4 ms·

I'd like to say that I can't believe someone would do this, but I can.

tammer 11y ago
As a resident of Philly I'd say you've got to remember the permanent class war happening here. Children die in elementary schools because there isn't enough funding for a school nurse. To us on HN, a hitchhiking robot is a cute and friendly distraction. To someone with no capital or prospects a hitchhiking robot is a cruel joke, and to destroy it is an act of resistance. This perspective is often missed by the media and general discussion.
- hnpc123 11y ago
  It would be interesting to hear what other types of property are ok to destroy in the name of social justice.
  - ForHackernews 11y ago
    Anything belonging to rich people who couch their criticism in passive-aggressively neutral musing, I should expect.
    - hnpc123 11y ago
      Sounds like a wonderful society that SJWs envision. No property rights for anyone who is deemed rich and expresses unpopular views.
      - musername 11y ago
        It's a sense of realism where only those rights have meaning, that you can up hold, with brute force, the same way wealth f.ex. allows threatening and engaging adversaries with lawyers and court fees.
      - dang 11y ago
        Please don't make throwaway accounts to conduct political flamewars on HN. Please don't conduct political flamewars on HN at all.
  - tedunangst 11y ago
    Police cars.
  - cmyr 11y ago
    I think the post you're replying to was mostly just trying to propose a possible narrative to explain this incident. We have no reason to believe this particular narrative is true, but trying to understand the motives for other people's actions is a healthy exercise, I think, and I'd be interested in hearing some of your possible explanations.
  - copsarebastards 11y ago
    I don't agree with destroying hitchbot. However, I can see a strong social justice argument for destroying the property of people who gain profit and/or power from destroying the lives of others. Their behaviors are profitable and there is no legal means to make their behaviors unprofitable, so doing illegal things that cost them money, such as destroying their property, is the only means to dis-incentivize their behavior. I do think destruction of property can be an ethical action, but I don't think it's a smart thing to do for legal reasons.
    - hnpc123 11y ago
      By what process are you going to determine what constitutes "destroying the lives of others"?
      - copsarebastards 11y ago
        Ugh, what a small-minded question. If you can't figure out a definition of "destroying the lives of others" that works for you, that's a failure of your own imagination. Use your brain. Just because there are a myriad of valid answers doesn't mean it's a deep, difficult question.
- detaro 11y ago
  What's "cruel" about it? I can see a few motivations, but that one I don't get.
  - tbrownaw 11y ago
    Probably something to do with rubbing people's noses in the status/wealth differences, I'd expect. Don't send useless expensive toys out to interact with people in what you know are poor areas (even if, well, you didn't choose that to be where it went).
- protomyth 11y ago
  "To someone with no capital or prospects a hitchhiking robot is a cruel joke, and to destroy it is an act of resistance." Give me a break, I grew up in a poorer place with worse health care and that is an act of vandalism and people who haven't been taught decent values. Don't make it some class warfare thing or inevitably. It's not resistance. That is the talk of people trying to justify crappy behavior and trying very hard not to blame the people who did it. They did a criminal act. Destroying the robot didn't save someone, it wasn't the final resort of someone trying to feed their family, it was just an act of destruction.
- hoopd 11y ago
  > Children die in elementary schools because there isn't enough funding for a school nurse. You mean there isn't enough funding for the number of students there. There's plenty of funding for fewer students. Destroying a robot isn't an act of resistance because the robot wasn't oppressing them nor was it responsible for their situation in life. edit: as always feel free to engage in discussion instead of drive-by downvoting
- musername 11y ago
  We don't have school nurses in, i believe, all of europe. Are children here dying in school? I didn't think so.
  - tammer 11y ago
    I have no idea to which country you are referring. I can't find any broad consensus, and all I can find are postings for internships in student health services. I also think you're really underestimating the severity of the problem we have here. I'm not talking about a reduction in on-site staff towards a centralized service. I'm referencing a school known to be infected with mold[1] where a child died[2] from an asthma attack solely because there were no health workers or medical supplies available. These deaths[3] have been ongoing since the 2013 school year when the city decided to close 23 schools[4] and severely overcrowd the rest. This of course on top of the police brutality that has taken national headlines lately but have been a permanent fixture of this city. I highly recommend the documentary Let The Fire Burn[5] for a clear example of this type of warfare. [1]: http://citypaper.net/News/Philly-School-District-blocks-a-federal-study-after-health-risks-are-exposed/ http://citypaper.net/News/Philly-School-District-blocks-a-fe... [2]: http://citypaper.net/News/He-says-his-daughter-might-be-alive-if-not-for-school-nurse-cuts/ http://citypaper.net/News/He-says-his-daughter-might-be-aliv... [3]: http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/another-student-dies-school-no-nurse http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/another-student-dies-school-no-nu... [4]: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/education/philadelphia-officials-vote-to-close-23-schools.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/education/philadelphia-off... [5]: http://netflix.com/Movie/Let-the-Fire-Burn/70274329 http://netflix.com/Movie/Let-the-Fire-Burn/70274329
tbrownaw 11y ago
Aren't drunk teenagers known for vandalizing things? It doesn't even need to be motivated by anything to do with the robot itself, breaking shit's just plain fun.

