Re:Journalist’s phone hacked: all he had to do was visit any...
by nec4b on Wednesday June 24, 2020 @05:39AM
(#23625971)
If you found out about Sammy's new job from a blog post on the internet, maybe you should give him the benefit of the doubt and ask him about it in person before ending your friendship.
Re:Journalist’s phone hacked: all he had to do was visit any...
by Blaiz0r on Wednesday June 24, 2020 @05:38AM
(#23625963)
Maybe the right thing to do is to change your opinions on anti-abortion, and come to understand Sammy better?
Re:Journalist’s phone hacked: all he had to do was visit any...
by lorenzhs on Wednesday June 24, 2020 @05:49AM
(#23626044)
In that example yes, but are you really telling me that I should change my views on whether it's okay for governments to hack journalists and activists to publicly smear them and arrest their sources?
Re:Journalist’s phone hacked: all he had to do was visit any...
by aronpye on Wednesday June 24, 2020 @05:58AM
(#23626102)
Nope, but you should judge individuals on their individual actions
Re:Journalist’s phone hacked: all he had to do was visit any...
by Veen on Wednesday June 24, 2020 @06:47AM
(#23626411)
It's an interesting position but one with unpleasant implications. Do you think it is morally wrong to work for, say, a terrorist organization planning a chemical weapons attack if all you do is manage procurement for them — you don't make chemical weapons or use them, you just make phone calls and manage a few spreadsheets.
Also, do you have the same feeling for the reverse situation? If instead of being an employee, you're the boss. You're aware that your employees are doing something morally wrong and you do nothing to stop them, but you aren't doing it yourself. Do you have any responsibility? In the ethics of war, there is the concept of command responsibility[0], where leaders are responsible for the actions of people under their command. Do you think that is a bad doctrine because the leaders aren't the ones shooting people? No one dies through their individual actions even if their subordinates commit war crimes.
Re:Journalist’s phone hacked: all he had to do was visit any...
by profmonocle on Wednesday June 24, 2020 @06:39AM
(#23626356)
How is choosing to work for a company that sells surveillance software to despotic governments not an "individual action"?
Re:Journalist’s phone hacked: all he had to do was visit any...
by cycomanic on Wednesday June 24, 2020 @06:57AM
(#23626480)
But choosing to work for a company who helps authoritan governments to prosecute journalists and dissidents is an action, and I will judge you for it.
Re:Journalist’s phone hacked: all he had to do was visit any...
by throwaway0a5e on Wednesday June 24, 2020 @08:45AM
(#23627224)
Regardless of how one feels about abortion, or whatever the issue at hand is, "just change your morals so that whatever your friends do is ok" is not a solution at scale.
Re:Journalist’s phone hacked: all he had to do was visit any...
by bobthechef on Wednesday June 24, 2020 @08:46AM
(#23627231)
Or maybe the right thing to do is to try to help Sammy see the evil she is committing. That could involve a Socratic approach that will help uncover the underpinnings of her position. If that fails and Sammy either obstinately refuses to see or for some reason cannot see, then it makes sense to part ways. You gave it a shot, you tried being charitable, but you ultimately cannot force another to accept the truth, nor should you want to. Everyone is morally responsible for his or her own views at the end of the day.
I also have a friend named Sammy, who's a doctor. Last night I discovered Sammy got a new job at Planned Parenthood, where a significant part of her time will be spent performing surgical abortions.
How many articles on the web should I read before I'm allowed to stop being friends with Sammy?