u/Morales_Sheila8478

it looks like it should be a black and white photo in a history textbook, not something that was captured a few days ago. These people and their opinions are only becoming more common in America, and it’s scary. Racism, sexism, transphobia just general bigotry is trending in America rn you can even see it on this sub(mostly sexism tho). And if you look at the mugshots of these people it looks like it’s mostly Gen Z doing this. This generation lowkey bringing this kind of stuff back is so disappointing, we’re cooked🤦

pretty based.

The American revolution was a huge development for the human rights of all people across the globe. The impact of revolutionary ideas like the consent to be governed and freedom of speech cannot be understated. The American system of republicanism has been adopted by nearly every country on earth. Going beyond the government, American culture is awesome and beloved by the whole world. The greatest musicians, athletes, and movies have mostly come from America. Not to mention it’s a beautiful country, in my opinion the most beautiful in the whole world. It has geographic diversity like no other. Also the people are super friendly and talkative, which for an introvert like me is kind of intimidating ngl but I’ve come to appreciate it and even miss it when I travel to other countries.

America is also a state ruled by an actual cabal of pedophiles, like some kind of absurd conspiracy theory your crazy uncle would tell you - but it’s all real. The leader they voted for to represent them as a nation was found civilly liable for rape in a court of law, and nobody cares. Not to mention that their foreign policy has been a disaster for the human race. We’ve all seen the American tax payer money used to fund an actual genocide essentially live-streamed to our phones, while Americans are currently enduring a cost of living crisis at home. The endless wars they fund/fight in the name of fighting against “socialism”(healthcare) or “terrorism”(oil) has caused millions of deaths, and ruined the lives of millions more. They damn near singlehandley caused the migration crisis facing the west today with their catastrophic foreign policy, they leave disaster after disaster where ever they go. And the dark history it took to get to this point is startling. We shouldn’t judge countries based off their past of course, but you can easily see how a history of native genocide, slavery, and a race based caste system still unfortunately affects the country and its people today.

All that is to say, it’s a mixed bag. I’m glad the American revolution happened, but America today is literally ran by a pedophile. Something terrible clearly happened in between those two things. I used to believe much of what I was told about America as a kid, that it was a land of freedom, opportunity, and the American dream. I still believe some of that, but that clearly isn’t the full story. I’ve seen a lot more of Gen Z become disillusioned with America as I have, so I wanted to ask what was this subreddits opinion.

I saw a post recently discussing what country is worse, Qatar or America. Americans claimed Qatar was worse because Qatar uses slave labor.

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” - 13th amendment, Constitution of the United States of America, section 1

In simple English: “Slavery or forced labor is not allowed in the United States or any place it controls, except as a punishment for convicted criminals.”

True to the amendment, prisoners in the United States are often legally required to work under threat of solitary confinement, or in more humane prisons, loss of privileges such as visitations and phone calls. They are forced to work for little(often under a dollar an hour) or no pay https://legalclarity.org/do-prisoners-have-to-work-laws-pay-and-exemptions

An example of the work prisoners are forced to do at the local level is work on the mansions of governors, performing landscaping, cleaning, and serving food. https://www.truthdig.com/articles/at-least-seven-states-have-prison-inmates-working-in-governors-mansions-and-capitol-buildings

They are also often forced to work on “former” slave plantations, picking vegetables in sweltering heat. The prisoners claimed they witnessed men collapse of heat stroke and the disabled and elderly punished for refusing work.  This is the most disturbing thing I’ve seen so far in my research, it’s worth a read https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/nation/inmates-at-louisianas-angola-prison-sue-to-end-working-farm-lines-in-brutal-heat 

At the federal level, prisoners go through a program known as federal prison industries, where they are forced to manufacture goods such as furniture, textiles, and electronics https://www.bop.gov/about/agency/org_fpi.jsp

The 13th amendment was used as a loophole to re enslave African Americans after emancipation, where they were unfairly convicted of crimes such as “loitering” or “homelessness”, and forced to work in cotton fields.  This along with sharecropping was used well into the 1930-40s to enslave African Americans.

Currently the system still exists, the difference is that every race is freely enslaved, especially if they are poor. When you look at how widespread slavery is in the American legal system, it makes sense why they have such an incredibly high incarceration rate - they have the greatest number of prisoners in the world and ninth per capita. Even higher than countries they demonize as “un-free” like China, Russia, and Iran. It’s because they regularly enslave their own population for cheap labor.

CMV. How is forced prison labor under threat of solitary confinement not slavery? Even though the United States constitution indirectly calls it “slavery or involuntary servitude”.

also definitions of slavery from merriam Webster just so we’re all on the same page:

a: the practice or institution of holding people as chattel involuntarily and under threat of violence

b: the state of a person who is forced usually under threat of violence to labor for the profit of another

c: a situation or practice in which people are coerced to work under conditions that are exploitative