#but when you make baseless critics and then refuse to believe youre wrong its. its just?? i dunno | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

apathycarestostudy · 4 years

Text

Things Every 20+ y/o Should Start Doing (if you haven't) - unedited and unfiltered.

Twenty is a magical age. I don't know why it's not said as often as it should be, but truly, I feel like it's as just a turning point as 30 or 40 is. This is when you struggle the most to come to terms with yourself, or deliberately say you have. This is when you're becoming "conscious" as I like to think to the world — whatever the world means to you.

So, in lieu of hitting 21 a couple of months ago, I've decided to compile a list of things I believe every twenty and more year old should try. If they haven't already, of course.

1. Journaling

I've always been apprehensive of keeping a record of all my thoughts and woes as I thought that would be (a) used against me if found and/or (b) be an admission that I feel some type of way about something. Both of these concerns are damn childish and I'm glad I kinda got over it now that I'm journaling regularly, but I still hold back a little unfortunately. Well. The point of this is that 20 is an awakening that's worth journaling about, even if you have nothing going on. Write letters to your future self, to your families and friends and that one asshole you hate and the shoes you're wearing and —

Also, I always thought I didn't feel any type of way about things until I started journaling and realized I do. Yikes. You might want to make like me and face them now.

2. Learn something new everyday

Did you know that the heart of a shrimp is located in its head?

Life is unfair. There’ll be times when you feel this in all its potency. But just know this - everything can be taken from you, sans your knowledge. Overrated, a little debatable (because, mental illnesses), but it’s a neat standard to have. Plus, if you’re not well adverse in maintaining conversation, or you’re in a tight spot, spouting a random fact would help lighten the mood.

3. Pause your indignation

We’re in the age of getting mad, triggered, attacked, whatever else and that’s sad and unhealthy as all hell. What happened to being cool? To giving people the benefit of the doubt? Are we so fragile now that anything could throw us into our feelings regardless of whether it’s valid or not?

Okay, you were wronged. You are absolutely entitled to how you feel about it too. But you know what you can control? Your reaction. Your response. How you carry yourself and the way you go about it is what matters. It won’t feel as good in the beginning when you can’t bust someone up (or yourself), but you’ll be proud of yourself. You successfully refused to relinquish a piece of yourself.

4. Decide what standards you won’t breach

This goes hand-in-hand with the last point, but isn’t entirely the same. If your standard is to always respect everyone, you can’t be late when you gotta meet them because that constitutes disrespect. You don’t tolerate something, don’t engage in it. Draw the fine lines and stay within them. Whatever your code of honor is, you have to stay true to them no matter the situation you’re put in.

P.s. let it be something righteous, self and community loving, positive. This is not a plea for unreasonable stubbornness.

5. Watch something you wouldn’t normally watch

This is an interesting one. I remember as a teenager, I’d proudly declare what genres I’d never cross over to and what was beneath me, with absolutely no sound reasoning behind it. It was a baseless generalization of what’s cool and what wasn’t in my eyes. Let me tell you, some of the things I claimed wasn’t my cup of tea became my bottle of water (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞☜(ﾟヮﾟ☜)(☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞

Hah.

Well, I didn’t come upon this epiphany by myself. My siblings put on a show I’d never be caught dead watching and by the end of it, then I got the epiphany. Now, whatever random video I run into on YT, any show that someone suggests that isn’t what I’m into, a documentary about something outside of my faith I’ll watch. It not only polishes your tastes, it broadens your horizons.

6. Learn to let go

7. Pick your role models wisely

This is insanely important at this age. You don’t want to realize too late that your aspirations didn’t become anything meaningful because of the people around you. Who do you look up to? What traits of theirs do you want to integrate into your being? What do they do that you’d like to do some day? If the people you look up to do not fall into any of these things, I strongly suggest you don’t invest any more time into them. I don’t mean cut off your toxic parents or anything life altering like that, I mean ignore the things that don’t fuel your goals. I’m not saying you pick someone and mimic everything they do, I mean critically choose what lessons you’ll take from them.

Be weary of the people you follow. Don’t follow blindly.

8. Rekindle an old hobby

I used to read a whole book in a day. At the most, I’d stretch it out to a week, but nothing more. It was a glorious time in my life where I just got into anime, steam rolling through seasons, then writing fanficition, wasting sleeping time to write more and post several times in one night, not to mention playing flash games but now I barely do any of that anymore. I keep buying more books and not much of it are getting read. I keep typing drafts that I never publish. I scroll through anime lists before closing the tab, fruitless.

You must have had a fun hobby when you were younger. Why not slot in a time to try it again? You may be lucky enough to reignite that passion. It’s worth a shot in the race to feeling good the right way.

9. Follow the world news

At this point, there’s no avoiding it because of the current climate. But anyways, it’s important to know what’s going on over yonder because it not only feeds your intellect, it keeps you cultured and it humbles you in a way I can’t describe. It also opens a new conversation topic for you, and as someone who wasn’t into dipping into ANY type of news, it reduces the amount of side eyes you get from people who do. It didn’t bother me before, but again, when one of my siblings kept announcing the news to us everyday, I woke up early and skimmed through google news and just waited until he rolled in the room. His face fell when I started reciting the recent headlines and I’ve never looked back since.

P.p.s I do not mean entertainment news. Indulge in that if you like it of course, but please, cast your lovely gaze on world news as well.

10. Try and make more friends

I know. I practically hiss at people who approach me. I wasn’t always like this, but circumstance and people’s audacity brutally murdered me every time I reached out. It’s not like I’m antisocial - I’m always kind and accommodating to anyone who comes my way, but I stopped putting myself out there completely.

I can’t tell you to change and start talking to people, I’m saying to give the newcomers a chance. Don’t treat everyone the same way because that’s not fair and you might lose the opportunity to have another friend. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m stilling hissing at the assholes who forgot how to act right.

P.p.p.s Real life friends. Online friends are just as precious, but it’s healthy to have joy close by as well.

And that’s about as much as I can think of at the top of my head. There are many life lessons I’ve had the privilege to learn, and many more that have yet to come, and so have you. Here’s to our collective success and happiness, our failures and sadness, and all the pointless shit in between. 20s is a ride that doesn’t have to just be full of holes and mistakes and regrets. I really wish people would stop saying it will be and decide for me.

#study motivation #life advice #studyblr #motivation #life is good #journal #life tips #what am i saying #how am i supposed to tag this #adulting #college adventures #college advice #life in your 20s #apathycarestostudy

114 notes · View notes

teyrnacousland · 5 years

Text

So remember how I said in this post that I wanted to be able to choose a Constable of the Grey, and then see an epilogue slide for that person’s rule? I did it myself. The game denied me this content and so I made my own. Here’s how I think things would go under each companion’s leadership (/second-in-command…ership)

Anyways. Enjoy!

Nathaniel

“Thank you, Commander. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

Nathaniel’s appointment as Constable of the Grey is a divisive choice. The nobles who supported his father are put off by the differences between the two. Those who suffered for Arl Howe’s actions see it as a continuation of his father’s betrayal, especially those who were loyal friends of the Couslands. (If the Warden is Human Noble, their support of Nathaniel assuages many, though not all, of these fears.)

Though it sometimes takes newcomers, especially those who have been affected by Arl Howe’s treachery, time to warm up to him, they eventually come around. (If the Warden is a Human Noble, their public forgiveness of Nathaniel helps, along with his public denouncement of his father’s actions.)

Though some of the nobles try to bully him into making excessive reparations, or try to get special treatment based on past alliances they believe Nathaniel should continue, he holds his own valiantly. He welcomes the advice of his companions and subordinates in all matters, and his rule over both the Keep and the Arling is a good balance of strict and fair.

He chooses Velanna as his Senior Warden. This causes a whole new round of outrage, but Nathaniel is openly adamant about his support of her. He does his best to give her bold ideas and declarations a bit more tact without detracting from what she says and does. They’re a good team.

Velanna

“I accept. Ma serannas, lethallin. I (/we if the WC is Dalish) will show them what the (/we) Dalish can do.”

The fact that the new Constable of the Grey was an elf, and an elven mage at that, causes outrage in some circles. (If the Warden-Commander was also Dalish it inspires a panic that this was some form of takeover by the Dalish. Despite this, Velanna refused to separate herself from her Dalish heritage. The conspiracies died down eventually, but they flare up again whenever a decision or action of hers is questioned.)

Velanna, having been the First in her clan, is an excellent leader. Though many nobles are initially outraged at her brash tone and lack of tact, others still respect her for her directness. Nathaniel, her Senior Warden, often helps to smooth over any potential problems. This leads some of the more… traditional (racist) people to refer to Nathaniel as the true leader, or to try and give him credit for Velanna’s accomplishments. Fortunately, Nathaniel is quick to denounce this line of thinking, and has no issue making the chain of command clear whenever he can.

Though Velanna at times has to fight harder than others, and is often faced with undue blame and suspicion, she excels at the position. She is organized and ambitious. She has proven herself in both battle and several political standoffs, and those who follow her hold her in the highest esteem to this day.

Anders

“Whoa, wait, me? Constable of the Grey? You can’t be serious. I’m not exactly the leader type, in case you haven’t noticed.” (Persuade) You have too little faith in yourself. You’ll do great. “Well… if you’re sure. I’ll do my best, I guess?”

Despite, or perhaps encouraged by, the Chantry’s protests, Anders accepts the role of Constable of the Grey. (The Chantry fights against this even harder if the WC is also a mage, but ultimately the Grey Wardens operate outside of Chantry rules, so their opinions don’t matter. Some resort to spreading rumours that Vigil’s Keep has fallen to some form of maleficar uprising, perhaps even blood magic.)

