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And people jaywalk all the time. Can we stop being so obtuse and only look at the letter of the law and think about the actual practical real-life consequence

by sbarre 4y ago

And people jaywalk all the time. Can we stop being so obtuse and only look at the letter of the law and think about the actual practical real-life consequence as a measure of severity? This was a joke, and no harm was done. Are you really advocating for a felony offence here? This is the same line of thinking, just reversed, that people use to say "well it's not illegal" when someone does something super shitty that actually has awful consequences.

fzeroracer 4y ago
The letter of the law is that he presented a counterfeit ID to a federal officer where lying to a federal officer is a very serious offense. You can argue that 'well it was a joke!!' but if you were to joke around to your nearest FBI officer about how you have a bomb in your home and you're going to use it I imagine they wouldn't find it very funny.
- sbarre 4y ago
  > if you were to joke around to your nearest FBI officer about how you have a bomb in your home and you're going to use it I imagine they wouldn't find it very funny. Agreed! Joking about a bomb is a much more serious and very different situation than showing a joke ID in a relaxed situation - and when you probably have your real ID in your pocket.
sandworm101 4y ago
Jokes are dangerous. There is a fine line between jokes, wasting an officer's time, and outright obstruction. I wouldnt want to risk my joke landing flat and an angry officer deciding to make me an example.
- sbarre 4y ago
  Sure, that's a personal choice, but I was talking about everyone in this thread saying Woz should have been charged with a felony for his joke. Which is ridiculous. In your scenario, would you actually be ok or understanding if the "angry officer" made an example of you for this harmless joke? Or would you maybe protest that it was a bit disproportionate or unnecessary? And finally, hearing people say "jokes are dangerous" in a serious manner makes me very sad for our society. The level of unconscious mass conformism seems to be growing fast, and historically that never leads to good outcomes.

by sbarre 4y ago

fzeroracer 4y ago

The letter of the law is that he presented a counterfeit ID to a federal officer where lying to a federal officer is a very serious offense. You can argue that 'well it was a joke!!' but if you were to joke around to your nearest FBI officer about how you have a bomb in your home and you're going to use it I imagine they wouldn't find it very funny.

sbarre 4y ago
> if you were to joke around to your nearest FBI officer about how you have a bomb in your home and you're going to use it I imagine they wouldn't find it very funny. Agreed! Joking about a bomb is a much more serious and very different situation than showing a joke ID in a relaxed situation - and when you probably have your real ID in your pocket.

sandworm101 4y ago

Jokes are dangerous. There is a fine line between jokes, wasting an officer's time, and outright obstruction. I wouldnt want to risk my joke landing flat and an angry officer deciding to make me an example.

sbarre 4y ago
Sure, that's a personal choice, but I was talking about everyone in this thread saying Woz should have been charged with a felony for his joke. Which is ridiculous. In your scenario, would you actually be ok or understanding if the "angry officer" made an example of you for this harmless joke? Or would you maybe protest that it was a bit disproportionate or unnecessary? And finally, hearing people say "jokes are dangerous" in a serious manner makes me very sad for our society. The level of unconscious mass conformism seems to be growing fast, and historically that never leads to good outcomes.