Except the sentencing as "rapist, sociopath, plagiarist", seems to already have taken place.
I'm not saying there shouldn't be any discussion, but this wasn't just discussion. It was more the presenting of a sentence, and then using the weight of the accusations to stifle discussion rather than engage with it. Even to the point of saying it won't go to court, because of what a vindictive person he is, or because the legal system is so bad that you really should believe the victims, and that's that. And of course, it's also his fault that there is no substantiation of the plagiarism claims, they're just a bonus anyway, something you're supposed to take on board with the main course. He's done, that's the "takeaway", and any discussion beyond that was hardly invited, much less responded to in a reasonable manner from what I saw.
It may be "more likely than not" that Appelbaum is guilty of some of or all these things, but it's pretty much before all our eyes what has been done with it, and what shoddy arguments have been used to excuse it. Personally, I wouldn't want anything to do with anyone who doesn't mind such a virtual lynch mob and the sophistry that went along with it, how's that for warning your social circles? Everybody throws a pebble, nobody feels like they stoned someone to death. After all, it was "more likely than not". I find that equally repulsive as what Appelbaum is accused of.
Once you're fine with holding that weapon, and your friends wielding it as well, once you are fine with a mob because you're in it and think it'll win and nobody will ask questions, that weapon will end up deciding for you who gets shot. And it takes your own humanity, too, bit by bit. It's not a new thing, it's not the first time I saw it, and though it didn't quite catch on as much as the people who tried so very hard probably wanted to, I never saw so many smart people go along with something so obviously wrong as this.
And all that in context of accusing him of that, of destroying people by using others? It would be funny if it wasn't so serious. Even if he does do that, that doesn't make it okay. Abusing an abuser while saying you're anti-abuse and pro-safe-space is a farce.
This is what is at stake, that is, what this has already broken to shit, and what many now are too proud or too immature to acknowledge, much less make any moves to fix:
> So stop it. You are creating a world where no one will ever dare to move out of their front door and take up a life of activism, because they can not know if Jake is a sociopath, or a person who is being framed.
PavlovsCat|9 years ago
I'm not saying there shouldn't be any discussion, but this wasn't just discussion. It was more the presenting of a sentence, and then using the weight of the accusations to stifle discussion rather than engage with it. Even to the point of saying it won't go to court, because of what a vindictive person he is, or because the legal system is so bad that you really should believe the victims, and that's that. And of course, it's also his fault that there is no substantiation of the plagiarism claims, they're just a bonus anyway, something you're supposed to take on board with the main course. He's done, that's the "takeaway", and any discussion beyond that was hardly invited, much less responded to in a reasonable manner from what I saw.
It may be "more likely than not" that Appelbaum is guilty of some of or all these things, but it's pretty much before all our eyes what has been done with it, and what shoddy arguments have been used to excuse it. Personally, I wouldn't want anything to do with anyone who doesn't mind such a virtual lynch mob and the sophistry that went along with it, how's that for warning your social circles? Everybody throws a pebble, nobody feels like they stoned someone to death. After all, it was "more likely than not". I find that equally repulsive as what Appelbaum is accused of.
Once you're fine with holding that weapon, and your friends wielding it as well, once you are fine with a mob because you're in it and think it'll win and nobody will ask questions, that weapon will end up deciding for you who gets shot. And it takes your own humanity, too, bit by bit. It's not a new thing, it's not the first time I saw it, and though it didn't quite catch on as much as the people who tried so very hard probably wanted to, I never saw so many smart people go along with something so obviously wrong as this.
And all that in context of accusing him of that, of destroying people by using others? It would be funny if it wasn't so serious. Even if he does do that, that doesn't make it okay. Abusing an abuser while saying you're anti-abuse and pro-safe-space is a farce.
This is what is at stake, that is, what this has already broken to shit, and what many now are too proud or too immature to acknowledge, much less make any moves to fix:
> So stop it. You are creating a world where no one will ever dare to move out of their front door and take up a life of activism, because they can not know if Jake is a sociopath, or a person who is being framed.
( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11851888 )
edit: and even if he is a sociopath, even if you have to warn your friends and circles and so on, that doesn't excuse whatever this was and is.