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How I got here

pthorpe92.github.io

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Re: How I got here

#211

Post by gavinray »

low_tech_love wrote: post #207
gavinray wrote: post #15

You might consider emailing him. It's lonely in jail/prison. Suddenly everyone you thought were your closest friends don't speak a word to you again. If you're lucky, you've got a wife or parents that'll write to you or take your calls.

I wanted to contact him to tell him that he was wrong (he got to the front page without using any of his proposed techniques [1]) but I couldn’t find the e-mail. I have no LinkedIn either; right now I almost feel like submitting an issue to one of his github repos just to get his attention. Can you point me to his e-mail address? [1] https://pthorpe92.github.io/humor/How-to-get-on-hackernews-f...

I got it from his GitHub page:

https://github.com/PThorpe92

His email is preston@unlockedlabs.org

Re: How I got here

#212

Post by Fischgericht »

I'd like to make a couple of points to think about:

I'd been addicted to opioids for a couple of years. And I was very happy that I was able to get original non-counterfeit pills on the dark net, from vendors that had thousands of positives reviews. Being a nerd, and successful when it comes to business, risk-free supply had never been an issue. Luckily I bought Bitcoin when they did cost $0.20...

Fighting the dark net has always been a stupid idea. It's the cleanest way for people to get the substances they need, with the lowest amount of risk in every single regard. Lowest risk to get your substance cut with something unhealthy, lowest risk of getting ripped off, lowest risk of getting into criminal circles.

Fighting the dark net means pushing people to street dealers, increasing suffering, violent crime and deaths.

So, why did I get addicted? Depressions, anxiousness, and finally: Being on the autistic spectrum, which now seems absolutely obvious from earliest childhood memories, but my parents never took me to a neurologist to get that diagnosed. I just lived with being "different". Until I could not take it anymore, and tried to help myself with substances.

How did I get off the addiction? Did a search for the best-rated neurologist in the region, made an appointment, got treatment. It took a while, but in the end a combination of substances was found that worked out better than opiates.

But that being said: Those substances are the same that I can get as prescription medication, or as "drugs" on the street. It's just that now I no longer have to spend Bitcoin on it, but get them for free from the health care system. Yay!

Please remind yourself: Nearly everything that is taken and sold as "drugs" on the streets is used to treat some problem, just in a very dangerous way, without proper education, without proper risk management.

Whatever that scary drug that your parents and your school are warning you about to be evil: It's just medication. The poor people die on the street trying to get their supply, the rich guys get a subscription to get it for free.

If your country has a problem with drugs on the street, and with crime due to people trying to get those substances, your country SIMPLY HAS A PROBLEM PROVIDING HEALTH CARE to its citizens!

So please stop demonizing substances, demonizing substance "abuse", demonizing people providing those substances in a clean and safe way via the dark net, and demonizing people who sadly did not have the luck of their health care system helping them.

And go fix your health care systems.

Re: How I got here

#213

Post by hereme888 »

I could have been that guy, and worse.

When I was 19 I got caught selling a bunch of MDMA at a night club. Undercover police caught me, and by God's grace they chose to let me go.

MDMA had just begun to carry a minimum 10 yr prison sentence throughout the state.

I had no idea what I was doing in my life, like I was asleep and not awake, until I got caught that night.

About 15 minutes into the interrogation at the scene, Officer Garcia - I still remember him - knowing my mental state of panic and realization of reality, said to me "You know, when I was your age I did the same thing, and I was forgiven and let go. So what I'm going to do is forgive you and let you go this time. Go home, and don't ever do this again."

I drove home at about half the speed limit that night, trying to process what had happened. First time I had experienced such forgiveness and mercy.

The aim of my life now is to maximize the amount of good I can do for others. I'll never forget. I could still be in prison. Maybe as an open source computer programmer, but prison nonetheless.

It's a big risk to let someone go like that; will they actually repent, or continue causing harm?

Re: How I got here

#214

Post by true_religion »

cellis wrote: post #205
laurent_du wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No amount of missed meals will make me commit a rape, a murder, or other heinous crimes.

Maybe not for you, but what if your son/daughter was missing meals? Moreover, you can see other people eating just fine, and no one will hire you? Also consider that the people you "murder" likely "had it coming" and were rapists, terrorists, blasphemers, or otherwise cultural heretics...until and unless you've been in those exact situations, it's incredulous that you'd not do what many other humans would do/have don…

People who say they wouldn’t murder people for food are saints. I would definitely do it. I like living more than I like other people living.

However, I wouldn’t murder anyone in anyone in a modern civilized society. Why not just use social services? And if that doesn’t exist, then steal. Even if you’re caught they’ll be obligated to give you food.

Society needs to devolve to far far below what is the US standard before murder becomes a reasonable solution to food problems.