As a resident of Philly I'd say you've got to remember the permanent class war happening here. Children die in elementary schools because there isn't enough funding for a school nurse. To us on HN, a hitchhiking robot is a cute and friendly distraction. To someone with no capital or prospects a hitchhiking robot is a cruel joke, and to destroy it is an act of resistance. This perspective is often missed by the media and general discussion.

hnpc123 11y ago
It would be interesting to hear what other types of property are ok to destroy in the name of social justice.
- ForHackernews 11y ago
  Anything belonging to rich people who couch their criticism in passive-aggressively neutral musing, I should expect.
  - hnpc123 11y ago
    Sounds like a wonderful society that SJWs envision. No property rights for anyone who is deemed rich and expresses unpopular views.
    - musername 11y ago
      It's a sense of realism where only those rights have meaning, that you can up hold, with brute force, the same way wealth f.ex. allows threatening and engaging adversaries with lawyers and court fees.
    - dang 11y ago
      Please don't make throwaway accounts to conduct political flamewars on HN. Please don't conduct political flamewars on HN at all.
- tedunangst 11y ago
  Police cars.
- cmyr 11y ago
  I think the post you're replying to was mostly just trying to propose a possible narrative to explain this incident. We have no reason to believe this particular narrative is true, but trying to understand the motives for other people's actions is a healthy exercise, I think, and I'd be interested in hearing some of your possible explanations.
- copsarebastards 11y ago
  I don't agree with destroying hitchbot. However, I can see a strong social justice argument for destroying the property of people who gain profit and/or power from destroying the lives of others. Their behaviors are profitable and there is no legal means to make their behaviors unprofitable, so doing illegal things that cost them money, such as destroying their property, is the only means to dis-incentivize their behavior. I do think destruction of property can be an ethical action, but I don't think it's a smart thing to do for legal reasons.
  - hnpc123 11y ago
    By what process are you going to determine what constitutes "destroying the lives of others"?
    - copsarebastards 11y ago
      Ugh, what a small-minded question. If you can't figure out a definition of "destroying the lives of others" that works for you, that's a failure of your own imagination. Use your brain. Just because there are a myriad of valid answers doesn't mean it's a deep, difficult question.
detaro 11y ago
What's "cruel" about it? I can see a few motivations, but that one I don't get.
- tbrownaw 11y ago
  Probably something to do with rubbing people's noses in the status/wealth differences, I'd expect. Don't send useless expensive toys out to interact with people in what you know are poor areas (even if, well, you didn't choose that to be where it went).
protomyth 11y ago
"To someone with no capital or prospects a hitchhiking robot is a cruel joke, and to destroy it is an act of resistance." Give me a break, I grew up in a poorer place with worse health care and that is an act of vandalism and people who haven't been taught decent values. Don't make it some class warfare thing or inevitably. It's not resistance. That is the talk of people trying to justify crappy behavior and trying very hard not to blame the people who did it. They did a criminal act. Destroying the robot didn't save someone, it wasn't the final resort of someone trying to feed their family, it was just an act of destruction.
hoopd 11y ago
> Children die in elementary schools because there isn't enough funding for a school nurse. You mean there isn't enough funding for the number of students there. There's plenty of funding for fewer students. Destroying a robot isn't an act of resistance because the robot wasn't oppressing them nor was it responsible for their situation in life. edit: as always feel free to engage in discussion instead of drive-by downvoting
musername 11y ago
We don't have school nurses in, i believe, all of europe. Are children here dying in school? I didn't think so.
- tammer 11y ago
  I have no idea to which country you are referring. I can't find any broad consensus, and all I can find are postings for internships in student health services. I also think you're really underestimating the severity of the problem we have here. I'm not talking about a reduction in on-site staff towards a centralized service. I'm referencing a school known to be infected with mold[1] where a child died[2] from an asthma attack solely because there were no health workers or medical supplies available. These deaths[3] have been ongoing since the 2013 school year when the city decided to close 23 schools[4] and severely overcrowd the rest. This of course on top of the police brutality that has taken national headlines lately but have been a permanent fixture of this city. I highly recommend the documentary Let The Fire Burn[5] for a clear example of this type of warfare. [1]: http://citypaper.net/News/Philly-School-District-blocks-a-federal-study-after-health-risks-are-exposed/ http://citypaper.net/News/Philly-School-District-blocks-a-fe... [2]: http://citypaper.net/News/He-says-his-daughter-might-be-alive-if-not-for-school-nurse-cuts/ http://citypaper.net/News/He-says-his-daughter-might-be-aliv... [3]: http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/another-student-dies-school-no-nurse http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/another-student-dies-school-no-nu... [4]: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/education/philadelphia-officials-vote-to-close-23-schools.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/education/philadelphia-off... [5]: http://netflix.com/Movie/Let-the-Fire-Burn/70274329 http://netflix.com/Movie/Let-the-Fire-Burn/70274329

tbrownaw 11y ago

Aren't drunk teenagers known for vandalizing things? It doesn't even need to be motivated by anything to do with the robot itself, breaking shit's just plain fun.