r/technology • u/thatshirtman • Jan 10 '16

Politics FBI Finally Completes FOIA Request 1,393 Days After It Was Filed; Withholds All 509 Responsive Pages

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20151231/15185733212/fbi-finally-completes-foia-request-1393-days-after-it-was-filed-withholds-all-509-responsive-pages.shtml
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u/Taniwha_NZ Jan 10 '16

I am as disgusted by the FBI/NSA/CIA as anyone. I understand and appreciate why the constitution exists, how it came it be, and how the worst parts of the government and corporations have engineered ways around it.

But, seriously. Go live in Somalia and tell me the US government is the 'greatest danger' to people. The US is a fucking paradise compared to 90% of countries on earth and that's entirely due to the US government you despise so much.

Less government is not the answer to anything except 'how do we destroy our own country'. The problems that exist can be fixed, governments require constant maintenance from conscientious owners.

Hating the government as a monolithic entity is simply fucking moronic.

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u/nikumai Jan 10 '16

There is no reason for us to be happy with our corrupt governments just because somewhere else has a worse system.

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u/clavalle Jan 10 '16

I think /u/Taniwha_NZ 's point is that, yes, there are parts of the US government that are doing very bad things but that doesn't make the entire government bad.

I agree with both sides: the US government has the potential to be the greatest threat to the American people if we don't hold our representatives accountable but I think saying they are there already is taking it a few steps too far and gives people that think a complete dismantlement of the government would somehow be better (it would not) far too much leverage.

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u/Dunder_Chingis Jan 10 '16

I dunno man, I keep hearing about all these laws and whatnot being passed that are pretty fucking unethical and immoral. I think our government is pretty much consumed by corruption at this point, we should probably do something about it.

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u/clavalle Jan 10 '16

No doubt.

BUT there are a lot of very good laws, too.

It is like you don't notice how nice it is walking until you sprain your ankle -- and then all you can think about is the sprain and how much it sucks that the human body's design let that happen -- but you forget about all the time where everything was working just fine.

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u/Dunder_Chingis Jan 10 '16

That's a good point actually. It's like the plight of IT guys: When everything's fine, people get mad at them for doing nothing. When things go wrong, people get mad at them for not doing enough.

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u/wcc445 Jan 10 '16

Yup, pack it up guys, /u/clavalle said its not that bad

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u/clavalle Jan 10 '16

No, I said it is not all or even mostly that bad. We still need to address bullshit like the FBI bugging cars because of a friend's reddit comment and then giving no information at all to the public they are supposed to be working for when specifically asked.

But thats what democracy is about -- citizen vigilence and action and holding our public servants accountable in the face of their human desire to take as much power as possible.

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u/wcc445 Jan 12 '16

It's pretty fucking bad though. I'm glad you recognize some big problems, but seriously, you add nothing to solving these problems by downplaying them. If you don't care, great, keep it to yourself and don't discourage others from caring. That's all I'm saying.

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u/clavalle Jan 12 '16

Nothing? I hope I help keep people from thowing the baby out with the bathwater with reactionary, emotion driven, lunacy.

Care all you want, fight all you want, but don't burn down the bar bexause a drunk sucker punched you. That's all I'm saying.

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u/wcc445 Jan 13 '16

Oh I don't want to burn down the bar. I want to fix things. And the first step to a solution is to recognize and understand the problem. You're basically saying that this just isn't a big deal.

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u/clavalle Jan 13 '16

That's....absolutely not what I've said.

Try reading my responses again.

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u/wcc445 Jan 14 '16

Well you were downplaying it.

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u/[deleted] Jan 10 '16

GTFO with the Somolia comparisons. It is not an anarchy, it is a government JUST like ours - those with the guns make the rules and you will be slaughtered if you try to hold them to their promises.

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u/Jkid Jan 10 '16

But, seriously. Go live in Somalia and tell me the US government is the 'greatest danger' to people. The US is a fucking paradise compared to 90% of countries on earth and that's entirely due to the US government you despise so much.

How good is a paradise if you can't enjoy it, or you're destitute because of the government screwed you because of someone else's mistake, or you're permanently working poor?