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Discussion on: I was emailed after abandoning a registration form. I did not click Submit. This is not ok.

 
djsullenbarger profile image
David Sullenbarger

"but your response gave the distinct impression that your material comforts were well worth the price of breaking this 'trivial' law."

No, my point was it's not 'illegal' (loaded term) here and I already bitch about the cops (as a white guy and have for years), selfish policies (basically: 'conservative' ideals) and privacy (believe it or not) ... but I also know (my peers) don't know too much about GDPR and as soon as I mention it's a "Euro" thing 1/2 of them would tune me out (not sure I blame them) and the other 1/2 would probably roll their eyes

I do enjoy honest debates and I do not consider your privacy (or mine) trivial in any way whatsoever and I think the current state of affairs is disgusting (on both sides of the pond). To me, it seems like the problem I run into is that I have a very measured, pragmatic approach to things (it comes with age so they say) ... and don't think it's quite time for a lot of very important things (yet, sadly) so people think I'm arguing against an idea ... I'm usually not. People (rightfully) want to fix everything that broken right now .. and in my experience that's just not the way things work in the real world.

Let's fix the obvious problems with criminal law first. Not addressing this first (and by itself) is offensive to me and trivializes real suffering . You can have my freakin privacy if it'll keep people alive (which should be a false dichotomy in a free society) and out of jail (unless you are actually dangerous to society)

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blindfish3 profile image
Ben Calder

I guess we're looking at things from somewhat different cultural perspectives. The impression I have of the US is that things are really weighted against you: on face value it all looks so appealing - if you happen to be on the right side of the social divide. But if there really is no safety net and you fall on hard times you're essentially a slave to whatever system those with power have set up.

To put my original comment in context: I was able to give up both a toxic work environment and (IMO) a toxic country (the UK); move to another country with no contacts - and where I don't speak the language - and find gainful employment all in the space of 6 months. I appreciate that not everyone has that luxury; but that's precisely my point: those of us who do should use that leverage to effect meaningful change. So if an employer did put me in a position that went against my personal ethics (let alone the law) and resisted all my attempts to push back I really would have no hesitation to quit.

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djsullenbarger profile image
David Sullenbarger • Edited

"..I have of the US is that things are really weighted against you"

Heh, it's funny how much things change. When I lived 'abroad' in the late 80's and early 90's I was distressed to learn how much everyone else in the world seemed to be paying attention to everything we did and said (looking for a 'sign', it seemed) ... actually, a lot of the people who lived in the 'shiat hole' countries seemed to have the impression we were mere minutes from swooping in and saving them from something or another.

It was an unrealistically high opinion that was obviously going to to swing to the other extreme at some point (which it has) ...

Every place has good and bad parts my friend and I prefer being here ... or down in Australia. Not real fond of European culture .. it felt inscrutably "class" based (to an outsider at least) and I can't think of many things that bother me more (though I do enjoy hanging with Slavs ... )