179
submitted 1 year ago by hexi@hexbear.net to c/genzedong@lemmygrad.ml
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[-] bennieandthez@lemmygrad.ml 31 points 1 year ago

Lawns are such a waste of productive land and time.

[-] ButtigiegMineralMap@lemmygrad.ml 19 points 1 year ago

The origins of lawns piss me off to no end. Originally it was a flex to have a lawn “Hey look at me! I have so much money and resources that I don’t even need to farm on my own land! Hell yea!” And over time, these rich assholes realized “wait a sec, none of the poor people know how rich I am! Just my servants and people who happen to be walking past!” So they hired artists to show their wonderful estates and lack of gardens. Over time people started to identify those green fields of grass with class status. People slowly became less reliant on farms because of the rise of trade and agricultural production. They still had houses and land tho, so they copied the lawns from the paintings and it became more and more common. Obviously there are a few details here and there that I probably missed but that’s the gist of why people are so obsessed with lawns

[-] afellowkid@lemmygrad.ml 26 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

In America there are signs posted all over residential zones reminding citizens that they are being spied on by their neighbors who will immediately report all "suspicious persons and activities" to the authorities 😱 Some signs even mention the people have been "trained" to report/spy on each other's family members 😢

neighborhood watch sign that says "we are watching you" neighborhood watch sign with pictures of eyeballs on houses neighborhood watch sign that says the neighbors are trained to watch each other and report suspicious activities

[-] WaterBowlSlime@lemmygrad.ml 19 points 1 year ago

"Our neighbors are watching over one another's family members... property"

[-] redtea@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 1 year ago

Freudian slip.

[-] AmarkuntheGatherer@lemmygrad.ml 26 points 1 year ago

The hook could be better, here's an idea:

In Capitalist Usia, conformism is valued above all else. Although they espouse the virtues of private property, agents of "HOA" scour neighbourhoods and kick people out of their homes if their lawn doesn't meet the specific criteria of the area.

[-] ksynwa@lemmygrad.ml 25 points 1 year ago

Do other Western countries have this insidious "lawn" culture too? Or is it an American thing?

[-] culpritus@hexbear.net 38 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It starts from the feudal castle mentality. Having a clear field around your castle so no attacking forces can sneak up to the walls was a strategy to retain power. Archers along the top of the walls could defend the castle because there was no cover or concealment available for a vast radius from the walls.

This later becomes the 'estate' of the royals. Eventually they would have manicured 'gardens' as well, but having a vast clear area around the manor or whatever was traditional at that point. Then suburban development uses this 'castle' mindset to create the single family home surrounded by a green lawn with very little landscaping or trees etc. A commodity form that gestures to the castle archetype for the 'middle class'. This is also why the 'white picket fence' was a crucial part of the original suburban ideal. It's a mini stockade.

[-] ComradeSalad@lemmygrad.ml 35 points 1 year ago

Also most peasants and poorer people in general relied heavily on subsistence farming till far into the 20th century, and a clear field/“lawn” indicated you were rich enough to the point where you could buy your food and not worry about feeding yourself.

[-] culpritus@hexbear.net 29 points 1 year ago

Yes, this alongside the enclosure that came along of common lands. It's the aesthetics of 'old wealth' repackaged for the common folk. This is partly why I recommend Ways of Seeing to new lefties all the time. So much of the cultural aesthetics of western capitalism has been directly lifted from aristocratic cultures of Europe and just slightly repackaged. There's even 'old Hollywood' aesthetics that are like a xerox of a xerox, etc.

[-] ksynwa@lemmygrad.ml 27 points 1 year ago

So much of the cultural aesthetics of western capitalism has been directly lifted from aristocratic cultures of Europe and just slightly repackaged.

The prevalence of children's stories involving kings, queens and princesses is something that has bothered me more than it should.

[-] DankZedong@lemmygrad.ml 20 points 1 year ago

In The Netherlands and Belgium we have problems with people laying their entire garden full of concrete or tiles, or sometimes lawns. The tiles are responsible for hotter areas in neighborhoods who have to much of them and they also fuck with the ground water level.

[-] ComradeSalad@lemmygrad.ml 18 points 1 year ago

This tradition is technically a European one and has been for probably over a 1000 years at this point. I would assume that it’s present somewhere in Europe.

[-] Rasm635u@lemmygrad.ml 7 points 1 year ago

We also have it in Denmark

[-] SpaceDogs@lemmygrad.ml 22 points 1 year ago

HOAs are fascist, no one can change my mind. Also I’m super anti-lawn, a better alternative would be native wild grasses and/or flowers as they are better for the environment and kinder on the wallet as you spend less time watering. I’ve also heard that native plants aid with flooding as their roots go way deeper.

[-] JamesConeZone@hexbear.net 21 points 1 year ago

HOAs were invented to exclude minorities, siphon money out of the city (especially schools), and to increase landholders wealth

[-] youpie@lemmy.emphisia.nl 12 points 1 year ago

America is so poor they barely have any trains

[-] ComradeSalad@lemmygrad.ml 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Not really, the rail system is extremely extensive and connects everything, it is a lifeblood of America.

The problem is that it’s only for cargo and moving capital. No passenger trains allowed :3

[-] PoY@lemmygrad.ml -2 points 1 year ago

and those precious cargo trains derail on average over a thousand times per year because short term profits trump all else in the imperial core

[-] ComradeSalad@lemmygrad.ml 2 points 1 year ago

Do you realize what derailment means? It’s a safety term that occurs when even a single wheel loses contact with the rails. That can happen because of a strong wind or some minor debris on the track. Then they have to stop the train, examine for damage and realign the wheel which takes less then 30 minutes. Do you think trains are just flying off the rails and exploding every 3 hours?

But yes, corporate control of freight transport is a blight, and of course it will lead to reduced safety standards and other cost cutting measures.

this post was submitted on 18 Sep 2023
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