His inexperience with the world and its politics is a bit of a downfall, but his companions and advisors are there to help him. Seneschal Garavel is an experienced soldier and is happy to advise him with military decisions, and his Senior Warden, Nathaniel, advises him on political matters. Justice and Sigrun are happy to advise on anything when asked, though neither has much more world experience than Anders himself, and Velanna forcefully inserts herself into most decisions anyways. Anders rule becomes somewhat of a democracy, with everyone discussing each issue and trying to come to a compromise. He’s often more of a mediator than a ruler.

Though at the start of his career he often just defers to others’ judgements, he begins to speak up for his own beliefs as time goes on. Whispers start to circulate that apostates can find a safe place at Vigil’s Keep. All are welcome to be either conscripted as Wardens or informally recruited as “advisors” and “specialists”. (Making up titles is a favoured pastime of Warden-Constable Anders. “Oh, no, no, Neria’s not an apostate. She’s the Grey Warden’s Official Expert in the Arcane Arts of Ignition” “…you mean she’s a mage who can light things on fire.” “Yep!”)

He is fair and compassionate, though sometimes overly harsh or lenient depending on the circumstances. Whenever it falls to him to pass judgement on someone for a wrongdoing or crime it always ends in a very loud debate between him, Justice, Nathaniel, and Garavel. (He tends to go easy on things like theft or desertion, and anything that had a good reason behind it. And he tends to be extra harsh on anyone who selfishly wrongs those with less power than them, and especially anyone who wrongs mages. Or elves, since it tends to get Velanna fired up and he tends to take her side in such cases.)

Though there are some who would look down on his inexperience, or his heretical beliefs, there are twice as many who would laud his good character. Those who doubt him find their doubts drifting away when they hear his heartfelt vows to help where he can, and those who would call him a heretical apostate/maleficar have trouble reconciling that belief with the friendly, if on occasion immature, man who leads them with compassion and humility. (Also pretty much all of them have had someone they know, or have been themselves personally, saved by his healing magic, so no one can really protest all that much.)

But eventually Chantry pressure (mostly pushed for by those personally offended by the continued existence and freedom) reaches Weisshaupt. The First Warden sends an “overseer” to the Keep. This overseer also agrees to the Chantry’s demands that they recruit a templar named Rolan. Unable to reach the Warden-Commander, Vigil’s Keep has no choice but to allow the takeover, and Anders is unofficially demoted to more of a figurehead than a leader. Justice urges him to fight back, but the confidence Anders has gained in his months as a leader gives way to bitter resignation. He knows if he pushes back at the Chantry they’ll only push even harder. There’s nothing he can do.

When Anders and Justice disappear Nathaniel officially takes up the position of Warden-Constable.

Justice

“I am honoured, Commander. I shall lead the wardens justly in your absence, this I swear.”

Outside of the Warden-Commander’s inner circle, no one knows what to make of their new Warden-Constable being a Fade spirit. Aside from the Chantry, who definitely knows what they think of it. They try to object, but the Warden-Commander shuts down their complaints by reminding them that they hold no authority over the Grey Wardens.

The wardens and soldiers themselves are cautious around him, at first. Even most mages have little experience with Fade spirits. But all who have fought with Justice know him to be a valiant warrior, and anyone who spends enough time around him learns that he is an inspiring leader. Soon, his supporters begin to outweigh his detractors.

Though he does his best to make his decisions fairly, those who end up with the shorter end of the stick often resort to attacking his nature, saying that a creature such as him cannot have the complexity required to lead, let alone make judgements and decisions. Justice himself is more than happy to engage with those who think him unfit, and he surprises many with his proficiency in debating their concerns. No one has yet to present a genuine reason for him to be removed that he cannot counter, aside from baseless Chantry superstition.

Despite the hardships, Justice seems to enjoy the opportunity to inspire and empower the people, as well as the extra reach leadership gives him that allows even more opportunities to fight injustices. Though he never loses his humility, and never sees himself as above those he commands. He is one of them, and they learn to respect him for it.

As with Anders, the Chantry convinces Weisshaupt to send someone to oversee the Keep. Justice does what he can to argue, especially when the overseer agrees to recruit several Templars at the Chantry’s demand, but he is ignored. He’s ready to draw swords and fight whoever he has to, but Anders and Nathaniel convince him (and Velanna, who’s also ready to throw hands) that will only make things worse. Especially for Anders, and for the Warden-Commander since they’re the one who appointed him.

Before disappearing, Justice passes on his title to Nathaniel Howe.

Sigrun

“Me? Really? Thank you, Commander. I promise I won’t let you down.”

The title and position give Sigrun a renewed sense of purpose. She has something to live for, and this determination is reflected in her actions and her choices. And though some doubt her due to her inexperience and that she’s a dwarf, she takes to leadership surprisingly well.

Those who fought with her are quick to jump to her defence in the face of criticisms. Her soldiers are fiercely loyal to her and she makes sure to deserve that loyalty. Her optimism is inspiring, and her determination is contagious. (That goes both ways. She’s inspired by the peoples’ faith in her, and in return she inspires them. It’s like a huge swirling cycle of optimism and loyalty.)

Though some criticisms are right, she really doesn’t have experience in leading or in politics. Nathaniel is more than happy to help and give his advice, as is Seneschal Garavel. She lets them make many decisions, but she is always a part of the discussion leading up to those decisions. She surprises many with how good she is at managing resources and battle strategies.

She appoints Velanna as Senior Warden. Velanna’s bitterness and skepticism balance out with Sigrun’s perky optimism perfectly. Vigil’s Keep becomes known as somewhere that accepts all sorts and gives them a place. Especially dwarves inspired by tales about the casteless who became a hero (/heroes, if the HoF is a Dwarf Commoner).

#my writing #dragon age awakening #da headcanons #anders #justice #velanna #nathaniel #sigrun #my crew #i love them all #any one of them could do it #i headcanon the whole overseer thing happens no matter who's wc; that's why anders and justice end up leaving #i just didn't want to repeat myself too much or make every section about anders and justice #(okay i did because i love them but i restrained myself)#the overseer is pretty shit to velanna as constable too but she handles it like a champ #velanna does not let herself be pushed around (and the others don't let her get pushed around either)#nate is aggressively apathetic and subtly condescending #sigrun is... i'd describe it as passive aggressively perky?#she doesn't let anything they say get to her and she makes cheerful deadpan comments that this stranger who doesn't know her doesn't quite #know how to take #also she steals his things when he's not looking

50 notes · View notes

wisdomrays · 5 years

Text

A Disease to Topple A Person: Making False Assumptions

QUESTION: As it is stated in a saying of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, with reference to a self-righteous person, when one says that other people are ruined, he himself is the most ruined of all. Are behaviors such as making false assumptions and continually threatening others included in this saying’s meaning?

ANSWER: In this saying, which is included in Imam Muslim’s Sahih, the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, states, “When you hear a man say, ‘The people are ruined,’ he himself is the most ruined of them all.” Since this blessed statement is a pithy one, it conveys many truths. One of its truths pertains to making false assumptions about others, as it is mentioned in the question. Pouring forth invective about this or that person, even to the degree of declaring him to be ruined, almost always stems from such false assumptions. However, the noble Prophet points out that the one who makes such sinful statements is actually the most ruined one.

Those who idolize their ego seek others to blame

The underlying motive behind such invective is egotism, ego-centrism, and even narcissism. If a person is vilifying everybody and finding faults in them, it means that he is idolizing himself in self-adoration unawares. He is virtually speaking to a mirror, saying, “There is no one like you; let everything be sacrificed for you.”

A person devoid of positive thinking but fixed on negative thinking can even use their false assumptions to criticize very important acts of worship by others, such as prayer. For example, when a vain person sees someone observing prayer, he may entertain thoughts as, “I wonder if this person has really melted into prayer?”

Such a thought should be accosted by the Prophet’s warning, “Did you cleave his heart open to check it out?” We cannot know anyone’s heart. A person who seems to neglectfully observe prayer may actually be observing it with deep feeling. Therefore, although it is our duty to voice truths such as teaching the correct form of prayer and presenting the characteristics of believers, we must also refrain from entertaining negative considerations about anyone else’s observance of prayer or fasting—and we must especially refrain from voicing and negative thoughts. Viewing others’ acts of worship with bias and assuming them to be sanctimonious is a terrible form of false assumption. Such a false assumption may cause a person to end up in utter spiritual loss. God Almighty forbids baseless suspicions, in a definite and clear fashion, with the following Divine decree:

“O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion, for some suspicion is a grave sin (liable to God’s punishment); and do not spy (on one another…)” (al-Hujurat 49:12).

While considering others, it is always necessary to view them in a positive light, as far as there is a possible basis for it. Even if a person only one aspect that allows positive thinking, one must still take to it and avoid negative thinking. For example, a man may solely have said the proclamation of faith or the testimony of faith as a good deed for the Afterlife; yet if he has done this, our opinion about this man, who outwardly does not do any good deeds, should be, “This brother may have said the testimony of faith from the bottom of his heart, and this statement of his may have gained a high worth in the sight of God. Therefore, he may be saved in the next world with that single protestation of faith.”

On the other hand, while viewing ourselves, we must be self-critical to the degree of worrying about the possibility of having spoilt our good deeds by showing off, even if we do not only observe the five daily prayers but also add some fifty more make up prayers, and thus fear to be ruined because of our ostentation.

There are many more examples. Someone who outwardly seems to have a weak connection with God, owing to poor observance of individual worship, can be someone who always speaks truthfully in interpersonal relations and never lies. We must interpret this attitude of his as a result of his God-consciousness, and say, “Given that this person is so scrupulous about refraining from lying, then he must have a very strong relation with God.”

