this post was submitted on 16 Jan 2026
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Flippanarchy

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Flippant Anarchism. A lighter take on social criticism with the aim of agitation.

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[–] naevaTheRat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 49 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

100% i think any transgression where the harm is diffuse but the benefit is immense should be punishable by complete claiming of the entire wealth of a person, along with anything they have granted to their kin.

Someone who murders in rage may be reformed. Someone who screws people in sales, or embezzles a pension fund, or directs a contract towards a friend understands only the cold non-morality of coins.

[–] damnedfurry@lemmy.world 18 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

I did some digging, and the mastermind of the scheme Allen was involved in (who he helped investigators nail, one of the main reasons his sentence was reduced) was sentenced to 30 years. However, he was only forced to hand over a paltry $38.5 million, out of $3 billion?! Barely 1% of the defrauded amount!

Seems like it'd be pretty straightforward to, as a rule, penalize for the entire 'profit' of the fraud as a baseline, then you can add the fee (otherwise, you'd still just be breaking even if caught) on top of that.

[–] naevaTheRat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 2 weeks ago

Seems like it’d be pretty straightforward

You'd think so, but the entire legal system is set up to protect the bourgeois and their interests (including maintaining a productive level of poverty and violence) not actual justice or human flourishing.

It's why you get a harsher penalty for "breaking into" a bin full of discarded produce than defrauding thousands of pensions.

Cool and good.

That's 1%. $300,000,000 would be 10%.

[–] Discover@lemmy.world 40 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Now let's see Paul Allen's jailcell

[–] kibiz0r@midwest.social 38 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

See, if you successfuly steal $3bn, that means God loves you or whatever

Homeless guy failed to steal $100 (he felt bad about it lmao), so he’s evil

[–] Jankatarch@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I wonder how far you can push morality.

"If god loved you then we would have been made to give you 40 months, the fate made us give you 3 years instead. Therefore it's just."

[–] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 35 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)
[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 10 points 2 weeks ago

i think her sentenced got commuted, or reduced to life imprisonment last i heard.

[–] Deceptichum@quokk.au 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

If you have the power to confiscate their wealth, you've already 'won' - there is no need for the death penalty at that point.

[–] fubbernuckin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 weeks ago

Maybe, but it is satisfying to see.

[–] TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

I'm not a fan of Marxist Leninists, but executing scammers like her is something that I gleefully relish.

[–] stephan262@lemmy.world 22 points 2 weeks ago

I'm annoyed by it saying he got 'slightly less' that the six years prosecutors wanted. 40 months is 3 1/3 years. That's not slightly less than six years, that's almost half.

[–] fort_burp@feddit.nl 12 points 2 weeks ago

"It is the duty of the poor to support and sustain the rich in their power and idleness. In doing so, they have to work before the laws' majestic equality, which forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread."

Anatole France

[–] radiouser@crazypeople.online 10 points 2 weeks ago

"The petty thief is imprisoned but the big thief becomes a feudal lord."

[–] Defectus@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Look at the bright side. The homeless man don't have to sleep outside anymore

[–] BilboBargains@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Not sure the judge had that in mind when sentencing but for some people prison is preferable to homelessness.

[–] Defectus@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

I met a homeless man in Kiel. He was homeless in the summer and checked in at rehab in the winter. He thought that was great.

[–] AlexLost@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago

It's not a criminal justice system you have, it's a citizen suppression tool. No justice will be found, and the vast majority of "dangerous criminals" in the system are there for petty drug crimes. Many fraudulently brought by a corrupt system intent of painting a certain skin colour a certain way.

[–] damnedfurry@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

Some things to consider, for those interested in objectivity:

  • We have basically no background info on Roy Brown (the homeless guy), no idea about prior convictions etc. that may have influenced the sentencing. Bizarrely, the actual crime on the books in Louisiana, where he committed it, has a massive sentencing range, of 3 to 40 years. This seems to be the one and only primary source for this info at all. Also, his was a violent crime,[^2] which tend to carry harsher sentences compared to non-violent, regardless of the type of crime.
  • Allen took one of those 'help us fry the bigger fish and we'll go easy on you'[^1] deals from investigators, and as a result, prosecutors weren't even seeking anything close to 15 years. Said bigger fish got 30 years.
  • The laws, including sentencing minimums etc., aren't exactly the same in Virginia (Allen) and Lousiana (Brown).

P.S. The Snopes article on this is 15 years old, so imagine the age of the actual screenshot.

[^1]: > Mitigating factors in Allen's sentencing were the fact that the fraud was already underway when he became CEO of TBW in 2003, that his crime was a non-violent one, and that Allen was one of six persons who received credit on their sentences for cooperating with investigators and testifying against Farkas, the mastermind of the fraud scheme. (Farkas himself was sentenced to thirty years in prison.)

[^2]: > Brown admitted walking up to a teller with one of his hands under his jacket and telling her it was a "stickup."

[–] Deceptichum@quokk.au 6 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Also, his was a violent crime

The violent crime he committed according to a liberal:

Brown admitted walking up to a teller with one of his hands under his jacket and telling her it was a "stickup."

[–] damnedfurry@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Threatening to shoot and kill someone if they don't give you what you want, even if the victim is not aware you're not actually armed, definitely counts, don't know what point you're trying to make.

Also, I quoted that exact line in my own comment, why are you bringing that up in your reply as if it's information I concealed/withheld or something?

[–] Deceptichum@quokk.au 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

It only counts only in a bullshit legal system way, of which no normal person should give the time of day too.

Poverty and stolen working class money actually kills people, finger guns do not.

To even pretend it is the other way around is the most vile fucking liberal take imaginable.

[–] naevaTheRat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

TBH I've been stabbed and I've been scammed and guess what set me back less.

[–] Natanael@infosec.pub 2 points 2 weeks ago

If you're in the US, the medical bills might cost you more than both

Sure, whatever. Say that capitalism is bad and America is a fascist dictatorship or I'm going to downvote you.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

Said bigger fish got 30 years.

Here's your tomato tomato. I'm not hugely familiar with crimlaw (everyone in the family did civil if they were in legal so those are the proceedings I'm familiar with) but the few criminal proceedings I followed closely, they'd pick one defendant and get all the others to turn on them. If you'd flip, you'd get 2 years for conspiracy. If you didn't, you'd get 25 for wasting the court's time.

[–] hateisreality@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

I remember about twenty years ago, some assholes lost a company half a billion dollars got 6 months probation vs the 72 year old woman going through bankruptcy, who hid 30 grand of assets, she got 12 years.

It's all bullshit

[–] DarkSurferZA@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

Well. That seems fair, I mean, 40 is bigger than 15... /S