with most of my fam as combat vets, and few of them left alive 10 or more years after coming home, I can't say I'm surprised. We indoctrinate, then abandon our vets.
The part that I find shocking (and it's hard to be shocked with a felon that launched a violent coup about to be president of the United States, a man that wants to emulate Putin's Ukraine and Georgia land grabs) is the incredibly large proportion of people (of all ages) that think it's OK for a one-man death squad to assassinate a man in the street - any man (woman or child for that matter) - for whatever the reason.
Is it OK with these people to kill any business leader that produces a product we find objectionable, defective, or dangerous? Why stop at business leaders? Why not political opponents? Why not target an ethnic or religious group? We will soon have a president that wanted to shoot protestors and immigrants and to lock up his opponents and try them for treason, knowing that this could lead to the death penalty. For what crimes? For opposing him?
Are we a country that will condone extrajudicial killing of political opponents by unofficial militias or covert government operations because they are suspected of a crime or are seen as a threat to the leader or to our personal politics or religion, such as we have seen in the Philippines, Russia, Honduras, Argentina, Chile, and so on?
I think most of us have wondered how the German people stood by and watched, then supported and encouraged the murder of millions of people by the Nazis. I think the poll gives some insight. According to that poll, a lot of Americans condone the murder of one man and, who knows, might think assassinating more "enemies" would be just fine.
The thing with polls is that you can't take them literally. When a pollster asks "was the assassination of Brian Thompson acceptable?" people are not necessarily answering that question with deep thought about the implications. Rather, it's a reflection of feelings about the broader issues at play. This holds with a lot of polls that you see in the wild.
The question wasn't "is it okay to shoot a guy in the street?" The question was "Do you think the actions of the killer of the UnitedHealth CEO were acceptable or unacceptable?" And the actions of the killer are greater than the act of the shooting.
I'm not justifying the shooting myself -- I think it's "extremely unacceptable." But you should read this poll not about shooting a man with a family, but how little power people feel they have over a system that's ripping them off.
Florida man personal critter removal? After having grown up in swampy SE Texas and twice lived in even swampier Louisiana, it's what you do on the gulf coast. 99% of the time, you 'got too much to do to wait for the "authorities." Granted I never had to remove an alligator*, but I am quite adept at opossum, lizard, snake, and random small mammal relocations. Helps to know what is venomous. Snakebite? Check. But when it is from a non-venemous garter snake that is a constrictor with its sandpaper teeth, it is much less painful than a cat scratch or paper cut - but leaves a really cool serrated mark. My redheaded eldest got serious badass cred in HS when she casually showed a group of guys "yeah I got bit by a snake yesterday" and watched them explosively launch away from her with terror in their eyes as if she had just thrown the actual snake at them. That's my girl.😎🤘
*although in Louisiana I discovered there was a town "gator pit" (place they liked to hang out near the sewage treatment plant) where the neighbors went to dispose of the dead armadillo that fell in and drowned in our pool when we were away.
with most of my fam as combat vets, and few of them left alive 10 or more years after coming home, I can't say I'm surprised. We indoctrinate, then abandon our vets.
I'm so sorry to hear that. It's one of America's greatest sins.
Points well-taken.
The part that I find shocking (and it's hard to be shocked with a felon that launched a violent coup about to be president of the United States, a man that wants to emulate Putin's Ukraine and Georgia land grabs) is the incredibly large proportion of people (of all ages) that think it's OK for a one-man death squad to assassinate a man in the street - any man (woman or child for that matter) - for whatever the reason.
Is it OK with these people to kill any business leader that produces a product we find objectionable, defective, or dangerous? Why stop at business leaders? Why not political opponents? Why not target an ethnic or religious group? We will soon have a president that wanted to shoot protestors and immigrants and to lock up his opponents and try them for treason, knowing that this could lead to the death penalty. For what crimes? For opposing him?
Are we a country that will condone extrajudicial killing of political opponents by unofficial militias or covert government operations because they are suspected of a crime or are seen as a threat to the leader or to our personal politics or religion, such as we have seen in the Philippines, Russia, Honduras, Argentina, Chile, and so on?
I think most of us have wondered how the German people stood by and watched, then supported and encouraged the murder of millions of people by the Nazis. I think the poll gives some insight. According to that poll, a lot of Americans condone the murder of one man and, who knows, might think assassinating more "enemies" would be just fine.
It's shocking.
The thing with polls is that you can't take them literally. When a pollster asks "was the assassination of Brian Thompson acceptable?" people are not necessarily answering that question with deep thought about the implications. Rather, it's a reflection of feelings about the broader issues at play. This holds with a lot of polls that you see in the wild.
So maybe they didn’t give much thought to whether it was OK to shoot a guy in the street? That’s scary in itself.
The question wasn't "is it okay to shoot a guy in the street?" The question was "Do you think the actions of the killer of the UnitedHealth CEO were acceptable or unacceptable?" And the actions of the killer are greater than the act of the shooting.
I'm not justifying the shooting myself -- I think it's "extremely unacceptable." But you should read this poll not about shooting a man with a family, but how little power people feel they have over a system that's ripping them off.
Florida man personal critter removal? After having grown up in swampy SE Texas and twice lived in even swampier Louisiana, it's what you do on the gulf coast. 99% of the time, you 'got too much to do to wait for the "authorities." Granted I never had to remove an alligator*, but I am quite adept at opossum, lizard, snake, and random small mammal relocations. Helps to know what is venomous. Snakebite? Check. But when it is from a non-venemous garter snake that is a constrictor with its sandpaper teeth, it is much less painful than a cat scratch or paper cut - but leaves a really cool serrated mark. My redheaded eldest got serious badass cred in HS when she casually showed a group of guys "yeah I got bit by a snake yesterday" and watched them explosively launch away from her with terror in their eyes as if she had just thrown the actual snake at them. That's my girl.😎🤘
*although in Louisiana I discovered there was a town "gator pit" (place they liked to hang out near the sewage treatment plant) where the neighbors went to dispose of the dead armadillo that fell in and drowned in our pool when we were away.
One your best ones - Eric!! Love the personal anecdotes (college students) and the data (murder lows, who knew?)