Playing right into the hands of the conspiracy theorists...
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I'm not saying what these companies are choosing to do is wrong, but I worry what will result from all of this...
Twitter, Facebook, etc. all ban Trump - Trump heads to Parler.
Google, Apple remove Parler app, and then Amazon effectively kills it.
CEO threatens to fire right-wing radio hosts (416 stations).
I think all of these companies are trying to act in the best interest of our country (finally) and to protect their own businesses with these actions, but it will be so easy for extremists to see this as the "Deep State" and Big Tech working together to silence them in order to finalize this "stolen" election.
I'm very concerned about what we might witness in the next week and a half...
TR-6060 . RWD . LS3 . MagneRide . Brembos ... 4 doors + 5 seatbelts
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@davesaddiction All good, prudent actions that may also be the top of a slippery slope.
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@davesaddiction If we survive this, people may finally begin to understand that there are limits on both freedom and free speech. It doesn't just mean 'Fuck you - I got mine!'
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The conspiracy theorists have proven time and again that any action, or inaction, can be weaved into their narrative.
So, fuck them. Let's do the right thing regardless.
Now, slippery slope is more interesting, but let's face it: businesses are free to decline to support anyone, but they're not going to piss off millions of potential customers without good cause.
Insurrection and treason are good cause. I'm ok with them acting in the interests of stability.
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@davesaddiction Saw a quote the other day that went something like, "Those who say conservative speech is being silenced are admitting to more than they think."
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Malcolm Nance recently retweeted a thread from Amarnath Amarasingam I thought was a interesting read discussing how deplaforming ISIS affected their organization. Contained within were links to related articles.
I don’t think anything can be done about near time events aside from actually actioning intelligence - which doesn’t seem like what was happening leading up to the Capitol event... Your next McVeigh has already been radicalized and now you’ve got to find him before he lets lose IMO. That’s going to be one of the (many) downsides to not stopping this earlier. My well off neighborhood secret FB page was made to be a freedom of speech platform for the neighborhood and pretty quickly became a group of idiots sharing racist memes a few years ago before graduating to all things Trump. Now some of those same people are pretty radicalized via Q. It’s been quite a real learning curve in brainwashing, especially for a group of 90% white people that have seen absolutely 0 financial harm.
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@looseonexit That thread is quite a good read, and gives me hope for the future.
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@looseonexit said in Playing right into the hands of the conspiracy theorists...:
I don’t think anything can be done about near time events aside from actually actioning intelligence - which doesn’t seem like what was happening leading up to the Capitol event... Your next McVeigh has already been radicalized and now you’ve got to find him before he lets lose IMO. That’s going to be one of the (many) downsides to not stopping this earlier.
I am a big personal privacy proponent, and am very concerned about the future due to our loss of this in the modern world, but am all for law enforcement using all the tools at their disposal to prosecute anyone who broke the law at the Capitol (even entering the building should be punished) and to prevent any future violence related to this "stolen" election from taking place.
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@davesaddiction I have this scenario at work, in federal regulation. Economics tend to shake out in such a way that regulation often favors larger companies that can bear the costs easier. That's the case in my industry. The conspiracy theory is that my regulatory agencie's in the pocket of Big Industry and we're going to regulate the smaller companies out of business while the larger companies profit. And, well, that might happen. It's unavoidable, to some extent. Are we in the pocket of Big Industry? No, of course not. But will the conspiracy theory come to pass? Yeah, to a large degree, possibly. Who knows. Sometimes it just shakes out that way.
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@cash-rewards The feds pumping in all sorts of money to keep various big industries alive over the last twenty years while leaving individuals and families hung out to dry offers pretty ample evidence that the feds favor big industry. Big industries don’t spend money on lobbyists for nothing.
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"Too big to fail" my ass... The government should never be picking winners and losers, however, it is their place to work to provide excellent infrastructure, strengthen US manufacturing capacity (national security implications, and huge healthcare implications realized in the past year), incentivize new technology (for a time) and to work for the good of all its citizenry (clear air, water, etc. regs).
