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Current Affairs on ‘The Trolley Problem’

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The trolley problem is repulsive, because it encourages people to think about playing God and choosing which people to kill. It is as irrelevant as the Asteroid-Orphans Dilemma, because “who would you murder in extreme situation X?” is not even a distant parallel to the issues that will likely come up in your own life. It warps human moral sensibilities, by encouraging us to think about isolated moments of individual choice rather than the context in which those choices occur. It is escapist, in that it allows us to comfortably drift into the realm of the implausible and ridiculous, so that we do not have to confront disturbing truths about our real-world moral failings. And it encourages a kind of fatalism, where everything you do will inevitably be a disaster and moral questions seem hard rather than easy. If you want to actually be a better person, you can start by never wasting a second of your life contemplating trolley problems.

The Trolley Problem Will Tell You Nothing Useful About Morality – Adrian Rennix & Nathan J. Robinson

via: The Trolley Problem is a joke – Wisecrack (video)

Addendum

This screenshot from the above video almost makes me want to start a Tumblr containing nothing but out-of-context Wisecrack stills.

An incomplete list of positive changes brought by Black Lives Matter

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Ground-breaking movements and protests like Black Lives Matter can get a lot of media coverage, but it can be hard to follow the actual changes that happen in their wake. I’ve even seen some folks question why people protest at all.

Black Lives Matter has sparked tangible, positive change. Here is a surely incomplete list of some of those changes to help foster perspective on this for myself, you and our friends, as well as those family members, coworkers, and aimlessly angry Twitter jerks who still ‘don’t get it.’ Please let me know of any more good stuff I can add to this list.

  • The Minneapolis Public School board just voted unanimously to cancel their contract with the Minneapolis Police Department – The Cut
  • Minneapolis pledges to dismantle its police department – how will it work? – The Guardian
  • Leaders in both the US house and senate have announced hearings to investigate police violence – New York Times
  • A US Senator is talking about a bill to ban the use of military against protestors – New York Times
  • New Jersey is working on new rules regarding tracking police violence and licensing them – Politico
  • Chicago Police Reforms Coming Within 90 Days, Mayor Lightfoot Promises – Block Club Chicago
  • Veto-proof Senate majority approves proposal to strip confederate names from army bases – Talking Points Memo
  • NFL’s Washington Redskins to change name following years of backlash – ABC News
  • Amid protests, Colorado lawmakers introduce bill to address police use of force policies and “qualified immunity” – The Denver Channel
  • New York repealed a law that kept police disciplinary records hidden from the public – BuzzFeed News
  • Dallas police force adopts ‘Duty to Intervene’ policy to prevent abuse – NPR
  • LA City Council introduces motion to reduce LAPD’s $1.8 billion budget – CBS Local Los Angeles
  • Maryland lawmakers make renewed push for police accountability reforms – The Baltimore Sun
  • Confederate monuments are being taken down across the U.S. – CNN
  • Yankees, Nationals kneel in support of Black Lives Matter movement ahead of opening day matchup – Newsday
  • NFL admits ‘we were wrong’ on player protests, says ‘black lives matter’ – Yahoo Sports (although, as of this writing, Kaepernick still hasn’t regained a job in football)
  • What Silicon Valley is—and isn’t—doing to support Black Lives Matter – The Guardian
  • Majority agree with Black Lives Matter and say major police reform is needed – CBS News poll