• nifty@lemmy.world
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    12 days ago

    Ugh please stop. The left needs to stop idolizing losers like Luigi or Unabomber.

    The Che comparison is uncalled for because Che actually achieved something other than getting caught.

    As far as US activists go, people who actually achieve something like MLK or Malcolm X or Rosa Parks or Harriet Tubman are 100% more admirable.

    Choose winners! We need people like Musk for these causes, not losers who peter out and die.

    /controversial opinion

      • nifty@lemmy.world
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        12 days ago

        I don’t know if that accomplishes anything for people who are suffering from unfair healthcare policies

        • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
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          12 days ago

          Okay so that’s a different point.

          Ignorance isn’t a form of evidence. You “not knowing” something has no external meaning.

          • nifty@lemmy.world
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            12 days ago

            Haha, I’ll ping you again in two years and follow up on the results 🤷‍♀️

        • enkers@sh.itjust.works
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          11 days ago

          Hypothetically, is there a specific number of billionaires that would have to be executed to have some sort of impact? IMO, even if the rich have just a little incentive not to be the most egregious profiteers, it’ll make some impact.

          • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
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            10 days ago

            Allow me to tell you the story of the starfish and the beach…

            A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement.

            She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!”

            The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied,

            “Well, I made a difference for that one!”

            IF you can only do one push-up, thats enough. IF you can only walk around the block, its a start. An avalanche begins with the movement of a single pebble.

            • enkers@sh.itjust.works
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              11 days ago

              I thought we say: we need more flesh for the prison-industrial complex.

              Although, sentence length doesn’t seem to be correlated to deterrence, that doesn’t mean the inevitability of imprisonment isn’t a legitimate deterrent at all. For example, the belief that there’s a high likelihood of getting caught does increase deterrence.

          • L7HM77@sh.itjust.works
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            11 days ago

            Just 3 IMO, because 1 is only an anomaly, 2 is just coincidence.

            But 3 is a pattern, then behavior will adjust.

      • nifty@lemmy.world
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        12 days ago

        Maybe I am being a little harsh, but that’s because I just think it’s terrible waste of someone who gave a shit and could have made a difference

        • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          12 days ago

          You will never be saved by a billionaire. There are no Lenins who can save you who won’t be replaced with Stalins when the time comes. Further, people like Musk already have class solidarity with their own class: the wealthy. They literally have no reason to give a fuck about you or me.

          Real change comes from the bottom up, not the top down, and if you fail to see the can of worms this guy opened with his single act, you’re just oblivious.

          It would be like acting like the assassination of Franz Ferdinand didn’t impact the beginning of World War I.

          All throughout history you can find single instances which, in the end, inspire society to respond and react. We may be in one of those moments and you’re busy telling us there’s nothing changing while we’re busy watching Wanted posters of various healthcare CEOs popping up all over NYC.

          If he makes it to trial, it’s going to open an even bigger can of worms because the question of whether or not our healthcare system is committing social murder on a grand scale will be all over the fucking news, because it’s the centerpiece of this case. It’s literally the motive. …and we’re the only first-world country with a fucking system like this.

          • nifty@lemmy.world
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            12 days ago

            Okay fair points, perhaps! But I think literally two days ago there was front page post about a billionaire who gave away his fortune and died with something like 200M. I mean, if he made sure his money was being spent wisely then he did a net good for humanity.

            Secondly, I don’t mean to antagonize with these posts, so if anyone’s feelings were hurt, I feel bad.

            • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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              12 days ago

              Meh, I don’t know about anyone else, I don’t think you’re being antagonistic, you just have a different perspective. You certainly haven’t hurt my feelings, and I hope I haven’t hurt yours.

              But I think literally two days ago there was front page post about a billionaire who gave away his fortune and died with something like 200M

              The problem with this is that society doesn’t get to choose where his money went, he did. When it comes to the mega-rich, what they think will help people versus what will really help people is often leagues away. Further, a lot of what they leave their money for is stuff that is just part of society in other countries.

              I don’t care about some guy leaving a trust so low-income kids in his state can attend college for cheaper when other countries have higher education just as accessible as basic education and it’s all paid for by taxes already. It even makes the colleges more strict on accepting applicants, because they don’t want to be wasting money on students who will fail.

              Our system says “fuck the student, let them take the risk financially, and if they fail, fuck em, their own fault.”

              Anyway, the point being that those billionaires have “pet projects” and often those pet projects don’t align with what actually helps people… which is why people advocate for higher taxes for the wealthy, so we do have input on where that money goes, instead of letting some billionaire fuckwad decide that only his ideas are good enough. Especially when other countries have shown all you have to fucking do is tax people appropriately, then you don’t have to rely on the good graces of the obscenely rich.

              Musk is a perfect example, actually.

              https://truthout.org/articles/musk-pledged-6b-to-solve-world-hunger-but-gave-it-to-his-own-foundation-instead/

              The WFP took Musk up on his challenge and issued a report just three days later detailing how it could use the funds to feed 42 million of the people across the world who were most at risk of starvation for a year. Of course, the money from Musk, who is notorious for pledging to do good with his money and influence and then backing out, never materialized — not for the WFP, anyway.

              Instead, the money went to the Musk Foundation, which appears to be set up in a way that is similar to other foundations started by billionaires; essentially, the sole purpose of these foundations is allowing the rich to dodge taxes while painting themselves as charitable.

              Oh and after giving himself some money, then he spent $44 billion to buy Twitter instead of helping people.

              It’s mind-blowing to this day that he was given a plan, and because it wasn’t perfect and wouldn’t solve world hunger permanently, he thought spending 7 times the amount to help alleviate world hunger to buy Twitter was more important. His values are out of whack with regular society.

              Further, right now, Musk has been on a tear of attacking the homeless and promoting the idea that homelessness is a moral and ethical failure… not just a lack of cash. He literally hates the poor. He attacked them as “drug addicts” but his addiction to ketamine is fine actually.

              • nifty@lemmy.world
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                11 days ago

                I like how you frame your pov, it’s convincing. Esp. this part,

                The problem with this is that society doesn’t get to choose where his money went, he did.

                I agree, and I’ve always been about higher taxes on the wealthy. The point in original point was more that the left needs effective, goal-directed leadership. Not martyrs or short-term solutions.

    • Kowowow@lemmy.ca
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      12 days ago

      Look I’m not going to say I don’t think musk could be swayed by some head pats and calling him a good boy when he actually does something right but every effective movement has both the face and a bit of violence

      The civil rights movement wasn’t completely non-violent but would have gotten no where without smart and charismatic people explaining why things are so bad others might resolt to violence

      I’m sorry so say but the longer words fail on their own to change things the more “necessary”/inevitable violence becomes

      • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        12 days ago

        MLK also was very honest about the fact that the non-violence would only work if enough people committed to it.

        A national strike would do a lot more, but the issue is getting everyone on the same page.

        Which is why you had people like Malcolm X and Fred Hampton waiting in the wings, and why the FBI thought it was important to murder Fred Hampton.

    • ChicoSuave@lemmy.world
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      12 days ago

      Got you tagged as a corpo shill. You are about as useful to democratic thought as sandpaper napkins.