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Re:America Lost the Chestnut, Its One Perfect Tree by tsunamifury on Sunday December 24, 2023 @02:27PM (#38755978)
I live in California and benefit greatly from incredible local produce, but someone in Alabama does not. Trade has allowed everyone to enjoy the best of each region, while giving up some of their own.

I’d say the bigger issue is the commodification of corn syrup and reductionism of product for addiction rather than trade itself.

Re:America Lost the Chestnut, Its One Perfect Tree by sarchertech on Sunday December 24, 2023 @03:13PM (#38756430)
Alabama has a long growing season, a ton of arable land and more average rainfall than nearly anywhere in California. Not as warm in winter as California sure, but I’m not sure it’s the best example
Re:America Lost the Chestnut, Its One Perfect Tree by tsunamifury on Sunday December 24, 2023 @03:55PM (#38756750)
I hate this type of “I read a fact” and applied it wrong comment.

Please point me to alabamas vast wine country or nuts or avacados. Just because Alabama theoretically has potential doesn’t mean it has everything California does.

Re:America Lost the Chestnut, Its One Perfect Tree by twisteriffic on Sunday December 24, 2023 @04:07PM (#38756865)
> Just because Alabama theoretically has potential doesn’t mean it has everything California does.

No one was saying that other than you.

Re:America Lost the Chestnut, Its One Perfect Tree by enriquec on Sunday December 24, 2023 @04:14PM (#38756915)
I hate this type of "wrong" comment. Alabama obviously produces a ton of crops as do most of the states. After googling for 2 seconds, I even found Alabama is 2nd in the country as far as peanut production.
Re:America Lost the Chestnut, Its One Perfect Tree by drewcoo on Sunday December 24, 2023 @04:19PM (#38756945)
Good grief.

Alabama Ag is alive and well. Not everything is avocadoes or California nuts.

https://farmflavor.com/alabama-agriculture/

Re:America Lost the Chestnut, Its One Perfect Tree by tsunamifury on Monday December 25, 2023 @12:49PM (#38764521)
Sorry I offended Alabamans with facts about differential trade volume…
Re:America Lost the Chestnut, Its One Perfect Tree by upvote_test_act on Wednesday December 27, 2023 @12:32AM (#38779391)
No, you offended everyone who isn't an arrogant nerd with your goofy-ass, confidently-worded yet factually incorrect comment.

Looking at your comment history, I can tell you're the type of insufferable technical person whose general attitude towards interacting with others is "well, I'm almost always right, so I'm just gonna permanently rock with the assumption that anyone who isn't me is an idiot whose opinion I can ignore."`

Those of us with fully-functioning emotional subsystems know right away it's not worth putting much effort into engaging with you, since you'll just automatically dismiss any conclusion that's different from your own.

The benefits of this style of stunted mental engagement with the world are obvious and easy to understand: changing your mind about something requires both lots of brain-based energy expenditure and (more importantly) the emotional maturity to admit you might've been wrong about something. I don't blame people like you for deciding to live this way-- it's much easier! Also, in this way you cleverly avoid the emotional pain of accepting that your own analysis was found wanting. Shit, if I weren't so naturally curious about understanding the world the way it actually is instead of just reinforcing my own paper-thin ego, I'd take the same attitude!

Re:America Lost the Chestnut, Its One Perfect Tree by tsunamifury on Friday December 29, 2023 @12:24AM (#38802022)
I can change my mind just fine. It’s just a bit laughable that you’d get so up in arms about something obvious. California trades with Alabama… it’s incredible how offended everyone is here about that… like honestly. Back off and think about this… who is acting rediculiously? You go on this long rant attacking me personally, stereotyping me with laughably bad caricatures, pouring over my history. Buddy. Get a grip. This is all over the statement “California trades with Alabama.” Honestly who is being unhinged and emotionally stunted here.

Also you’ve been stalking me across multiple comments on different posts. I think you need to really honestly consider your behavior. It’s unsettling, and inappropriate.

Re:America Lost the Chestnut, Its One Perfect Tree by upvote_test_act on Friday December 29, 2023 @01:08PM (#38808149)
See, that's the only reason I'm being so persistent here: you absolutely did not say "California trades with Alabama." You said something about trade, then you said you enjoy lots of local produce, then you said someone in Alabama "does not." Full stop. That's a statement so sloppily-worded that it's simply factually wrong.

You didn't say the person in Alabama "does not enjoy as much local produce", which you maybe meant. If you assumed the audience would understand what you actually meant despite your wording, well then, all the comments taking issue with your statement should be evidence for you that they did not.

In response to these comments, instead of attempting to state your point more clearly, you insult your audience's intelligence and double down, acting like what you said was perfectly clear (it wasn't) and we're all just "offended" (we're not).

I'm only trying to point out-- because you seem genuinely incredulous at some of the responses you've received-- how much the above communication style makes you sound like a belligerent asshole to anyone with regular human feelings.

If you can't see that, I'm afraid you'll continue to have these "I don't get why everyone's got such an attitude, I literally only said x !" moments.

Re:America Lost the Chestnut, Its One Perfect Tree by tsunamifury on Saturday December 30, 2023 @12:51AM (#38813072)
I think you should read your own new credo in your self description and think if you are describing yourself.
Re:America Lost the Chestnut, Its One Perfect Tree by tsunamifury on Saturday December 30, 2023 @12:52AM (#38813073)
I think you should read your own new credo in your self description and think if you are describing yourself.

Things Alabama does not have. Be a little sane please.

Re:America Lost the Chestnut, Its One Perfect Tree by sarchertech on Sunday December 24, 2023 @04:48PM (#38757222)
I didn’t read a fact. I live about 25 miles from Alabama, and I’m well aware of the local produce I can get.
Re:America Lost the Chestnut, Its One Perfect Tree by upvote_test_act on Wednesday December 27, 2023 @01:01AM (#38779501)
I hate this type of “I'm not going to ever assume anyone who disagrees with me is a sub-human idiot with fundamentally worthless reasoning so here goes a condescending, evidence-free reply that just shits all over them."

Please point me to literally anything other than your own bullshit assertions whose only support is that they make your feel good about being the "always-right-guy" once again.

Re:America Lost the Chestnut, Its One Perfect Tree by drewcoo on Sunday December 24, 2023 @04:15PM (#38756924)
> I live in California and benefit greatly from incredible local produce

Without more qualifiers, that misses the point. Most local crops are still big ag varieties. The "local" crops you buy are likely the same ones sold in grocery stores anywhere in the US because so many things are grown in California.

But there are some things that can only be grown locally, because they aren't suited to shipping or because they have short shelf lives. And there are lots of varieties that are not on big ag's buy list, so large operations are very unlikely to grow them.

Even corn (which you mention) and soybeans need to be certain varieties to be turned into everything from high fructose corn syrup to the "shrimp shapes" made of soy I remember from grade school. They are part of the problem the GP is talking about, not the problem instead . . .

Big ag forces out diversity in crops and, frankly, forces a blander palate on the populace, who doesn't know better anymore.

Re:America Lost the Chestnut, Its One Perfect Tree by upvote_test_act on Wednesday December 27, 2023 @02:00AM (#38779733)
Please save yourself further effort here-- the person you're replyng to isn't interested in cultivating and improving any kind of accurate mental model of the world.