Live data from Hacker News

$35 sculpture found at an Austin Goodwill was looted from a museum during WWII

kut.org

51–60 of 281 posts

Re: $35 sculpture found at an Austin Goodwill was looted from a museum during WWII

#51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Again... > That sounds like an a posteriori justification for stealing, like saying "see, that building ended up being bombed, so it's a good thing I stole all these Ukrainian paintings from the country last year". The logical fallacy here is using one unrelated bad event to justify another unrelated bad event. Taken to its logical conclusion, this argument would be that we should constantly keep looting art left and…

No one said it "justified" the theft.

> No one said it "justified" the theft.

Nor did I say that anyone said that it "justified" the theft. What I said was that that line of argumentation "sounds like an a posteriori justification for stealing".

Re: $35 sculpture found at an Austin Goodwill was looted from a museum during WWII

#52
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I recommend a podcast called 'Stuff the British Stole' by Marc Fenell (aka 'That Movie ... Guy'). It looks at exactly this, including situations where an artefact only exists _because_ it was stolen. http://www.marcfennell.com/stolen (Sorry I couldn't find the RSS feed)

Quoted post unavailable.

You seem to be confusing descriptive for normative.

They're stating a fact, not asserting the fact justifies some behavior.

Re: $35 sculpture found at an Austin Goodwill was looted from a museum during WWII

#54
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I recommend a podcast called 'Stuff the British Stole' by Marc Fenell (aka 'That Movie ... Guy'). It looks at exactly this, including situations where an artefact only exists _because_ it was stolen. http://www.marcfennell.com/stolen (Sorry I couldn't find the RSS feed)

Quoted post unavailable.

> That sounds like an a posteriori justification for stealing, like saying "see, that building ended up being bombed, so it's a good thing I stole all these Ukrainian paintings from the country last year"

There's a difference between justification and acknowledgement. Just because people are able to acknowledge that specific artifacts only exist because they were stolen, does not mean that they believe the original theft was "right or reasonable."

Re: $35 sculpture found at an Austin Goodwill was looted from a museum during WWII

#55
post #4

Back at home, Young had a problem: She was in possession of a looted piece of ancient art. She couldn't keep it. She couldn't sell it. And giving it back to its rightful owners was a lot harder than it sounds. “At that point, I realized I was probably going to need some help,” Young says. “I was probably going to need an attorney.” So she hired a lawyer in New York who specializes in international art law, Leila Amin…

> I don't really understand why it would be hard or complicated

If you don't know what to do regarding legal matters, hiring a lawyer is an obvious thing to do. It may not be hard or complicated, or maybe it is, that's for her lawyer to tell.

Re: $35 sculpture found at an Austin Goodwill was looted from a museum during WWII

#56
post #19

What amazes me about all these stories is the ridiculously low prices the thrift store charged. Here in the Seattle area, everything seems to grossly overpriced in thrift stores.

I understand that some thrift shops charge “50 dollars for a T-shirt, that’s just some ignorant bitch shit”.

Re: $35 sculpture found at an Austin Goodwill was looted from a museum during WWII

#57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

> That sounds like an a posteriori justification for stealing, like saying "see, that building ended up being bombed, so it's a good thing I stole all these Ukrainian paintings from the country last year" There's a difference between justification and acknowledgement. Just because people are able to acknowledge that specific artifacts only exist because they were stolen, does not mean that they believe the original t…

> Just because people are able to acknowledge that specific artifacts only exist because they were stolen, does not mean that they believe the original theft was "right or reasonable."

I mean...sure, but then what's the point of this facile acknowledgement? Yeah, if you hadn't burglarized my house yesterday, all my things would have burned up in the fire that happened there today. That's all well and good, except you still stole my shit. The fact that you inadvertently saved it from being burned is irrelevant to the action of the theft.

Re: $35 sculpture found at an Austin Goodwill was looted from a museum during WWII

#59
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

You seem to be confusing descriptive for normative. They're stating a fact, not asserting the fact justifies some behavior.

It's a glib fact (and in fact, not even a fact as you by definition cannot assert something that didn't happen as a fact) that detracts from the theft.

But sure, yes, if they had not been stolen, certain items may have been destroyed. OK. And, so what, what's your point beyond this trite truism?

Re: $35 sculpture found at an Austin Goodwill was looted from a museum during WWII

#60

> She was in possession of a looted piece of ancient art. She couldn't keep it. I don't understand. Museums in the West are full of looted ancient art [1]. Why are they allowed to keep it, but this woman cannot keep this one item? [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/learning/should-museums-r...

No post body was provided.
Post reply on HN