Similarly, imagine a person who is very vigilant against unlawful gain, does not even eat a forbidden morsel, and refuses to take an undeserved payment for a task he did not carry out. This person’s behaviors are so beautiful that we cannot explain them without a context of seeking good pleasure of God. For this reason, in all of these situations, we must always entertain positive thoughts about that person’s relationship with God.

Balance: Positive thinking without absolute trust

If we refrain from going to extremes but seek the ideal conduct on this matter, we must also never disregard the following principle: for those people whose ups and downs we witness, positive thinking is adopted together with an absence of absolute trust. If the person we view with positive thoughts has occasional strays from the line of uprightness, then he may not be a mature and perfect person as we see him to be. In this respect, even if we entertain positive thoughts about that certain person, we should not fail to act cautiously about certain issues, such as giving him some vital responsibilities or entrusting him with very important tasks. However, we should know that even in such a case, we do not have the right to adopt statements that convey negative thoughts while giving an account of that person. We cannot say things like, “I do not have much trust in such and such person; he is not really trustworthy.”

While viewing others we should think that even the simplest deeds can be a means of salvation for them. We should overlook their faults, and avoid speaking negatively about them. A particular example from the time of the noble Prophet gives important lessons to believers in this respect.

In the early period of the prohibition of alcohol, one Companion was caught drunk many times and was severely reprimanded. Once, he was brought to the presence of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, and reprimanded for the same offense. One of those present reacted to him with words like, “May God curse you! What a bad person you are! How many times it has been, and you are still brought to his presence like this!”

Upon hearing this, the noble Prophet said, “Do not speak like this; do not help Satan against your brother with such words. I swear by God, he loves God and His Messenger very much!” So we should constantly view others through this perspective of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him.

Positive thinking: A very beautiful form of worship

One must especially avoid making false assumptions when considering the volunteers devoted to serving for the sake of faith and the Qur’an—those who have a relation with God, His Messenger and the Qur’an. A believer must heed the following warning of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him:

“Whoever shames his brother for a sin, he shall not die until he (himself) commits it.” In this respect, one should be fearful, shaking in anguish with the consideration, “I saw such negative things in in certain persons, but what if others see such things in me, my spouse, or my children?”

A real believer must be much careful with his thoughts about others, no matter who they are. A real believer must act cautiously. As it is known, tayaqquz, which means being ever-vigilant, is the first step of spiritual journeying. A believer must always walk on the path of God with open eyes, channel his thoughts in the positive way as much as possible, and must definitely not commit the sin of false assumption. In addition, the noble Prophet points to positive thinking as a lofty horizon, stating that, “Entertaining good thoughts stem from a person’s good worship.”

Together with positive thinking we should not fail to act cautiously and build barriers against those who take delight in biting others like poisonous snakes and are continually trying to cause harm. However, acting cautiously in this respect should not stop you from praying to God to grant guidance to those who devise various conspiracies against you. It is for this reason that when a thought occurred to me about those who have written against me for some fifty years ending up in Hell, I immediately begin to pray, “No God please! Here I am imploring you: please do not send them to Hell! Kindle faith in their hearts instead, and let them have faith too, please!”

In the face of the mistreatment and oppressions you go through, God has granted you the possibility of a different preference. If you wish, it is possible for you to say, “My God, please vanquish them, shatter their alliances, bring their schemes to nothing, and let them fall into their own traps!” Saying all of these is your right, in accordance with the judgment of the verse,

“If you have to respond to any wrong, respond (only) to the measure of the wrong done to you” (an-Nahl 16:126).

If somebody is oppressing you, prepare different conspiracies against you, or setting traps against you, it will be your lawful right to make moves to reverse these. Together with that, the verse continues, “but if you endure patiently, it is indeed better for the patient…” and states that even in terms of personal rights, it is better for you to show patience and not give up gentlemanliness.

5 notes · View notes

eorzean-capitalist · 6 years

Text

The more flowery a person’s speech … the more suspect the feelings, or lack of feelings, it concealed. -- Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary

There’s a lot to unpack from the fauxpology that appeared recently on a new blog from Oz. I’ve seen this before... from multiple abusive people.

So let’s dive in, shall we?

There are some things I need to address, some of which I need to apologise for. I want to be clear this is not me entering into a debate, this is not my version of events, this is an apology for where I have made mistakes and where I have at times hurt many people who ultimately did not deserve it, many of whom are my friends and loved ones.

Some of which you need to apologize for? Some?

I have no intention of any kind to publicly address this any further. I do not think it would be of any benefit to anyone, particularly the people I have hurt, to escalate this more than it already has by arguing about any specific claim’s full context. If you wish to speak with me privately, I encourage you to reach out to me personally

Private, where you can continue to try to control the narrative. Private, where you can attempt to keep gaslighting your victims. Private, where no one else can see what you’re saying and go ‘Um, no, that’s not correct’.

And whose benefit here are you really concerned about? Because I can tell you right now, your victims would /love/ for you to publicly acknowledge the hurt you caused them. It just wouldn’t be very fun for you to be open to the kind of scrutiny you’ve called to attention on other people for daring to go against your dictates and mandates.

Unfortunately, I have to be clear about what, exactly, I’m apologising for. In the noise and fury surrounding the last week or so, accusations have been made that are not simply bad interactions taken out of context or even objectionable but otherwise fairly mundane failures of decency, but utterly detestable and even illegal.

Jesus christ, put down the fucking thesaurus. We get it. You know big words. Would you stop tap dancing around the point and actually get to it?

Actually, I’ve read this run-on sentence several times and I really can’t make heads or tails of it. What are you trying to say here, Oz? Are you accusing your victims of making shit up? Despite all the evidence that’s been posted? Are you suggesting that somehow talking about the shit you’ve done is illegal? Like really?

I do not say this to excuse anything I have actually done or anywhere I have actually been wrong, but so that I can apologise for where I have indeed done wrong without admitting to baseless claims of acts that are not just morally reprehensible but in some cases illegal.

“So I want to cherry pick what to apologize for. The stuff that’s just kinda assholish I’ll admit to but everything else is illegal because I say so.”

I have never doxxed, stalked, sexually harassed, or threatened the the life of anyone

Um. Sure, Jan.

Additionally, I have never sent anonymous hate messages through Tumblr or any other medium. I have never condoned any of those behaviours, encouraged them in others, nor have I ever made false claims of any of the prior acts.

Uh huh. Have you forgotten we’ve all SEEN you do this shit? You may not do anon tumblr hatred, but you do threaten people. I’ve seen you go on complete tirades over and over again. People have actually posted testimonials and screenshots of logs where you are threatening them. Seriously, stop denying you do this shit.

I have made many mistakes and, yes, I have made some very bad choices. While I am absolutely guilty of being unnecessarily aggressive, disdainful, and combative, I have not done any of those things. I am not going to speculate about the motivations of the people making these claims, but suffice it to say they are entirely false and the people making them have no reason to believe otherwise. There are things I have to own and apologise for, but these are not among them.

They just made some very bad choices, folks. We should totes give them a break.

I regret I must start an apology with a qualification like that, but given the nature of the more extreme and spurious claims some have made, I have no choice. It would be disingenuine and even irresponsible of me to extend a blanket apology and include deeply reprehensible acts I have never committed nor would I ever commit.

I think what they’re trying to say here is ‘I would do anything for love... but I won’t do that.’

Also, if you need four flowery paragraphs of highfalutin language to start off your ‘apology’, you’re doing it wrong.

What I will apologise for are the places where I have failed and while they are not as many as claimed, they are dire

Now we begin the minimizing stage. They admit to doing some things, but not everything, and even those some things are very small really. Just a few things. Yes, dire things but JUST A FEW THINGS.

I allowed myself to listen to voices that lauded me for drawing hard and sometimes arbitrary lines with people, showing swift cruelty, and forgetting there is a very real difference between flawed people who have made mistakes or even just poor choices and people who set out to knowingly do harm for its own sake

“Guys, I made some bad choices. I was lead astray by other nebulous people. Clearly they were the ones to guide me into these dire, terrible actions. I apologize for them dragging me kicking and screaming down this awful path.”

What’s worse is that these are lessons I learned long ago, but I allowed myself to be comfortable and even lazy. I did not hold myself to my own standards and through my unwillingness to examine my own behaviours, I hurt others.

I hope you pause to meditate on the fact that this is why people say your behavior has never changed.

There are times I have shown anger or drawn a line around spaces under my control and done so justly There is a time and place for anger. Like any emotion in a healthy volume and the right context, it has a role to serve.

The problem is, you are addicted to your righteous anger. You go from 0 to 60 in 0.005 seconds, and when you blast people, you refuse to listen to them when they try to reason with you. I’ve read the logs. I’ve seen you run in, scream at people and when they try to placate you, continue to berate them.

Your first reaction to anyone challenging you or ‘threatening your territory’ is to go nuclear. Full blast nuclear. And you do. not. stop. You will continue to post about them for months. Vagueposts sniping at them. And you don’t just do it yourself, you command your people like they’re your little army to avoid the people you’ve decided are on your Naughty List on pain of becoming your next victim.

That’s on you. It is all on you. No one else is to blame for this, no matter how you may try to blame your ‘choices’ on mysterious others in your life.

In many cases, what I did was apply that anger too broadly and too eagerly. I was too willing to see the hurt in response to my actions as a proof of guilt from the people I refused to see the simple human dignity of. I allowed people who I felt wronged me or people dear to me to become less than people in my eyes, something reserved only for the most awful of people, not individuals who simply commit some passing faux pas in a bad circumstance or, indeed, do nothing beyond some relatively minor violation of the social contract.

On this, we can agree. Would that you had said this rather than all the shit above.

