[eropple]

This characterization of Americans, followed through to a not-particularly-strenuous conclusion, indicates that "Americans"--you know, real Americans--should have been A-OK with...I dunno...Dred Scott. Or pervasive corporate surveillance, as you indicate. It's a very Whig and very rich lens upon society and, frankly, not one I expect many Americans actually hold. Were that the case, one would not see, say, so many "states' rights" types being so concerned over the bathrooms used by trans people or who so-and-so is allowed to marry (not even just gay marriage--miscegenation laws go how far back?) and the like.

Americans are nosy and paranoid; we distrust our neighbors to the point of societal breakdown on the regular and we just get inordinately mad when somebody cares about our stuff. It's not a "don't scream until you get shot," it's a "fuck you, got mine." There's a real difference here.

[hodwic]

First, you're mistaking my characterization for Americans with my own philosophy. That's in error. I am a busybody.

Second, you're mistaking your own partisan lens for what constitutes busybodyness with the American Public's lens. Americans are radically middle, rebelliously centrist, and hate changes when they come from either side of the political aisle.

And so the busybody thing cuts both ways --

- It blocks your liberal attempts at busybodyness (trans bathroom laws, trigger warnings, political correctness)

and

-It blocks our conservative attempts at busybodyness (additional censorship in media, stop and frisk, morality laws).

Americans are/were against laws to forcibly open up bathrooms to everyone and marriages to same sex couples specifically because those things appear/appeared busybodyish. Both of those things are/were changes to the law. That makes them inherently busybody.

Taking the gay marriage debate: it was only when gay folks were finally able to convince America that new laws blocking them would be more busybody than letting the laws die in court, did gay folks win the public argument.

But changes are coming that are great for conservatives, as the left is starting to lose their title of the anti-busybody;

The university social justice wing has taken on the role that the Westboro Baptist Church played in 1990's American politics, the supreme busybody, and Americans are turning against them.

This is deadly to liberal politics, since being the busybody is the worst thing you can be in American politics.