Eric PuryearJan 18, 2023
Please don’t confuse what is legal with what is right. There is some overlap, of course, but not as much as one might think. Laws are generally written by the rich and powerful to protect their interests, often at the expense of the poor and weak. Many atrocities are lawful, and many acts of mercy are unlawful. I say this as an attorney.
Show threadAngie AdamsonJan 18, 2023
@eric
What is the difference between "unlawful" and "illegal"? Is it just a more formal term?
Show threadGurtbeef RobeJan 20, 2023
@serehfas ok they are extremely similar but slightly different. I couldn’t find a good example to show difference but by definition.
Unlawful is not approved by the law but not necessarily against the law either. Seems like it means there’s no law that allows you to do it.
Illegal is a violation of the written law.
Illicit carries strong tone of immorality.
Criminal means it’s punishable
It’s all semantics and all can be punished by law.
Show threadAngie AdamsonJan 21, 2023

@twitterreject Interesting, thank you.
What I am pondering is whether "Robodebt" in Australia was unlawful, because it was never conceived of that the Govt would go outside its own governing legislation, or illegal, because they did ignore their legislation.

When ppl get social security here, their entitlement is calculated week by week depending on what, if any, earnings they had. So-called Robodebt used an algorithm to average their income over 12 months then claim they got too much money.

Show threadGurtbeef RobeJan 21, 2023
@serehfas sounds like some shady garbage cops & gop would pull over here. We had problems with cameras at stop lights that automatically send you a ticket in the mail if you run light. They were just $ makers and are banned pretty much everywhere except a few terrible cities (solana beach, CA). They were the big thing for a minute but nearly all got ruled unconstitutional when challenged
Show threadAngie AdamsonJan 21, 2023
@twitterreject
Glad to hear it, but the poor suffer because they can't afford to challenge it.
Our "Liberals" are hardline rightwing conservatives who worship Trump and the GOP.
Show threadAngie AdamsonJan 21, 2023
@twitterreject Luckily they were ejected last election, but we also only have 2 real parties, so Labor got in.
They used to be a workers party, back when socialism was not a dirty word, but they have occipied the Centre Right vacated by the non-Liberals in their journey to hit the right-hand stop.
So there is nobody representing the poor and the workers, and many of Labor's policies are just a softer version of the conservatives'.
Show threadAngie Adamson
@twitterreject We have been spoilt for years with relatively consumer-friendly laws, and a degree of fairness in the justice system (unless you are First Nations, in which case an encounter with the cops can mean suffering and death, or a Person of Colour where you will get a very raw deal unless you play top level sport. Sound familiar)?
Jan 21, 2023 at 3:05amWeb
Show threadGurtbeef RobeJan 21, 2023
@serehfas shit the cops here don’t even care if you’re an athlete. They beat an NBA player and broke his bone and he missed the playoffs bc he was running his mouth at a cop who was rude to him. Police have roots in racism w/stopping runaway slaves. They still treat minorities like that