OK.  So nobody likes the National Discrimination Observatory.  And nobody likes 
my idea of randomizing the little labels that mothers and babies get in 
maternity wards over night and shipping the babies out at random the next 
morning.  So how about this.  Let it be the case that all people are created 
equal.  That would mean that, ex hypothesi, all differences in our economic, 
educational, ands social circumstances are invidious. So, how a strongly 
progressive income tax structure, a free, high quality educational system 
available free to all, a vigorous anti-discriminatory housing policy, a 
universal voting initiative, etc.  Oh, wait a minute?  Where have I heard all 
that before?  

Nick

Nicholas Thompson
Emeritus Professor of Ethology and Psychology
Clark University
thompnicks...@gmail.com
https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/
 


-----Original Message-----
From: Friam <friam-boun...@redfish.com> On Behalf Of u?l? ???
Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2020 8:32 AM
To: FriAM <friam@redfish.com>
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] "certain codes of conduct"

I thought we did reply to it. My reply was basically that such a managed 
evolution will have unintended consequences that will likely be worse than the 
problem it's trying to solve. Solutions to problems like this should be, IMO, 
*in* and *of* the ecology, not artificially strapped to it with bailing wire 
and glue.

Unfortunately, that implies you have to LEAVE YOUR HOUSE and engage those 
dirty, infected people in the streets ... you know the ones that our joke of a 
public health system is *supposed* to help. Unless we're willing to do that, we 
might want to just stay silent and die alone in our damned houses. Abstraction 
is the disease. Discrimination is the symptom.

The umbrella org of Renee's hospital just backed out of a deal with a couple of 
(authentic) non-profits in providing a Community Center for the homeless. The 
argument is essentially about the homeless using the services (taking a shower, 
washing clothes, warm place to rest, etc.) without passing a screening test, 
indocrination. The 2 actual non-profits want to continue allowing anyone to 
take a shower or whatever ... just because they fscking need one. Renee's 
hospital, which claims to be a non-profit but has a LOT of cash stashed away in 
bank accounts and pays their executives competitive ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H 
fscking humongous salaries, wants them to first prove they're trying to "get 
better", "improve themselves", ... you know, conform, apply for jobs, print 
resume's, be motivated by the American Dream™ of home ownership [ptouie], etc. 
Once they jump through their firey hoop screening process, then, and only then, 
can they take a shower.

My guess is your National Discrimination Observatory would end up in a similar 
position, abstracted, out of touch, useless, and expensive.


On 7/28/20 8:29 PM, thompnicks...@gmail.com wrote:
> Nobody has responded yet to my idea of a National Discrimination 
> Observatory, whose job is to identify systematic disadvantaging of any type 
> and a redistributive taxation code that counters the that disadvantage.  The 
> idea is that there will always be invidious assignments in any society based 
> on one or another silly criteria and the important thing is to see that they 
> don’t get reinforced by economic consequences.  Soon the disadvantaged people 
> will be heard to say, “Yes, I may have attached earlobes, but with the tax 
> refund I got yesterday, I am making more than you are.”
> 
> I know, Glen.  Only a fundamentalist Liberal like myself could even conceive 
> of such an idea.

--
↙↙↙ uǝlƃ

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