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Philanthropy doesn't just erase the past. You can find a bunch of examples of good behavior, that doesn't mean destructive behavior wasn't occurring. That's th
by aaron-lebo 10y ago
Philanthropy doesn't just erase the past.
You can find a bunch of examples of good behavior, that doesn't mean destructive behavior wasn't occurring. That's the problem, none of these people are classically "evil". They're smart people who have good ideas but they also have failings like all of us.
Related to Carnegie:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnstown_Flood https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnstown_Flood
> Henry Clay Frick led a group of speculators, including Benjamin Ruff, from Pittsburgh to purchase the abandoned reservoir, modify it, and convert it into a private resort lake for their wealthy associates. Many were connected through business and social links to Carnegie Steel. Development included lowering the dam to make its top wide enough to hold a road, and putting a fish screen in the spillway (the screen also trapped debris). These alterations are thought to have increased the vulnerability of the dam. Moreover, a system of relief pipes and valves, a feature of the original dam, previously sold off for scrap, was not replaced, so the club had no way of lowering the water level in the lake in case of an emergency. The members built cottages and a clubhouse to create the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, an exclusive and private mountain retreat. Membership grew to include more than 50 wealthy Pittsburgh steel, coal, and railroad industrialists.[8]
- icebraining 10y agoThey're smart people who have good ideas but they also have failings like all of us. You were the one that claimed they couldn't be bothered to give a damn about anyone. That flood, while a tragedy and something that should probably have been prosecuted for criminal negligence, doesn't really prove your point. It's not like they benefited from its destruction.