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Even though getting officials fired is not your preferred method to help jumpstart reform there are no reasons for you to discourage others of doing so. If you

Even though getting officials fired is not your preferred method to help jumpstart reform there are no reasons for you to discourage others of doing so. If you think you have a better axis of attack on this problem, I beg you, please lead an effort on that axis. If we waited for a consensus on the best manner to proceed before doing anything, noting would ever get done. To make a comparison relevant to this community, imagine that HN was used to shame others starting businesses that don't use the best consensus methods or ideas. How many good startups would never see the day? With startups, more than 90% of attempts fail. I'm pretty sure that attempts at changing the system don't have better odds. If we reduce the efforts to a single attempt, there is 90% chances it will fail. Also, consider that special interests have probably built legal and political walls in the most obvious paths of change. It's worth trying all fronts to find a weakness especially the newer little known ones.

philh 14y ago
> Even though getting officials fired is not your preferred method to help jumpstart reform there are no reasons for you to discourage others of doing so. Yes there are, if you think that it's not going to work and that the attempt is discouraging people from looking for solutions that will. You could make the same comment if someone attempted to prove P!=NP, and someone else said "your proof has a mistake here, and by the way, people have been trying your general approach for decades and it's never yielded anything". (I do, however, agree that attempts to get officials fired are more likely to succeed than attempts to prove P!=NP.)
tquai 14y ago
Even though getting officials fired is not your preferred method to help jumpstart reform there are no reasons for you to discourage others of doing so. Exactly. Bottom-up action is strongest when supported by a diversity of tactics. Alice may not like Bob's methodology, and Bob may not like Alice's, but when they expend their energy discouraging each other from doing something they believe in, neither have a shot at advancing their shared cause. Gatekeepers are the undeclared allies of power. Put your energy into action you believe in, and let the chips fall where they may.

philh 14y ago

> Even though getting officials fired is not your preferred method to help jumpstart reform there are no reasons for you to discourage others of doing so. Yes there are, if you think that it's not going to work and that the attempt is discouraging people from looking for solutions that will. You could make the same comment if someone attempted to prove P!=NP, and someone else said "your proof has a mistake here, and by the way, people have been trying your general approach for decades and it's never yielded anything". (I do, however, agree that attempts to get officials fired are more likely to succeed than attempts to prove P!=NP.)

tquai 14y ago

Even though getting officials fired is not your preferred method to help jumpstart reform there are no reasons for you to discourage others of doing so. Exactly. Bottom-up action is strongest when supported by a diversity of tactics. Alice may not like Bob's methodology, and Bob may not like Alice's, but when they expend their energy discouraging each other from doing something they believe in, neither have a shot at advancing their shared cause. Gatekeepers are the undeclared allies of power. Put your energy into action you believe in, and let the chips fall where they may.