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Too bad there are so many people like Manafort who are happy to take on that job for a quick buck. Sure people are being hunted down but check out the ostrich j
by redisman 8y ago
Too bad there are so many people like Manafort who are happy to take on that job for a quick buck. Sure people are being hunted down but check out the ostrich jacket!
- jeron 8y agofor every company that refuses, there'll be one that will take it on for the right price...
- jo2ie 8y agoWell the depressing part for me is I have seen good friends, extremely smart people who have no sane reason to be working on shady shit, fall down the rabbit hole. And I really haven't found effective ways to do anything about it... There are two issues at play 1. Not everyone is prepared mentally to turn down big payouts. I have seen this happening up and down the food chain. You only understand how hard this is after you have been in that position. And these day some of the cheques that get waved in your face are insane. 2. People get sucked into a certain kind of "lifestyle" that they get insecure about loosing. And will do whatever it takes to maintain that lifestyle. Once they get "trapped" they are part of this global mega machine of similar folk. Sometimes it feels like watching ants in an anthill. All on autopilot. The thing is they know they are trapped and convincing them to give it up is not simple.
- tinus_hn 8y agoIt’s not just about the money. Some people can just be really persuasive and in reality most things are not really that black and white.
- ethbro 8y agoIt's funny how things tend to get less black and white as more money is offered.
- tinus_hn 8y agoIt’s funny how things tend to get less black and white if you actually look at pros and cons and listen to arguments. The fact that there actually are pros and cons to most things means they are not black and white.
- ethbro 8y agoShow me evil that cannot be justified with enough words, and I'll show you an uncreative salesperson.
- tinus_hn 8y agoSounds so deep, yet means absolutely nothing. A great piece of marijuana ‘wisdom’.
- ethbro 8y agoTo elaborate for you, I was saying that with enough words anything can be justified. Ergo, in response to your previous post, one of two things is true. (1) There is no true evil in the world. Or (2) one should be suspicious of elaborate arguments, because they're often coming from people paid to defend profitable evil. The counterargument to (2) would be "Well, 'good' has PR too." But I think it's objectively demonstrable that evil pays much better.
- 8y ago
- fipple 8y agoEvil is more banal than that. I have no ostrich jacket but I’d create a spying tool for an authoritarian government for the right price. For me it would be about $5-10 million.
- reimertz 8y agoWhy?
- fipple 8y agoIt would completely set up my family and children for life. I’d get to quit my job and spend all day with my kids. If some people I don’t know get fucked over for that, whatever. And that kind of thinking is why the world is such a wretched place. But I can’t say I wouldn’t jump at the opportunity.
- pimmen 8y agoIf one of your kids was disenfranchised by the government in an illegal way (maybe it was denied healthcare, education, protection of the law or something else that's fundamental) but because an engineer was paid 5-10 million you were powerless to stop it would you be as motivated to build something like that too after knowing what the damage feels like?
- analognoise 8y agoNo, but that isn't the same hypothetical.
- pimmen 8y agoI know, but it would expose a lack of empathy for the victims.
- analognoise 8y agoThe original author was directly pointing out that his empathy didn't extend that far. The US sells more weapons than anyone else - obviously a LOT of people make a living selling them.