this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2025
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That does actually tell you where because only usaians are arrogant enough to think that would be meaningful.

Nobody else on the planet is like this and so it does tell you it's the USA. This ticks me off because it deserves to be met with mockery.

If you don't know where the original York with any precision idk why you would think I'd know much about the sequel.

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[–] XxFemboy_Stalin_420_69xX@hexbear.net 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

this is such an unimportant thing to complain about lol

[–] insurgentrat@hexbear.net 7 points 3 weeks ago

Sorry, I forgot that hexbear is an extremely serious place.

[–] Erika3sis@hexbear.net 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Honestly I'm going to file this one under "Yankee eating crackers", but maybe that's just because I'm a contrarian with the "memorizing two-letter codes" kind of autism.

[–] insurgentrat@hexbear.net 5 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Prior to this moment I would have said I was literate but having read your comment I see that I have erred.

[–] Speaker@hexbear.net 4 points 3 weeks ago

"Yankee eating crackers" is a riff on https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/BEC#English (linked to the abbreviation because I can't remember if the full form hits the word filter). The rest is about some autistic people reporting a tendency to soak up systematic trivia.

[–] Erika3sis@hexbear.net 3 points 3 weeks ago

I also have the "unable to understand the intended tone of half the comments I read" kind of autism

[–] Erika3sis@hexbear.net 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

No seriously I do not know how to interpret this and would appreciate it being spelled out, please tell me what this means

[–] insurgentrat@hexbear.net 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I didn't know you had a question sorry, since you made a statement.

It means: I don't understand what you wrote.

[–] Erika3sis@hexbear.net 5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

So there's a term, "b**** eating crackers" (BEC), which just means someone who you despise so much that you're offended by even very minor or innocuous things that that person does, such as eating crackers. So, in short, even though you wouldn't normally care about a particular behavior, the fact that it's being done by someone you really, really hate... suddenly makes you care.

Seppoland/USA and its people have won the ire of much of the world for more than enough legitimate reasons, however I sometimes think that many people have actually reached the point of treating Yankees as a group of three hundred million plus "b****es eating crackers": that absolutely everything a Yankee does has to be judged negatively and ascribed to Yankees being lazy or stupid or arrogant or whatever else, even if this isn't necessarily true. Seppolanders are oftentimes plenty ignorant, and oftentimes plenty arrogant, but that still doesn't mean that literally everything they do is a product of those traits.

So, my point, is that using state codes is really a pretty innocuous thing to do, that doesn't necessarily warrant any sort of vocally negative response or being declared a product of arrogance. It's just a thing that Yankees do because that's their communication style, or it's how they're used to talking.

At the same time, I might only be saying this because I sometimes like to be a contrarian, and that I'm simply less bothered by this sort of thing because I've already memorized the locations and codes of every country on Earth, every state of Seppoland, every province of Canada, every state of Australia, every county of my own country Norway, and various other regions in other countries. If someone wanted to say "I live in Somewheresville, OH" I'd be as confused by that as "I live in Somewheresville, QLD" or "I live in Irgendwosstadt, DE" — I know in every case what the codes mean, the rough part of the world where the two-letter places are, and some basic facts about the places, because I just like to learn about different places. Even if I don't know what a code means, I'll just look it up and probably spend several minutes reading about that place for my own enjoyment.

Then there's also the matter of me having American heritage, and me having visited several states of Seppoland. That might bias me towards apologism, or it might just mean that, while I've spent my whole life since birth in Europe, I still grew up through my family in a culture that, compared to the general population, sees distinguishing between the states of Seppoland as more important.

...After all, while Yorkshire is just a fraction of one nation, the State of New York actually contains the territory of several nations partially or entirely within its arbitrary borders, no different from the European colonies in Africa that first worlders also often struggle to place on a map and also often cannot name a single tribe from.

[–] insurgentrat@hexbear.net 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Ah that makes sense.

I just find it irritating and stupid. If someone said to the average seppo "I'm from Chonburi/Gauteng/Rajshahi" or whatever it is meaningless. Better to say Thailand, South Africa, Bangladesh etc. Mostly people realise that the details of where there are is not relevant to people outside their country and don't bother with that info. Usaians seem to think that everyone knows and cares about minor cultural divides inside their empire.

It might be super meaningful among citizens there whether you had apples thrown at'cha or know things about tucky but this doesn't mean anything to most people and it's bizarre to not even mention the country.

[–] Erika3sis@hexbear.net 2 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

As I see it, the problem is really just the inequality of how Seppoland is treated compared to other countries, and that inequality could be solved in two ways: either treat every country like Seppoland, or treat Seppoland like every other country -- or perhaps more ideally, meeting somewhere in the middle.

Which is to say, I think that instead of caring less about the internal divisions of one country, that people should care more about the internal divisions of every other country to match it. People should just generally be more curious about the world around them, it's never been a better time.

[–] insurgentrat@hexbear.net 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Nah can't agree. Usually it's just small talk, to explain in a way that might be helpful (given you have expressed being autistic and having difficulty with at least some elements of communication. Hope that's not presumptuous) stuff like "where are you from?" is usually less a genuine inquiry about details and more a about performing rituals that indicate a desire to be friendly. It's like smiling with words.

[–] Erika3sis@hexbear.net 1 points 3 weeks ago

If you insist...

[–] ProfessorOwl_PhD@hexbear.net 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Nah, it's an unreasonable level of detail to expect from people who don't directly interact with those countries and divisions and don't have your type of autism, so naming their state to foreigners is just chauvinism. Doubly so when a bunch of their shit is named after European locations that Europeans would be likely to directly interact with and know about.

[–] Erika3sis@hexbear.net 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

If you insist.^[TL note: This means "God save me, for some reason this is frustrating me to an irrational extent. I don't know what to do with myself but I'm certain that arguing further isn't it."]

[–] propter_hog@hexbear.net 3 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Oz and Canada, too, but that doesn't excuse it

[–] insurgentrat@hexbear.net 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I've never heard a Canadian say "I'm from fishwonger" they just say Canada.

[–] propter_hog@hexbear.net 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I used to know a guy who was from Alberta and he was definitely specific about it, and another guy I used to work with was from Toronto. Not Ontario, not Canada, Toronto. I mean we all know where Toronto is, so it works, but still.

[–] insurgentrat@hexbear.net 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Are you from the evil empire? If so you might get more info since they're next door so presumably you know something of each other.

[–] propter_hog@hexbear.net 2 points 2 weeks ago

I am, haha, I unfortunately have a front row seat for its downfall. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome to watch, but i hate it for my safety.

[–] Le_Wokisme@hexbear.net 2 points 3 weeks ago

i'm from C, eh.

[–] rubber_chicken@hexbear.net 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

You really have to reference places people know. I'm from Pennsylvaniait'ssouthofnewyork.

[–] insurgentrat@hexbear.net 3 points 3 weeks ago

Just say the country, if anyone cares they'll ask further questions.