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I can't help but think of of the Tunisian guy who was trying to eke out a living, faced his own Arbitrary Machine (the state in this case) and lost, getting de-

I can't help but think of of the Tunisian guy who was trying to eke out a living, faced his own Arbitrary Machine (the state in this case) and lost, getting de-monetized. Then set himself on fire, more or less starting the "Arab Spring." If you never read of the Tunisian man, from wiki: > Twenty-six-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi had been the sole income earner in his extended family of eight. He operated a vegetable or apple cart (the contents of the cart are disputed) for seven years in Sidi Bouzid 190 miles (300 km) south of Tunis. On 17 December 2010, a female officer confiscated his cart and produce. Bouazizi, who had had such an event happen to him before, tried to pay the 10-dinar fine (a day's wages, equivalent to 7USD). In response the policewoman insulted his deceased father and slapped him. The officer, Faida Hamdi, stated that she was not even a policewoman, but a city employee who had been tasked that morning with confiscating produce from vendors without licenses. When she tried to do so with Bouazizi a scuffle ensued. Hamdi says she called the police who then beat Bouazizi.[35] A humiliated Bouazizi then went to the provincial headquarters in an attempt to complain to local municipality officials and to have his produce returned. He was refused an audience. Without alerting his family, at 11:30 am and within an hour of the initial confrontation, Bouazizi returned to the headquarters, doused himself with a flammable liquid and set himself on fire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunisian_Revolution#Mohamed_Bouazizi_and_Sidi_Bouzid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunisian_Revolution#Mohamed_Bo... They are obviously not the same, and the Mohamed didn't attack other people, but as people earn a monetary (or just a social) living on more arbitrary platforms, they are conjoining their own fates to these platforms, for better or worse. If you ask Fukuyama, Niall Ferguson, or many historians how to build a non-dysfunctional state, they will tell you that rule of law and property rights matter. Systems that can easily and arbitrarily take away one's living (monetary or social) are not good for society.

morley 9y ago
Self-immolation is nowhere near in the same ballpark as taking a gun into an office and murdering a bunch of people. I really don't like the parent article's line of thinking of explaining or justifying this person's act. There are plenty of ways of protesting that don't involve hurting others. And it's mind-boggling that we have to point that out at all today.
- pja 9y ago
  Methods of suicide are strongly culturally determined I believe. It wouldn't be entirely surprising if the impulse that expressed itself via self-immolation in one cultural context did so via mass shooting culminating in 'suicide-by-cop' in another one (vis, the United States.)
analognoise 9y ago
I can't tell if you're serious. One of those 'systems' is governmental corruption, the other is Youtube; the comparison makes absolutely no sense. Youtube is a private company, not a corrupt government. If you're living in the states and trying to "eek out a living" and Youtube steals your proverbial "apple cart", too bad, so sad, go get a different job - they don't exist as a platform to ensure people get paid, people getting paid is a side effect of them existing. If it doesn't work for you, find other work. To compare them indicates a level of myopia and entitlement that is profoundly distressing.
- rowyourboat 9y ago
  You could argue that since Youtube has created a public forum for others to work in, they should be held to different standards than a regular private company. I.e. Youtube should be regulated as infrastructure and thus can not longer unilaterally changes rules or make judgements based on those rules.
  - analognoise 9y ago
    You can't be serious. Youtube is not infrastructure; if you don't like their policies, use a different service. Start a competitor. You pay the server time.
    - rowyourboat 9y ago
      > You can't be serious Watch me. > use a different service What service is there for video creators that has a similar reach? In terms of short internet video, Youtube is a de facto monopoly. Moving to other platforms means giving up basically your entire viewership. Realistically, there is currently no "different service". > Start a competitor Now, it's up to me to say "you can't be serious". That's not really an option for somebody who makes a living with videos.
      - analognoise 9y ago
        Then get a real job. It isn't YouTube's job to support every dipshit with a camera.

morley 9y ago

Self-immolation is nowhere near in the same ballpark as taking a gun into an office and murdering a bunch of people. I really don't like the parent article's line of thinking of explaining or justifying this person's act. There are plenty of ways of protesting that don't involve hurting others. And it's mind-boggling that we have to point that out at all today.

pja 9y ago
Methods of suicide are strongly culturally determined I believe. It wouldn't be entirely surprising if the impulse that expressed itself via self-immolation in one cultural context did so via mass shooting culminating in 'suicide-by-cop' in another one (vis, the United States.)

analognoise 9y ago

I can't tell if you're serious. One of those 'systems' is governmental corruption, the other is Youtube; the comparison makes absolutely no sense. Youtube is a private company, not a corrupt government. If you're living in the states and trying to "eek out a living" and Youtube steals your proverbial "apple cart", too bad, so sad, go get a different job - they don't exist as a platform to ensure people get paid, people getting paid is a side effect of them existing. If it doesn't work for you, find other work. To compare them indicates a level of myopia and entitlement that is profoundly distressing.

rowyourboat 9y ago
You could argue that since Youtube has created a public forum for others to work in, they should be held to different standards than a regular private company. I.e. Youtube should be regulated as infrastructure and thus can not longer unilaterally changes rules or make judgements based on those rules.
- analognoise 9y ago
  You can't be serious. Youtube is not infrastructure; if you don't like their policies, use a different service. Start a competitor. You pay the server time.
  - rowyourboat 9y ago
    > You can't be serious Watch me. > use a different service What service is there for video creators that has a similar reach? In terms of short internet video, Youtube is a de facto monopoly. Moving to other platforms means giving up basically your entire viewership. Realistically, there is currently no "different service". > Start a competitor Now, it's up to me to say "you can't be serious". That's not really an option for somebody who makes a living with videos.
    - analognoise 9y ago
      Then get a real job. It isn't YouTube's job to support every dipshit with a camera.