MAMEWorld Forums - Welcome to the War Room - Re: As of this past Monday I'm now a permanent resident of Sweden.

And 2, you're farther away
> from me, and this blessed, precious nation. So it looks like it's a win-win all
> around.

You're damn right the US is a blessed, precious nation. That's why I felt I had to leave it. The simple fact is that the people being elected to power, whether you're a republican or democrat, are people who don't even remotely represent the vast majority of Americans who exist today.

On one hand, you have the democratic party, who seem to still think that they need to harp on such divisive issues as gun rights, and who seem willfully oblivious to the fact that the more they focus on nutjob liberal causes, the more they alienate the base of voters who have consistently supported them, leading to more support for third parties at best, or spiteful support for the opposition at worst.

On the other hand, you have the GOP, who you might like to think represent your interests, but who are objectively only interested in representing people who make more money in a month, Tom, than you probably make in a year. And yet people like you seem to steadfastly vote for them, despite the fact that their policies objectively fuck over people exactly like you. They've somehow convinced all of you to vote against your own self-interest.

Ultimately, both the democrats and the republicans only give a flying fuck about the people who can fund their re-election campaigns. But the cruel truth is that while people on the left will break from the party line and vote for whatever party happens to appeal to them most, you guys on the right will vote for whatever candidate has an 'R' next to their name, no matter how much their policies fuck over people exactly like you, just to funnel your own money into the pockets of politicians who couldn't give a fuck less about you.

If I felt that I, as a single voter, had even the remotest chance of effecting any sort of useful change in the system, I would probably still be living in the good old USA. But the fact is, I don't have that chance, and I will never have that chance, because the politicians don't give a fuck about me, they don't give a fuck about you, and they don't give a fuck about Smitdogg. Wake up and smell the bullshit you're buying into.

> But seriously... I guess I can ask this... What's the healthcare system like?

Pretty alright, actually. I've only had to make use of it twice. The first time, I felt like I was getting the flu, so I phoned up a local doctor's office, and their response was, "Oh, you want an appointment? What time tomorrow would you like the appointment?" The other time was when I injured my back, and in that case it was only a 2-3 day wait. EDIT: And it was only a 2-3 day wait because I explicitly said that, no, I'm not in a critical situation, it just hurts a bunch when I sit up straight or try to walk in a completely natural way. Imagine an arthritic 50-year-old.

Frankly, I'm baffled as to where these reports are coming from that it's some sort of apocalyptic hellscape where people are lucky to so much as get a splint for their broken limbs. I've never had the slightest issue with either getting a doctor's appointment, or getting a referral to a specialist for mental-related issues.

Don't get me wrong, though, I'll be the first to admit that the cream-of-the-crop specialist medical care here is probably not quite as great as it is in the USA. Having said that, you probably couldn't afford said specialist care in the USA, and neither could I if I still lived there. At the end of the day, the USA's healthcare system favors those who can buy their way to the front of the queue, whereas the healthcare system here in Sweden is a pretty reasonable middle-ground that covers all of us who aren't millionaires.

> ETA: Oh yeah. Watch out for terrorists. That is one of the countries letting in
> Refugees, right?
>
> I almost put that as "Refugees".

The USA is letting in refugees, too, and its vetting processes are largely the same as those of us up here in Scandinavia. And it's as geographically impossible for people to flood over the Swedish border as it is for them to flood across the border of the USA, compared to countries that directly neighbor Syria and other affected countries.

What I do know, however, is that there has been an unfortunate number of right-wing terrorists - let's not mince words - who have been hurling molotovs and other incendiary devices at buildings and areas designated for refugees. Even despite being on the right side of the aisle, I'm sure you can agree that that isn't really a great way to help people integrate or to feel welcome. In fact, one might suppose that coming to a western country from a war-torn hell-hole, only to have your only place of residence razed by some jackass with a bottle of fuel, might push people directly towards extremism.

That's part of the reason why I feel like it's a self-fulfilling prophecy, that refugees will turn towards extremism. When you come to a country, and the people of that country make it abundantly clear that you'll never be accepted, and they even go so far as to raze the place that you temporarily call home, how can you expect said people to not harbor some level of bitterness and resentment? How can a person clutch at pearls and claim to be so worried about extremism, while at the same time committing acts that directly result in people feeling marginalized, that directly push people towards extremism? It's perfectly fine if you feel that a given group of people shouldn't be in the country, and I might even agree with you to an extent, but what good does directly abusing those people do? Put yourself in their shoes - you've come to another country because your own home got bombed to shit by the people in your home country, only to find that your new temporary residence got bombed to shit by the people who live in that country. How is someone supposed to feel? I'm not at all saying that terrorism is right, and in fact I fully support vicious retribution against the people who commit terrorist acts. But how can a reasonable person act like these people should be grateful for basically being shit on by everyone else in the country that they've come to?

I hope that you can, to an extent, understand where I'm coming from. I actually appreciate the questions that you posed. If you have any other questions, I'm more than happy to answer them from my perspective. I'm grateful that you're willing to give me a conservative viewpoint without just telling me to fuck right off.