[grafmax]

As I see it the underlying issue for many ITT is the hypocrisy of condemning violence against Altman while while looking the other way from his role as an oligarch and as a Defense contractor. This is a human being with an awful destructive effect on the world he shares with us. Such people don't deserve violence but expropriation.

[senordevnyc]

I’m looking right at his role. What am I supposed to be seeing? Is he breaking the law?

Or do you just think he deserves whatever’s coming and more because you don’t agree with his views or actions?

[MiguelX413]

Following or breaking the law isn't a good metric anymore. It never was really, a lot of genocides were “legal”. Sometimes it turns into a question of which law too. The US regularly breaks international law, so why should we respect its rule of of law if it doesn't respect international rule of law? Kissinger died peacefully and free of consequence for his warcrimes. The US threatens to invade the Hague if it tries to prosecute Americans for their warcrimes. How could anyone possibly see US law as having any legitimacy anymore?

[senordevnyc]

I one billion percent prefer a flawed democracy with the rule of law, however imperfect, to a world where some random HN user thinks they their personal beliefs give them the moral authority to burn a family alive. Only an utter fool would wish for that world.

[MiguelX413]

How do you reconcile violence between democracies then?

What happens when two democracies go to war?

If it were WWII, I'd support the military violence of my government against the democratically-elected Hitler.

Similarly, I think violence against the genocide-supporting US government and elite is permissible today even if it was “democratically-elected” (not that I think a choice between two Zionists counts as a real choice).

[grafmax]

I clearly said he deserves expropriation not violence. Reread my comment.

The US defense industry profits off the mass murder of civilians including literally burning families alive as we bomb their homes. That’s mass murder at scale, not a single Molotov cocktail bouncing ineffectually off someone’s house. This is precisely the double standard I’m talking about.

The oligarchs control our political process and our laws. They bend it to their will for profit. What’s legal is not moral - they own the lawmakers and have endless budgets for the courts.

The only way to put an end to this is to expropriate them. Their extreme and disproportionate wealth gives them extreme and disproportionate power. Oligarchy is not some alternate/flawed form of democracy; these two systems are antithetical.

[MiguelX413]

Expropriation would be ideal.

[MiguelX413]

Why the hell are you downvoted? It's an undeniable fact that the US defense industry profits off the mass murder of civilians including literally burning families alive as we bomb their homes.