Philisophical political thread...

[Crazed_Insanity]

Anyway, for the sake of some folks, I think it's probably better for me to stay out of our usual political thread. For those who actually wish to engage me in discussions, please just do so here...

I'll just start with DN's post from the other thread:

Billi - again Im going to say "power"

if the person you should report has power over you, then you are less culpable. Of cause its a balance between the seriousness of the offence and the degree of power (risk job, risk life). Generally if they have any significant power, then you could be at great personal risk if you say anything.
Now if the person who knows has the power or is an equal, that is then very different.

We just had a catholic cardinal loss a court case and will now stand trial. This is very different to say an altar boy also knowing what was going on.
The cardinal helped cover up crimes.

So yeah - a driver is a lot bigger difference to a financial backer. That you are talking about more money, implying that they are buying you off, still doesnt change the huge disparity in power between them. Its hard to put blame on someone who didnt do the crime but knows about it, but who also has very little power. History (even recent history) is littered with people who "did the right thing", it went nowhere except to destroy them. You have to be very brave and determined to be a whistleblower.
Weinstein is the classic example - he made good on threats and actresses found out that their careers were hurt (generally told "she is very hard to work with, dont use her" and people accepted his word)

They way you are talking about this it seems like a weak attempt to shift blame.

Not trying to shift blame, but to help everyone accept their share of responsibilities.

Of course being a whistle blower is hard. No question.

Of course being a member of a gang, every time you try to get out, they'll pull you back in.

Of course when your son ended up a mass shooter with your guns, you should be somewhat responsible.

Naturally the altar boy who did the cover up shouldn't be punished as severely as the cardinal, but can you really say that the boy is blameless?

My point is nothing 'trumps' speaking the truth and doing the right things.

When you give yourself excuses, such as I might lose something or get hurt or even die, that's how evil wiggles its way into our world.

My Lord and Savior demonstrated this... do the right things even if it costs you your life!

If you just can't mustard the courage to whistleblow or think it's not good to be a snitch, then at least quit the organization. If your gang won't even allow you to quit, then at least try to be the least effective member as possible... so that they'll want to get rid of you or something. Don't use these things as excuses to continue to do wrong things for them.

Point is I'm not trying to shift blame from cardinal to the cover up altar boy, they all need to get their fair share of the blame. Now, I'm not saying we need to lock up the altar boy, maybe just a verbal reprimand or something. Point is, he needs to know he screwed up and should something similar happen again, he better not repeat his same mistakes! Don't be afraid to tell the truth so that we can nip evil in the bud.

Take the #MeToo movement for example, I applaud the brave souls who exposed the crap their bosses have done. That is awesome. We absolutely need to bring awareness... to shed light on suck dark matters. However, such awareness should then initiate proper investigations in order to bring us to the real truth. We shouldn't just smear or discredit these whistle blowers credibility nor should we quickly rush off to ax the accused right away because of the accusations. I do admire the bravery of the #MeToo movement, but I'm just a bit scared at how people quickly just assume all such brave souls must be telling the truth. Unless we're witnesses, it will usually take a while for the rest of us to get to the bottom of it. Not need to rush either way... Used to be that the female employees get screwed, but now, we're experiencing the opposite effect. Need to stay somewhere in the middle. Oppression sucks. Power can swing around and it is now obviously in the girls' favor. If you are a white male boss and somebody accuses you, you're basically fucking screwed... because you're privileged and your daddies have oppressed a lot of people... so now we get to oppress you back!

Anyway, that's just fucked up... and unfair for the whities.

Just treat each other as decently and fair as possible. Senator Al Franken may very well be guilty once we get to the real truth, but I just felt he was being treated unfairly by the movement... that he never was given a chance to prove his innocence. The movement itself is admirable, but it has been warped into something very scary... Power has shifted.