Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

> Destruction to the built environment is an offense against society.

If someone crashes into a streetlight, is that an offense against society? Obviously not.

> 25 people were killed in the riots and there was $2 billion in property damage.

In the entire country? And is there a source for it?

Sorry about your fro-yo and coffee. The places I know have long forgotten the 'riots'.

> private sector people were not at risk.

People died. Does it not matter because they worked for the government? How about the democracy and government of people in the private sector? I think boiling it down to property is much too convenient.




> If someone crashes into a streetlight, is that an offense against society?

If you do it on purpose, yes.

> Sorry about your fro-yo and coffee. The places I know have long forgotten the 'riots'.

There’s tons of evidence that riots lead to long term depopulation of the neighborhoods where they happened.

> Does it not matter because they worked for the government?

Yes. This is America, not Europe: https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jeffers...


> > If someone crashes into a streetlight, is that an offense against society?

> If you do it on purpose, yes.

Well I guess "an offense against society" is undefined, but that is an extreme reaction. There are matters of degree in everything, and those degrees are everything. The state prosecutes lots of crimes, from shoplifting to mass murder - to call them all "an offense against society" becomes meaningless.

> > Does it not matter because they worked for the government?

> Yes.

Killing people doesn't matter if those people work for the government. Wow.


>> If someone crashes into a streetlight, is that an offense against society? Obviously not.

That’s literally what it is. That’s why the court case is styled State/Commonwealth/People v. Streetlightcrasher. You can quibble about whether the government “is” society but that argument makes you sound like a fringe libertarian.


I think we are getting into a philosophical debate of literalism. Other than that, nobody would call it "an offense against society".


It sounds like you don’t understand what the word “offense” means. The literal meaning of offense is a crime. If you crash into a street light and damage it (purposely, probably also negligently) then it is literally an offense against society.

offense: an illegal act; a crime

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/offen...


That's what I meant by literalism.




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2025 batch! Applications are open till Aug 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: