this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2024
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted, clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts: 1

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The assassination of United Healthcare's CEO is a real life trolley problem, and a select few are trying to argue to save all lives while the train is going to kill the masses. (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by moral_quandary@lemmy.world to c/showerthoughts@lemmy.world
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It appears that in every thread about this event there is someone calling everyone else in the thread sick and twisted for not proclaiming that all lives are sacred and being for the death of one individual.

It really is a real life trolley problem because those individuals are not seeing the deaths caused by the insurance industry and not realizing that sitting back and doing nothing (i.e. not pulling the lever on the train track switch) doesn't save lives...people are going to continue to die if nothing is done.

Taking a moral high ground and stating that all lives matter is still going to costs lives and instead of it being a few CEOs it will be thousands.

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[โ€“] krashmo@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

There's any number of ways to make a difference that are better than shooting a man in the middle of the street.

Are they really? How many people have been doing those things for decades with very little to show for it? How much campaigning can a parent paying for cancer treatment for their kid be reasonably expected to do? How many generic responses from representatives not listening to the concerns of their constituents should we trudge through?

Whether or not this shooter was motivated by the reasons we're all assuming is pretty irrelevant at this point. The simple fact that we're having this discussion at this scale demonstrates that people do not believe that the things you mentioned will improve things, and I think that's a perfectly reasonable interpretation of the situation we find ourselves in. Maybe vigilante action is not the answer but I think it's pretty clear that the usual responses you're giving are not resonating with people. Decision makers need to change that perception if they want to prevent people from looking outside the system for answers.

[โ€“] testfactor@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

First, I think you're completely underplaying all the huge gains people have made over the years by doing exactly what I'm talking about. Especially at the state and local level.

But yeah, if you think I'm defending the system as perfect and unflawed, of course not. Of course most people don't want to have to dedicate their life to fixing the system. Of course they have other priorities. Kids, illness, etc.

And of course killing a man in cold blood is easier than spending years or decades fighting for the change you want to see.

But I've seen change accomplished by people who believe in the law and civic order. I've seen people make the system work. It is possible.

It's not easy. It requires someone to basically make it their life, and that's certainly not for everybody. But it can be done. And if you're at the point where you're throwing your life away by shooting a man in the middle of a NYC street, there are better ways to use your life than that.