[EvilEndures]

> At what point does the technical community stop trying to technically interfere with the efforts of law enforcement, and start trying to change the laws that make law enforcement behave this way?

Law enforcement and government are addicted to power to an unhealthy degree. Convincing people to voluntarily give up power is rarely successful.

You seem to believe majority support is enough to make something happen. It is not.

The Public Option has 75% popular support. Medicare-For-All has 59% popular support.

Yet we have neither.

[wallace_f]

After President Franklin Pierce's child died gruesomely in a train wreck, it was believed, even by his own wife and family, that it was God's punishment for him seeking authority and power.

I didn't live in the past, but my reading of it leads me to believe that, at least through US history, it seemed that the public consciousness in the past has had very real skepticism of authority.

Perhaps that is the opposite today in many parts of the developed world. For example, a German guy recently looked me dead in the eye, smiled, and said sincerely: "But why would anybody not trust their government?"

[jetti]

Pierce was part of the first generation of U.S citizens and would have grown up with stories of British ruled colonies, which could have helped foster the skepticism of authority you mention.

[gerdesj]

The Public Option has 75% popular support. Medicare-For-All has 59% popular support. [HR] Yet we have neither. Brexit was decided on an embarrassingly close vote: 51.9%

So we have two seemingly popular things that haven't happened and one that has happened but was not so popular (but it turns out that it was more popular than was suspected by anyone beforehand). I'm afraid that is politics. If it helps, I am not a fan of Brexit but will have to live with it anyway.

There is no conspiracy and I don't think that it is fair to accuse your police and government of being arseholes (to put words in your mouth!) Sometimes we simply have to accept that our personal will does not always dovetail with that of the majority - that is how democracy works. To be fair though, there is also nothing wrong with getting a good rant in on HN.

If you feel really strongly about healthcare, why not emigrate to the UK? Our NHS is bloody amazing and only costs: https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance/how-much-you-pay - roughly 12% of your salary. There is a lower band and an upper band so it is not 12% of everything you earn and it also covers unemployment payments and other things.

[int_19h]

> Sometimes we simply have to accept that our personal will does not always dovetail with that of the majority - that is how democracy works.

That's true. But said acceptance doesn't need to translate to acceptance of the laws that the misguided majority enacts - you can sabotage those instead, Underground Railroad style.

[EvilEndures]

> There is no conspiracy and I don't think that it is fair to accuse your police and government of being arseholes (to put words in your mouth!) Sometimes we simply have to accept that our personal will does not always dovetail with that of the majority - that is how democracy works. To be fair though, there is also nothing wrong with getting a good rant in on HN.

You've clearly never dealt with either in the US for a protracted period of time.

Yes, they very much are. Their response to them breaking the law and/or making a mistake is "Fuck off, sue us."

> If you feel really strongly about healthcare, why not emigrate to the UK? Our NHS is bloody amazing and only costs: https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance/how-much-you-pay - roughly 12% of your salary. There is a lower band and an upper band so it is not 12% of everything you earn and it also covers unemployment payments and other things.

A) You are moving the goal posts from the original discussion.

B) I was born here. I'm not leaving just because I don't win every battle.

> Brexit was decided on an embarrassingly close vote: 51.9%

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/10/russian-influe...

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/06/britains-russia...

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/06/top-brexit-back...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-43336351

> The four most recent readings - taken by BMG Research and Survation between November and January - have, on average, once the 8% who said "don't know" are left to one side, put Remain on 52% and Leave on 48%.

Now that it isn't being influenced by an outside party, it is no longer narrowly winning.

To be honest, I don't think people should cry they have a mandate from the people with less than a 55% majority.

[gerdesj]

Now that it isn't being influenced by an outside party, it is no longer narrowly winning.

My original point about Brexit being very close still stands and I would suggest that your Remain on 52% and Leave on 48% are still very close given the sheer pain of the separation that has become apparent since the original vote (you try listening to the news here - its bloody boring.) If you had waved say 60% Remain, I might take notice.

[EvilEndures]

Yeah but your statements are largely irrelevant to what I was saying. A heavily influenced vote with borderline +/-2% isn't what I was discussing.

[praneshp]

> To be honest, I don't think people should cry they have a mandate from the people with less than a 55% majority

Can I ask what 55 is? (for instance, in India 66 is a special percentage required for some bills).

[EvilEndures]

https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_39,_Supermajo...

It is a bit nuanced but there are several forms of fund raising and such that require a 55% majority to pass.

We have other things that require a 2/3rds majority as well.

[praneshp]

Thanks, that's the sort of thing I was looking for.

[s73v3r_]

"If you feel really strongly about healthcare, why not emigrate to the UK?"

I get paid better over here, and the weather in the UK is shit.