5 ms·

Reminds me of a great (now-deleted) tweet I saw a few years ago: "Everything is legal if you scale it up." Convert the cash to assets, then convert the assets t

by firasd 9y ago

Reminds me of a great (now-deleted) tweet I saw a few years ago: "Everything is legal if you scale it up." Convert the cash to assets, then convert the assets to political clout---at that point the cash heist is in the rear-view mirror...

matte_black 9y ago
It will catch up to you in the end.
- firasd 9y ago
  The examples that came to my mind when I first saw that tweet were: Napster/Youtube (unauthorized content sharing scaled up to such a degree that the media industry had to shift to streaming business models), Uber, the ongoing US legalization of marijuana (too much of the population uses it for abolition to be effective).
  - aje403 9y ago
    Cryptocurrency
    - jacquesm 9y ago
      I really don't see the relevance.
      - dcow 9y ago
        Most states don't allow other currencies.
        jacquesm 9y ago
        The number of states that do not allow other currencies is vanishingly small. You can have Dollars, Euros, Yen and whatever else your heart desires without any kind of penalty in most places of the world.
      - aje403 9y ago
        If nothing else, per your about:, they're pretty handy at facilitating large money transfers to Africa
- vinceguidry 9y ago
  Maybe. Maybe not. Sissoko landed in a mansion in Mali. He no longer has his playboy lifestyle, but he's still way better off than most people. He was trying to get legit through his airline, but made a mistake. Putting wealthy people in jail doesn't normally happen. And even when it does happen, their stays usually aren't half as bad.
- Broken_Hippo 9y ago
  I've never believed this stuff. Laws are often only enforced in one section of the country. This particular dude plead guilty... and his sentence? "The sentence was 43 days in prison and a $250,000 fine". Most states won't even transfer you to prison for a month and a half, they'll just keep you in jail. And not only that, but he was able to get out early because he gave money to charity. I've known folks get put in jail for not being able to afford child support. Many folks spend that long in jail just awaiting trial. When and how does this stuff catch up with them in the end?
- swat535 9y ago
  You are applying the Just World Fallacy[0] here This is the same line of thinking that we all apply for things such as "Karma". Just because we believe we live in a just world, it doesn't make it so. It is why crucial for people to remain vigilant of legal loopholes and apply political pressure to make any changes. As citizens, we have more power than we realize. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis
noonespecial 9y ago
All criminal justice above street level is politics.
- ataturk 9y ago
  Insider trading is legal for members of Congress. How did Pelosi get rich? How did the Clintons? Looking back and just Mena and Whitewater makes you realize how institutionalized corruption is in the US. If you are protected politically, you can get away with murder. Gun running? Drugs? Slavery?
microcolonel 9y ago
Well, that's just how social/cultural norms work (the greater the proportion of the population participating, typically the greater acceptance), but in this case it is literally illegal and believed still by the vast majority of people to be unjust.
- 77pt77 9y ago
  > typically the greater acceptance It also allows for selective prosecution. You prosecute some individuals for something everyone does as a punishment for totally unrelated matters. It's very effective.
wu-ikkyu 9y ago
"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." -Aesop
tCfD 9y ago
That's brilliantly stated. A natural first cousin to 'a lie told often enough becomes the truth'
rando444 9y ago
Somewhat related quote: "It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets." - Voltaire
- ollieshmollie 9y ago
  Reminds me of: "In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread." - Anatole France
- sireat 9y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly_on_violence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly_on_violence as long as you are a state you are fine. Plenty of current examples from all types of states.
  - trhway 9y ago
    as long as you're becoming a state afterwards, or more precisely - as long as you're a winner. Mandela was taken off terrorist list only very recently. Hamas being practically a state already, not a winner yet and thus is still a terrorist org.
  - scotty79 9y ago
    I think you are misunderstanding the idea of monopoly on violence. It's actually most wonderful achievement and state of the art technique in limiting violence between technologically advanced homo sapiens specimens.
- OxO4 9y ago
  This reminds me of: "Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a god." - Jean Rostand
  - BrandoElFollito 9y ago
    Which reminds me of "a milion and one is still a milion", by a polish poet I forgot the name of. He or she was talking about the deaths in siviet goulags.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

by firasd 9y ago

matte_black 9y ago

It will catch up to you in the end.