After a period of suffering genuine manipulation, abuse, and gaslighting by a truly vile person, I allowed my feelings of abandonment and outrage at an injustice to stew and mutate into a broad and directionless anger. No matter what happened, my failure to properly gauge my emotions and find healthy, positive outlets for those feelings was not just unacceptable, but my fault. What’s worse is that I sought and found help. I knew what I had to do, and it took me too long to begin the process of healing, a process entirely within my control. While I refused to heal, I indulged in pain and the social rewards that come from it. Not just my own pain but the pain of others.

More blame shifting. Remember, folks, while they did hurt people, they were the REAL victim here.

The worst part of all of this is that among the choices I made, they were not choices I made out some misguided belief or, in most cases, not even out of misinformation. They are things I did in spite of my own beliefs. If you asked me on a good day, I would tell you I believe it is absolutely critical to reach out to people you feel have wronged you and while it’s important to protect the things and people vital to you, you should never allow yourself to succumb to a hateful, tribalistic, ingroup/outgroup attitude without fully appreciating the harm that does not just to other people, but to yourself.

On a good day, if you asked me, I would tell it is absolutely crucial to be no one’s attack dog and to avoid people who celebrate the harm you do to others. I would tell you it is easy to build the support of people who see you as a vector for the harm they want to see done to others. I would tell you it is not just easy, but a passive process to become a threat to other people and that is the very last thing you should want to be. When I say I was overly comfortable and lazy, that is exactly what I mean.

You know what they’re doing here? Trying to be subtle about it, but definite blame shifting going on here. They are blaming other people for jumping on the bandwagon THEY created. They got off on manipulating public opinion about people, and are now blaming the very people they manipulated into feeling that way.

Nice try, but i c wat u did thar.

I failed to be the better version of myself I have been. I can say I never set out to harm people specifically because I wanted to or I because I enjoyed the idea of punishing others, which I didn’t, but the effects of my actions are the same as if I had. I invited and engaged in unnecessary conflict to no gain, I meted out judgement where harmful, and I did all of this with the reassurance I would be rewarded in ways I never should have sought.

“See, folks, I just wanted the approval of other people. So I hurt you because I sought out that kind of approval and it’s their fault for making me want their approval.”

In every instance of wrongdoing, I was a hypocrite. In allowing myself to see people as their failings, something I absolutely know is wrong, I justified a level of hostility that is not just inappropriate, but destructive to myself, to those around me, and of course to those on the bad end of that hostility. For that, I apologise from the bottom of my heart.

Furthermore, I need to apologise for the influence I’ve had. Beyond my actions themselves, I have helped create a culture of cyclical anger, division, and anguish that has done real harm to our community. Not only have my actions reflected poorly on my friends, who I can assure you are not supporters of those actions, they have fed into a subculture on Balmung of a deeply hostile and hateful moral rectitude. I contributed to an environment where people looking to do harm can and can do so largely without consequence.

You know, if you had just said this, I might actually believe you were sorry. Unfortunately, this is buried in so much bullshit it’s hard to take seriously.

I can complain about there being absolutely false and completely groundless claims made about me, but it is my fault there is an environment for those claims to come from. Obviously, there are other bad actors in our community, but I am the only person I have control over and I have to accept my share of the blame for the culture I helped create and I am sorry. In different moments, I have tried to contribute constructively to the space we share and in others I have actively torn it down.

Like other things, it’s something I know better than to do. As has been said both to criticise me and to defend me, I have an old and long-buried history of being a malignant presence in another community. I am proof that people can grow beyond their immaturity, but that one still has to be vigilant about not falling into their old habits. It is a lesson I know and chose to ignore for temporary comforts.

I am sorry for allowing a kind of zeal to take hold in me that let me ignore the difference between a sexual predator or their defenders and people who simply briefly upset someone in some minor way. At my best, I hold myself to a high standard of proof and responsibility, aware that taking action against someone is harming them. It’s doing something they may have to carry with them for a long time and if we take that action wrongly, then we’re hurting someone without reason. At my worst, something I have shown far too much of, I allowed myself to stoop to the lowest standard of a bully, the exact kind of person I so comfortably and openly resent.

The problem with this line of thinking is... you’ve only managed to do it AGAIN. How is that proof of growing or changing? You can’t even bring yourself to apologize properly, how is anyone to believe that you’ve changed at all?

I am also deeply and truly sorry to the people around me. My friends, both in my free company and not, have shown me a patience and grace that I certainly failed to show others. I am not just glad but lucky to have people around me willing to tell me when I have done wrong and all I can ask is that you not judge them by my worst actions. They and the community we have built together are surely better than I am and I can think of no better testament to that fact than the guidance and tolerance they have shown me.

I can agree with this up to a point. Obviously most people in your FC are not to blame for your actions. Though you should probably consider the kind of atmosphere you’ve fostered in your own FC. Considering the testimony of many ex-,members, you made it pretty awful for them while they were in there. Be better.

There’s not a deep, meaningful takeaway I have to offer from any of this. I’m not saying any of this from some place of wisdom other than that of someone recently reminded I am not beyond succumbing to the worst inclinations common to all people, inclinations many people manage to avoid succumbing to themselves.

All I have left to say is that I am sorry. I have before, can now, and will later do better. In turn, all I can ask is that you give me the grace do so.

“I’m only human, folks. Please leave me alone so I don’t have to really, truly, face up to my actions.”

#abusive people #thelegendofkungjew #balmung

104 notes · View notes

deniscollins · 3 years

Text

Patients of a Vermont Hospital Are Left ‘in the Dark’ After a Cyberattack

The F.B.I. estimated that the cybercriminals, who use ransomware called “Ryuk,” took in more than $61 million in ransom over a period of 21 months in 2018 and 2019, a record. What would you do if you were a hospital administrator and hackers attacked your computer systems which made it unable to serve only about one in four of your normal chemotherapy patients: (1) pay a multi-million ransom, or (2) refuse to pay? Why? What are the ethics underlying your decision?

At lunchtime on Oct. 28, Colleen Cargill was in the cancer center at the University of Vermont Medical Center, preparing patients for their chemotherapy infusions. A new patient will sometimes be teary and frightened, but the nurses try to make it welcoming, offering trail mix and a warm blanket, a seat with a view of a garden.

Then they work with extreme precision: checking platelet and white blood cell counts, measuring each dosage to a milligram per square foot of body area, before settling the person into a port and hooking them up to an IV.

That day, though, Ms. Cargill did a double-take: When she tried to log in to her work station, it booted her out. Then it happened again. She turned to the system of pneumatic tubes used to transport lab work. What she saw there was a red caution symbol, a circle with a cross. She walked to the backup computer. It was down, too.

“I wasn’t panicky,” she said, “and then I noticed my cordless phone didn’t work.” That was, she said, the beginning of the worst 10 days of her career.

Cyberattacks on America’s health systems have become their own kind of pandemic over the past year as Russian cybercriminals have shut down clinical trials and treatment studies for the coronavirus vaccine and cut off hospitals’ access to patient records, demanding multimillion-dollar ransoms for their return.

Complicating the response, President Trump last week fired Christopher Krebs, the director of CISA, the cybersecurity agency responsible for defending critical systems, including hospitals and elections, against cyberattacks, after Mr. Krebs disputed Mr. Trump’s baseless claims of voter fraud.

The attacks have largely unfolded in private, as hospitals scramble to restore their systems — or to quietly pay the ransom — without releasing information that could compromise an F.B.I. investigation.

But they have had a devastating and long-lasting effect, particularly on cancer patients, said workers and patients from Vermont’s largest medical system. Its electronic medical record system was restored on Sunday, nearly a month after the cyberattack.

In the interim, clinicians were forced to send away hundreds of cancer patients, said Olivia Thompson, a nurse at the cancer center.

The staff fell back on written notes and faxes, leafing through masses of paper to access vital information. They tried to reconstruct complex chemotherapy protocols from memory.

And while the hospital has taken pains to reassure patients that most care could proceed, some staff members worry that the full damage of the October attack is not well understood.

“To recover from something like this is going to take months and months and months,” Ms. Thompson said. “It feels like we are all alone and no one understands how dire this is.”

Elise Legere, a nurse at the cancer center, said she could compare the past weeks to only one experience — working in a burn unit after the Boston Marathon bombing — and has often found herself wondering about the motivation behind the cyberattack.

“It’s like asking what’s the point of putting a bomb in an elementary school, what is the point?” she said. “There is a lot of evil in the world. Whoever did orchestrate this attack knows a lot about how devastating it is.”

‘We expect panic’

The latest wave of attacks, which hit about a dozen hospitals in the United States, was believed to have been conducted by a particularly powerful group of Russian-speaking hackers that deployed ransomware via TrickBot, a vast network of infected computers used for cyberattacks, according to security researchers who are tracking the attacks.

The hackers typically work for profit. The F.B.I. estimated that the cybercriminals, who use ransomware called “Ryuk,” took in more than $61 million in ransom over a period of 21 months in 2018 and 2019, a record.

The attacks slowed last spring, when cybercriminals agreed among themselves to avoid hacking hospitals amid the pandemic, security researchers said. But just ahead of the presidential election, the groups resumed.

“In the past, they targeted organizations all over the world, but this time they were very specifically aiming for hospitals in the United States,” said Alex Holden, the chief executive of Hold Security, a Milwaukee firm.

The F.B.I. says it will not comment on the attacks, citing ongoing investigations.

Mr. Holden and other cybersecurity experts say that the targets and the timing — just weeks after the United States targeted TrickBot — suggest that one possible motivation could be retaliation.

In late September and October, fearing that cybercriminals could use ransomware to disrupt the election, the Pentagon’s Cyber Command started hacking TrickBot’s systems. Microsoft pursued the systems in federal court, successfully dismantling 94 percent of TrickBot’s servers.

The takedowns relegated TrickBot’s operators to “a wounded animal lashing out,” Mr. Holden said. His firm captured online messages sent among the group, including a list of 400 American hospitals they planned to target, and informed law enforcement.

