I met an American dad and his adult son in a hostel in Japan about 16 years ago.
They were friendly enough, and they offered a good primer on what would now be called MAGA talking points: telling me about how Obama was turning the USA into a socialist country, where on the internet I can find out how 9/11 was an inside job, that sort of thing. Thankfully vaccines never came up.
Nothing exercised the dad as much as seatbelts, though. "They're going to legislate to force us to wear seatbelts on [motor]bikes!" he frothed, angrily stubbing out his cigarette. "Let me tell you," he continued, brandishing his stub, "I've been in four car accidents - and in each one, if I'd been wearing a seatbelt, I would have been killed!"
I didn't ask him to elaborate.
(, Fri 19 Sep 2025, 12:30, Reply)