Re: How I got here

#215

Post by Fischgericht »

hereme888 wrote: post #213

I could have been that guy, and worse. When I was 19 I got caught selling a bunch of MDMA at a night club. Undercover police caught me, and by God's grace they chose to let me go. MDMA had just begun to carry a minimum 10 yr prison sentence throughout the state. I had no idea what I was doing in my life, like I was asleep and not awake, until I got caught that night. About 15 minutes into the interrogation at the sce…

You should not have been arrested.

MDMA should have been legal.

End of story.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02565-4 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34708874/ https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/18/well/mind/mdma-ecstasy-ri... https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/07/03/australia-just-lega...

It's legal or decriminalized in Portugal, The Czech Republic, The Netherlands, and Switzerland, by the way. Surprise: Those are now the countries with the lowest number of drug deaths and drug related crimes in Europe.

Re: How I got here

#216

Post by supertofu »

closewith wrote: post #112
laurent_du wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No amount of missed meals will make me commit a rape, a murder, or other heinous crimes.

If you honestly believe this, you've never been truly hungry. Most to all people will kill for food.

There is a very famous American Buddhist monk called "Ajahn Geoff" who teaches this exact thing. Most people WILL commit heinous acts under the pressure of starvation. (And that's why he and other Buddhist monastics urge the taking of the Buddhist moral precepts).

Re: How I got here

#217

Post by supertofu »

chroma wrote: post #106
halffullbrain wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By that logic, the worst possible recidivism rate (surely 100%) would make someone 1500x more likely to commit crime than a non-offender. That’s still a pretty good case for having effective rehabilitation (unless you insist on the death sentence for all prisonable offences)

You don’t have to execute them, just lock them up until they’re too old to be a threat. I’ve been a victim of violent crime at least a dozen times in my life. I wasn’t the first victim for any of my attackers. Far from it. And I wasn’t the last. Every single one of them escaped. They probably got caught on some other occasion, and maybe they spent some time in prison for that crime. And then they got out and continue…

This is shocking. Where have you lived that this is so common for you?

Re: How I got here

#218

Post by ge96 »

gavinray wrote: post #173
qingcharles wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, I know you've been locked up, brother. Nobody will take your call the second you step inside a jail. Best man at your wedding? He's not picking up, I promise you. Literally nobody will call you or write to you. You will get nothing except maybe from your mother. If you are married, forget it. Humans only like to associate with success. Once you seem to be failing literally nobody will want to even speak to you.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fair-weather_friend#Noun

Exploring the wasteland this song plays

Re: How I got here

#219

Post by HenryBemis »

Fischgericht wrote: post #215
hereme888 wrote: post #213

I could have been that guy, and worse. When I was 19 I got caught selling a bunch of MDMA at a night club. Undercover police caught me, and by God's grace they chose to let me go. MDMA had just begun to carry a minimum 10 yr prison sentence throughout the state. I had no idea what I was doing in my life, like I was asleep and not awake, until I got caught that night. About 15 minutes into the interrogation at the sce…

You should not have been arrested. MDMA should have been legal. End of story. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02565-4 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34708874/ https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/18/well/mind/mdma-ecstasy-ri... https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/07/03/australia-just-lega... It's legal or decriminalized in Portugal, The Czech Republic, The Netherlands, and Switzerland, by the way. Surprise: Tho…

Although I agree with you, imho the point the parent was making was that:

a) when you are 16-18-20-22 you don't know sh*t about life - you are still a newbie. It doesn't mean that drug-trafficking is excused but when I look back at my 18yo self, I could have died 100 times between 18 and 22. And I could have 'taken some people with me' while doing so.

b) it's in the person. When given a second chance you can either turn your life around (and a Mr. Garcia will never see you again) or you can go back the very next day and maybe a Mr. Garcia will be finding your corpse in a back alley because a trade went sour.

As for Preston Thrope - hang in there. It's a long path to salvation - almost endless. As long as you keep your head up high and give the good fight, good things will (probably?) come. I've watched enough of John Oliver's Last Week Tonight shows to know that you got myriad of forces that want to see you fail so keep walking and dreaming!

Re: How I got here

#220

Post by closewith »

indymike wrote: post #185
RecycledEle wrote: post #43

The apparent lack of opportunities for anyone is easy to solve with Dorm Room Welfare: Open free dorms next to the campuses of community colleges. Anyone who is physically able to live on their own, but who can not afford to live on their own can move in and live there as long as they are working towards being economically self sufficient. Working towards being economically self sufficient can mean passing academic c…

> This does not solve the problem that many of us do not want to hire convicted criminals. The issue that keeps people from hiring ex-offenders isn't hard to solve: One part is social. This one requires a little leadership and a little bit of re-defining what is an acceptable attitude. The other part is a financial issue and is EASY to solve politically: most business insurers will raise rates or not insure companies…

You could just make criminal background checks unlawful, which is the case in Ireland. There is police vetting for people who work with the vulnerable and certain key jobs, but the average person will never face vetting for a job.
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