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by phyzome 63 days ago
"Nothing that Altman could say justifies violence against him."

Nothing, really?

I think people are aware that speech can be an act, and that some violent acts must be resisted with reciprocal violence. (That's why we have "incitement to violence" as a limitation on free speech, for instance.)

Are we at that point? Maybe not. But I think it's a poor imagination that says it can never happen.
1 comments
adamtaylor_13 63 days ago
Yeah that's my thought too. People, especially Americans (I am one) have this weird belief that violence never has any place, ever, at any time.

I'd argue that the unwillingness to commit violence in certain situations is actually a character flaw.

If someone threatens my child with physical violence, an unwillingness to commit violence on my child's behalf isn't better morality; it's cowardice.

All this to say, I agree that the violence against Sam Altman in this particular situation seems unnecessary and ultimately not helpful to anyone.

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aleph_minus_one 63 days ago
> [E]specially Americans (I am one) have this weird belief that violence never has any place, ever, at any time.

So why isn't there a huge opposition in the USA against the wars that the USA started (currently: Iran; before: Libya, Yemen, Syria, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, ...).

The only famous exception of cultural impact I am aware of where there was a huge opposition against war in the USA was the Vietnam war.

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erikerikson 63 days ago
There is?

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/03/25/americans-br...

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EvanAnderson 63 days ago
I think Americans (and probably humans in general) have a distaste for local violence. Violence afar doesn't tickle the brain in the same way.

My ignorant take:

Media brought the horror of US casualties in Vietnam home in a mass and immediate way that didn't exist in prior conflicts. The novelty of that media combined with the casualty rates drove unpopularity. It made the violence feel more real.

Even if casualty rates in post-Vietnam conflicts were higher I'm not sure we'd see negative sentiment because media coverage of violence is so normalized now. Exposure to violence in media is no longer novel.

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