“We expect panic,” one hacker wrote, in Russian.

U.S. officials warned hospitals about a “credible threat” of attacks on Oct. 23, and then an unusual cluster of attacks on hospitals took place. Several hospital networks — including The University of Vermont Health Network and the St. Lawrence County health system in New York — have said they received no ransom note.

Others reported ransom demands “in eight figures, which is just not something that regional health care systems can do,” said Allan Liska, an analyst with Recorded Future, a cybersecurity firm. These unusual demands, combined with the coordination of the attacks, make “it seem that it was meant to be a disruptive attack” rather than a profit-seeking one, he said.

Mr. Holden said many of the health systems opted to negotiate with their extortionists, even as ransoms jump into the millions.

“A great number of victims are dealing with these attacks on their own,” he said.

The view from inside

In Vermont, the damage radiated out through a sprawling network, hitting especially hard in the cancer center.

“My really good friends are I.C.U. nurses, and they’re like, no big deal, all we have to do is paper charting,” Ms. Cargill, the charge nurse, said. But the cancer center was badly set back for weeks, able to serve only about one in four of its normal chemotherapy patients.

Ms. Cargill spent the rest of the day turning away patients, an experience she cannot relate without beginning to cry, nearly a month later.

“To look someone in the eye, and tell them they cannot have their life-extending or lifesaving treatment, it was horrible, and totally heart-wrenching,” she said. The very first person she turned away, a young woman, burst into tears.

“She said, ‘I have to get chemo, I am the mother of two young kids,’” Ms. Cargill said. “She was so fearful, and the fear was tangible.”

In the days that followed, clinicians attempted to prioritize patients and recreate chemotherapy protocols from memory, gradually aided by backup chart information, said Ms. Legere, a nurse navigator in the unit.

“They were trying to remember everything they knew about a patient, but none of that is accurate,” she said. “Our brains are not designed to be electronic medical records. That’s not safe, and we all know it.”

Patients, she said, “feel very in the dark about when they will get treated,” and many cancer patients who live in rural areas do not have the resources to drive four hours to Boston for treatment.

“Vermont feels intentional, it feels scouted in the sense that it would cause a ton of panic,” she said. “The federal and statewide response is where I’m feeling very deserted. Maybe there’s stuff I don’t see.”

Lawmakers have also accused the Trump administration of marring the federal response.

In an email to The New York Times, Senator Gary Peters, a Democrat of Michigan and member of the Homeland Security Committee, called the president’s firing of Mr. Krebs unacceptable, adding that it caused instability at his agency as it tried to mitigate the hospital attacks amid a surging pandemic.

Administrators at the University of Vermont Health Network acknowledge that restoring services proved far more challenging than they expected.

“If you look at what some other hospitals have gone through, it was days, not weeks,” said Al Gobeille, the system’s executive vice president for operations. “We thought that was what this would be. And we were wrong.”

He said a large number of professionals on information technology — 300 hospital employees, plus 10 members of the National Guard — were deployed to rebuild and clean 1,300 servers and 5,000 laptops and desktop computers. A team of seven F.B.I. investigators was on site for two days after the shutdown, he said, but has had little to no contact with administrators since then.

With the restoration of the electronic patient record system, he said, the hospital’s systems are 75 to 80 percent recovered.

The motivation behind the attack remains unclear. At a news conference last month, Dr. Stephen Leffler, the president of the medical center, said he had received no request for ransom. Since then, though, at the request of the F.B.I., administrators have carefully avoided discussing the matter of ransom, or confirming Dr. Leffler’s statement.

Dr. Leffler, he said, “was saying what he knew at the time,” Mr. Gobeille said.

“The F.B.I. has asked us not to talk about that part of the investigation, and I haven’t said either way,” he said. “I’m a pretty transparent person, so it’s odd to say the F.B.I. has asked me not to talk about it. It’s not who we are. But in this case, I understand why.”

Some patients have complained that they were left dangling, uncertain when their treatment would resume.

Sean McCaffrey, 37, who was scheduled to see a cardiologist on the afternoon of the cyberattack — he had been suffering from chest pains — said he had never been contacted to reschedule the appointment.

“It’s really troublesome because I have lost some faith in my local hospital,” he said. “I was told I’d get a call. It’s been three weeks, and I have no idea what to do.”

Others say they are still waiting to gain access to critical scans. Two days before the shutdown, Damian Mooney, 47, had received a radiologist’s notes on an M.R.I. of his shoulder, which suggested that an aggressive bone cancer may have returned.

The scans have been unavailable since the cyberattack, so no doctor has been able to say whether the radiologist was correct, said his wife, Kat.

“For 26 days, we’ve been sitting here going, ’We don’t know whether this recurred or not,’” she said.

It will be difficult, both for patients and staff members, to regain their sense of security, said Jennifer Long, an outpatient nurse at the medical center.

She and her colleagues, she said, sometimes wonder aloud what allowed the hackers to get into the system: “Is it the kid down the street? Is it someone in another country? Was it an email I sent? Was it the last page I opened?”

“You’re left with that feeling — it’s kind of sickening, it’s very impersonal — knowing that this was a deliberate attack, without any regard for the consequences, and the potential for harm,” she said. “It really stings. It’s really hard to sit with it.”

#hospitals #cyber attacks

0 notes

dipulb3 · 4 years

Text

Analysis: A Appradab reporter went to two different QAnon events. Here's what he found

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/analysis-a-appradab-reporter-went-to-two-different-qanon-events-heres-what-he-found-2/

Analysis: A Appradab reporter went to two different QAnon events. Here's what he found

One, in Los Angeles, was a march through Hollywood that portrayed itself as an anti-pedophilia protest. Its organizers were careful not to explicitly embrace the QAnon conspiracy theory even as they implicitly signaled they support it and repeated its disinformation — much like what President Donald Trump did during an NBC town hall last week.

The other event, “Q Con Live,” took place in a conference room at a resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was a meeting of some of QAnon’s most passionate peddlers — but it could have easily been mistaken for a grassroots meeting to help re-elect the President.

What both showed is that for many of its supporters QAnon is not just a set of conspiracy theories. For them, it’s a way to distract themselves from the failures of a President they see as the hero of a fight against an all-encompassing villainy, to elevate themselves by casting his critics and political opponents as those villains, and to not have to pay attention to all of the US’ very real problems, like Covid-19 and systemic racism.

“Pedophiles, you are on notice! – Q” one person’s sign at the event in Hollywood said. Along with other material, including a QAnon symbol, the sign featured a picture of Trump heroically pointing, with the words “And I mean you Hollywood” added underneath. And then there was a hashtag: #SaveTheChildren.

Save The Children is a respected humanitarian organization that has been around for more than 100 years.

You might have seen over the past few months friends or family on social media sharing posts with the hashtags#SaveTheChildren or #SaveOurChildren. If you have, it’s possible your loved ones have unwittingly shared QAnon disinformation.

QAnon followers have hijacked and bastardized the name “Save The Children” as a way to spread baseless conspiracy theories about prominent Democrats, including former Vice President Joe Biden.

Children need to be “saved,” Qanon followers believe, from a cabal of evil Democrats. It is essentially the same conspiracy theory that was pushed as part of “Pizzagate” in 2016 which falsely alleged a Washington DC pizza shop was at the center of a child sex trafficking ring.

Edgar Maddison Welch was sentenced to four years in prison in 2017 after he showed up to the pizzeria and fired three shots with an AR-15 rifle. He claimed he was attempting to find and rescue child sex slaves that he believed were being held at the restaurant.

After Welch found no evidence of child sex-trafficking at the restaurant, he surrendered.

The “Save The Children” charity has nothing to do with this. It has publicly sought to distance itself from all of it. Other child protection organizations have said these conspiracy theories are creating dangerous distractions from the real issue of child exploitation.

One hundred or so people gathered on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood two Saturdays ago chanting “Save Our Children.”

Most people I spoke to there were ardent supporters of President Trump. Many carried pro-Trump signs and some wore Make America Great Again hats. When I told attendees I worked for Appradab, their response often included some variation on the Trump attack mantra “fake news.” Indeed, Appradab’s bureau in Los Angeles was a major stop on the march. The media writ large is a frequent target of these groups and their rallies because they think — falsely — that it is covering up for the people they have baselessly accused.

Outside Appradab, I spoke to the organizer of the event. An aspiring rapper who appears to have begun posting on Instagram about alleged crimes against children earlier this year, he told me all he was interested in was helping save kids and that he did not follow QAnon — despite his having shared a post specifically mentioning QAnon on his Instagram account the day before we met.

Several marchers asked me a very good question: “What’s wrong with wanting to save children?”

Of course, the answer is absolutely nothing. Child exploitation is real — though the reality of it is very different from the narrative promoted by QAnon — and abhorrent.

Also abhorrent, though, is how QAnon is exploiting people’s genuine concerns about the issue to peddle a false narrative. And it’s disturbing to watch as this conspiracy theory crowds out, for believers, the idea that anything else could possibly be as important as their fight against the non-existent cabal. People at the march told me that the “real” thing we should care about is fighting against the cabal — issues like racism and Covid-19 were, to them, either a distraction or at best a secondary concern.

A meeting in Arizona

At one point during Q Con Live on Saturday, a pair of presenters went on a long diatribe against people who wear masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19. It’s a way to control people, and a symbol of submission, they argued.

It was an example of how the community of QAnon believers has come to embrace many other seemingly unrelated conspiracy theories, and of how willing those believers are to see everything as a sinister move by the “cabal” that must be fought against — inventing an imaginary threat and ignoring the very real virus that has already killed more than 200,000 people in the US.

