Oh, that poor "deprived" and "abused" Walmart corporation!

[Revoltingest]

I agree. Apparently, overlooking petty crime is just the tip of the iceberg. It seems that some consider this justification for slaughter. I can probably guess that you would be as reluctant to throw support behind a movement that was based on killing selected citizens for emotional and political reasons as I am.

The way I see it. If a person is upset about how a law is enforced and adjudicated, there are rational, civil and legal means for them to address this. If your gut tells you something is rotten, then investigate and research to see if your gut is correct. Then communicate your views and seek leaders that reflect those views and drive change that way.

Assembling a hit list is a terrorist act and one that is a risky gamble on top of all of that. What you shoot into motion may explode out of control and out of the original scope that the hits were supposed to create. Russia and the Soviet Union are a great example of that. Russia needed change and that need went number one with a bullet. Then there was 70 years of dictatorship in the guise of communism.

Regarding the underlined portion....
Communism & authoritarian regimes are inseparable dance partners.
Setting aside the theoretical reason for the former requiring the latter,
we can see this in every example country.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Did he at least slow down when you had to enter or exit the car?

Sometimes he would do donuts when we were out for a family drive, but mom always made him quit. We had a Torino at the time. The car had a lot of get up and go.

Yeah. He was actually a big safety guy when it was all said and done and a pretty easy mark when it came to us kids.

When I was about 8 or 10 he taught my brother and I how to defend ourselves from a bayonet attack. It was pretty cool, though in retrospect, I don't think it would have had much practicality in rural Missouri at the time. He loved history and would tell us stories about historical events. His story telling often endured endless questions and I think the bayonet lesson arose out of some of those questions.

 

[Revoltingest]

Sure, steal a fighter plane from the Nazis but
Walmart , not so comlarable.

Comlarable?
Dang, you're really good at neologisms!

Buy aye, we're not at war with Walmart....well some of us are.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

The 50s were wonderful for the people for whom it was wonderful.
(How's that for a truism?)

Change affects our perception of things. People who just won WW2
saw things really looking up. I recall one uncle whose compatriots
all died in the Pacific theater....so he was pretty happy with his
post-war quality of life. Today, people have it much better, but they
don't see this same fantastic improvement, so they perceive
stagnation & ennui instead of enjoying a pretty darn good lifestyle.

I often wonder if the human experience requires some strife in order for us to excel. That does seem to be the historical model that has gotten us this far. The problem now is that we often generate our own strife out of ignorance, boredom or avarice. The world can supply plenty of strife without us thinking up new stuff.

I can tell you that in this day and age, a man can have his life turned upside down and have his prospects cut to ribbons and still have the hope and enthusiasm that he can carve out something better.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Comlarable?
Dang, you're really good at neologisms!

Buy aye, we're not at war with Walmart....well some of us are.

Walmart sells cheap stuff. If that stuff fits a need, then buy it. If a person does not like Walmart, don't shop there. If they are committing crimes, then gather the evidence, report them and promote the prosecution of them for those crimes. Just deciding to storm the homes of the share owners is not a solution.

 

[Revoltingest]

Sometimes he would do donuts when we were out for a family drive, but mom always made him quit. We had a Torino at the time. The car had a lot of get up and go.

Yeah. He was actually a big safety guy when it was all said and done and a pretty easy mark when it came to us kids.

When I was about 8 or 10 he taught my brother and I how to defend ourselves from a bayonet attack. It was pretty cool, though in retrospect, I don't think it would have had much practicality in rural Missouri at the time. He loved history and would tell us stories about historical events. His story telling often endured endless questions and I think the bayonet lesson arose out of some of those questions.

"...he taught my brother and I me how..."
Objective case, bruderherz!

My old man wasn't into safety.
So I got injured a lot as a kid.
My mother said she got dirty looks at the doctors office because they
suspected abuse....so she thought. Yeah, I was a regular...volume
discount for cuts, breaks, & blood all over the place.
I'm working on avoiding accidents, & have gotten better at this.

 

[Revoltingest]

Walmart sells cheap stuff. If that stuff fits a need, then buy it. If a person does not like Walmart, don't shop there. If they are committing crimes, then gather the evidence, report them and promote the prosecution of them for those crimes. Just deciding to storm the homes of the share owners is not a solution.

Some people have a pitchforks & torches attitude about injustice, ie,
to fight it one must commit it. I say it's just an excuse to act out rage.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Regarding the underlined portion....
Communism & authoritarian regimes are inseparable dance partners.
Setting aside the theoretical reason for the former requiring the latter,
we can see this in every example country.

From what I understand of history, governments based on socialism and communism tend to be highly susceptible to being overtaken by authoritarian rule.

Personally, I would be in favor of promoting a government that was based as ours is, but include the better parts of other forms of government in order to promote and optimize the lives of its citizens in ways that are productive and useful to those citizens. That may be utopian. At least as utopian as I get from a practical standpoint. Who knows what unintended consequences might lurk there.

 

[Shad]

When I was about 8 or 10 he taught my brother and I how to defend ourselves from a bayonet attack. It was pretty cool, though in retrospect, I don't think it would have had much practicality in rural Missouri at the time. He loved history and would tell us stories about historical events. His story telling often endured endless questions and I think the bayonet lesson arose out of some of those questions.

This popped into my head. Did he do the eye thing too?

 

[Shad]

From what I understand of history, governments based on socialism and communism tend to be highly susceptible to being overtaken by authoritarian rule.

Both require it by necessity in order to exterminate those that do not conform.

