Ask Lemmy

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The worshipping of the self-made man and entrepreneurship in popular American culture

I think I was just too young and fashionable, maybe I was one of those guys that saw themselves as a "temporarily embarrassed billionaire"... then got old enough to see through the nonsense

Airbnb. I used to think they were a perfect business. Saw a gap in the market, created a decent product, invested in their users (back in the day they would even send a photographer to take good photos of your property).
Unfortunately the consequences turned out to be awful.

Jk Rowling. She was (I think) the only billionaire to ever debillonaire themselves without dying (i.e., she donated so much wealth to charity that she was no longer a billionaire).

But then she decided to dedicate herself to making trans people's lives miserable...

The United States government and the United States citizens.

Growing up I was taught about all these checks and balances. How the government is slow and that's good because it makes sure people get what they really want. Come to find out in just one presidential term, this one guy just executes executive orders left and right and just gets things done.

I thought U.S citizens would vote in their best interests but they would glady vote for a facist who's against their best wishes.

Google. It was once a good search engine. Now I find myself getting only the most irrelevant results based on my keywords and more often than not an advanced search turns up nothing of value

Institutions. Courts. Media. Religion. Law Enforcement. Politicians.

The institutions are captured. The courts, media, and politicians are corrupt. Bought and paid for. Law Enforcement are just class traitors. The enforcement arm of Capital. Protecting the interests of the ruling class and taking a bludgeon to the people. Religion is a tool of control. Used to control the ignorant and guide their ire.

Google. Do no evil

vaguely gesturing at everything

Many moons ago I thought Israel was just defending itself. For two decades now I’ve come to believe they are the problem, and are now committing wanton genocide

Republicans. When I was a child, slogans like “fiscally responsible”, “family values”, “smaller government “ sounded like good things. Republicans always claimed the moral high ground. But they’ve spent my entire adult life proving it as manipulative bullshit for personal greed and power, holding themselves above the law, the worst in humanity, rising to our current flirt with fascism.

Apple, and a number of the other big tech companies as well. Shit used to be easy to use, repair, customize to your liking, etc.

Now they don't want you to be able to fix a damn thing, plus all too many services and features and stuff have gone to the subscription model.

Fuck all with that, give us our stuff back and let us just use what we paid for.

Right To Repair!

America.

And my dad.

I would have to say organized religion. I grew up in a pretty strict christian home, but as I grew older I began to see how much of what I had been told was just patently false and designed to manipulate and control. I have done a lot (decades worth) of studying and reading and I'm confident that the conclusions I have arrived at are correct. Of course, your mileage may vary.

Grown ups.

Western psychology, and I say this as a former psychologist.

Like so much else, any potential at being a science was bastardized long ago in order to make it an industry focused on getting people productive again instead of focusing on their wellbeing which usually has an inverse relationship to getting them back to work in the short and medium term.

Meanwhile the small population of people that can afford actual psychoanalytic therapy that isn't throwing pills at them and teaching them coping strategies within 3 covered sessions tend to be the reason so many others are miserable.

For the non-wealthy, mental healthcare in the US is a complete and utter scam that is geared to serve others at your expense and shoehorn you right back into the stressors that got you into therapy. If you need help, you're out of luck.

Nintendo.

Things got worse once Bowser got ahold of the American castle.

The fun dissolved with Iwata and Reggie gone.

The line to far for me was their retroactive bs patents used to attack Palworld. It's one thing to be strict on your own systems, but another to do it to others. 80s Nintendo is back and possibly worse than before.

USA.

The US. Believed in the "American Dream", but the more I learned about the country, the more I grew to dislike it. It's all a facade.

And I used to have a lot of respect for old people, but that also changed. They are just as flawed as the rest of us.

A certain elongated muskrat comes to mind. I love space so the thought of a reusable rocket to make space affordable was awesome. I also believe that electric cars are the future, and tesla did make pretty good charging standard and help to "prove" the concept. But now I just hope he somehow winds up dirt poor, and irrelevant. Just oh, my, god

The Internet. Social media in particular.

I used to be a "information wants to be free" pure techno-optimist who thought the availability of data at all times would immediately cause a massive boost in awareness, education and intelligence worldwide.

I was super wrong. It was all a mistake and it should be burnt to the ground. Yes, including this place.

Elon. Turns out he was always a conman and liar.

The video game industry. (Indie games are on fire lately, though.)

Neil Gaiman. He poisoned so much...

Law. I was pretty hyped up when i went to university to study it, but the more i learnt on the foundations of it and discovered the people it created, the more i hated it. Now I'm doing completely different things, and i'm glad my parents didn't force me to keep doing it.

Humanity.

Hey, I was a fucking kid, OK. I eventually learned.

In the past I liked how easy it is when one company offer products to basically everything (i.e. Google), but now that I see the consequences, I'm somewhat disturbed.

Capitalism.

Christianity and the Democratic Party.

Religion

Parents (my own)

Humanity.