It also showed just how strong the pull of groupthink can be among the conspiracy theorists. As the presenters spoke, I looked around the room and noted that — as was often the case on Saturday — I was one of the only people in a room of roughly 100 who was wearing a mask. I felt eyes on me, realizing the same thing I had. And, against my better judgment, I briefly pulled my mask down hoping it would stop the people on stage from singling me out.

The mask wasn’t the only way I was different from most people at the conference. Journalists were allowed to attend, but not exactly encouraged — we could “purchase tickets and attend as individuals,” the conference’s website said, so long as we did not attempt to interview anyone.

Attendees might not have been wearing masks, but many were wearing both Trump and QAnon attire. Trump’s importance to them, and to the whole conspiracy theory, was clear.

When someone brought up how Trump had two days earlier, at an NBC town hall, refused to disavow QAnon it was cheered.

Speakers at the event, some of the conspiracy theories’ most ardent peddlers, referenced specific posts shared by the anonymous person or people behind QAnon as if they were scripture. Some told the audience that it was necessary to re-elect the President so the QAnon prediction of the arrest of people like Hillary Clinton could finally come to fruition.

QAnon had first falsely predicted Clinton’s imminent arrest in 2017, and some speakers hinted at growing impatience and even perhaps skepticism about QAnon’s claims and predictions.

Others, though, suggested it will all fall into place after Trump’s reelection. This part was less surprising to hear. It will be very hard for people who’ve convinced themselves that this is the most important fight of anyone’s life to realize it’s all been a lie. And besides, many of the speakers had Q merchandise and books to sell.

0 notes

yakumtsaki · 7 years

Photo

Well, well, well, look who’s back with the most morally repugnant update in Union history. Me. It’s been a very productive summer of Netflix, chill and giving wrong directions to tourists but all good things must come to an end. Also coming to an end is my ill-fated attempt to kill Max, who, after refusing to eat the cake FOR 2 FUCKING DAYS is finally released from the cage of death. Honestly, I’m impressed, Max, you’re definitely not as stupid as you look.

-Yea, I get that a lot.

I doubt that but whatever, now gtfo and I better not see your Komei-clone ass around Jojo ever again or it’s back in prison for you!

-So, Jojo, not that we’re not all extremely invested in the excruciating selection process of your husband, but are you any closer to picking one?? I mean I love this whole commune thing we have going but the constant food delivery for 8 is killing us.

-We’re afraid not, dear brother, it’s starting to look like no one in this world is worthy of our majesty.

Ugh are we really doing royal ‘we’ now? Is this what this has come to?

-Yes, college has really helped develop our sense of self-worth.

How can it be self-worth if you’re ‘we’?

-This is exactly the kind of idiotic questioning that would get you eliminated from the suitor process.

Oh, perish the thought! And miss out on this classical-music-dick-measuring-contest you have them doing?

-Ew seriously, Francis, Vivaldi? Why don’t you turn up to Justin Bieber while you’re at it.

Man, what a zinger! Good times. JOJO PICK A FUCKING DUDE ALREADY SO I CAN MOVE THE OTHERS OUT THE LOT IS LAGGY AS SHIT

-I lost the dick measuring contest and my punishment is sleeping on the couch.

KILL HIM IN HIS SLEEP MELODY

-Maybe later, Real Housewives of Pleasantview is on, Cassandra is getting dragged for the pigtails!!

-Ha, look at this Vivaldi-listening losér! Point at him and laugh, everyone!

-Who’s laughing now, bitch? Not you with that hoof right in your French-whore mouth!

-Ugh, aren’t you late for the beans-on-toast feast, you limey piece of merde?

Not since the 100 Years War have French-British tensions ran this high. Of course that one was for a throne, while this one..

-Is for something far more important.. Our heart.

LMAO Jojo please be serious, you don’t have a heart.

-We absolutely do and it’s made out of pure gold.

Yea I guess, I mean gold is a metal after all!

-Do you really think you should be eating decaying Chinese food, mon cheri? You’re going to need a soda to digest it and you know it’s too cold for your teeth!

-Wyatt, I don’t pay you to think, I pay you to sit across from me and look pretty, and occasionally to scooch down next to me so I look taller.

-You actually don’t pay me at all.

-Yes and obviously I’m getting my money’s worth.

Wow Jojo tone it down, your gold heart is shinning so brightly I’m gonna go blind!

Precious Gunther has added three new addictions to his existing sex one! A) working out in this atrocious outfit.

B) blowing bubbles from dawn to dusk.

and c) and the most disturbing one, constantly being alone in enclosed spaces with his brother’s intended, Brit Brit. At first I wasn’t too worried about it, thinking Brit is a popularity sim so it’s only natural..but then..

I SEE THIS. GODDAMMIT GUNTHER WHY MUST YOU HAVE CHEMISTRY WITH EVERYONE

-Man idk, it’s almost supernatural. Blame it on God ;)

UGH I don’t even know who I hate more, your whore ass-

-or this fucking llama that hasn’t gone home in 3 days and is eating all our pizza.

-I just feel so accepted here, like I’m part of the family, you know?

GET OUT

Speaking of furries, not even the cow will approach the fucking cowplant, jfc. I mean you’d expect some kind of kinship there but nop. Great job Jojo, you killed a dozen secret society members for a defective cowplant.

-Mooo :(

I don’t know which one of you did that but stfu, I can’t anymore with this flop ass household!!!1

ANYWAY back to Brit and Daniel, it seems like my Gunther concerns were baseless, since these two remain eternally into each other, always autonomously doing cute crap.

-Oh Daniel, let me serenade you with the song of your people!

The kings made us drunk with fumes, peace among us, war to the tyrants! Let the armies go on strike, stocks in the air, and break ranks. If they insist, these cannibals on making heroes of us, they will know soon that our bullets are for our own generals ♪

ROMANCE ISN’T DEAD

In other news, allow me to present you all with Melody’s personality panel. I was under the false impression that being the child of Wanda and Stephen she was.. nice?? But nop, total Union freak material! We hit the jackpot once again. Now her best friendship with bitch Brit makes total sense.

-Honestly girl, this janky ass house is such a step down from the sorority, I spend half the day thinking of ways to peace out.

-Ugh I know, I was on the fence at first but can you really put a price on good d?

-Aw, what are my beautiful hens cackling about? May I join?

-No.

-I was about to make a math joke but I doubt you gals would get it, amirite? As Barbie said, math is hard!

- I’m a literal math major.

-Oh I know, Mel, good for you! Affirmative action works wonders!

KILL HIM AND HIS HAREM WE DON’T NEED THE LAG

It’s another day in paradise. Daniel has finally cracked and gone full Komei, autonomously cleaning shit even though we have a maid..

Melody ate a ton of burnt grilled cheese and is non-stop throwing up..

AND THIS BULLSHIT IS STILL GOING ON. STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE

-What?? We’re just talking, GAWD

No you’re not “””just talking””” you’re gossiping and doing sexy whispers, I KNOW YOUR TRICKS GUNTHER-

-I don’t mean to interrupt but I think you’re focusing on the wrong issue here?

OH AM I?? DO TELL

-LOOK OUTSIDE BITCH

Nice try whores, nothing is happening outside-

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMM WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK. WHAT.

-That’s right, Ti-Ning and I are in love now!

............................FRAN THIS BETTER BE SOME DRY ASS BRITISH HUMOR

-Nop! We got tired of waiting for Jojo and we decided the best way to handle it was to suddenly make out in front of him even tho we have never even flirted before!

THIS LITERALLY CANNOT BE HAPPENING

-Well it is, so best accept it and we can all move on :)

Oh yea certainly, I mean if anything Jojo is known for his ability to forgive and forget!

See the ghost of Ti-Ning indeed! Finally a wish Jojo and I share.

TI-NING OMFG THIS LACK OF SHAME

-Haha!!! Finally I’m free to be as gross as I want >:)

Well.. enjoy it while it lasts.

-The hell does that mean??

Nothing, just you know, none of us know when our time will come.. only that it will. The curse of human existence, one might say. Only we among the animal world know that we will die. Memento mori, Ti-Ning. And we will memento you.

-..Yea, maybe it’s time I move out?

I mean, you can try..

..but like the curse from It Follows, it follows. It being Jojo. How you holding up boo?

-Oh, I’m great, can’t you tell?

You know what might help? Some of your beloved homework! Do something useful, get your mind off this stuff..

“Sending The First Human to Mercury and Leaving Him There: A Very Specific Space Exploration Proposal”

-Jojό!! I’m writing about how I finally won your heart but please don’t look, I’m gonna read this at our wedding!

-Yea I literally couldn’t care less about you and your thoughts/feelings/etc, what was left of my heart is dead and gone and now there’s only a black hole there.. Oh we could also send Ti-Ning to a black hole if Mercury doesn’t work. Nice.

-UGH how are you even still alive and breathing the same air as me and not dead from shame like you should be, you vile adulteress???

-OH PLEASE you’re just mad cause Fran and I realized we can do better than your mega-jaw ass. If not for the endless supply of bubbles around here blurring our vision this would have happened weeks ago!

-I’m going to strangle you in your sleep and my jaw will be the last thing you see.

-Your jaw would be the last thing I saw even if I died on the moon.

-MAYBE YOU WILL

.....................well I guess it’s official then. And if the above didn’t seal it..

..this definitely did. God have mercy on me, what a shitshow.

While Tin and Fran are woohooing, Jojo attempts to end his troubles once and for all by running out of the house and into a thunder fire. Thankfully the rain puts it out quickly and all we’re left with is critically low hygiene.

Man, serving Penguin teas! You have the entire look down, Jo. I’d tell you to audition for Gotham but that’s extremely bad career advice

-Oh god, I almost died!!!!

Aw I know, but don’t worry you’re safe now <3

-No I mean I came so close but didn’t make it.. :(

Jojo please, if anything, live to kill Ti-Ning and Francis. You owe it to yourself.

