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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   31336 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of May 15, 2023

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she saw the one eBike on the rack and grabbed it even though it had already been reserved.

Let's give these guys the benefit of the doubt. As a man, I'd have put my hands up, told her that I'd cancel my reservation and the bike was hers. End of story, no confrontation. We'll talk, explain things, and if there's a chance for me to give ground (and not lose out on $1200 from an unreturned bike, I'm not that trusting) I'm taking it.

Let's give these guys the benefit of the doubt.

Not anymore, no. The benefit of the doubt has been weaponized and only ever runs in one direction. Reading about this case led me to discovering the new paradigm for purse snatching. The thief approaches the victim and says, "give me back my bag!" On the surface, this looks like it could plausibly be a legitimate case of someone picking up the wrong bag. That's what it's for, to induce in normal people just enough momentary confusion for the thief to take off with the bag. Four "teens" hanging around the bike rental deserve absolutely zero benefit of the doubt.

I'm saying that in the most charitable interpretation of the situation, these teenagers still handled the situation poorly. And it only gets worse from there.

That's an interesting point. I guess I'm arguing that the most charitable interpretation of the situation is so improbable that it's not even worth entertaining. But as a rhetorical device, I can see the value in your approach.

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