[–] 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 child)

Well... Victor Frankenstein wasn't a doctor in the book; he was a young student and he never achieved any degree. The "doctor" thing comes from the movies.

  • source
  • [–] 1 point 2 weeks ago

    Are you really asking what joins the people from such an isolated land? I mean, the rest of the world forgot/didn't know about it until 1492. They were alone, just counting with themselves if they needed or wanted to. Thus, the history of the indigenous people from that continent is super intertwined, even if they were independent peoples.

    As two examples, the Mexica ("Aztecs") were originally from a region of the U.S.; the Incas traded with the Mexica. And it makes sense. The landmass itself has its history, and the fauna and flora are super unique and that made their ways of life different. No bread, no horses; they had their own basic foods and animals, their own cultures.

    And then, after 1492, they share everything. The history of the U.S. is almost a copy-paste from other countries (or viceversa). I guess the difference is the Anglo ego that wants to pretend that their history is ultra special, when actually the blueprint of imperialism didn't vary that much. More genocides, less forced assimilation than in some other countries. More appetite for conserving the black slaves than in other countries. Obviously, particular history, as in any other territory. But the history of that land (America, the continent) kept being absurdly close. What happened in one country inspired or affected others, to the point that the entire continent gained its freedom over a couple decades because it was contagious. Trade, literature, etc. There are literal degrees on the history of Spanish speaking or Romance language speaking countries, making the whole "North and South" not only obsolete but an absurd. How can you divide Panama from Colombia, especially after the 1500s? No way. "Then it's Anglo vs Latin America" (conceding the point that America is the continent, by the way). No, that's just disguised xenophobia and very inaccurate as what do we do with Belize, Guyana, Quebec...?

    "But continents are arbitrary". Yes. Europe is not separated from Asia, yet we divide them because of culture. If we respected American cultures, we'd do the same and recognize their similarities, their shared histories, their interdependence, and their sad subjugation in modern times to one of them: the U.S. (something something bananas and oil).

    Testimony of the defense and use of that 'continental identity' is Our America (Nuestra América) from José Martí. It cannot be much clearer than that. Or the existence of things like the Journal de la Société des américanistes. American studies (Americanismo in Spanish, Americanística in Portuguese). IDK. It's just so crazy to me, no offense, but it's crazy that you asked what could they possibly had in common. Maybe listen to decolonial activists, indigenous activists, and actual American people outside the U.S...

  • source
  • parent
  • context
  • [–] 1 point 2 weeks ago* (2 children)

    Not as a nationality but as a continental identity (yes, just one). USians changed the number of official continental regions and their names, but you can trace the history of that and it is very recent. Many historical documents of real Americans (from America, the continent) talk about themselves as both their nationality (Cubans, Mexicans, etc.) and Americans. Just as a French is both a French and a European. That's why that's still the continental model of some countries. I think it makes sense to call USians a name that's not stolen from other regions or peoples, even in English.

  • source
  • parent
  • context
  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago

    This touches the terrain of leadership and motivation, and I'd argue that authoritarianism is accidental here. Sure, here and there leaders with authoritarian views rise (e.g. Mussolini), but also people who do not believe in it so much (e.g. Che Guevara). There have been studies about the psychology of leaders and motivators, and they seem to be driven by a lot of energy and often certainty at least in some core ideas. There are books like A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness that go as far as to suggest these traits border the unhealthy in many notorious and strong cases.

  • source
  • parent
  • context
  • Minor suggestion (lemmy.today)
     

    Really, really small detail.

    Context: When one shares a post, there is now an option for sharing it as seen here on the app (Advanced options), and I think it is great. One can even pick what details go into this image, for example, to show or not to show the community name. But the image itself is always white and...

    Suggestion/Petition: I'd love if the sharing background followed your app theme (or maybe had a couple of options to choose from).

    Personal reasons: My friends and I rarely use white/light themes, so sharing a white summary from Lemmy posts is not ideal. Also, it makes the content look like a meme, and I don't want someone accidentally ignoring an interesting post because of the white borders.

    Thank you for reading.

    view more: next ›