cray's recent activity
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Comment on Israel’s ultra-Orthodox don’t serve in its armed forces. That’s getting harder than ever to justify and threatens Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition. in ~humanities
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Comment on Atlanta’s squatter problem is vexing Wall Street landlords in ~life
cray Link Parent"After all, don't people complain about injustice all the time? And they often expect the government to do something about it." It seems like you're mixing people's belief in justice as a concept..."After all, don't people complain about injustice all the time? And they often expect the government to do something about it."
It seems like you're mixing people's belief in justice as a concept with their belief that that concept is actually manifested in reality. Because the prior is almost universal among human beings whereas the latter is almost entirely dependent on an individual's own experiences. So you believing it is manifested has very little bearing on whether they have actually experienced it.
"It's inconsistent, but it's there."
The inconsistency is the problem. It's not really justice if only a handful of people can actually get it. That's just power. And you might just be in a position where you have enough of it to protect yourself legally, and so for you it feels like justice.
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Comment on Oregon decriminalized drugs. Voters now regret it. in ~life
cray LinkIt's interesting to see this posted shortly after reading this piece about medication-based addiction treatments in the US. I recommend reading it, but to sum up: these treatments have been...It's interesting to see this posted shortly after reading this
piece about medication-based addiction treatments in the US. I recommend reading it, but to sum up: these treatments have been extremely effective outside the US and the US's aversion to them is a mix of established dogma, from 12-step-like programs, that the only "legitimate" recovery is quitting cold-turkey, and greed on behalf of the clinics currently licensed to provide that treatment in the very limited way they are "allowed" to, as these limitations give them a monopoly on the most effective treatment available.Others on here have already commented on how there needs to be a support system in place to help people actually recover after we've stopped punishing them for being sick. But I'd like to add to that point, that it doesn't need to be hard. Giving easy access to medicinal treatment might just be the only missing piece here.
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Comment on Colorado Supreme Court, in landmark ruling, bans Donald Trump from state’s ballot under insurrection clause in ~news
cray LinkI'm really disappointed to see so much hand-wringing over this ruling in this thread. If we're so concerned with with the possibility that Republicans might use a reasonable and quite frankly...I'm really disappointed to see so much hand-wringing over this ruling in this thread.
If we're so concerned with with the possibility that Republicans might use a reasonable and quite frankly overly cautious application of very straight forward laws as an excuse to politicize the judicial process then why aren't we concerned about Democrats doing the same thing? The answer is because we're all acutely aware of the fact that the Republican party is a bad faith actor intent on bending and breaking the law to cement their power permanently. Which makes it insane that we're giving the time of day to consider how we might avoid giving them the ability to act in bad faith, as if it's not something they'll do regardless of how far backwards we bend to accommodate their transgressions. It honestly makes me think that most of the people putting forward these arguments are themselves bad faith actors trying to muddy the waters.
Let's just take a moment to consider if Biden doesn't want to leave office. He has the capitol police and national guard tied up elsewhere and hires a domestic mercenary group to attack congress. The last 3 years show that the only negative outcome for him would be, assuming that the attack failed, that he's not allowed to have his name on the ballot in Colorado, which would presumably require 3 years of legal battles to get to that point.
I'm going to again remind everyone that we don't need to imagine this for the case of Trump since he not only incited an insurrection on live television, he has promised that he will be an authoritarian and has sworn to take revenge on his political enemies if he regains power.
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Comment on Colorado Supreme Court, in landmark ruling, bans Donald Trump from state’s ballot under insurrection clause in ~news
cray Link ParentThe congressional hearings on Jan. 6 are pretty damning. https://www.npr.org/series/1098490189/jan-6-subcommittee-hearingsThe congressional hearings on Jan. 6 are pretty damning.
https://www.npr.org/series/1098490189/jan-6-subcommittee-hearings
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Comment on Honest question: Why does everyone seem so hopeless and negative about life these days? in ~talk
cray Link ParentI don’t think that’s the only reason, there’s also the popular idea that anger and fear drive engagement better than hope. But to your point I think it’s a big reason why we haven’t seen a revolt....I don’t think that’s the only reason, there’s also the popular idea that anger and fear drive engagement better than hope.
But to your point I think it’s a big reason why we haven’t seen a revolt. Seeing an overwhelming sense of defeatism amongst one’s peers makes one feel like they’d be alone if they wanted to make a difference.
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Comment on ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ to end with season 6 at FX in ~tv
cray Link ParentAbsolutely. I felt relieved to see that. The quality has only just barely begun to drop off and it’s been one of the strongest shows I’ve ever seen.Absolutely. I felt relieved to see that. The quality has only just barely begun to drop off and it’s been one of the strongest shows I’ve ever seen.
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Comment on Honest question: Why does everyone seem so hopeless and negative about life these days? in ~talk
cray Link ParentI think what your proposing as the cause is like a chicken-and-the-egg scenario in regards to what others have commented here, namely a hopeless lack of solutions (or effort to enact them) to the...I think what your proposing as the cause is like a chicken-and-the-egg scenario in regards to what others have commented here, namely a hopeless lack of solutions (or effort to enact them) to the numerous existential problems we’re facing.