As soon as Fran and Tin are done, guess who rushes in to gossip next to the bed. ISTG YOU ASSHOLES, BREAK IT THE FUCK UP BEFORE I THROW YOU OUT THAT WINDOW

-Whatever, we’d just land on Jojo trying to set himself on fire.

-LOL oh Brit you’re so funny!

I HATE THIS HOUSE

-HAD FUN, DID WE YOU SLUT

-Get him, Jojό!

Honestly Wyatt, I get being supportive but I’m really starting to worry about you, even demeaning yourself has its limits..

..especially since Jojo continues to be a massive freakshow. Good lord.

-Oh Francis, don’t tell Wyatt cause you know how he gets, but your total disregard for my existence is making me see you in a whole new, hot, light..

Man, good thing Wyatt isn’t standing 3 steps away from you!

Oh yes, loving this dinner. An ocean between us..

-I wouldn’t eat that third slice if I was you, Ti-Ning. Your funeral day is fast approaching, don’t you want to look nice for it?

-Well you’ll be there so it doesn’t matter, everyone will be looking at your jaw.

Yes, what a wonderful night. Now let’s all go to bed and hopefully everyone will have calmed down a little by tomorrow!

LMAO yea idk what I was thinking.

-Strangle me in my sleep? How about I strangle you in broad daylight???

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but.. poor Jojo. Not only did he get his ass beat, but to literally add insult to the injury-

-everyone is lusting after Gunther during his defeat. Jfc, I’d want to set myself on fire too.

Oh here we go, Gunther to the rescue!

-How dare you beat up my brother even though he attacked you first? Prepare to die!

-Whatever, I’ve been preparing for that for the last couple days!

Aw, Gunther is such a good brother/giant loser depending on the outcome of this fight.

VINDICATION. Bravo, Gunther, defending our non-existent family honor!

Daniel, in true Daniel fashion, slept through this entire shitshow, which might be the smartest thing he’s ever done.

Oop, spoke too soon. Say what you want about Gunther and Daniel but man do they both love Jojo! Truly god knows why.

-So Brit, you’re studying poli-sci, can you think of a peaceful resolution to this? Haha!

-YOU STFU TI-NING MY FINALS ARE TODAY MY GPA IS ALREADY IN THE TOILET AND NOW IM GONNA FLOP CAUSE YOU ASSHOLES SPENT THE WHOLE NIGHT FUCKING AND THE WHOLE DAY FIGHTING AND I HAVEN’T SLEPT AT ALL DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL I’M GONNA BURN THIS PLACE TO THE FUCKING GROUND IF YOU TRY ME

Well, you might not need to Brit! WHAT IS UP WITH THIS HYPER-FLAMMABLE CACTUS

Brit returns from her finals with a free pizza! How’d you do, Brit?

-Saved by the nightie again!

NOICE. Got a freebie pizza from it too?

-No, I found it in the garbage. My gift to Francis and Ti-Ning for their 3 day anniversary!

Jojo’s official greek house portrait coming along nicely! Wow he looks very majestic..

..Instagram vs Real Life.

-Bowling is so satisfying if you pretend the pins are your former lovers’ genitals!

Whatever coping method works for you boo!

Gunther and Ti-Ning are officially enemies which is hilarious because not even Jojo is enemies with him?? Follow your bliss, Guns!

In an impressive display of brotherly synchronicity we have double slapping across the room. Double the slapping for half the time, Jojo is as always a true capitalist.

JOJO!! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU WON! So proud of my baby <3 I’m ofc kidding, this shit has gotten old really fast and I extremely feel Brit watching uninterested. ENOUGH

HARD MOOD. Brit is honestly on another level than the rest of us basics. What an icon.

For some reason I bothered to fulfill Ti-Ning’s want to learn that relationship maintenance or w/e lifetime skill (talk about money down the drain) and the irony of this pop up text almost sent me to an early grave. And we know who’s going to an early grave today..

IT’S CAKE TIME. REACH OUT, TI-NING. YOU KNOW YOU WANT IT

FINALLY. GOODBYE FIGHTING AND INSANE LAG

JESUS JOJO. STONE. COLD.

Ice Cube would like to say, that I'm a crazy muthafucka from around the way, since I was a youth, I smoked weed out, now I'm the muthafucka that ya read about, takin' a life or two, that's what the hell I do, you don't like how I'm livin well fuck you ♪

Wyatt and Brit were on their way to react to Ti-Ning’s little accident but somehow got sidetracked and are now randomly arguing on the porch. Honestly I don’t even know what’s going on anymore, I’ve lost all control of this household.

Jojo rushes over to celebrate Ti-Ning’s demise by immediately slapping the shit out of his grieving lover! Whenever you think we can’t possibly sink any lower, think again. Like right now, after the slapping, are you thinking we can’t sink any lower?????????????????????????????

THINK. AGAIN.

ARE YOU SCREAMING? CAUSE I DID

YUP THIS IS HAPPENING

IT’S REAL

IT’S. REAL. THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH CURSE WORDS IN ANY LANGUAGE TO EXPRESS MY FEELINGS

FUCK YOU FRANCIS. FUCK. YOU. YOU’RE GETTING MURDERED SO FUCKING HARD YOU UNBELIEVABLE ASSHOLE. I’M FUCKING DONE. JOJO YOU’RE GONNA DIE ALONE TIME FOR ALL OF US TO ACCEPT THAT REALITY. WE STARTED OUT WITH 3 CANDIDATES AND ENDED UP HERE. HOW THE EVERLOVING FUCK DID THIS HAPPEN FRANCIS AND WYATT HAVE. 1 BOLT. ONE. WYATT IS A FAMILY SIM I’M SO PISSED OFF I NEED TO TAKE A MOMENT

OK. In my 10 years of playing I have never wanted to quit without saving more than with this bullshit. Look at fucking Fran’s smug ass face and moron Wyatt putting on an Oscar worthy performance of shock and regret. YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID NO, YOU SHOULD HAVE GONE HOME WYATT. What the FUCK are we gonna do now???? I guess good thing Max Flexor survived the cage of death. GOD.DAMMIT

#ts2 #union legacy

47 notes · View notes

isayeed-blog · 5 years

Text

Homo Non Sapiens and the Rational

The desacralization of the world and the rise of the rational individual more or less went hand in hand in western civilisation. "More than the 'human dignity' exalted by the humanists, it is the individual liberty to reject every authority outside of God that has made possible – by a slow process of desacralization – the 'modern world' such as it emerges in the period of the Enlightenment, and defines itself with the French Revolution and the triumph of science and technology [Mircea Eliade, A History of Religious Ideas, Volume three, p. 248 ]."

The rational individual openly appears as homo economicus in the pages of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations. The wealth of a nation depends on the division of labour made possible by the consensual exchange of products in a market untrammeled by government or monopoly. "He [Adam Smith] seems to have taken care to note that his remarks do not apply to all, but only to the generality of men. He continually recalls the fact that he is speaking of men of common understanding, or of those gifted with common prudence. He knew well enough that the principles of common prudence do not always govern the conduct of every individual, but he was of opinion that they always influenced that of the majority of every class and order. His reasoning is applicable to men en masse, and not to individuals in particular. Moreover, he does not deny that man may be unacquainted with or may even entirely ignore his own interest....These reservations notwithstanding, and full account being taken of all the exceptions to the principals as laid down by Smith, it is still true to say that as a general thesis he considers 'the natural effort of every individual to better his own condition' – that is, personal interest – as the fundamental psychological motive in political economy (italics original) [Charles Gide and Charles Rist, A History of Economic Doctrines, trans. B.A.Richards, London: George G. Harrap and Co. Ltd., 1959, p. 103 ]" That is to say, the rational producer-consumer would try to better his lot, and in doing so, unwittingly, better the lot of the community he finds himself in. This was the product of the Scottish Enlightenment, and it has come to stay.

Indeed, the rational economical agent has pervaded every sphere of human activity – he or she is also the rational voter, the rational ruler, the rational citizen....Rationality is everywhere evident, except, as observed by Anthony Pagden and others, in the nonwestern world. These lesser people must either be ignored (which is not possible in today's cheek-by-jowl world) or elevated to the first rank, or as near to it as their feeble intellects will allow. The great neo-conservative experiment in disseminating the seeds of democracy far and wide, with violence if necessary since we don't know our own good yet and are apt to resist the 'moderniser’, is part of this grand project.

It is remarkable that Adam Smith felt that the well-spring of human activity is to better oneself. A casual reading of Hesiod's Works and Days would have disabused him of this notion."...a man grows eager to work when he considers his neighbour, a rich man who hastens to plough and plant and put his house in good order; and neighbour vies with his neighbour as he hurries after wealth. This Strife is wholesome for men. And potter is angry with potter, and craftsman with craftsman, and beggar is jealous of beggar, and minstrel of minstrel [Hesiod, Works and Days, 11-24, Project Gutenberg's Etext of Hesiod, Homeric Hymns, and Homerica, Etext #348]" For Hesiod, the psychological inducement to work is not the urge to improve one's lot, but to make one's lot better than that of one's neighbours'. More on this soon.

To posit a rational motivation for human endeavour is to misread humans altogether: the irrational aspect of man's character has been the subject of study in western civilisation since at least the time when Plato divided the soul into its three divisions, only one of which is rational. In our age, Sigmund Freud made irrationality the hallmark of humanity, again dividing the psyche into three warring parts.

