Almost 42,000 sources of toxic 'forever chemicals' | Hacker News Reader

Almost 42,000 sources of toxic 'forever chemicals'

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30 pointssahin4 comments

What can be done about the fact that industrial and financial services corporations can commit the most heinous crimes with impunity with zero public backlash or penalty, but tech companies do something somewhat questionable and the Senate starts public hearings, the media writes exposé after exposé, and the public regards Zuckerberg and Bezos as the ultimate evils of our time?

If I were Zuckerberg, I'd find a way to fund public media and public opinion smear campaigns against industry, CPG, and finance. Because they're raping our planet for generations to come with no penalties or slaps on the wrist, meanwhile he gets dragged in front of the gerontocracy once a year to explain how online communication works.

I certainly wouldn't have a problem with anyone bringing mass attention to these terrible companies, but I'd also argue that it makes Facebook and Amazon (and their executives) no less complicit in their own problematic behavior. They can all be held accountable.

They really can't. Civil liberties and privacy were popular after the Patriot Act, and then they weren't.

Occupy Wallstreet and the 2008 bailout led to widespread dissatisfaction with the finance industry, and then it didn't anymore.

Derek Chauvin led to huge attention for Black Lives Matter and anti-racism, but if history tells us what to expect, it's that in 5-10 years some new activist / popular criticism will gain traction and people will sort of just stop caring. Those who were already fighting racism, trying to abolish or reform the police, or reform the criminal justice system will still be there, but frontpage headlines won't, mass protests won't, the zeitgeist will move on.

How can we honestly say that they can all be held accountable when we're unable to hold anyone accountable or make meaningful change on a single issue, let alone the dozens or hundreds that need immediate attention?

I utterly agree that all of these issues do _need_ to be given attention, and deserve to all be held closely to our hearts, but it just seems that the last 50-100 years of western democracy proves that that doesn't really work with the current playbook.

I'd challenge you and say they could be held accountable but the politicians we have won't. The framework of our government makes it possible, but our politicians have too little incentive to actually do anything about the issues.

I'm encouraged by the EU seemingly taking some action, though not nearly enough.

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