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[smjjames]

Since when have Americans cared about cleaning up and rebuilding things anywhere other then America?

Hard to pin down exactly.  You could make an argument for 1919 (Europe, at great american expense).  You could make an argument for 1865 (Mexico, at very little american expense but to great effect).

I think you have your dates wrong, we didn't do anything to Mexico after the Civil War.

[TheDarkStar]

Since when have Americans cared about cleaning up and rebuilding things anywhere other then America?

Hard to pin down exactly.  You could make an argument for 1919 (Europe, at great american expense).  You could make an argument for 1865 (Mexico, at very little american expense but to great effect).

I think you have your dates wrong, we didn't do anything to Mexico after the Civil War.

What about after World War II?

[Loud Whispers]

Since when have Americans cared about cleaning up and rebuilding things anywhere other then America?

Hard to pin down exactly.  You could make an argument for 1919 (Europe, at great american expense).  You could make an argument for 1865 (Mexico, at very little american expense but to great effect).

Largest aid budget in the world and a dedicated strategic investment fund, irregardless of whether the American elite care about rebuilding things that are not America they understand the strategic importance of rebuilding things that are not America.

[mainiac]

I think you have your dates wrong, we didn't do anything to Mexico after the Civil War.

You mean besides funding their government in exile, giving weapons to their army, threatening war to get france to pull out it's army and then building railroads through the country after they defeated the puppet the french had established?  Besides that, the US support for the mexican government didn't count for much.

What about after World War II?

Sure, but he asked about the start.  The Marshall Plan was the biggest rebuilding effort but it wasn't the first.

[Amuys]

I think racism is a non-issue in America to be honest.

[Shadowlord]

ahahahaha

[Elephant Parade]

I think racism is a non-issue in America to be honest.

It is widely agreed that racism is, in fact, an issue in America. If you think otherwise, you should probably explain why, unless you want everyone to (rightfully) respond with

ahahahaha

[Reelya]

Also, the line that "America never rebuilds" is contradicted by the sheer amount of money that the USA pours into countries it's invaded. USA is still pouring about $4.5 billion into Afghanistan per year, 15 years after the invasion. 2/3rds of that is economic assistance. Dropping a few unnecessary nukes would definitely end up costing more money down the track.

[smjjames]

Also, the line that "America never rebuilds" is contradicted by the sheer amount of money that the USA pours into countries it's invaded. USA is still pouring about $4.5 billion into Afghanistan per year, 15 years after the invasion. 2/3rds of that is economic assistance. Dropping a few unnecessary nukes would definitely end up costing more money down the track.

And sometimes we don't do it very well, like Iraq for example.

[Amuys]

I think racism is a non-issue in America to be honest.

It is widely agreed that racism is, in fact, an issue in America. If you think otherwise, you should probably explain why, unless you want everyone to (rightfully) respond with

ahahahaha

Because it is not. The failure of the war on drugs and the breaking down of family units due to it are much more relevant than racism. The KKK and Black Panthers are done. The media is in love in glorifying diversity and affirmative action but aren't willing to tackle let alone address pertinent issues like massive corruption and poverty in inner cities that cause all this racial tension. People are more concerned with singular youths who were shot for assaulting police rather than the fact there's numerous murders in large cities constantly among the poor and disadvantaged themselves. I live in Hawaii, a state has always been of largely mixed racial groups, but our main concern is the fact all our infrastructure is crumbling and of our rampant homeless problems. Racism is utterly inconsequential, but it's a lovely hot button topic for the media and an easy insult if you want to shut someone down.

[Shadowlord]

Amuys: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=redlining

[Amuys]

The 1968 Fair Housing Act prohibits that.

[PTTG??]

The Panama Papers release is emminent. It's a breathtaking takedown of some of the biggest international names from every walk of life. The biggest money-laundering tax-fraud system in history. It's beautiful. Perhaps the highest fall from grace is the Icelandic PM, who took office vowing to fight corruption, only to be intimately tied to it.

They're released tonight. Curiously, no Americans have been accused yet, but I find that hard to imagine that there aren't some very big names involved. We'll see soon.

[Frumple]

The 1968 Fair Housing Act prohibits that.

The fair housing act is regularly violated. Go figure, the folks it intends to protect also just happen to be disproportionately unlikely to be able to afford legal fees or the life disruptions brought about by legal action. It's definitely made things better, but it also hasn't quite made things good, yet. Not that any one thing will, but still.

As for racism in general, something like half the class in a couple of courses during my last rounds of school had went to schools that experienced bloody race riots, punch-ups that involved dozens and were explicitly over racist bullshit, within the last 10-15 years. And that's barely scratching the surface of the shit that goes on. There's just this hilarious cavalcade of events over the last few years that shows it really is still a problem. Maybe hawaii's doing alright (In which case good gods am I glad for you. Don't move to the south east, at the very least. No one should have to live with this crap.), but I can damn well guarantee you chunks of the rest of the country isn't. Is the other stuff you mentioned also a problem? Hell yes it is.* But so is racism, and it's damn sure not an inconsequential one.

*Though it's probably worth noting one of the disproportionate failures with the war on drugs is that it's been racist as goddamn, in both motivation and execution.

[Amuys]

And what you said links to corruption and poverty, not racism of itself.  I hate the word racism because it's an issue that has already been conquered by the courts and laws. It's a horrific derailing issue since people are so attached to identity politics they'd rather focus on that rather than the actually important issues like mental health and poverty.
Basically what I'm saying is that people are trying to fight battles that's already been won since that's easier to understand than a societal one. I hate how the media deliberately riles up racial tensions for the sake of ratings.