This, y'all. One of the things I think a lot of younger travelers fail to realize is that the US is not a meme. It's huge and full of people with thoughts, hopes, regrets etc. just like everyone else.
Maybe there are better places to live or visit, but the US is pretty easy and most folks I've met are genuinely nice when they realize you might need help.
Edit: try to avoid police and if you encounter them play that foreign visitor thing up or make your English really bad. A lot of them are former soldiers that served in the middle east. They default to a pretty aggressive demeanor because that's what we did to them. Your safety won't be a concern, but they can waste lot of your time.
What is happening with reddit is so sad. The users made that platform what it is and were never compensated by reddit. Meanwhile, reddit is pissed off that tech like chatGPT used it to train models and not compensate reddit. If that ain't the pot calling the kettle black. The indifference/ignorance is staggering.