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submitted 2 weeks ago by floofloof@lemmy.ca to c/world@lemmy.world

cross-posted from: https://ibbit.at/post/205768

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[-] Humanius@lemmy.world 182 points 2 weeks ago

Africa, Asia, and South America

So we are not counting North-America, where the ICE raids continue then?

[-] northernlights@lemmy.today 71 points 2 weeks ago

“Today there are so many places in the world where the U.S. government is conducting military operations — including the war at home on migrants — that each event eclipses the last in terms of media attention,” said Stephanie Savell, the director of Brown University’s Costs of War Project.

[-] CosmoNova@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

America is one continent.

ITT: Lots of angry Americans on copium. Stay strong.

[-] frongt@lemmy.zip 84 points 2 weeks ago

North and South America are considered separate continents. They're not even connected now that the Panama canal was dug.

[-] Klear@quokk.au 25 points 2 weeks ago

Continents are a social construct.

[-] backalleycoyote@lemmy.today 25 points 2 weeks ago

Continents are a geological construct, with continents tending to be granitic, and oceanic plates typically being basalt. Dividing continents with geopolitical boundaries is a social construct.

[-] partofthevoice@lemmy.zip 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Still it’s perhaps just a human-imposed classification scheme. What about Europe and Asia? Also, India? The boundaries themselves are quite symbolic of how we choose to see the world, even politically. We conceptually compartmentalize continuous systems using all kinds of sneaky criteria. If you’re strictly referring to geological objects, are you still even referring to continents?

[-] backalleycoyote@lemmy.today 4 points 2 weeks ago

At the end of the day everything about how we engage with, understand, and define the universe is based off human systems because that’s just how we do. We’re intelligent enough to recognize beyond ourselves and deduce the nature of why things happen and then use our words to describe it. A granitic continent doesn’t know its granite and a basaltic oceanic plate doesn’t know it’s basalt, it operates as it’s properties demand, like they have for billions of years before humans and will for millions of years after we’re gone.

The products of these natural cycles do lend to how humanity has organized itself for thousands of years. River valleys helped establish agriculture and the birth of “civilization”, and mountain ranges, deserts, great rivers, and oceans made for natural boundaries once populations grew to the size they started defining “them and us”.

So I do agree that continents (and natural features in general) shape how we think of the people who live there, and some places have thousands of years of history where those features were the boundaries of their nation. But the physical structure we call a continent exists with or without humans calling it a continent, nations do not. Continents influence human affairs and cultural/national identity at home and abroad, but again, that’s heaping our humanness on what is otherwise a slab of granite that is doing its thing.

I’d point out too, Earth’s plates are constantly shifting, but for the entire existence of humans they’ve only moved a few to a few dozen kilometers. Their importance to our social organizing is partly due to their seemingly static nature. But in 200-300 million years we’ll possibly be all jammed back together Pangea-style. Though I highly doubt humans will be around to see that.

[-] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago

True but in this society we recognize 7. To recognize only one America with consistency you're probably looking at 4 though maybe a 5th could be argued

[-] Klear@quokk.au 12 points 2 weeks ago

What do you mean "this society"? Different countries have different standards, and they're all arbitrary.

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[-] Sunforged@lemmy.ml 11 points 2 weeks ago

Damn I didn't realize we dug into them tectonic plates.

[-] teyrnon@sh.itjust.works 30 points 2 weeks ago

They are separate tectonic plates, the two continents only crashed together relatively recently, the "columbian exchange" that saw wildlife mix between the continents. South America was near Africa at one point, North America more with Europe as I understand it.

I find it really cool that the Appalachian mountains used to be connected with what's now the Scottish Highlands, if memory serves correctly.

[-] teyrnon@sh.itjust.works 9 points 2 weeks ago

When I was on the Appalachian trail they had a placard that explained it and said it's also the oldest mountain range in the world, and used to be like 4x the size of the himalayans (which is the youngest.) Others have disputed that, but just internet randos with no sources, I trust the NPS placard.

So crazy to think about because they're so worn down at this point. Neat!

