Firstly, I typically thought statements like the title of this piece to be kinda aggro if not flat-out racist. I found the idea of having “a place” to be “unamerican” and America to be the encapsulation of The Enlightenment – which let’s be real, took a long and winding path to get there

But this is not the subject of my post – it relates tho!

The mere fact this topic exists and by this name leads me to believe Lemmy is more of a Reddit clone than I previously thought. I think I initially interpreted Lemmy as an alternative public forum, but now I’m inclined to think Lemmy is specifically an alternative to Reddit.

I have used Reddit for longer than I’d like to admit, and during that time I have met many users I would have never guessed were Reddit users. This phenomenon leads me to believe humans simply like interacting with humans (duh).

However, now having read many Lemmy posts and comments, I have started to get the feeling that Reddit sought to absorb organic tropes that it then sought to “own,” and now others are seeking to use as part of the commons again, which now seems __ adulterated and no longer appears to encapsulate earnestness as it once did.

Am I imagining this?