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Just came back from my first ever visit to a western country, I've never set foot outside the Middle East before. I'm still bewildered, concerned, fascinated, AMAish (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 1 week ago by to c/chat@hexbear.net
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I don’t know how interesting this might be to you people. I may have to be vague about some stuff (what country etc) for security reasons, just given my situation and how everyone from my area is being stalked by the IDF, sorry about that. My head’s still in vacation mode and I’m mostly surrounded by (nice! Well meaning! I can’t talk about everything important with them!) libs.

I always found it interesting that, the internet still being US-Eurocentric for the most part, most writings is from people with similar vantage points that I have no experience with. Even in lefty spaces, I find some stuff to be oddly taken for granted or at face value about the different places we all live. My lived experience is somewhat detached from the Western fascination with the theater of polite liberal democracy.

Realistically based on what I’ve shared on this account I could plausibly be expected to visit one of like fifteen countries across Europe + its buddies (and the US had it not been a comically bad time to visit), so I feel somewhat safe talking about it. Sorry if the paranoia is seems ridiculous, I spent four months under daily MK drone buzzing for no fucking good reason recently, I make my own rules.

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[–] [S] 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 child)

Frankly not at all. I think when I was a libby teenager I had built up this image of social democracy and transit and the arts scene and all that in my head, which I deconstructed over time as my politics developed. I also spent a lot of time in Gulf cities that are transparently/parodically designed as a response to a deep inferiority complex towards “great western cities”. I came in with a very jaded view of the west and was very very pleasantly surprised.

The arts scene, sports stuff, functional public transit actually used by everyone and not just designed to get laborers out of rich people’s way, I don’t know, it gave me a good feeling. I don’t know if this constitutes seduction by treatlerism or not, what I liked isn’t as product-centric, I’d like to think. The artistic scene blew me away and I came in with pretty high expectations for that.

I think you guys see a lot of things as inseparable, that’s what I mean by vantage point. I’m glad your societies are capable of critical reflection on their destructive obsession with treats, but spend some time in the Gulf States and you will really see the difference between your problematic consumption and straight up worship of capital, ritualistic consumerism, and hyper-alienation of labor.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 week ago

    don’t know if this constitutes seduction by treatlerism or not, what I liked isn’t as product-centric, I’d like to think

    I don't think it does. And a lot of the public services that were developed in the west were a direct response to communism in the USSR.

    spend some time in the Gulf States and you will really see the difference between your problematic consumption and straight up worship of capital, ritualistic consumerism, and hyper-alienation of labor.

    Yeah it's not easy to get a real understanding of how things are in another country from just theory but thats interesting to see. Although it does fit with the image I have of Dubai

    The arts scene, sports stuff, functional public transit actually used by everyone and not just designed to get laborers out of rich people’s way

    I can see how this is impressive or leaves a positive impression. I think a lot of people are just priced out from the arts scene and sports but for those who aren't I guess it's a good time.

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