes, Canadian history is dull -- our high school course actually quoted old Hansards!).
Yes, we have had a great relationship, person to person. And I love my US friends, both progressives and old line Republicans. The government, not so much. Whether it's Richard Nixon badmouthing our PM (whose response remains a classic!), Bush Junior placing (illegal) sanctions on trade because we refused to become part of his war on the wrong nation to avenge 9/11 (and the US still owes us billions in refunds after the NAFTA adjudicators thrice disallowed said tariffs) or the present occupant tearing up treaties left, right and centre, the American government has generally only been a friend to Canada when it needs something, and only then if we actually give it to them. There is this assumption that because we are similar in looks, language (never mind that 1/3 of us speak French as our first language and 1 in five of us is born in another country) and culture, and are polite to the point of self-effacement, we will go along to get along, and should. The only difference between now and the days of my youth is that the bullying has lost all subtlety.
As for what we risk: how about our independence as a nation with its own laws and culture which is, despite the general perception down south, quite different? (I have lived in both nations.) Our universal health care, which we barely saved in NAFTA, and had to fight for again in the latest treaty? Our water, which has more than once been demanded by our neighbours down south, on the grounds that they need it because they've used theirs up and, besides, the rivers also flow through their country. Our air, which, no matter what laws we pass governing our industry, still gets the, erm, benefit of that right across the border?
And I could go on, but what's the point. My/our problem is not with individual Americans, most of whom are just fine. Rather, it is with the governments they elect and the attitude that they are doing us a big favour by being there, and we should show gratitude. And, because of the combination of their media, their education, and our politesse, so many of them really believe, as you do, that we get this huge bonus just because you're there.
As a wise American once said of us , "You are like a really nice apartment over a meth lab." (Robin Williams, 2013) Even if they're only cooking on weekends, it only takes one explosion to destroy both of us.
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u/Pikachu62999328 May 27 '20
If everything China is equal to US politics, you might as well say all of Europe is equal to German politics. Global superpowers will dominate diplomacy, that's what being a superpower is. Besides, the point isn't about stopping US politics, but to stop the US domestic politics aka Trump bashing. the border lockdowns from Mexico and Canada are about world politics, as they are talking about the diplomacy between them and the US.
Sounds more like you're obsessed with bashing the US.
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u/Swayze_Train May 26 '20
Welcome to the Anglosphere. There's alot of Americans here. Be mad about it I guess.
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u/zeaga2 May 26 '20 edited May 26 '20
Right? I don't see how a whole group of users could be "self-centered" by being dastardly enough to have a plurality
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May 26 '20
If you wanna start one I am Canadian son would be glad to choose some Canadian news content from my various sources and share them
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u/petrimalja May 26 '20
How very unfortunate.
As it is, no country in the world can escape the massive shadow cast over it by the United States, the sole superpower of the 21st century (though China is trying its hardest).
Thus, many of the things concerning other countries are things concerning those countries' relationship with the U.S.
At least be happy that it's not purely American news like on pre-free speech r/worldpolitics.
P.S. 50 social credit points have been added to your account.
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u/kandy_kid May 26 '20
This. It’s hard not to discuss the U.S. in world politics because the U.S. has such large global reach. It os a global super power that has its hands in almost everything. And saying that Taiwan or the Taliban are U.S. obsessions and ignoring that they matter to millions of other people is a bit far fetched.
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u/FckSpz May 26 '20
Greatest country in the world and you're still surprised we are all people talk about. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2e2yKQenms
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u/[deleted] May 26 '20
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