Discretionary enforcement is one of the biggest issues with modern legislation. People pass unreasonable laws because they won’t be enforced against them, but we can use those laws discretionarily to subjugate whoever we want.
If it’s globally illegal to breathe, but we only enforce that on the folks we don’t like, suddenly the police have a license to kill whoever they don’t like.
It's called the Shirley exemption. Because surely there's an exemption for whatever in this incredibly restrictive law, right?
It doesn't do the thing that it says it does, because there must be an exemption.
The Shirley exemption is how most moderates are fooled into supporting the most restrictive, horrible, laws that the far right keeps pushing. They believe in the Shirley exemption, even when the law specifically says that there are no exemptions.
And yes, the fascists then prove that the only exemptions are to themselves.
I was saying this exact thing a few weeks ago when I heard the boardwalk announce no one could have a backpack past 8 pm. As if a backpack itself was a special bag, and not just a bag a young kid from out of town (ie. their family can’t afford a shorehouse) would probably have.
Then I looked around, and saw a bunch of adults - especially parents - wearing and carrying them, unaccosted, post 8 pm. Suddenly it made sense. Backpacks weren’t the goal, but they could certainly kick anyone with a backpack off the boardwalk at any time.
You know how I know Lemmy has won in the search for an alternative to Reddit? The proliferation of shit-stirring Twitter screenshot reposts with dates cropped out have started to proliferate across the communities.
Don't get me wrong, I don't disagree with the sentiment of the post, but the constant stream of Twitter screenshot reposts is one of the things that eroded the quality of Reddit. They add nothing of value to these conversations other than to stir the pot.
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