i read this and think, well small wonder Christianity persisted all this time. the baseline level of suffering they endured is something most of us reading this will never know in our lifetimes, if we’re lucky. (though the hounds of climate change howl outside our doors)
skies go dark, plagues. it’s literally biblical. what comfort could anyone turn to when it seemed like the very land and sky around them wanted them dead? Must have been terrifying on some level to feel God in nature all around you and it was so hostile.
and just think of the psychic trauma that gets passed down the generations from that. How it shaped society. How it maybe helped religion take hold. People have seen in their lifetimes, or their parents, grandparents and so on have seen in theirs, the terror of biblical plagues. So you want to do right by your God.
Ah yes let’s get bogged down in silly “rationalism” like this. Because of course before you can determine whether they under- or over-use force, you need to determine the _proper_ level of force in each circumstance. And let me tell you it’s going to depend case-by-case! And gosh since it’s so hairy to determine whether something was over- or under-use of force, let’s just broadly leave it up to the officers’ discretion.
Lol. This is exactly how white supremacy & other power structures reinforce themselves
one "certain political ideology" stormed the capitol and murdered a police officer. maybe you saw it, it was led by a centaur furry right through them beating a cop to death on the steps of the capitol building. But sure, yeah, absolutely, it's the libs who are destroying america. Give me a break.
You're not a serious person. Go back to qanon or whatever new conspiracy theories you "liberatarians" are on to next.
edit: But since you're obviously struggling with a social life, I'll give you some help.
> I can't get people I am close with to even consider engaging in conversations about firmly held beliefs they have if I even remotely present myself as possibly holding a different opinion.
Yeah because you're an annoying asshole my guy. All you do is cast yourself as the victim. Gee whiz I wonder if you're a mediocre white-passing guy in tech, it's really a whole mystery. Have fun responding, I'll see you in 6 months when I check this account again.
Literally every individual thing you wrote is wrong.
1. Suicide rate doesn’t “measure death from mental illness.”
2. The suicide rate isn’t “the death rate from mental illness.” (See #1)
3. What do you even mean by “we are doing a bad job”? Who is “we” there? Also, this “conclusion” you’re drawing is supported only by nonsense predicates (see #1 & #2).
4. The “mental health profession” isn’t responsible for moderating the suicide rate. Also literally every mention you make of “mental health profession” is fallacious because the suicide rate is not an actual metric for evaluating the efficacy of the “mental health profession”, so even addressing anything you’re saying about “measuring how good of a job the mental health profession is doing” would be legitimizing a nonsensical claim. This one covers how pretty much everything else you wrote here is wrong.
Never fails IME people who say they favor “limited government” really mean “government for thee, not for me.” They want laws enforced, sure, but mostly just the ones about keeping the rabble from getting in the way of the fReE mArKeT.
It’s painfully obvious to me, now, after everything, that pursuing a “limited government” requires making it harder for certain groups to vote and gerrymandering. Can’t have the rabble voting in their own welfare; that means higher tax rates on top earners —- aka “getting in the way of the fReE mArKeT” —- to pay for it.
It’s the inevitable conclusion, as we are seeing in the United States.
This comment expressing support & encouragement for state-sanctioned violence against its citizens is authoritarian propaganda employing classist and racist tropes.
> If you send a mental health professional to all sorts of situations, their solutions will be mental health related (medication, treatment, commitment, etc...).
> If you send a cop, their solutions will involve the criminal justice system (citation, fines, arrest, jail time, etc...).
The fact you list both of these out then say policing is the one with a "long history of strong checks and balances" (what does this even mean?) is appalling. It reads like authoritarian propaganda.
You're taking the classist and racist position, that force employed by agents of the state should be deployed against the poor & otherwise marginalized to prevent them from being a "burden to society." Also that employing people who are tasked with _helping_ instead of _enforcing laws_ should NOT be allowed to do that.
To be clear, you're not really making any falsifiable claims. It's just an endless appeal to emotion. "a long history of strong checks and balances and improving itself over time" is a bold claim about municipal agencies with their own regulations, city, and state laws to adhere to. Not to mention different missions, run by different organizations with different lines of reporting. Totally different cultures, etc. It's so vague but that's the beauty of it: you can make it mean whatever you want under scrutiny.
It’s not. Commenters on HN know jack shit about this topic but love commenting like they have any idea. It’s the thing HN is most known-for: non-experts speaking out of their ass with top-tier confidence.
Edit: it’s not even halfway through its projected lifecycle.
If the fire was in control it wouldn’t still be burning. This isn’t a forest fire where controlled burns can keep smoldering for days. If the fire was in control it wouldn’t still be burning.
edit: Downvote all you want but if the fire was in control it wouldn’t still be burning.
skies go dark, plagues. it’s literally biblical. what comfort could anyone turn to when it seemed like the very land and sky around them wanted them dead? Must have been terrifying on some level to feel God in nature all around you and it was so hostile.
and just think of the psychic trauma that gets passed down the generations from that. How it shaped society. How it maybe helped religion take hold. People have seen in their lifetimes, or their parents, grandparents and so on have seen in theirs, the terror of biblical plagues. So you want to do right by your God.
small wonder indeed.