71–80 of 121 posts
"The top of thieves’ mental loot list features expensive electronics like Playstations, GPS systems, and DVD players." Playstations maybe, but DVD players?
One way to think of it is that torrenting movies requires an (expensive) internet connection, where all you need for a DVD player is electricity and some DVDs someone else ripped.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why are you intentionally obfuscating what you saw as relevant information with your [ethnic group] bit? If you didn't see it as relevant information, or you didn't want to relay that information to us, then why not just say 'gangs'?
What value do you see in identifying the specific race? (I think that including it struck the perfect balance between flavor and a refusal to propagate racism. Without it, there's a simple report of information that was relayed. With it, I can better put myself there.)
That's silly.
What purpose is served by accusing the officer of racism in the comment? Is it some kind of weird virtue signalling, like "she's racist! but not me, I'm a good guy!"
Furthermore, if we agree that the subtext is the officer is being accused of racism, there is in fact no basis for that accusation. Noticing a facet of reality and verbalizing it, is emphatically not racism.
It might be 'racism' of the sort that everybody is desperately searching for in every nook and cranny to hang their ideologies on, but it's not actually racism.
(what I find confounding, is that from reading your comment, the officer hasn't just been accused, but in your mind seems to be fully guilty and worthy of condemnation, based on the evidence that she simply spoke what she had observed. so strange...)
Something else I find interesting: people will find stealing despicable yet have no problem buying stolen goods if it is a good deal.
Stealing itself is worse, of course.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thieves like liquid soap in particular
Especially the Tide brand in the $20 bottles. They are roughly equivalent to $20 bills.
You can easily resell it on the street in smaller containers, and make a big profit if you DILUTE! DILUTE! OK! [1] ALL-ONE-GOD-FAITH! [2]
[1] http://www.lisabronner.com/dilutions-cheat-sheet-for-dr-bron...
[2] http://dev.null.org/psychoceramics/collection/bronner.html
Earlier quoted context omitted.
For those worried about [ethnic]. I believe a black, white, asian, hispanic, etc... can have the same ethnicity. It is not necessarily racial.
What's there to be worried about? And why would it be relieving that it is 'not necessarily racial'? It is 'racial' in the sense that it is a finer distinction of races. It fits in a hierarchy like -- people --> races --> ethnic groups For example: Whites --> Danes, Basque, Serbs Blacks --> Yoruba, Luo, Kalenjin It is strange and concerning that because there is so much walking on eggshells around these matters there…
If that weren't enough there is a large body of scientific evidence that supports the fact that race makes little biological sense and is mostly a social construct. Take the example of the Basque you picked: it turns out the Basque are much different from the rest of people in Europe due to their being (mostly linguistically, but also genetically) the only descendants of hunter-gatherer societies in Europe.
I suggest you read Genes, Peoples, and Languages on the subject: it's really fascinating.
http://www.amazon.com/Genes-Peoples-Languages-Luigi-Cavalli-...
The Safeway in the San Francisco Castro neighborhood is especially... exciting... relative to the surrounding area. It even has its own full time police officer. One time as I was leaving I asked the officer why Folgers crystals of all things were locked up. His reply was "[ethnic group] gangs steal essentials in bulk, and sell them to the homeless." From that point forward it clicked in my head, retail theft is abou…
This has been true for every ethnic group imaginable throughout history. In America it's been true of the Irish, the Italians, the Polish, the Chinese, and so many others. So many now celebrated "model" ethnicities. The existence of [ethnic group] gangs who regularly commit certain crimes at rates much higher than others is not a sign of the uniquely fragile moral fiber of [ethnic group], it's a signifier of their continued mistreatment by society and continued ethnically biased socio-economic inequality. Only a tiny minority of any [ethnic group] are criminals, to take the actions of a minute sub-set of a very large group of people as a bad mark against the entire group is entirely unjustified, especially in light of the issues I've described above.
I can't believe that it's 2016 and I still have to explain this.
The Safeway in the San Francisco Castro neighborhood is especially... exciting... relative to the surrounding area. It even has its own full time police officer. One time as I was leaving I asked the officer why Folgers crystals of all things were locked up. His reply was "[ethnic group] gangs steal essentials in bulk, and sell them to the homeless." From that point forward it clicked in my head, retail theft is abou…
There is one reliable and consistent determinant for which groups of people commit crimes, and that is the incidence of poverty, unemployment, and injustice. When people lose hope, when they see the system as not cooperating with them and helping them when but rather antagonizing them and in opposition to them. When people perceive society as unfair and taking advantage of them. Then the idea of seizing their own adv…
I agree with you, and presume 'dsl' does as well. I assume the use of [ethnic group] instead of the specific minority was head off misinterpretation. What caused you to interpret the comment as claiming that crime was the result of the "uniquely fragile moral fiber" of [ethnic group]?
Edit: I do think it's fair though to characterize the propensity to commit crime as a "moral failing" even if the causes are primarily economic.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Especially the Tide brand in the $20 bottles. They are roughly equivalent to $20 bills.
I'd pay $50 for a gallon of Dr. Bronner's 18-in-1 Peppermint Castile Liquid Soap. You can easily resell it on the street in smaller containers, and make a big profit if you DILUTE! DILUTE! OK! [1] ALL-ONE-GOD-FAITH! [2] [1] http://www.lisabronner.com/dilutions-cheat-sheet-for-dr-bron... [2] http://dev.null.org/psychoceramics/collection/bronner.html
Dr. Bronner's Fair Trade & Organic Castile Liquid Soap
(Peppermint, 1 Gallon) $57.59 Prime
If you like the soap, you might also enjoy the documentary: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dr_bronners_magic_soapbox/
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> [ethnic group] interesting way to combat racism...
If the parent didn't want to associate a group of people with stealing, they could have just started the quote at "gangs" and it would have worked just as well... But really, any reader who doesn't already have racial prejudices will recognize that the operative word is "gangs", not "[ethnic group]". It's a bit of an insult to the sensibilities of HN readers, and it doesn't protect anyone from anything.