What I mean is: in our current situation, the mediums in which we discuss and attempt to resolve these problems are highly controlled. Controlled by stake-holders who stand to lose power/money/influence as a result of these problems being resolved. And so they prioritize the visibility of the voices simply wallowing in that hopelessness.
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Comment on Tesla confirms wireless inductive electric car home charger is coming in ~transport
cray LinkDoes anyone else get the sense that Tesla’s main marketing strategy is essentially rage-bait? Like there’s an algorithm running somewhere that says as long as people are talking about it their...Does anyone else get the sense that Tesla’s main marketing strategy is essentially rage-bait? Like there’s an algorithm running somewhere that says as long as people are talking about it their share values will go up?
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Comment on Israel-Hamas War Megathread, December 19 and ongoing in ~news
cray Link ParentThe second article you linked is chilling. I’ve suspected for a while now that the primary goal of the current ruling class in Israel, especially Netanyahu in his current situation, is to make...The second article you linked is chilling. I’ve suspected for a while now that the primary goal of the current ruling class in Israel, especially Netanyahu in his current situation, is to make sure that this conflict doesn’t end. I believe the root of this can be boiled down to simple laziness. Several generations of politicians were born into, grew up within and made their careers during this conflict. They either don’t know or don’t care to find out how they would do their jobs without a perennial adversary on their doorstep.
It makes me wonder if there are words for either of the following: the act of maintaining a problem explicitly for the sake of being able to campaign indefinitely on a platform to solve it (I constantly see this in the US) or the act of performing a genocide so slowly that it, conceivably, never ends.
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Comment on The death of a gun-rights warrior in ~life
cray Link ParentThey’re reframing the way having a gun helps them cope with their fear and anxiety as something more socially acceptable to them. That’s been my experience with a lot of gun owners.They’re reframing the way having a gun helps them cope with their fear and anxiety as something more socially acceptable to them. That’s been my experience with a lot of gun owners.
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Comment on Elon Musk sues the lawyers that forced him to buy Twitter in ~tech
cray Link ParentThe fact that fining a company is easier doesn’t really contradict my argument that it’s ineffective. These sorts of investigations should be difficult and complicated. In terms of low level...The fact that fining a company is easier doesn’t really contradict my argument that it’s ineffective. These sorts of investigations should be difficult and complicated.
In terms of low level individuals taking the blame for corporate wide crimes, this is another reason higher ups should be held personally responsible, because then it would be their responsibility to make sure low level employees aren’t committing crimes. Also it would prevent them from using their employees to commit the crimes while hiding from the liability as you described.
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Comment on Elon Musk sues the lawyers that forced him to buy Twitter in ~tech
cray Link ParentYou're right that I do agree with the need for there to be a corporate entity. My arguments had more to do with the need for the law to be more nuanced in it's ability to hand down repercussions...You're right that I do agree with the need for there to be a corporate entity. My arguments had more to do with the need for the law to be more nuanced in it's ability to hand down repercussions and that the assumption that companies can be punished in the same way individuals can be, insofar as disincentivizing illegal activity, is naive. The point I was trying to make regarding companies having desires was to flesh this point out. Very often the culture of a particular company contains conflicting and opposing interests. And for a large section of any given one all that is desired is to get paid and go home. These conflicts compounded with the complexity that occurs at these large scale projects creates situations where people are harmed entirely on accident and, by extension, situations where crimes can be passed off as being accidental.
If your argument is that large scale production is impossible while fully enforcing the law, then it is about both creating crime loop holes and enabling production at scale because the two would be inseparable. And I simply disagree with the assertions that A) crimes "happen" rather then being something performed by people and B) crimes being a people problem makes them a separate issue from corporate entities, since we've already discussed that these entities are comprised of people and the manner in which corporate entities exist is not fixed.
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Comment on Elon Musk sues the lawyers that forced him to buy Twitter in ~tech
cray (edited )Link ParentI think the suggestion that large projects wouldn't get done is pretty hyperbolic. There may be some that could have been done without that degree of regulation and oversight, that won't because...I think the suggestion that large projects wouldn't get done is pretty hyperbolic. There may be some that could have been done without that degree of regulation and oversight, that won't because of it. But I'd argue that those projects shouldn't be done if they can't be completed without having to allow loopholes for people to commit crimes unpunished.
The analogy of the city and mayor doesn't really hold up. Maybe if mayors were appointed in the same way CEOs are or if cities existed for a narrow purpose the way a company does. A city can't just stop existing the same way a company can.
To your last point, yes they're real, but we do ourselves an enormous amount of harm by confusing groups of people (institutions, companies, etc.) with individuals. First in a legal sense by creating these tricky legal situations where people are able to orchestrate crimes without repercussions. And second in a sense of actually understanding how those groups function. I go a little more crazy every time someone says some broad statement like "the government thinks x" or "mcdonald's wants y". They don't have thoughts or desires or fears, they are made up of people who do. The only way we can put limits on those groups is for actual human individuals to suffer consequences for going outside those limits.
Edit for grammar
The stat from the linked article that says there are more Arab Israelis in the IDF than the Haredi is particularly heinous in this context.