5 ms·

So he did things that were illegal but not wrong?

malcolmgreaves 8y ago
Morally wrong to sell untested and unregulated drugs. Alcohol kills. To me, doesn't sound like this guy was at all on the same level of soft law breaking as Mr. Schwartz. Do you believe this distiller's actions to be just and moral? Are you opposed to laws or something?
- Kinnard 8y ago
  I am an anarchist actually: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchist I do not believe it is wrong to sell "drugs" without government intervention
ryanmercer 8y ago
Popcorn? Popcorn sold potentially dangerous alcohol, drugs, almost certainly was guilty of tax evasion spanning multiple decades, was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. Bootleggers aren't 'innocent'. They're extremely territorial up to the point of property destruction and even murder. They evade alcohol taxation, they often don't report the income from their sales (because, well, duh they don't want more attention). In some instances they are often involved in narcotic/meth/marijuana/heroin trafficking, sometimes have gang affiliations, have murdered law enforcement officers, etc. Popcorn was convicted, and served time, for some of those offenses decades before his last arrest and continued to carry on with his illegal activity. If you think selling potentially toxic alcohol, tax evasion, drug dealing and violent assault are absolutely 'wrong'. Those are the things we KNOW he did. His last arrest, in my opinion the alcohol charge should have been dropped as entrapment, but he was a felon in possession of a firearm which is a crime (and a sensible one, given his prior conviction of assault with a deadly weapon) and he should have been fully on the hook for that. It's unfortunate he felt the need to take his life but his case is in no way similar to that of Aaron Swartz. Aaron made a bad decision and did a largely digital crime, Popcorn was overtly a career criminal.
- Kinnard 8y ago
  Not equating the two. I don't know Popcorns case in detail but if the assault you listed was in self-defense every thing you list is illegal but not wrong. All alcohol is toxic. Exchange and consumption are consensual, that's what matters.
  - roywiggins 8y ago
    > All alcohol is toxic all alcohol is toxic but sometimes your alcohol is actually accidentally methanol and then you die now, not later https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-33224514 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-33224514
    - fulafel 8y ago
      There was also a headline today about a tomato rice-related death toll in India... (https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-asia-india-46573273 https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-asia-india-46573273) As long as you ignest methanol with enough ethanol mixed in, it's not lethal. You would have to separately capture the small amount of stuff coming out before the "heads" to make deadly methanol. Soundslike this could happen only if you make an industrial quantity batch, and are completely reckless about the basics.
- onetimemanytime 8y ago
  >>Popcorn? Popcorn sold potentially dangerous alcohol, drugs, almost certainly was guilty of tax evasion spanning multiple decades, was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. Bootleggers aren't 'innocent'. Replace with marijuana and you get the same. Declare taxes on cocaine sales? People know what they want, moonshine, and he provided it. Do I think everyone should mix stuff on their bathtub or garage and sell it to people? Nope, but people that buy moonshine know what they want and he had his own brand /customers. So, while illegal no harm comes from them to the average person. (A CEO uses a legal, but paid for via lobbying, loophole to save 1000x more in taxes than all moonshiners steal combined)
  - 8y ago

Morally wrong to sell untested and unregulated drugs. Alcohol kills. To me, doesn't sound like this guy was at all on the same level of soft law breaking as Mr. Schwartz. Do you believe this distiller's actions to be just and moral? Are you opposed to laws or something?

Kinnard 8y ago
I am an anarchist actually: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchist I do not believe it is wrong to sell "drugs" without government intervention

ryanmercer 8y ago

Popcorn? Popcorn sold potentially dangerous alcohol, drugs, almost certainly was guilty of tax evasion spanning multiple decades, was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. Bootleggers aren't 'innocent'. They're extremely territorial up to the point of property destruction and even murder. They evade alcohol taxation, they often don't report the income from their sales (because, well, duh they don't want more attention). In some instances they are often involved in narcotic/meth/marijuana/heroin trafficking, sometimes have gang affiliations, have murdered law enforcement officers, etc. Popcorn was convicted, and served time, for some of those offenses decades before his last arrest and continued to carry on with his illegal activity. If you think selling potentially toxic alcohol, tax evasion, drug dealing and violent assault are absolutely 'wrong'. Those are the things we KNOW he did. His last arrest, in my opinion the alcohol charge should have been dropped as entrapment, but he was a felon in possession of a firearm which is a crime (and a sensible one, given his prior conviction of assault with a deadly weapon) and he should have been fully on the hook for that. It's unfortunate he felt the need to take his life but his case is in no way similar to that of Aaron Swartz. Aaron made a bad decision and did a largely digital crime, Popcorn was overtly a career criminal.

Kinnard 8y ago
Not equating the two. I don't know Popcorns case in detail but if the assault you listed was in self-defense every thing you list is illegal but not wrong. All alcohol is toxic. Exchange and consumption are consensual, that's what matters.
- roywiggins 8y ago
  > All alcohol is toxic all alcohol is toxic but sometimes your alcohol is actually accidentally methanol and then you die now, not later https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-33224514 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-33224514
  - fulafel 8y ago
    There was also a headline today about a tomato rice-related death toll in India... (https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-asia-india-46573273 https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-asia-india-46573273) As long as you ignest methanol with enough ethanol mixed in, it's not lethal. You would have to separately capture the small amount of stuff coming out before the "heads" to make deadly methanol. Soundslike this could happen only if you make an industrial quantity batch, and are completely reckless about the basics.
onetimemanytime 8y ago
>>Popcorn? Popcorn sold potentially dangerous alcohol, drugs, almost certainly was guilty of tax evasion spanning multiple decades, was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. Bootleggers aren't 'innocent'. Replace with marijuana and you get the same. Declare taxes on cocaine sales? People know what they want, moonshine, and he provided it. Do I think everyone should mix stuff on their bathtub or garage and sell it to people? Nope, but people that buy moonshine know what they want and he had his own brand /customers. So, while illegal no harm comes from them to the average person. (A CEO uses a legal, but paid for via lobbying, loophole to save 1000x more in taxes than all moonshiners steal combined)
- 8y ago