419 Emails From A Cultural Perspective

419 Emails From A Cultural Perspective


Really?
(Score:5, Funny)
by lucabrasi999 (585141) Alter Relationship on Friday October 21, @11:09AM (#13845130)
(Last Journal: Friday September 30, @08:31AM)
They say the American guy has a good life.

Walk a mile in my shoes, buddy. You'll find out it ain't all peachs 'n cream.
--================


Re:Really?
(Score:5, Funny)
by cyber0ne (640846) Alter Relationship on Friday October 21, @11:15AM (#13845187)
(http://www.cyber0ne.com/)
Walk a mile in my shoes, buddy. You'll find out it ain't all peachs 'n cream.

A friend of mine from another country once said he felt sorry for me because I have Bush as a president. I responded, "Me? Hell, I feel sorry for you. At least I'm not subject to his foreign policy."

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Re:Really?
(Score:5, Insightful)
by RobertB-DC (622190) * Alter Relationship on Friday October 21, @11:18AM (#13845229)
(http://www.dixie-chicks.com/ | Last Journal: Tuesday October 11, @12:20PM)
Foo: They say the American guy has a good life.

Bar: Walk a mile in my shoes, buddy. You'll find out it ain't all peachs 'n cream.

Yeah. You've got it bad, here in America (I assume) with "the run-down, teeming streets, the grimy buildings, the broken refrigerators stacked outside, the strings of wet washing. It's the kind of place where plainclothes police prowl the streets extorting bribes, where mobs burn thieves to death for stealing a cellphone, and where some people paint "This House Is Not For Sale" in big letters on their homes, in case someone posing as the owner tries to put it on the market."

Oh, my bad. That's the description (from the FA) of the conditions of the folks who you're asking to "walk in your shoes". There's no way anyone from the US, Canada, or Europe (including myself) could even concieve of what it's like to live in such conditions with no way out.

Wrong is wrong, and the young man profiled in the article has more guts than most to see that and turn his back on it. But to completely ignore the factors behind the bad behavior is counterproductive at best. "Root causes" (of crime, poverty, terrorism, etc) may be overrated, but it's hard to defeat an enemy if you don't know his motivation.

Or maybe Slashdot dropped the [sarcasm] tag from your post...
--
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
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Re:Really?
(Score:5, Funny)
by Anonymous Meoward (665631) Alter Relationship on Friday October 21, @12:19PM (#13845815)

Have you ever been to West Virginia?

You mean the state with the motto "Thank God for Mississippi" ?
--
"Persecuted"? No, maybe you're just stupid. [landoverbaptist.org]

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Re:Really?
(Score:5, Insightful)
by Viper Daimao (911947) Alter Relationship on Friday October 21, @11:26AM (#13845305)
(Last Journal: Tuesday September 13, @09:42AM)
Walk a mile in my shoes, buddy. You'll find out it ain't all peachs 'n cream.

Doubtful. You most likely have a personal computer that you can call your own, or perhaps your family's. You probably eat well, have a closet full of clothes to choose from, get a free education (high school), or pay(have payed for) for a good quality education if you're in college. Chances are that you own your own car, or can use on of your families cars. Given the current US unemployment percentage (5.1%) you most likely have a job. You spend your free time on niche news websites such as slashdot. I could go on, but the point is, you (and I also fit into all of those above claims), that we have a good life compared to most the rest of the world, regardless of where we fit in on the American class system.

Now, that all being said, it is in no way an excuse for these immoral scams. Stealing is wrong no matter what and these people prey on the old and poor who are ticked into this scam. What they do is unexcusable, and their reasoning offered in the article is just that, excuses for behavoir they know is wrong.
--
Crawling my way up from terrible karma
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Delusions
(Score:5, Interesting)
by Hrodvitnir (101283) Alter Relationship on Friday October 21, @11:11AM (#13845155)
"the American guy has a good life. There's this belief that for every dollar they lose, the American government will pay them back in some way."

This is not a new thinking. Many crooks try to justify what they are doing by making it seem that they are not hurting anyone, at least not as much as they are.
--
This is not the sig you're looking for.
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by tekn0lust (725750) * Alter Relationship on Friday October 21, @11:12AM (#13845159)
(http://www.tekn0lust.com/)
I would have to agree that the anonymous American is a greedy fool.

Where else do you see people react to being in an accident like they won the lottery? Be it medical, car, workplace. Get hurt and bingo, how can I get paid.

Tough to admit, but deep down everyone has some greed. Greed is a survival trait. Greed doesn't apply only to money, but to status, acceptance, and a miriad other indicators be them material or immaterial.