[-] Zombie@feddit.uk 4 points 2 weeks ago

Hills near me (northern Scotland) were once magma chambers underneath volcanoes! That's how worn down they are. Wild to think about, and makes some lovely granite.

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[-] hesh@quokk.au 5 points 2 weeks ago

They're also not on the same tectonic plate

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[-] grue@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

The Panama Canal doesn't even go all the way down to sea level; it definitely does not make a difference.

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[-] grue@lemmy.world 20 points 2 weeks ago

If America is one continent, then Afro-Eurasia is also one continent.

[-] daychilde@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago
[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Are we opening the how many continents are there can of worms? Because it makes me incontinent.

I say 9. India is its own continent(al plate so it totally counts) and I like Oceanía being a continent

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[-] Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 2 weeks ago

Third grade was a tricky year for all of us

[-] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 16 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Depends on which third grade. Some countries learn about America as one continent in e.g. a six-continent model. Which I think is silly given the obvious first continental divide to go would be the Eurasian one that only exists for historical reasons.

[-] MrMakabar@slrpnk.net 4 points 2 weeks ago

Which I think is silly given the obvious first continental divide to go would be the Eurasian one that only exists for historical reasons.

America makes sense for historical reasons as well. After all it is a massive settlers colony of different European nations. The Spanish influence very much connects both continents, if you want to do that.

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[-] kmartburrito@lemmy.world 126 points 2 weeks ago
[-] islandcoda42@lemmy.zip 53 points 2 weeks ago
[-] dandelion 12 points 2 weeks ago

I mean, at this point everyone knows Trump lies out of his ass, right?

[-] BeardededSquidward 7 points 2 weeks ago

Actually, if you tune into just right wing news they make Trump look like a 4D chess genius.

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[-] TheBrideWoreCrimson@sopuli.xyz 32 points 2 weeks ago

So... about that Peace Prize...

[-] plyth@feddit.org 13 points 2 weeks ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pax_Romana

The Pax Romana (Latin for 'Roman peace') is a roughly 200-year-long period of ancient Rome that is identified as a golden age of increased and sustained Roman imperialism

[-] luciferofastora@feddit.org 4 points 2 weeks ago

I mean, Rome had peace. War elsewhere isn't really an issue for the elites that do the writing of history...

[-] SnarkoPolo@lemmy.world 32 points 2 weeks ago

A constant state of war is essential to fascism.

The reality is, there will eventually be a draft. Will Americans stand for it? Probably.

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[-] Loce@lemmy.world 31 points 2 weeks ago

At this point I'm convinced Trump raped, tortured, killed and ate the babies in the Trump-Epstein files... distractions are wild... and working

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[-] TwilitSky@lemmy.world 21 points 2 weeks ago

I don't think there are any voters besides military contractors and politicians who are in favor of these wars. No one wants to spend our hard earned money blowing up a bunch of starving homeless people on the other side of the ocean.

[-] OhmeHose@feddit.org 5 points 2 weeks ago

Right, there's enough homeless people to blow up at home!

/s

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[-] Gsus4@mander.xyz 18 points 2 weeks ago
[-] teyrnon@sh.itjust.works 23 points 2 weeks ago

They just elected a right wing guy playing off the fear of crime, they used to be one of the safest but have had a crime wave. Columbia's president just said they found a score or so of charred bodies on the Columbian side of the border that were bombed too. The US violated their sovereignty just the other day.

[-] massive_bereavement@fedia.io 14 points 2 weeks ago
[-] plyth@feddit.org 9 points 2 weeks ago

Ecuador? Why?

They voted against a constitutional change that would reallow US bases.

following four questions:

Whether to lift the ban on foreign military bases on Ecuadorian territory;

https://constitutionnet.org/news/voices/peoples-verdict-why-did-ecuadors-constitutional-referendum-fail

[-] CaliforniaSober@lemmy.ca 16 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Why is Biden such a warmonger?

This is clearly the Dems fault.

What was Obama doing during 9-11?

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Remember "terrorist" is an ill defined term trump can apply to anyone who thumbs their nose at him and use as justification for sending our sons overseas to kill them.

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this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2026
535 points (100.0% liked)

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