I managed to check the output of that command and switch back to nouveau before it froze this time. The mouse is still operable but you can see the artifacting I’ve been getting. It looks like I am on x11 as my three options at start are Cinnamon (Default), Cinnamon (Software Rendering), and Cinnamon on Wayland (Experimental). I am about to try Wayland just to see.
Its also not true in the US. At least not anywhere I’ve lived or traveled to.