[FRIAM] "certain codes of conduct"

[thompnickson2 at gmail.com]

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
ThompNickSon2 at gmail.com
https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/
 


-----Original Message-----
From: Friam <friam-bounces at redfish.com> On Behalf Of u?l? ???
Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2020 8:32 AM
To: FriAM <friam at 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, thompnickson2 at 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.

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