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When a fraudster who tried to overthrow democracy and rightfully convicted of 34 felonies, still gets reelected as president, it is evident that there is no justice anymore.

[-] obinice@lemmy.world 77 points 1 month ago

You reminded me of something I read from back around when that bloke got elected, regarding amongst other things, the decline in the rule of law mattering to society...

"The greatness of Rome, brilliant with repeated marks of prosperity, has gradually faded... the ancient glory of military prowess and valour has almost passed away... by the growth of wealth and luxury.

The Roman world is falling: yet we concern ourselves with trifles… We heap up riches that perish and bury our gold in the earth as if we were piling up treasures in a lifetime of prosperity.

Rome was great and could tolerate its own vices as long as they were held in check by some degree of virtue; but when our hands ceased to uphold the laws, when avarice and luxury sapped the nation’s strength, the state itself lost control and went its way.

The finest men were shut out from office by the lowest dregs of society, who, having won the favour of the mob by base means, ventured to grasp at the highest offices.

The greater her glory, the more incredible it seems that she has been brought so low.

Empires are mortal. Rome has perished. Though she was built upon such firm foundations, Rome has sunk by her own weight."

- Ammianus Marcellinus, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus, Tacitus, Aurelius Ambrosius, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis. 56 - 430 AD.

[-] baltakatei@sopuli.xyz 20 points 1 month ago

Can you indicate which author is associated with which portion of your quoted text? I'm looking to verify the provenance of these statements. Thank you.

[-] obinice@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

Alas no, I saw this a while back and saved it. I believe they're mostly a mix of direct quotes (or as much as one can be given they weren't speaking English), and a lot of summations from their published works. So rather than reading a whole book, you get a few sentences carrying their main points.

At least that's what I recall :-)

My suggestion would be to look in to the authors, find their relevant works and give them a read, that'll give you the same thoughts and opinions but with way more detail :-D

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[-] DrDickHandler@lemmy.world 20 points 1 month ago

/ End Thread

[-] Sanctus@lemmy.world 134 points 1 month ago

On Monday, 26-year-old Daniel Penny was acquitted after killing Jordan Neely, a desperate Black homeless man on the subway...

Tale as old as time.

[-] theangryseal@lemmy.world 38 points 1 month ago

“…on the grounds that he was trying to protect others.”

I think that’s a pretty fucking important line right there.

[-] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 25 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I think the point is, the system pushed one man to his breaking point simply for being poor, black, and mentally ill; resulting in his eventual strangulation on a subway. Not saying the the situation didn't require intervention but acting as if the whole thing was "unavoidable" or even "justified" gladiator giving all the context is Pretty Fucking Important

[-] Spacehooks@reddthat.com 9 points 1 month ago

Imagine if the defense pulls that line in court. My client gun down this man to save lives your honor!

[-] Sharpiemarker@startrek.website 98 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I've seen people comparing the DOJ response to Luigi Mangioni and Kyle Shittenhouse. The fact that Rittenhouse is free should tell you everything you need to know.

[-] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 21 points 1 month ago

Well the difference is that while both actively premeditated their murders whoever committed the crimes Mangioni has been accused of is far more of a menace because they had a specific target in mind and even worse it was someone rich instead of just anyone protesting the police tendency to murder.

[-] prayer@sh.itjust.works 30 points 1 month ago

Rittenhouse attacked 3 people, that's 3x the danger. But I guess I forgot to count up their net worths.

[-] Jamablaya@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

Can we just not lie? Rittenhouse was attacked.

[-] vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 month ago

Sure he was attacked in the same way you attack a burglar. He shouldve been hanged for waving that fucken rifle around outside of his hometown let alone in a different state. But such mistakes can always be corrected.

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[-] CancerMancer@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 month ago

Rittenhouse didn't premediate his shooting though? Where do you guys get your information about this?

[-] A7thStone@lemmy.world 37 points 1 month ago

You don't straw buy an AR then pick it up and cross state lines with it going to a known chaotic protest without premeditated "self defence".

[-] DreamlandLividity@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Carrying a gun is "premeditated self defence"? Are people only supposed to carry guns where it is safe? What is the purpose of that?

So many people pushing this ridiculous idea he is guilty for not staying at home, quaking in his boots. Right to self defense and to bear arms literally exist so that people don't have to fear walking outside because of asshat violent criminals and rioters.

And even more ridiculous saying the police and prosecutors didn't care. What do you mean? They went after him with everything they had. It was a jury of his peers that told them to f off with that shit.

But I guess lemmy only likes juries if they nullify actual murderers they like, not when they let go an innocent person they don't like. (I don't like Rittenhouse either, but that does not make him a murderer.)