firasd 9y ago
The examples that came to my mind when I first saw that tweet were: Napster/Youtube (unauthorized content sharing scaled up to such a degree that the media industry had to shift to streaming business models), Uber, the ongoing US legalization of marijuana (too much of the population uses it for abolition to be effective).
- aje403 9y ago
  Cryptocurrency
  - jacquesm 9y ago
    I really don't see the relevance.
    - dcow 9y ago
      Most states don't allow other currencies.
      - jacquesm 9y ago
        The number of states that do not allow other currencies is vanishingly small. You can have Dollars, Euros, Yen and whatever else your heart desires without any kind of penalty in most places of the world.
    - aje403 9y ago
      If nothing else, per your about:, they're pretty handy at facilitating large money transfers to Africa
vinceguidry 9y ago
Maybe. Maybe not. Sissoko landed in a mansion in Mali. He no longer has his playboy lifestyle, but he's still way better off than most people. He was trying to get legit through his airline, but made a mistake. Putting wealthy people in jail doesn't normally happen. And even when it does happen, their stays usually aren't half as bad.
Broken_Hippo 9y ago
I've never believed this stuff. Laws are often only enforced in one section of the country. This particular dude plead guilty... and his sentence? "The sentence was 43 days in prison and a $250,000 fine". Most states won't even transfer you to prison for a month and a half, they'll just keep you in jail. And not only that, but he was able to get out early because he gave money to charity. I've known folks get put in jail for not being able to afford child support. Many folks spend that long in jail just awaiting trial. When and how does this stuff catch up with them in the end?
swat535 9y ago
You are applying the Just World Fallacy[0] here This is the same line of thinking that we all apply for things such as "Karma". Just because we believe we live in a just world, it doesn't make it so. It is why crucial for people to remain vigilant of legal loopholes and apply political pressure to make any changes. As citizens, we have more power than we realize. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis

noonespecial 9y ago

All criminal justice above street level is politics.

ataturk 9y ago
Insider trading is legal for members of Congress. How did Pelosi get rich? How did the Clintons? Looking back and just Mena and Whitewater makes you realize how institutionalized corruption is in the US. If you are protected politically, you can get away with murder. Gun running? Drugs? Slavery?

microcolonel 9y ago

Well, that's just how social/cultural norms work (the greater the proportion of the population participating, typically the greater acceptance), but in this case it is literally illegal and believed still by the vast majority of people to be unjust.

77pt77 9y ago
> typically the greater acceptance It also allows for selective prosecution. You prosecute some individuals for something everyone does as a punishment for totally unrelated matters. It's very effective.

wu-ikkyu 9y ago

"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." -Aesop

tCfD 9y ago

That's brilliantly stated. A natural first cousin to 'a lie told often enough becomes the truth'

rando444 9y ago

Somewhat related quote: "It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets." - Voltaire

ollieshmollie 9y ago
Reminds me of: "In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread." - Anatole France
sireat 9y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly_on_violence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly_on_violence as long as you are a state you are fine. Plenty of current examples from all types of states.
- trhway 9y ago
  as long as you're becoming a state afterwards, or more precisely - as long as you're a winner. Mandela was taken off terrorist list only very recently. Hamas being practically a state already, not a winner yet and thus is still a terrorist org.
- scotty79 9y ago
  I think you are misunderstanding the idea of monopoly on violence. It's actually most wonderful achievement and state of the art technique in limiting violence between technologically advanced homo sapiens specimens.
OxO4 9y ago
This reminds me of: "Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a god." - Jean Rostand
- BrandoElFollito 9y ago
  Which reminds me of "a milion and one is still a milion", by a polish poet I forgot the name of. He or she was talking about the deaths in siviet goulags.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]