I don't know a lot about America. I've only visited maybe a half dozen of your cities and maybe been on American soil maybe 10 times in my whole life. I'll tell you what I do know, please feel free to correct me if I make a mistake:

I know you don't have universal healthcare. I know you don't have a specific carve out against hate speech or calls for genocide in your first amendment. I know you have no limit on money in politics. I know you have 2 year election cycles instead of laws that prevent campaigning for more than 12 weeks before an election. I know you have school shootings. I know you have laws restricting abortion. I know you don't legally recognize the existence of Trans people, never mind their rights. I know we had legal gay marriage on the books 10 years before you did, and the way things are going we'll have it another 10 years after you overturn Obergefell. I know your banking system sucks, putting profits before people, and couldn't protect you from the 2008 crash as well as ours did because we have actual regulation. I know you don't have the same environmental protections. I know you want people to assimilate and "become" American in a melting pot instead of honoring everyone's right to embrace their history like our mosaic.

And I know you don't allow your conquered territories like Puerto Rico and Guam to vote, so who gives a shit how liberal we are?

I like America, and Americans, fine. But you were right there, a short drive away if I wanted to live like you. I don't. Why is it not a big deal that that choice might be taken from me? (edited this last line to not jump the gun. Not like fighting has started and the whole point of this was to show I wasn't overreacting)

I'm Canadian, I don't have the luxury of treating it like a lie. If we're wrong, and he means it, I lose my home and my way of life. I have to treat it as a serious threat. I have to try and make sure my nation is ready for the worst outcome imaginable - a fight where we can't win, we won't surrender and where everything I've ever been taught tells me to die for my country.

Old age, bomb or bullet - one way or the other, I'm dying a Canadian.

And most of those war crimes were in an overseas war where we just trying to impress the European powers so they'd stop treating us like the kid brother. Can you imagine how many disgusting atrocities we'd commit protecting our own soil? Plus, we look and sound pretty indistinguishable from a lot of Americans. A Canada/America war would make the Troubles look like a fucking block party. The only winner is Russia. The only result, bodies piled high.

Hello Lemmy.ca,

Super new here, but super happy to find this exists. I hope it grows and keeps gaining in popularity despite the clunky nature which I think is inherent to the Fediverse (am I saying that right?).

My story is probably like a lot of people here. Reddit was my only actual social media account. Never did the Twitter/Facebook/Instagram, whatever else. Reddit was how I got my news and I was fine with that.

But back in January when this whole Tariff thing was first winding up, I decided to go hard and start my American boycott. I cancelled Netflix and Disney+ (I haven't missed them for one second, which makes me wonder why I was paying for them anyway), I cancelled my Xbox Gamepass. I was already boycotting all things Amazon and Wal-mart. You get the idea. Reddit though, it didn't feel like a betrayal - r/onguardforthee was my Canadian politics news source of choice and I wasn't giving them any money.

But it occurs to me, when engagement numbers is how these guys convince investors to prop them up with no sustainable business model - I sort of was doing some damage. So, I set off looking for an alternative and here I am.

We have so little power to influence things these days it can feel pointless to make changes. Changes to our social media site of choice. Changes to our buying habits. How much does it really add up? But my father taught me, and I bet yours did too, you don't do the right thing because it guarantees the right outcome. You do it so you can look in the mirror at the end of the day. Thanks for helping me look in the mirror.