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“Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book”

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Re: “Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book”

#411

Post by gohrt »

throwit1979 wrote: post #391
mathattack wrote: post #182

"In January 2011, the Culosi family accepted a $2 million settlement offer from Fairfax County. That same year, Virginia’s government spent $20 million promoting the state lottery." Lotteries like this are a tax on people bad at math. How is this morally superior to an office pool? Though I do think viewing this as a "hit" enters the realm of tinfoil hats,

Lotteries like this are a tax on people bad at math Most of the time, yes. Some lottery games with fixed odds and variable payouts have rare moments when the expected value of a ticket turns positive. I'm fairly good at math and I always play powerball every one or two years when this is the case.

Powerball shares winnings, right? So you better hope the play-rate is levelling off, and not increasing exponentially until jackpot.

Re: “Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book”

#412

Post by gohrt »

noelwelsh wrote: post #19
kdeberk wrote: post #11

To me it seems that there are a lot of issues at play that led to the death of this man, but temporarily ignoring the fact that it seems hypocritical for a state to both punish gamblers while promoting a state lottery, it appears necessary that SWAT teams are required to arrest people within their own homes given the fact that people are free to own weapons and use those for protection. I'm not saying that firearms n…

Well, you're wrong. From the same article: Indeed, that’s exactly what happened to seventy-two-year-old Aaron Awtry in 2010. Awtry was hosting a poker tournament in his Greenville, South Carolina, home when police began breaking down the door with a battering ram. Awtry had begun carrying a gun after being robbed. Thinking he was about to be robbed again, he fired through the door, wounding Deputy Matthew May in both…

This gets awkward. Scold me for blaming the victim, but here we have a case where the victim has refused to desist from specific criminal behavior despite multiple citations, and who fired a weapon in a populated room at someone who was neither identified nor holding a visible weapon.

When I hear about cops shooting dogs when they get the address wrong on a warrant, I worry. But in this case, well, don't go bear baiting.

Re: “Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book”

#413

Post by ceras »

dragontamer wrote: post #399
freetospeak wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of your examples is about a private business. All but one of the others describe simply the brutality of colonization. It wouldn't be good propaganda if it looks 100% squeaky clean. Think about what meaningful questions are left unanswered. Why is it that any serious examination of the US' covert wars across the world is skipped entirely? Why is the entire era 1945-1991 painted in communist vs capitalist terms? T…

I learned about the covert wars in South America. I also learned about the establishment of Israel after WWII, and how US / Allied Forces were involved in that, the Palestinian perspective, the 6-day war and the establishment of Israel as a dominant military power. The only major stuff I think I missed out on was the history of US involvement in Iran (of which I later learned in College history classes). But global c…

My experience is far more like your parent commenter's than to yours. Very pro-America, all black-and-white, no need to reason about or analyze murky grey areas or anything that is recent enough to possibly offend somebody's parents (eg Vietnam War wasn't covered). None of that was ever mentioned in my schooling. US schools do vary a lot.

Re: “Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book”

#414

Post by stcredzero »

valleyer wrote: post #296
Steuard wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a bit off topic for this thread but given that you brought it up: It is hard for me to look at, say, Steubenville[1] (to take just the most publicized of several examples that I've seen in the news lately) and understand how anyone can suggest that accused rapists aren't given a presumption of innocence in our society. The blame heaped on rape victims is often tremendous, even when everyone knows that it happ…

Sample size: 1.

There are dozens of examples in local jurisdictions, as well as lots of policies in private institutions. Unfortunately, someone as yet needs to talk about this who doesn't manage to come across as an angry male loser. AFAIK, this hasn't penetrated the popular consciousness yet.

Re: “Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book”

#415

Post by gcb0 »

programmarchy wrote: post #332
wdewind wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You make it sound much worse than it actually is. The court ruled "a government and its agencies are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any particular individual citizen." If the opposite were held true any person who was ever the victim of a crime could sue the government agency with jurisdiction for damages. Warren does not hold that the police have no duty to protect yo…

I disagree. This ruling, and others like it hint at a fundamental flaw in constitutional law and how most people perceive their relationship with the state, particularly in regard to social contract theory. These rulings call into question the very legitimacy of state authority. Let's assume for a moment there is a social contract with the state. Then, as in all contracts, there is a reciprocal obligation. Specifical…

This ruling, and others like it hint at a fundamental flaw in constitutional law and how most people perceive their relationship with the state, particularly in regard to social contract theory. These rulings call into question the very legitimacy of state authority.

State protect property. There's nothing ambiguous about that.

Only problem with society is that you watch much super man cartoons and thing the state is there to protect the oppressed.

Re: “Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book”

#416

Post by brazzy »

glogla wrote: post #34
Amadou wrote: post #3

When you have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

In this case, I think the original "when you are a hammer" feels more right. Imagine what kind of person you must be to pretend to be someone's friend, make him commit crime and them murder him in cold blood, while thinking you did the right thing. Even then, hammers have uses. People like this don't.

The victim here was not "murdered in cold blood", and the policeperson who shot him by accident was not the same one who'd goaded him into committing the crime.

Re: “Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book”

#417

Post by dasil003 »

njharman wrote: post #370
dasil003 wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's sad how a default distrust of the government gets one painted as a crazy gun-toting militiaman, or a tinfoil hat conspiracy theorist. These are after all, the people who founded America, not out of paranoia, but from deep reflection on the nature and history of government.

Default distrust everyone is one thing. But when you single out government (as if the "government" where a thing and not just comprised of people) and not recognizing government is a symptom of more fundamental causes that I'm gonna "default distrust you as a crazy at best, or ignorant at worst".

What a ridiculous straw man you've thrown up here. Government isn't singled out because it is somehow distinct from the people. It's singled out because it has defacto power over my person in a way no individual does. Furthermore, that power is recursive, which is why you see so few whistleblowers actually speaking about unconstitutional and illegal action behind closed doors. We can argue about the causes all day, but the dangers of government overreach are far more sinister than anything an individual actor can do.

Re: “Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book”

#418

Post by maurits »

mratzloff wrote: post #285

Are the police as para-militarized in other first-world countries? Canada? UK? Japan?

Define "para-militarized" but France has the Gendarmerie, which is an army branch that does policing in small communities as well as over arching national task such as anti-terror and mountain rescue. The Italians have the Carabinieri.

Re: “Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book”

#419

Post by Tomis02 »

gohrt wrote: post #408
Tomis02 wrote: post #360

> Llovera’s suspected crime? Cockfighting. Well, he had it coming. Excessive use of police force for sure but I can't feel sorry for the guy, only for the animals harmed before and during the police raid. Edit for the downvoters: the fact that you're not affected by the suffering of animals, even for the ones that you barbarically eat, says a lot about your degree of civilization.

Care to wager how many of the cops that destroyed Llovera's house, and euthanised his chickens, were vegetarians?

> I can't feel sorry for the guy, only for the animals harmed before and during the police raid.

I didn't think I had to repeat myself on HN.

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