The "western hemisphere" rubs me the wrong way

https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/64271737

The "western hemisphere" rubs me the wrong way - Divisions by zero

As opposed to the northern/southern hemisphere that has: * a clear reference point (equators) * traditionally we don’t model a rotation north/south Western/eastern hemisphere * doesn’t have a clear reference (Greenwich?) * traditionally we model rotation on the north/south axis so western/eastern would depend from the time

Western hemisphere is an invention by US exceptionalists to justify their economic, political and military domination over the Americas

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known use of the term, “Western Hemisphere”, is from the writings of Sir Thomas Browne in 1646.

It doesn’t really make sense to blame its creation on the U.S, as it predates us by more than 100 years.

I guess it comes from a european perspective, describing everything else as “wild west” or “near/far east”
That’s what I was thinking.