> The end result is a gatekeeping cargo cult, where you have to go through the (expensive, exhausting) motions of asking someone’s permission, without the proce

> The end result is a gatekeeping cargo cult, where you have to go through the (expensive, exhausting) motions of asking someone’s permission, without the process really filtering out good from bad applicants. I am reminded of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benefit_of_clergy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benefit_of_clergy, which started out as separate courts for clergymen and ended up being a way for folks to escape execution for their first felony. Along the way, there was a whole time period where if one could simply read a passage from the Bible, then one was assumed to be a clergyman — so anyone literate could claim the benefit. Hardly the original intent!