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Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

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Re: Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

#231
post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was before we knew that real people suffer after pulling similar stunts. We all know of someone who did something stupid and has faced a lifetime of consiquence. Nobody dares put a fake bomb in a school locker (Woz did that) or give false documents to police for fun. Such things are no longer jokes. They screw up entire lives. I used to ride fast motorcycles. I know people who ran from the police for fun. Better…

"Better camera tech in recent years means nobody gets away with that anymore." Because police rely on technology committing a crime without your cellphone means you most likely will not get caught. We live in an age where wearing masks is acceptable. Where people let you steal from stores and where crime is ignored unless it's on twitter. You can get away with so much more today.

> Where people let you steal from stores and where crime is ignored unless it's on twitter.

Well ngl, you sound like you could use less time on the internet yourself. This statement is just preposterous unless you spend hours of your life every day obsessing over twitter drama.

Re: Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

#232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When an entire population is far more homogeneous than most modern Western states, the heightened social trust and cohesion permits this kind of harmless fun (among many other benefits). It's one of those sacrifices made to accommodate diversity which is almost impossible to quantify and existentially unsettling to even try.

> the heightened social trust and cohesion permits this kind of harmless fun This needs a citation. It's the sort of "common sense" all too often advanced by people with - frankly - racist or ethnonational agendas.

When everyone comes from the same background and/or culture there is a shared understanding. Mix two different cultures and you have less shared background mix in 100 and you have little.

It's not a race issue when this is experienced in Africa/Japan/Sweden/Finland.

Calling new idea to you racist is racist. Most of the times the word racist is used it is used incorrectly and often in a racist way.

Re: Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

#233
post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was before we knew that real people suffer after pulling similar stunts. We all know of someone who did something stupid and has faced a lifetime of consiquence. Nobody dares put a fake bomb in a school locker (Woz did that) or give false documents to police for fun. Such things are no longer jokes. They screw up entire lives. I used to ride fast motorcycles. I know people who ran from the police for fun. Better…

I’m really unsure whether doing the same thing now would have a high risk of “screwing up” your life. It’s not like he showed anyone a counterfeit ID. What he did is the same as showing a random company ID. Not exactly grounds for arrest especially if he can provide a driver’s license if asked to.

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Re: Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

#234

Lots of timid, humorless folks having trouble imagining not being a sheep and always coloring inside the lines. I for one wish there were more real people around, living life for liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Like we were intended to live.

To be fair, this is sort of a mixture of white privilege and changing times as well. I have a much less cool version of a situation where I was pulled over a few years back by state highway patrol at night. Apparently after I had stopped for gas I forgot to flick my lights on and was driving with them off. I didn’t notice because the highway section I was on had lots of lights along it and I have pretty good vision.…

That's not an example of "white privilege". It has neither do with being white nor privilege and everything to do with culture.

Re: Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

#235

Wow there are some angry people in these comments.

Well, I guess Woz was being a “prankster” - and from Wikipedia: “A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort”.

I can see the playful side of it, but people and places where pranks are not generally well received would be federal agents and casinos - so from the ‘victims’ point of view I expect they could have done without the bother.

Re: Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

#236
post #169
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't it pretty irresponsible to commit a felony while you have a daughter and wife to take care of? I find his nonchalant delivery quite jarring. I don't understand what's going through his head here.

I can’t help but shake my head at most of these comments. There was a time when we celebrated anecdotes like this here on Hacker News. I’ve seen this story circulated many times but this is the first time I’ve seen this sort of reaction. These aren’t rose colored glasses, anyone can look up threads of old in which we cheered such defiance toward authority. People are frothing to frame this story with 2023 glasses and…

Hacking was aggressively criminalized. We lost Aaron Swartz. There are real threats to people with curiosity these days, and that seems to be an intentional result of the laws and enforcement in the US.

Re: Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

#238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As proud trailer trash -- fucking with the feds is a time honoured tradition, and we have done similar and gotten away with more. Please stop being so condescending.

I mean, we still end up in jail cells for a few hours. But sure, we might get off with a slap on the wrist.

Probably the stupidest discussion on hw.

Re: Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

#239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to mention not looking like a minority was a fairly strong shield back then and even is today.

When an entire population is far more homogeneous than most modern Western states, the heightened social trust and cohesion permits this kind of harmless fun (among many other benefits). It's one of those sacrifices made to accommodate diversity which is almost impossible to quantify and existentially unsettling to even try.

Maybe this struck a nerve because I'm an American born-and-raised PoC, but frankly I believe this is a bad opinion that is often pushed by racists (even if the idea itself isn't necessarily inherently racist).

Heightened social trust in people of one's own ethnicity isn't a fact of life, it's just racism. It's what causes PoC to be profiled by law enforcement, on average have worse outcomes for the same crimes in the justice system, etc.

I know that this isn't just the way humans are wired. I met so many people (including police) in my life that I would consider truly "colorblind" and treat everyone with respect, regardless of their ethnicity.

Different shared cultural values (as opposed to just differing race) is also not as much of a problem as some make it out to be. First, most cultures of people that are immigrating to the US (I can't speak for Europe, I'm not very in the loop) have values largely compatible with Western ones. Second, most immigrants will at least somewhat assimilate into the culture of their host country, especially after a generation or two. Note, this doesn't mean throwing away their native culture.

I'd also like to point out that Woz's America was definitely NOT homogenous.

Re: Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

#240
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't it pretty irresponsible to commit a felony while you have a daughter and wife to take care of? I find his nonchalant delivery quite jarring. I don't understand what's going through his head here.

Yeah, my reaction was -- after he read you your miranda rights, why were you even talking to him without a lawyer? But after thinking about it more -- and I'm in my mid-40s -- I think what it also reminds us of is that law enforcement actually used to be a lot more reasonable -- to be clear, this may probably only apply to white people who appear as if they are not poor. But I think maybe the police (whether local or…

There might be some truth to this, but I suspect a lot of this perception has more to do with the dramatic increase in recording equipment in the general public. Given how often police officers get away with pretty clear cut abuse even when there is video, it's not hard to imagine the majority of this behavior was getting swept under the rug.
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