Most scams rely heavily on the scamee forgoing rational thought to bite the lure. Nothing clouds judgement like a big payday or a supermodel.

American's are in for a rough ride when China becomes the next superpower and greed is a major reason why.

--signed "A greedy American"
=======
ttp://www.419eater.com/ [419eater.com]

An informational website that helps you scam the scammer
============

The video totally rocks
(Score:5, Interesting)
by RobotWisdom (25776) Alter Relationship on Friday October 21, @11:14AM (#13845175)
(http://www.robotwisdom.com/)
Quicktime [antville.org]

The lyrics there are helpful because the accent is hard to understand.
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Cultural Relativism
(Score:5, Insightful)
by dslauson (914147) Alter Relationship on Friday October 21, @11:23AM (#13845284)
(Last Journal: Wednesday October 19, @03:35PM)
You can only lean on cultural relativism so much.

What I mean is, regardless of the culture you were raised in and the social climate of your environment, at some point, wrong is wrong is wrong.

In this category, I would put anything that infringes on the rights of other human beings, including murder, assault, and, yes, simple theft.

Justify it all you want. Yes, the people who fall for it are often greedy and stupid, but that doesn't make the act of the perpitrators any less wrong.
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Why wouldn't they think it's OK?
(Score:5, Insightful)
by Kohath (38547) Alter Relationship on Friday October 21, @11:26AM (#13845301)
Aren't these scams just what "social justice" is supposed to be -- stealing from people because INSERT JUSTIFICATION HERE ?

Justifications:

- It's their fair share.
- They did XYZ THING in the past
- Their ancestors did XYZ THING in the distant past
- They have a different skin color than me
- They have a different religion than me
- They can afford it
- Etc.

The justifications aren't really relevant, BTW. They're just flavor. People steal/tax/defraud/embezzle/con because they want the money and because they c
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Let's have some perspective
(Score:5, Insightful)
by Safe Sex Goddess (910415) Alter Relationship on Friday October 21, @11:47AM (#13845494)
(http://www.safesexzone.com/ | Last Journal: Thursday September 22, @12:14PM)
It's funny how we seem to get most upset when it's people who have almost nothing doing the scamming. Yet when rich folk do scamming, like the Savings & Loan scandal, Enron, Worldcom, and so on, people don't get so upset.

I can't tell you how many times I hear about welfare fraud where someone might net a few hundred dollars a month, but these same people never once mention the corporate people who steal millions or hundreds of millions of dollars. Or corporate bosses who steal the pension plans from people who have worked hard all their careers and are left with nothing. Thank god for social security so they won't starve.

So right now we're worried about some Nigerians stealling tens of millions a year when we've got tens of billions in medical fraud going on in this country.

Get some perspective.
--
Abstinence is a government conspiracy. www.SafeSexZone.co [safesexzone.com]




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Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go.
(Score:5, Interesting)
by Ahnteis (746045) Alter Relationship on Friday October 21, @05:41PM (#13848757)
Let's see -- I can:

1) Buy music from itunes. It will be in a format that only Apple players can play, will have digital restrictions, and will be at lower bitrate then some competitors. It will cost the nearly the same as the full CD if I buy the album ($14 at Walmart vs $10 on itunes).

2) Buy music from other server. It will be in a format that can play on many players, but not on the popular Apple players. It will have digital restrictions. Quality may be greater then the Apple offering (depending on the store.) It will cost the nearly the same as the full CD if I buy the album ($14 at Walmart vs $10 online).

3) Buy music on CD. I get great quality at a slightly higher cost, but I have to buy all the songs on a CD. I also have to travel to the store instead of sitting at home (or work). I do get artwork and physical media, but have no backup unless I make my own. Increasingly, I may be faced with attempts to block me from making a backup or traveling copy.

4) Buy the music from a Russian site. Incredibly low price, selection of different bitrates. Artists probably won't be paid, but the RIAA won't either. Won't be sued by RIAA for illegally downloading. Morally not quite as "right" as other options.

5) Download the music for FREE through kazaa / etc. Quality ranges, but I will likely have to hunt for a real copy of popular songs. I risk being sued by the RIAA. Morally, one of the least "right" choices.

6) Steal the CD from a store. All the benefits of a CD without the cost. Unless you get caught. Still, you will may very well be penalized less if you get caught then if you had downloaded the song from kazaa. Morally a "wrong" choice.

7) Make a copy from a friend. Quality ranges depending on your friends original source, but it's free and may be legal under home taping laws. Morally questionable.

Of course, the RIAA isn't interested in choices. They're only interested in money and that's why this article is interesting. As far as I know it's not even a dupe! +1 intersting for Slashdot!
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