[-] GNUTup@lemm.ee 15 points 1 month ago

I remember when I was a freshman in high school, I worked at a McDonald’s. For whatever reason, I owned a Burger King t shirt. As a 14 year old, I thought it would be funny to wear the Burger King shirt to work. I figured it would annoy my boss and might get a few reactions out of other people. It didn’t work, but there were no real consequences because of it.

You really can’t see how Rittenhouse did a similar thing? He went to a protest knowing he was diametrically opposite, politically, to people actually protesting and he did it with a big ass gun. Like my Burger King t shirt, this was very clearly sending a message of “I am your enemy.” And the message wasn’t on a harmless shirt, it was on a deadly big ass gun.

You really truly believe he had no intention of killing? Are you dumb?

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[-] Zementid@feddit.nl 6 points 1 month ago

Everything they had? He's still alive. That's more than most shooters get.

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[-] Jamablaya@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

Yeah and you don't get acquitted of that either. Also one of the surviving "victims" doesn't blow the prosecution's case by being honest in your scenario. That look of defeat photo is priceless.

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[-] HawlSera@lemm.ee 23 points 1 month ago

He absolutely did though, the whole point was he wanted to get into a fight be "forced" to defend himself.

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[-] Ultraviolet@lemmy.world 22 points 1 month ago

He deliberately brandished a weapon to incite bystanders to try to defend themselves so he could kill them and call it self defense.

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[-] MojoMcJojo@lemmy.world 59 points 1 month ago

A stark reminder of who the justice system works for. They are there to protect the rich elites.

[-] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 50 points 1 month ago

Yup. The irony wasn't lost on us either.

[-] ArchRecord@lemm.ee 37 points 1 month ago

Our society ties worth to wealth.

To a capitalist, If you're homeless, you have less moral value than someone who exploited millions of people's need for healthcare for his own gain.

And there are a lot of capitalists.

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[-] Snapz@lemmy.world 33 points 1 month ago

"Sen. John Fetterman is one of those who has loudly insisted that the “public execution of an innocent man and father of two is indefensible.” We are expected to ignore the fact that for 14 months straight before Thompson’s killing, Israeli forces have publicly executed thousands of innocent men, women, and children in Gaza with the enthusiastic support of US politicians like Fetterman."

Normally I'm not one to dig into these things, but I seriously think fetterman died and the dude we hear from now is a stand in. Just such a 180... I remember when he was first gaining national prominence, had some interview in front of a Wawa off the freeway - when I saw THAT guy, I donated to his campaign and called my wife in to say, "listen to this for a second, I think this guy could be the president one day". That guy has ZERO DNA in common with the "Fetterman" we see and hear from today. It wasn't a stroke, or if it was, it was fatal.

[-] yarr@feddit.nl 25 points 1 month ago

This is not a juxtaposition at all. Terrible ethics aside, the CEO operated more or less totally in compliance with USA law. Being a fucking scumbag is not illegal -- indeed, our country sadly runs on this principle.

The fellow in the subway was acting to a DIRECT threat, and it's pretty easy to draw a line from that guy flipping out to someone being threatened/hurt/killed in the subway. He was already culpable of disorderly conduct or worse, and it's pretty clear that it wasn't Penny's intent to fatally injure him.

The juxtaposition some people feel is because the CEO is acting against their moral framework, but he's operating in a legal framework. This is why our country is fucking sick, but it is is what it is at this point.

[-] hanrahan@slrpnk.net 12 points 1 month ago

but he's operating in a legal framework.

That defence is flimsy AF .

The US did a whole thing in Germany saying following the law was a bullshit excuse , they've literally set the precedent for assholes following the law being killed when they're guilty of mass murder.

[-] yarr@feddit.nl 7 points 1 month ago

Since our courts care about case law and not about moral frameworks, I think you'll see that defense being used quite successfully.

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[-] Wandering_jaguar@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago
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[-] frayedpickles@lemmy.cafe 5 points 1 month ago

How was being upset in public a direct threat?

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[-] kava@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago

I think there are two primary reasons for the difference in treatment of these two killings

  1. The killing of the CEO was meant to be a message to the country. It's a different scale. Because something like this is such a spectacle, it gets national attention and the local and federal authorities are forced to deal with it quickly- otherwise they lose face.

  2. Ultimately the power structure cannot tolerate these types of rebellions. It's like a slave talking back to the master. You allow it once and you open the door for it to happen again. You have to try and shut it down as quickly as possible.

[-] pyre@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago

but killing rich people is illegal!

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[-] TheFrirish@jlai.lu 11 points 1 month ago

I don't understand who is the guy on the right?

[-] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 1 month ago

The bad one looks a fair bit older than 26. Weird hair, too.

[-] drunkpostdisaster@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

I hate my race so fucking much. Orcs with privileges

[-] agent_nycto@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

What race is that?

Honestly I just funnel my hair towards the rich since they are the ones who built and maintain the system.

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this post was submitted on 11 Dec 2024
743 points (100.0% liked)

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