→ U.S. officials urge Americans to use encrypted apps amid unprecedented cyberattack
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/us-officials-urge-americans-use-encrypted-apps-cyberattack-rcna182694

“The hacking campaign, nicknamed SaltTyphoon by Microsoft, is one of the largest intelligence compromises in US history, and it has not yet been fully remediated.”

“Privacy advocates have long advocated using end-to-end encrypted E2EE apps.” *sigh*

This nation's descent into the deepest cesspools of #fascism has commenced.

While not surprising, the devastation our country will now experience will, undoubtedly, set us back generations. Given the red wave (more like red tide), #americans prefer a #demented #corrupt bumbling #misogynistic #idiot and #whitesupremacist than a highly intelligent and well-qualified #bipoc #woman.

Welcome to #america. We are so #turbofucked

A lot of #americans are nervous when traveling to #europe. They’re worried about being judged or whatever. As someone who just waited in line with a ton of American tourists, here’s the number 1 thing you can do to stand out less in Europe.

Stop scream talking. The volume Americans talk at is frightening. Try whispering, then go like one step above that. That’s normal talking. If I can hear your entire conversation from 10 feet away, that’s too loud.

Need to make a phone call? Put the phone up to your ear and talk into it at that one step above whisper volume. Never ever ever put the person on speaker and then scream into the bottom of your phone. My jaw dropped as not one but two people coming to Denmark from California started doing this inside of a coffee shop. Not old people, people in their 20s.

Never fucking do this anywhere. For any reason. Unless your hands are like trapped by a car wreck and it is the only way to talk to emergency services. It’s not just rude it’s downright offensive. I cannot have a normal volume conversation with an employee because you are screaming about what bar you are going to.

Oh no, somebody made me tap the sign again.

Time to republish an oldie but a goodie from a previous instance :

Dear American people,

This is your semi-regular reminder that #Americans are not the only people using the internet and that the #UnitedStates - as lovely as it sometimes is - is not the only country in the world or on the internet. Actually, for the first time in the history of #socialmedia, you're probably not even the majority here, on the #Fediverse. This is a great learning opportunity.

So, a few tips:

- Beginner level: Normalize using "Americans" instead of "we," using "the #US" instead of "here" (it's "there" for us), the name of the place you're talking about instead of "there" (it could be "here" for us), and the name of the people you're talking about instead of "they" (which sometimes sounds a bit derogatory, as if you didn't really care about other people... you care, right?) It does make a difference.

- Intermediate level: When you talk about something happening in the US, do not assume and express yourself as if the United States was the default country and as if everyone understands the context of what's happening. Background information helps. Contextualization is gold. Once again, just adding "in the US" when you talk about something makes a world of a difference.

- Advanced level: Try to talk about other things than just American things. Open yourself to the rest of the world, and learn about it. It's an awesome place. And, in my opinion, the Fediverse is the perfect tool to interact with people from many other countries (you also could do that on your previous social media of choice, but I understand that it was easier to stay in your cultural bubble back then).

- Expert level: Try to use the metric system... No, I'm joking here. I know you can't. You get a free pass for this one. You can still keep on measuring in refrigerators, or watermelons, depending on the scale.
Well, maybe, just maybe, when you talk about temperatures, adding an "F" (or a "C" if you can) would help a bit.


Thank you for your understanding and your efforts. If you have any questions, we're here to help.

Love,
The Fediverse and the World, and me, your friend, DavidB.


Edit/Update/PS: Some people are commenting that "Americans" are not just people from the US. It's true. However, it is also the official English name of the citizens of the United States. Polysemy exists and is not a rare thing. It's not an issue when there is context. I think there is plenty of context here.

Dear #Americans of #Mastodon, you have a wonderful opportunity that is rarely granted to you. For the first time, you're in an online public space that is not American, that is not centered around the US, and as I'm typing this, a place where the majority of users are not Americans. You can open yourselves to the world as you've rarely been able to before.

So please, stop expressing yourselves like the US is the default country here and that most users are Americans. We're not. Love.