Earlier quoted context omitted.
You know, I honestly think we should hack a few years off one side of the voting population and slap it onto the other. Let people start voting 5 years earlier, and forbid people from voting once they are five years younger than the current average life expectancy. A vote in our system is a vote for what should be. The concept of a vote is inherently tied to the future; the young have the most to win or lose because…
Lets not give thirteen year olds the vote.
Jonathan James
51–60 of 125 posts
Re: Jonathan James
#52"I have no faith in the 'justice' system. Perhaps my actions today, and this letter, will send a stronger message to the public. Either way, I have lost control over this situation, and this is my only way to regain control. I die free." That is a sad and powerful statement.
It is a testament to how control of this country has been completely wrested from the hands of the middle class since the 60s and 70s and taken over by megacorporations, the military-industrial complex, and the ultrawealthy. I recently read about this phenomenon in the book Who Stole the American Dream? , by Hedrick Smith[0]. I highly recommend it. The first signs of change appeared in the 2012 election, as the young…
It is something of a solution, but not much. Those older folk have a long time to poison a new generation, and the ideas which they hold are easy to believe and propagate.
It's only through real leadership and setting exampls which run counter to the narrative, that our hope lies now.
While the old grudges are being laid to rest, the effect is more like reduced signal propagation.
Re: Jonathan James
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
> "who won a record 20-year sentence" I know this is common verbiage, but it's frankly sickening. Do they view their targets as people, or are they merely a collection of scalps?
Gonzalez stole real money, I'm sure causing many people a great deal of trouble and distress. He said in chat logs that he aimed to steal $15 million and retire. It's really not that much different from pickpocketing or bank robbery, except on a much larger scale, and I'm quite happy if pickpockets, bank robbers, insurance scammers, and other criminals get serious time. This is quite different from Aaron Swartz who w…
Re: Jonathan James
#54I think one thing that users of HN are picking up on during this crisis is the sense that in some ways, "hackers" are alike--whether a relatively egregious case as in this article, a very mild to innocuous case such as Swartz's, or a truly innocuous case like reverse-engineering open source software--in that we are all curious and we are all sometimes foolish. What the justice department and the masses among us forge…
Re: Jonathan James
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
I sincerely hope that you didn't post this analogy sincerely believing it, as the two are diametrically opposed.
It absolutely was sincere. I'm not sure why you think they are "diametrically opposed". In both cases it is victim blaming.
If you have a really nice sports car and I open the hood to see what engine it has and how it works, yes, I am in the wrong for not asking your permission first. However, if you then try to sue me for $100k because you claim that you had to have expensive maintenance done, you had to get the entire car diagnosed and $20k of repair done, etc. then you are clearly responding in an inappropriate manner.
That's what the whole "NASA had to shut it's systems down for 3 weeks at the cost of $41000 to check and fix it's systems" is about.
I hope you see now how that is very much different from the "she was asking for it" kind of BS.
Re: Jonathan James
#56"I have no faith in the 'justice' system. Perhaps my actions today, and this letter, will send a stronger message to the public. Either way, I have lost control over this situation, and this is my only way to regain control. I die free." That is a sad and powerful statement.
It is a testament to how control of this country has been completely wrested from the hands of the middle class since the 60s and 70s and taken over by megacorporations, the military-industrial complex, and the ultrawealthy. I recently read about this phenomenon in the book Who Stole the American Dream? , by Hedrick Smith[0]. I highly recommend it. The first signs of change appeared in the 2012 election, as the young…
Re: Jonathan James
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
I sincerely hope that you didn't post this analogy sincerely believing it, as the two are diametrically opposed.
It absolutely was sincere. I'm not sure why you think they are "diametrically opposed". In both cases it is victim blaming.
Re: Jonathan James
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is a testament to how control of this country has been completely wrested from the hands of the middle class since the 60s and 70s and taken over by megacorporations, the military-industrial complex, and the ultrawealthy. I recently read about this phenomenon in the book Who Stole the American Dream? , by Hedrick Smith[0]. I highly recommend it. The first signs of change appeared in the 2012 election, as the young…
I've seen the one funeral at a time solution play out, (it's still playing out where i live, inter country conflict). It is something of a solution, but not much. Those older folk have a long time to poison a new generation, and the ideas which they hold are easy to believe and propagate. It's only through real leadership and setting exampls which run counter to the narrative, that our hope lies now. While the old gr…
This is definitely possible. But my hope is that the internet has started to change these things. Even someone living in a small rural town can now see what other young people are thinking and be exposed to a more diverse set of ideas.
For example, if you go on Reddit, you can see how people have become atheists after reading about how religion is bunk. Someone who is forced by their parents to go to church every Sunday can find solace in the fact that there are others going through the same thing, and that there are others who have successfully escaped from such situations. I think such communities have the ability to accelerate change among the youth.
Re: Jonathan James
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
Lets not give thirteen year olds the vote.
I'm not sure about my stance on minors voting, but I think an upper limit on voting should exist either way. I don't see why someone who's probably going to die soon should get to vote on decisions that will affect the country for decades to come.
The way I see it is that the elderly could still effect politics, but only indirectly. If 7+ decades on this planet have not taught them how to effectively communicate their ideas to younger generations, then I really don't see how they could have any worthwhile insight at all.
If you are old, you can engage in public political discourse and pass on your knowledge, but you have no business leading by example anymore. That time is past.
Re: Jonathan James
#60Relevant, journalist David Gregory blatantly violated Washington, DC firearms law, on air. He won't face charges: http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2013/01/12/nbc_s_davi... I hate to say it but if these trends continue we'll be well on our way to a new sort of feudalism, where laws are selectively enforced and the little guys who hold political views or who are part of minorities that are despised by the powers…