 

[Revoltingest]

From what I understand of history, governments based on socialism and communism tend to be highly susceptible to being overtaken by authoritarian rule.

Personally, I would be in favor of promoting a government that was based as ours is, but include the better parts of other forms of government in order to promote and optimize the lives of its citizens in ways that are productive and useful to those citizens. That may be utopian. At least as utopian as I get from a practical standpoint. Who knows what unintended consequences might lurk there.

If we want a particular social program, it need only be enacted
by elected leaders. Capitalism not only doesn't stand in the way,
it enables greater spending than alternative economic systems.
But as we see, voters like wars...spendy wars.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

"...he taught my brother and I me how..."
Objective case, bruderherz!

My old man wasn't into safety.
So I got injured a lot as a kid.
My mother said she got dirty looks at the doctors office because they
suspected abuse....so she thought. Yeah, I was a regular...volume
discount for cuts, breaks, & blood all over the place.
I'm working on avoiding accidents, & have gotten better at this.

We got injured a lot. He was big on safety. We were not.

That is another change that my children have experienced that I did not. We went to the doctor or the emergency room when there was severe injury or illness and not much more than that. My children attended regular and frequent well-baby visits to the doctor. If there was anything going on, there are dozens of records from which it could be found out. My oldest daughter, like most children, could not walk on flat, open, obstacle-free ground without falling down. One evening, she fell in the living room and hit a wooden ottoman face first and received a cut on her lip. She was immediately whisked to the emergency room. After about the fourth or fifth person asked her how she hurt herself, I realized that they were trying to see if her story matched our story. At first I was a little angered. Why the nerve of them. But I am rational and I thought about it and how a little lost dignity was nothing compared to saving a child that might be the victim of real abuse.

My parents did not abuse us. In many ways we were spoiled. They did what they could to ensure our safety and we did what we could to bypass their efforts. There were several of us. Using only doctors and emergency room visits as evidence, questions could easily have come up and charges raised. Unwarranted, but possible. The price that one part of society has to pay for the crimes of another part of society.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Both require it by necessity in order to exterminate those that do not conform.

That seems to optimize authoritarian presence rather than exclude it. I think that a good government should have checks and balances that exclude the growth of authoritarianism. Somebody should write that up in their founding documents.

 

[Curious George]

You cannot guarantee anything of the sort. All that you could guarantee is bloodshed. You have no idea what would rise up out of the ashes you created.

It is all about emotion. I do read these posts.

I bet the people that should be on your list would just grow and grow and for lesser and lesser offenses as time past. It would keep on growing until you felt satisfied that your authority was respected and feared and you felt you had sucked the will to retaliate right out of the masses.

I am not seeing a socialist like Christ here. You are more like Charles Manson.

In all fairness, vigilantism is something that is somewhat revered in American culture.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

If we want a particular social program, it need only be enacted
by elected leaders. Capitalism not only doesn't stand in the way,
it enables greater spending than alternative economic systems.
But as we see, voters like wars...spendy wars.

It would seem to be good for capitalism that all the members of a society be socially healthy, so it does not seem that it would be productive to stand in the way of rational social reforms and safety nets.

We will be paying for some of those wars long after I am gone. And the worse part of it is that some of the recent ones have done nothing to really solve the problems. In some cases, making them worse.

The utopian idea that all the lambs and lions will lay down together is destroyed when the first lion realizes that he or she is laying next to an easy meal. I support a strong military to ensure peace, but not to go out on every costly crusade that gets buzzing in someone's bonnet.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

In all fairness, vigilantism is something that is somewhat revered in American culture.

Sure. It is a big thing in movies. I have to admit that it probably has even meted out justice by accident on some rare occasion. But I am not sure that is an endorsement with much value from a practical, moral and legal standpoint.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Some people have a pitchforks & torches attitude about injustice, ie,
to fight it one must commit it. I say it's just an excuse to act out rage.

I see it that way too. If the cause was so great, I might be willing to die for it, but being willing to kill for it, changes the nature of the cause in my opinion.

 

[Revoltingest]

It would seem to be good for capitalism that all the members of a society be socially healthy, so it does not seem that it would be productive to stand in the way of rational social reforms and safety nets.

Some programs have issues of efficacy & cost effectiveness.
And all cost, meaning raising taxes.
With all the money spent on war, more spending is a tough sell.

We will be paying for some of those wars long after I am gone. And the worse part of it is that some of the recent ones have done nothing to really solve the problems. In some cases, making them worse.

Just "some"?

The utopian idea that all the lambs and lions will lay down together is destroyed when the first lion realizes that he or she is laying next to an easy meal. I support a strong military to ensure peace, but not to go out on every costly crusade that gets buzzing in someone's bonnet.

I agree.

 

[Revoltingest]

I see it that way too. If the cause was so great, I might be willing to die for it, but being willing to kill for it, changes the nature of the cause in my opinion.

I'm willing to kill.
(Remember that I designed weapons...or parts of them.)
But I see it as more of a last resort.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

The 50s were not so great in war ravaged countries,
I guess. Probably not good anywhere except Canada and the
US.

That is part of my point. The greatness of the times is dependent on factors that exceed the reality of those describing the times as great.

A black family in rural Mississippi might not recall the 50's as so great. People in Korea might not have thought that decade was so wonderful. Being poor probably would effect how you view any decade. But in the US, if you were white and had a modicum of affluence, it was Christmas.

Canada will always be the birthplace of Rush and Neil Young and be held in high esteem as a result.