Freud wrote the following words in a letter to Dr. Chaim Koffler in 1930:

Dear Sir: I cannot do as you wish [i.e., become a Zionist] ... Whoever wants to influence the masses must give them something rousing and inflammatory and my sober judgment of Zionism does not permit this. I certainly sympathize with its goals, am proud of our University in Jerusalem and am delighted with our settlement’s prosperity. But, on the other hand, I do not think that Palestine could ever become a Jewish state, nor that the Christian and Islamic worlds would ever be prepared to have their holy places under Jewish care. It would have seemed more sensible to me to establish a Jewish homeland on a less historically-burdened land. But I know that such a rational viewpoint would never have gained the enthusiasm of the masses and the financial support of the wealthy. I concede with sorrow that the baseless fanaticism of our people is in part to be blamed for the awakening of Arab distrust. I can raise no sympathy at all for the misdirected piety which transforms a piece of a Herodian wall [i.e., the Wailing Wall] into a national relic, thereby offending the feelings of the natives. Now judge for yourself whether I, with such a critical point of view, am the right person to come forward as the solace of a people deluded by unjustified hope. Your obedient servant, Freud

[http://www.thehypertexts.com/Nakba%20Holocaust%20Palestinians%20Sigmund%20Freud%20on%20Zionism.htm]

Zionists, indeed, were offered a slice of Africa, but they refused [https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-uganda-proposal-1903]. Freud was well aware that a rational project would never have got off the ground – the appeal had to be made to the irrational side of the people.

In philosophy, even David Hume pointed out that we cannot live as rational beings – it is impossible: "...all our reasonings concerning causes and effects, are derived from nothing but custom; and that belief is more properly an act of the sensitive, than of the cogitative part of our natures [ The Project Gutenberg Etext of A Treatise of Human Nature, by David Hume, Part IV, Section 1, Etext #4705 ]". In the previous paragraph Hume says that total scepticism is incompatible with nature: we have to believe, willy-nilly. "Nature, by an absolute and uncontroulable necessity has determined us to judge as well as to breathe and feel...." If we are to survive at all – breathe and feel – we have to form judgments and beliefs, even when reason tells us that we can never have enough evidence for our judgment or belief.

David Hume was a contemporary and friend of Adam Smith, to whom we now return. It is a pity that the latter did not share the skeptical predilections of the former, for then we might not have had the caricature known today as homo economicus. It is remarkable that progress in psychology and psychiatry has had absolutely no effect on the belief in the Rational Individual – and this is nowhere more evident than in the discipline of economics.

In 2002, a remarkable event occurred: The Nobel Prize for economics went to Daniel Kahneman for his attempts to debunk neo-classical economic theory (never mind that he had to share it with someone who believed that people can be trained to be rational in controlled circumstances). Mr. Kahneman is not even an economist – unsurprisingly, he is a psychologist. His insights (achieved with the late Amos Tversky) have been labeled 'behavioural economics'. Psychological studies have shown that people value the comfort of the herd (yes, even rational Anglo-Saxons); and that they are far more frightened of losses than inspired by potential gains. This explains why millions of seemingly rational people – egged on by analysts and the media – jumped headlong into the 'irrational exuberance' (the title of a bestselling book) of the dot-com mania. These people were willing to pay more for shares than rationality would dictate – and then get out suddenly in a fit of collective panic.

Studies have revealed that people would rather be better off relative to other people than to their own present situation. So, if you work harder and increase your income, you will not be happier if the Jones's income goes up by the same proportion. Only by making sure that the Jones's are worse off than you can you ensure your well-being. This was the insight of Hesiod, and where Adam Smith went completely wrong.

(Which would you rather have: an income of $100,000 while others earned $150,000; or an income of $50,000 while others earned $25,000? Contrary to economic theory, most Harvard students who were asked the question chose the second option.

Malice, as a human motive, long known to the average person, was articulated by Arthur Schopenhauer. The post-Enlightenment thinkers understood humans better than the rationalists.)

To state the obvious, people are irrational. That is what it means to be human. Writers and artists have known this for millennia, but thinkers tend to lose sight of a simple fact. Anthony Pagden claims that the west has progressively given up its irrational baggage, and the rest of us have not. It will come as a shock to Mr. Pagden to be told that nobody can give up their irrational bequest. To do so would be to cease to be human - to cease to breathe and feel.

But the claim itself is telling – for no other civilisation bar Mr. Pagden's claims to have an edge over other civilizations in this, or any other, department. Is it rational to feel superior to other people? Doesn't that deny our essential humanity? Of course, it follows logically that if you pride yourself on your rationality, you will look for somebody to boast about it to – somebody to look down upon. So long as western civilisation continues to believe that somewhere, always there's someone who is less than human, so long will western civilisation continue to perpetrate the atrocities for which it has become dreaded.

#irrational #homo economicus #Adam Smith #david hume #behavioural economics #hesiod #enlightenment #freud #zionism

0 notes

duaneodavila · 5 years

Text

Unsettling Silence (Or Can The SEC Make You Gag?)

Whether you’re otherwise on board with the Cato Institute or the Institute for Justice, there’s one thing they do that should warm your cockles: they take the government to task when it overreaches. In a suit filed by IJ for its client, Cato, they reveal an astounding abuse by no more beloved an agency than the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Normally this is the point where we’d tell you who this person is and why the SEC went after him. But we cannot. As part of the agreement he reached to settle the matter, the plaintiff in the Cato suit had to accept a gag order that prevents him from discussing or criticizing the case. Even though the settlement does not require him to admit guilt, he is nevertheless forbidden from saying anything that would indicate that he thinks the “complaint is without factual basis.”

Because this gag order prevents him from talking about the case, it also prevents the Cato Institute from publishing his book. Cato and the Institute for Justice are thus not revealing the man’s identity because doing so would also reveal that he disagrees with, and is critical of, his settlement with the SEC. If he violates the gag order, SEC prosecutors could try to vacate the settlement and punish him more harshly.

The SEC has two modes of attack, civil and criminal, and has long favored the civil suit, which according to IJ results in about 90% settlements. As Cato’s Clark Neilly explains, the SEC includes a detail that’s come under serious scrutiny of late in its settlements.

The case began when a well-known law professor introduced us to a former businessman who wanted to publish a memoir he had written about his experience being sued by the SEC and prosecuted by DOJ in connection with a business he created and ran for several years before the 2008 financial crisis. The memoir explains in compelling detail how both agencies fundamentally misconceived the author’s business model—absurdly accusing him of operating a Ponzi scheme and sticking with that theory even after it fell to pieces as the investigation unfolded—and ultimately coerced him into settling the SEC’s meritless civil suit and pleading guilty in DOJ’s baseless criminal prosecution after being threatened with life in prison if he refused.

The underlying issue, that a government agency has misapprehended how a business functions and, through the squinted eyes of a lawyer who has never run a business but is certain they know everything about them, is wrong. Is it? For most businesses, the options are limited since businesses exist to do business and going to prison puts a serious crimp in doing business. Or more to the point, the investigation and prosecution are more than enough to destroy the business regardless, so win or lose, they lose. Settlement becomes the only viable option.

But the SEC doesn’t want anyone to think it might be wrong, overreaching and abusive. So rather than not be wrong, overreaching and abusive, it came up with a policy at 17 C.F.R. § 202.5(e).

The Commission has adopted the policy that in any civil lawsuit brought by it or in any administrative proceeding of an accusatory nature pending before it, it is important to avoid creating, or permitting to be created, an impression that a decree is being entered or a sanction imposed, when the conduct alleged did not, in fact, occur. Accordingly, it hereby announces its policy not to permit a defendant or respondent to consent to a judgment or order that imposes a sanction while denying the allegations in the complaint or order for proceedings. In this regard, the Commission believes that a refusal to admit the allegations is equivalent to a denial, unless the defendant or respondent states that he neither admits nor denies the allegations.

It might be noted that many settlements include a confidentiality clause, preventing a party from telling its story. But this isn’t just any party. This is the SEC, an agency of the United States government, and these settlements aren’t arms-length transactions, but civil settlements achieved by leveraging the threat of federal criminal prosecution. Don’t try this at home, as it’s frowned upon.

The obvious SEC response would be that no one who is innocent of any wrongdoing should settle, and no innocent party should fear prosecution, since they’re innocent. If unicorns really did prance on rainbows, this would be a completely reasonable reaction. But unicorns don’t, and it’s nonsense.

It’s hard enough to defend an individual in a federal prosecution given the overwhelming advantage the government has, and which results in a 97% rate of conviction on negotiated pleas. This isn’t because the government is really good at picking out the guilty people, but that the risk of trial for a mere added period of imprisonment of life plus cancer is very persuasive, among many other things.

But businesses have a very different dynamic on top of the problems with an innocent party defending against a wrongful, or excessive prosecution. They aren’t fighting for their life, but for money. They’re businesses, and business is there only goal. to make money. By leveraging criminal prosecution, an extremely expensive and risky proposition, and offering an out by means of civil settlement that might allow a business to survive, there is simply no rational business decision to be made other than to acquiesce. Yeah, it’s an unprincipled choice, but what good is winning when the business is bankrupted, ruined, in the process? This is the quintessential Pyrrhic victory.

So they settle. And they sign off on the SEC’s policy that says they can’t challenge the conduct that SEC says was unlawful because that would make the SEC look sucky and abusive. From the SEC standpoint, it’s a great circular argument, since it would never seek a settlement with an innocent party, so the settling business is obviously guilty, and thus loses nothing by being compelled to waive its right to speak about it afterward.

The lawsuit from the Institute for Justice, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks to have this gag order declared an unconstitutional violation of the Cato Institute’s First Amendment right to publish this man’s book. They’re asking for an injunction to stop the SEC from enforcing these gag orders.

For a party to refuse to settle because they have a story to tell, a story others should hear, is bad for business. For the SEC to gag parties from telling their story, on the other hand, is bad for the Constitution. Once again, Cato and IJ are taking up a cause that needs to be decided, and hopefully the Constitution, this time, will prevail.

Unsettling Silence (Or Can The SEC Make You Gag?) republished via Simple Justice

0 notes