3 ms·

I think (I'm pretty far away from all of this so this is just my impression) the point of these people, often poorly made and sometimes exaggerated, is that pet

by sofixa 4y ago

I think (I'm pretty far away from all of this so this is just my impression) the point of these people, often poorly made and sometimes exaggerated, is that petty crimes (especially in a world where everyone is insured anyways so the actual damage is minimal) are not worth ruining human lives over. The American justice system is atrocious, with for profit prisons and extremely high recidivism rates, not to mention racial bias at many levels. Is it worth it to throw away a human life in that black whole over a bottle of wine? In abstract both arguments (strict enforcement of all laws; and that the system's results are inhumane so lesser laws should be ignored) make surface level sense. A middle ground sounds best (some laws are loosened, leniency is used on first offenses, prison system reform to rehabilitate instead of punish, etc.).

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
subsistence234 4y ago
See the wikipedia article to learn what actually happened, the Oberlin statement and the NYT article are misleading: An employee took a photo of the shoplifter in the act of stealing, the shoplifter got angry and assaulted the employee for this. That's when then the employee tried apprehending the shoplifter. Assault, not petty theft. Also, doesn't violence turn theft into robbery?
- kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
  Theft is a crime. It warrants the same response as an assault.
aqouta 4y ago
That's not really how insurance works. Everything gets paid for by someone, it's not magic money. A systemic increase in insurance payouts causes a proportional systemic increase in insurance premiums which are ultimately passed onto the customer. One person is more culpable in the life ruining than the person who contacts the police.
Handytinge 4y ago
> Is it worth it to throw away a human life in that black whole over a bottle of wine? Except that's not what happened. The shopkeeper was assaulted and another shopkeeper (a member of their family) also assaulted before they pursued the assailant.

by sofixa 4y ago

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

subsistence234 4y ago

See the wikipedia article to learn what actually happened, the Oberlin statement and the NYT article are misleading: An employee took a photo of the shoplifter in the act of stealing, the shoplifter got angry and assaulted the employee for this. That's when then the employee tried apprehending the shoplifter. Assault, not petty theft. Also, doesn't violence turn theft into robbery?

kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
Theft is a crime. It warrants the same response as an assault.

aqouta 4y ago

That's not really how insurance works. Everything gets paid for by someone, it's not magic money. A systemic increase in insurance payouts causes a proportional systemic increase in insurance premiums which are ultimately passed onto the customer. One person is more culpable in the life ruining than the person who contacts the police.

Handytinge 4y ago

> Is it worth it to throw away a human life in that black whole over a bottle of wine? Except that's not what happened. The shopkeeper was assaulted and another shopkeeper (a member of their family) also assaulted before they pursued the assailant.