Ooo, I liked that. This shutdown thing is fucking mental. Has anyone pointed out to the daft bastards that theyâre basically taking industrial action, like some filthy communist trade union?
You idiots. It is happening in another country. Believe it or not, the internet isnât a US entityâŚ
The heading is a short form of âhow the US media would report on it if it happened in a country that was not the same one that they are in (that is, the US)â.
However, Slate is an American website, and I suppose they have the right to look at things from an American perspective.
Wait, is Xeni the idiot? Or Joshua Keating? Or just the whole damn internet?
Well, you could argue a case for the overweening majority of the internet. I mean, youâve seen it, right?
Yes but then weâre faced with the conundrum of:
- The internet is made of idiots
- All Americans are idiots
- The internet is not 100% American.
I see no way to resolve this paradox. It could imply there are idiots in other countries as well, but I think that violates the spirit of the premise.
Oh, and regarding the OP, if the current crisis was in a non-USA country, the US media wouldnât be required to say, âboth sides do it equally.â They could just come right out and call the crazies crazy.
Although a particularly cranky comment, the sentiment can be shared with many a non-US internet user.
Slate is an American owned website. But I donât see anywhere that states itâs by Americans, for Americans.
The issue is that someone like myself, and perhaps @GilbertWham, would preface a statement with context. For example, âOver here in the UK, the law says X about Yâ. Whereas often an American may word the same statement as âThe law says X!â - this can lead to both confusion and frustration for those of us that remember the world is a big and varied place.
Iâm merely attempting to explain the outlook though - I canât say I picked up on the lack of context on this occasion. Itâs something I find far more annoying on sites like Reddit, where statements like, âIt depends what state you live inâ are very commonplace, (pssst, I donât live in any state!).
Maybe itâs confirmation bias, but my tl;dr: would be that Americans are bad at remembering that theyâre not alone on the planet. Although I could argue both sides of that debate on my own, which is a good indication that itâs a debate best left for never.
The internet is an idiot.
My lifeâs in a terrible state.
Also, and just to break with the ongoing discussion: I liked the article, and found the style spot on for what they were trying for. 
I hope thatâs dry humour and not a cry for help.
Really? I found it lame and passive-aggressive, with all the subtlety and nuance of an angry teenager denied her allowance.
When discussing politics and especially the US congress surely thatâs an apt tone?
I agree wholeheartedly. US internet users should be forbidden from engaging in US-centric discourse. If they canât see every issue from the perspective of truly international universalism, the internet should kick them out, with the possible exception of limited access to remedial world history classes. We really tend to suck at world history.
However, the previous statement only applies to Americans. I am therefore banning myself.
I think someone said something, but I canât hear it over all that sarcasm.
Arid. Iâve got a fucking cold makes you feel like youâve been kicked in the nads, like. So itâs not all fucking rainbowsâŚ
Hehe, this comment thread got so damn meta so damn fast. Perhaps a little background, Slate is mostly produced inside the âbeltway bubbleâ or âthis town,â Slate often tries to highlight the crazy groupthink of the beltway press. This article pretty much nailed the tone of American Newspapers (remember those things) discussing world affairs. Slate is owned by the Washington Post so occasionally it tries to sound like that. Anywho carry on!
What, the GOP, or Slate?
For a brit, thatâs pretty much how we do see the situation.
Seriously, your whole flipping government has shut down? Really? What the actual fuck?
So when does it get back to work?