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@dipodomysdeserti I can certainly see that impression in some sectors. Mine is health related. So that means testing and data. And that's not cheap. The cost of that can be paid more easily by larger companies, or if they are large enough, done in house. Smaller companies, or mom and pop stuff, can't handle that burden as easily.
So that's kinda my point. What you're saying is valid, to some extent. It's also (in my specific case) done without favor to anyone, but is just the cost of doing business, so to speak. But the end result is the same either way.
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Just extending this... if people want other companies than Amazon, Walmart, Target, etc. to survive into the future, especially the older, smaller, local ones, they have to actually give them their business.
Don't blame online and big-box retailers for killing your small town businesses if you're giving all your business to online and big-box retailers. Unfortunately, low price and convenience generally will win out in the end (I'm as guilty as anyone).
TR-6060 . RWD . LS3 . MagneRide . Brembos ... 4 doors + 5 seatbelts
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@davesaddiction oh, hell yeah am I guilty of that. It's awful hypocrisy, but when you're trying to save money and have a family, the family wins out pretty quickly over whatever else might make me feel better. "Sorry kids, less money for toys because daddy believes it's important to pay more to smaller businesses" is a tough thing to actually do.
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@davesaddiction I've done my level best to do so, however businesses around me continually shoot themselves in the foot. None of them enforce mask wearing, and I'm including their own employees. Since it's unsafe to spend my money with the locals, I have to look for other alternatives. Hard to believe I'm an hour east of Seattle..
2006 XC70, 2007 Cayman, 2018 Tacoma SR5, 2019 MX-5 RF
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@midengine I'm just outside of DC, which puts me squarely in liberal suburbia. An hour away from me puts me in the foothills of the blue ridge, hard red, gun-toting Trump towns. An hour is a long way to go.
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I'm not looking forward to the post-mortem after this year cataloging all the small businesses that have failed in 2020+... To think how many of these families had their entire life's savings & work tied up into their business, and now that's all gone. Terribly sad.
TR-6060 . RWD . LS3 . MagneRide . Brembos ... 4 doors + 5 seatbelts
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@davesaddiction I feel the same way, I'd love to backstop the locals and try to help. My hands are tied by their own stubborn stupidity, I still feel bad for em.
2006 XC70, 2007 Cayman, 2018 Tacoma SR5, 2019 MX-5 RF
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@midengine Ha, you should see Spokane, it's like a 10 minute difference, and 30 minutes will put you on another planet (northern Idaho).
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@davesaddiction PSA: Amazon is often not the cheapest option. they reel you in with Prime shipping and all-in-one-place convenience, but on many items your local brick and mortar store actually beats Amazon's prices. We ditched Prime last year, and aside from The Expanse have not missed it one bit. Our overall spending is down.
I like big boost and I cannot lie.
But mostly I drive tractors. -
@midengine It's a shame. I guess you could check in with some individually about pickup or delivery services (which only works for certain things, of course - and most probably aren't set up for that). Hopefully they'll make it through the next few months.
TR-6060 . RWD . LS3 . MagneRide . Brembos ... 4 doors + 5 seatbelts
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@jawzx2 said in Playing right into the hands of the conspiracy theorists...:
The Expanse
Good on you! Yes, Amazon is often not the most cost-effective choice.
And not having access to such quick and easy purchasing is definitely healthy!
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@davesaddiction It extends beyond that, unfortunately. Local grocery store, lumber yard, gas station, even city hall (I had to get some docs notarized). A local restaurant made the news last week for opening up indoor dining in defiance of the state laws. Instead I drive 15 miles to get these sorts of things, inconvenient but I have a better chance of not getting sick. If you've have COVID a 15 mile drive is worthwhile.
2006 XC70, 2007 Cayman, 2018 Tacoma SR5, 2019 MX-5 RF
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@midengine Yeah, one of the suburbs closest to us where we do the most shopping/eating/etc. is basically the only holdout in the metro that has still resisted passing a mask mandate... So dumb. Lots of businesses are requiring it themselves, and most people are wearing them regardless, but... yeah.
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@davesaddiction Yep, I'm lucky to have lots of good options for both my day to day needs and my hobbies. I use Amazon as a last resort, but their inability to consistently get me things on time has made them less and less useful. We'll be cancelling our Amazon Prime membership soon.
