Teej
0
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2014
- Messages
- 520
- Points
- 48
Alan, you have a good point.
Things, historically, have always been like this...if not worse.
Sure, there are bad things, and, there are good things.
If you read the journals and notes etc from as far back as recorded history goes, humans have ALWAYS said that the pace of life is more hectic now a days, people have less time with their families, there's more war, famine, etc...the weather is especially unpredictable, and, the younger generation is going to hell in a hand basket.
Add in changes in what the younger generation is losing due to new technology, such as the Greeks bemoaning the use of reading, as if its written down, you don't have to KNOW it...so, reading and writing will be the ruin of humanity...
...and then books were OK, but TV was the ruination of humanity, and then the net, and so forth.
Descriptions of parents complaining that the kids noses were buried in their books/magazines during dinner, evolved to be complaining of the kids being buried in their smart phones, and so forth.
IE: Humans are just like that, etc.
Overall, life is better, not worse. Sure, some people's lives suck...and if born in the southern sudan, yeah, not as good as if born in the northern US, and so forth....but, on average, more people in trouble do get help, there is more awareness of global issues, and more of an effort to address them.
It used to be that if a tsunami wiped out an island or coastal nation, no one would know about it...now, we know its GOING to happen, let alone that it happened years ago...or that an explorer can't find them anymore, and no one knows there even WAS a tsunami, and so forth.
The news that someplace didn't suffer from an earthquake or disaster is never news...there is a tendency for the news to therefore BE mostly about bad things, or potentially important but potentially neutral things, such as elections, etc.
So, if you scan the headlines, yup, there's plane crashes and floods and earthquakes, revolutions, and other bad stuff going on.
Before there WERE "headlines", you simply were unlikely to ever KNOW about that stuff.
The vast number of STABLE governments and successful economies and resilient communities that planned for and therefore averted disasters, are not typically there to read about, and, definitely not as a headline.
So, if you don't weigh the evidence carefully, you can EASILY get the impression that things are terrible and getting worse.
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As for penalties, yeah, its that balance between deterrence and punishment just so they didn't "get away with it".
My impression, dealing with those incarcerated and who work in that industry, is that the reason most commonly given as to why they are in prison, is "I didn't think I'd get caught".
When you don't think you'll get caught, you are less worried about the penalties OF getting caught.
SOME people WILL consider this, especially when their brains have matured enough to more effectively consider the consequences of their actions. The younger the person, the less likely that is to have happened.
Some are able to do that at 16, some closer to 26....with ~ 16 as the average.
These matured versions are simply less likely to COMMIT a crime...as the victim's feelings, a sense of self, and so forth, are now part of the "decision".
So, no, I really doubt anyone was trying to make a plane crash with their laser pointer...and, I KNOW most people don't even know about HOW that could happen (It hasn't....further confusing the issue), but I do know from pilots that the glare is pretty unnerving, and, if at the wrong moment, particularly during a landing...it COULD be a problem.
If used as a missile targeting system, they are typically not in the visible spectrum....for obvious reasons.
I think its dumb people doing dumb stuff, and, should be treated proportionally.
Education for example, teachers in the classroom discussing the hazard to pilots, etc, might reduce it, but, you can't fix stupid.
Things, historically, have always been like this...if not worse.
Sure, there are bad things, and, there are good things.
If you read the journals and notes etc from as far back as recorded history goes, humans have ALWAYS said that the pace of life is more hectic now a days, people have less time with their families, there's more war, famine, etc...the weather is especially unpredictable, and, the younger generation is going to hell in a hand basket.
Add in changes in what the younger generation is losing due to new technology, such as the Greeks bemoaning the use of reading, as if its written down, you don't have to KNOW it...so, reading and writing will be the ruin of humanity...
...and then books were OK, but TV was the ruination of humanity, and then the net, and so forth.
Descriptions of parents complaining that the kids noses were buried in their books/magazines during dinner, evolved to be complaining of the kids being buried in their smart phones, and so forth.
IE: Humans are just like that, etc.
Overall, life is better, not worse. Sure, some people's lives suck...and if born in the southern sudan, yeah, not as good as if born in the northern US, and so forth....but, on average, more people in trouble do get help, there is more awareness of global issues, and more of an effort to address them.
It used to be that if a tsunami wiped out an island or coastal nation, no one would know about it...now, we know its GOING to happen, let alone that it happened years ago...or that an explorer can't find them anymore, and no one knows there even WAS a tsunami, and so forth.
The news that someplace didn't suffer from an earthquake or disaster is never news...there is a tendency for the news to therefore BE mostly about bad things, or potentially important but potentially neutral things, such as elections, etc.
So, if you scan the headlines, yup, there's plane crashes and floods and earthquakes, revolutions, and other bad stuff going on.
Before there WERE "headlines", you simply were unlikely to ever KNOW about that stuff.
The vast number of STABLE governments and successful economies and resilient communities that planned for and therefore averted disasters, are not typically there to read about, and, definitely not as a headline.
So, if you don't weigh the evidence carefully, you can EASILY get the impression that things are terrible and getting worse.
---------------------
As for penalties, yeah, its that balance between deterrence and punishment just so they didn't "get away with it".
My impression, dealing with those incarcerated and who work in that industry, is that the reason most commonly given as to why they are in prison, is "I didn't think I'd get caught".
When you don't think you'll get caught, you are less worried about the penalties OF getting caught.
SOME people WILL consider this, especially when their brains have matured enough to more effectively consider the consequences of their actions. The younger the person, the less likely that is to have happened.
Some are able to do that at 16, some closer to 26....with ~ 16 as the average.
These matured versions are simply less likely to COMMIT a crime...as the victim's feelings, a sense of self, and so forth, are now part of the "decision".
So, no, I really doubt anyone was trying to make a plane crash with their laser pointer...and, I KNOW most people don't even know about HOW that could happen (It hasn't....further confusing the issue), but I do know from pilots that the glare is pretty unnerving, and, if at the wrong moment, particularly during a landing...it COULD be a problem.
If used as a missile targeting system, they are typically not in the visible spectrum....for obvious reasons.
I think its dumb people doing dumb stuff, and, should be treated proportionally.
Education for example, teachers in the classroom discussing the hazard to pilots, etc, might reduce it, but, you can't fix stupid.
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