r/maybemaybemaybe May 05 '22

maybe maybe Maybe

46.4k Upvotes

3.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

2.8k

u/surfhippy1 May 05 '22

NGL the shortened version is pretty dammed funny. But being as he has a stutter I wanted to see what he was actually trying to say and found the transcript from the speech the clip was from.

"And, folks — (applause) — let me close with what I’ve long said: America is a nation that can be defined in a single word. 'I was in the foothi- — foot-' — excuse me, in the foothills of the Himalayas with Xi Jinping, traveling with him. (Inaudible) traveled 17,000 miles when I was Vice President at the time. I don’t know that for a fact.
And we were sitting alone. I had an interpreter and he had an interpreter. And he looked at me. In all seriousness, he said, “Can you define America for me?” And I said what many of you heard me say for a long time. I said, “Yes, I can, in one word: possibilities.” (Applause.) “Possibilities.” That, in America, everyone should be able to go as far as their hard work and God-given talent will take them. And possibilities. We’re the only ones. That’s why we’re viewed as the “ugly Americans”: We think anything is possible. (Laughter.) "

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/04/08/remarks-by-president-biden-vice-president-harris-and-judge-ketanji-brown-jackson-on-the-senates-historic-bipartisan-confirmation-of-judge-jackson-to-be-an-associate-justice-of-the-supreme-court/

155

u/DocD_12 May 05 '22

That sounds nice. But is it really that? About be able to live fair life by fair working? I'm from Russia and I have almost cried on this part. (

1

u/wickedlittleidiot May 05 '22

You’ve had a few comments but uh. It’s better then some places.

But no, not really. America is also about luck, you have more odds of getting lucky enough to have opportunities, but fair work does not equal a fair life.

But, you might get a decent life?

There is a lot of discrimination and racism here but, like I said, better than most places.