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Breaking: Shooting at Lone Star College in Texas

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stabby1/22/2013 1:08:32 pm PST

re: #239 iossarian

It’s the dark side of American libertarianism/exceptionalism. Because people feel that they should always get a “fair deal” (by which they mean no-one else should be getting a deal that could possibly be interpreted as being better than theirs), institutions have to basically come up with iron laws, no exceptions, for everything. Because otherwise you get sued. As is happening in this case.

I’m exaggerating (a little) but having lived in Europe as well, it’s quite striking that people there, although they’ll grumble to friends and colleagues if they feel they’re not getting their fair shake, will be much more accepting and less likely to lodge formal complaints. As a consequence, institutions generally have more latitude to make case-by-case judgements on situations as they arise.

I grew up in Canada. Canadians don’t get angry the way Americans do.

Americans seem a bit… nuts.

In Canada we switched from the British version of the Imperial system to the Metric system when I was a child. No big snags.

That can’t happen here.

I can’t explain it.