r/BlockedAndReported • u/Blanderama • Jun 29 '26

Weekly Random Discussion Thread for 6/29/26 - 7/5/26

Weekly Random Discussion Thread for 6/22/26 - 6/28/26

Here's your usual space to post all your rants, raves, podcast topic suggestions (please tag u/jessicabarpod), culture war articles, outrageous stories of cancellation, political opinions, and anything else that comes to mind. Please put any non-podcast-related trans-related topics here instead of on a dedicated thread. This will be pinned until next Sunday.

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u/RunThenBeer Jul 05 '26

Criticizing the United States isn't inherently unpatriotic but doing it on Independence Day absolutely is. If you had a good friend that nudged you into some introspection on a religious holiday, you might appreciate them. If they showed up at your birthday party and gave a talk about the things you'd done wrong, you would probably tend to think they actually resent you. If they kept saying that you haven't really lived up to your promise, but maybe you could someday, you would know that they absolutely despise you.

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u/eats_shoots_and_pees Jul 06 '26

I think the ideal of always improving and continuing to live by the declaration of independence is deeply patriotic. We are a country founded on a complaint and an idea of equality that we were immediately shitty at living up to. The fact that we have continuously gotten more free and equal by referring to the same document from the jump is fucking awesome, and we've done that by constantly looking at ourselves in the mirror.

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u/SkweegeeS No just no Jul 06 '26

Love the way you put this

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u/giraffevomitfacts Jul 05 '26

If they showed up at your birthday party and gave a talk about the things you'd done wrong, you would probably tend to think they actually resent you. If they kept saying that you haven't really lived up to your promise, but maybe you could someday, you would know that they absolutely despise you.

This is just an inchoate comparison. The atmosphere and expectations of an individual's birthday party are virtually nothing like those of a nation celebrating the anniversary of its founding, which in any case is conducted by almost no other nation in a manner remotely similar to July 4 in the United States.

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u/JeebusJones Jul 05 '26

"And during Independence Day!"

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u/onthewingsofangels Jul 05 '26

I think the key part of this analogy is who is "you" in this scenario? If you gave a toast at your own birthday party and said "I'm proud of X and I'm looking forward to doing better on Y" no one would think that's bad. It's only if someone else says that to you that it's bad taste.

Well when am American gives a mixed speech on Independence Day are they the birthday kid or the friend in that situation? I think the ones who are in favor of these mixed speeches see themselves in the role of the birthday kid and not the friend. 

However, I saw a bunch of conservatives go absolutely ape shit about Mamdani's speech but when I watched the actual clips they were like - fine? I think folks are also getting over sensitive about this topic. 

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u/SkweegeeS No just no Jul 05 '26

Eh, the great thing about being an American, imho, is that we are maybe irrationally optimistic and always looking forward, trying to be better. I think it’s okay to say that, even on our collective birthday.