The state legitimizes the use of force for the police which in turn uses it to harass illegal businesses which in turn use their money to bribe state officials in order to look the other way. It's a racket. Legalizing drugs will mean that state officials no longer have cause to send in the police to harass drug dealers which in turn have no more cause to bribe officials in order to get the police off of them.
Orr Malus
2023-08-10 23:04:49 +0000 UTC
FYI whenever I say I'm "waiting patiently for the wire reaction", on the inside I'm actually that shot of Jimmy banging on the door in a drunken stupor.
TeaDrinker3000
2023-08-10 22:00:05 +0000 UTC
Two things can be true at the same time.
Aj
2023-08-10 20:33:02 +0000 UTC
Problem is, the only time I hear "responsibility" from people in power is when they are looking for a reason not to help people, or even be deliberately cruel. And never taking it themselves.
Mo
2023-08-10 19:56:44 +0000 UTC
I don't deny that, I happen think we also have a bad habit of shifting individual problems on perceived systemic issues and spectres that are very nebulous and ill-defined in some instances. Responsibility is never a word I hear mentioned much.
Aj
2023-08-10 19:08:48 +0000 UTC
Walt makes a lot of horrible decisions and does terrible things, and those are his choices, but BB and BCS and very critical of the American self-mythology of hard work leading to social mobility, capitalism, and the American ideal of masculinity.
We have a bad habit here of shifting wide systemic problems on to the individual in the US. And chalking up our various societal shortcomings on "bad decisions" alone. How you act toward other people around you is absolutely your choice, for good or ill, but we are also acted upon by systems far outside our control.
Mo
2023-08-10 17:42:32 +0000 UTC
Basically you could take that whole "Chaos is a ladder" speech from Game of Thrones and say that Tommy Carcetti said it and it would still fit.
jveezy
2023-08-10 17:31:03 +0000 UTC
Middle age carcetti
fionan franklin
2023-08-10 16:10:11 +0000 UTC
Yeah, that's definitely why, it's not because he's evil and resentful or anything like that, nah certainly not. Plenty of people in debt don't go around becoming drug-lords, cooking meth and murdering people. Why are you quoting something I didn't say lol? No one said it would be worse if there were some scenes here and there showing that, but making it a focus of the show would detract from it, there's no arguing with that. Not everything has to be The Wire... Not everything has to be some critique of the government or whatever. In fact, saying BB is critical of US gov is something you've just projected onto the show. It barely even addresses it outside the first season and even that's only to set up the show's plot. I'm not surprised, though, seeing as everything is a result of that in your eyes, agency is completely taken away, and we're all just helpless victims of capitalism, systemic racism, white supremacy or some other spectre.
Anyway, I'm not interested in discussing this further seeing as we don't see eye to eye on much. I was just pointing out why they're totally different shows. Have a nice day.
Aj
2023-08-10 14:42:19 +0000 UTC
The reason Walter turns to crime in the first place (before he becomes evil) is because US healthcare is horrible and his family will be in debt
Breaking Bad is critical of the US government
Saying “it would make the show worse if there were scenes that highlighted how fewer victims there would be if hard drugs were legalized” is just untrue
space colon
2023-08-10 14:24:42 +0000 UTC
That's because it's a totally different kind of show. It's a character study, aimed at showing how one character's actions can lead to so much misery because of his selfishness and sense of inadequacy, not a sprawling crime drama that looks at institutions and systemic issues, so why should it? The setting, circumstances and so on are a secondary consideration at best. Basically, The Wire and BB have virtually nothing in common, so it's foolish to expect something like that from it. Tackling those issues in what's essentially a crime thriller would be a huge narrative misstep and make the show a lot worse.
Aj
2023-08-10 14:10:15 +0000 UTC
Strongly agree, the DEA is also really only shown in a positive light aside from some questionable behavior from Hank. It’s also really always bothered me that both BB and Better Call Saul, two shows set in New Mexico (49% Hispanic) have no Hispanic characters in the main cast or those characters are criminals or they take a back seat to the white main characters and receive no development
Also just these white guys (Walt and Mike) showing up and doing crime better and more effectively than the dumb or irredeemably evil non-white characters never sat right with me
space colon
2023-08-10 12:15:12 +0000 UTC
catch up? lol, i haven't been able to even finish season 1 yet. august is crazy. i'm working 6 days every week and i'm out 14 hours because i don't have time to come back home between shifts because i only have like 2 hours and it's not enough for me to come back and then go again because it takes me like 30 minutes to get home.
sand_fl
2023-08-10 12:00:58 +0000 UTC
Yes, but if you're going to use something like drugs as a vehicle for your character's story, it might be a good idea to maybe go into why things are the way they are or the actual consequences of large quantities of meth flooding an area. We see more of the actual fallout from Jesse's heroin use than anything else.
Mo
2023-08-10 10:05:27 +0000 UTC
Have you caught up with the wire yet Sand?
TeaDrinker3000
2023-08-10 08:47:00 +0000 UTC
I find it hilarious how we all call Tommy littlefinger when it was his role as Tommy that got him the LittleFinger gig
Karabo
2023-08-10 07:41:24 +0000 UTC
Fun fact, Rawls' actor is also Caesar from Fallout: New Vegas!
TeaDrinker3000
2023-08-10 07:39:49 +0000 UTC
They're completely different kinds of shows.
Lil Don075
2023-08-10 05:43:13 +0000 UTC
As much as I love Breaking Bad, it doesn't really have a lot to say about actual drug policy in US. While the The Wire says plenty.
I support the decriminalization of drugs in the US. It'll save lives and reduce the potential for police violence and mass incarceration. But it's not a simple or easy undertaking by any means. It would require a massive political and legal overhaul, lots of medical and social infrastructure, a change to a lot of health and human services to make them function less like the police, and a change in attitudes to see drug use not as a moral failing. I hope we can get there someday, and it is getting better in places, despite a massive backlash and increase in violent rhetoric toward the unhoused.
Mo
2023-08-10 03:13:25 +0000 UTC
Your bad memory for names & faces cracks me up every time 😂 …”Who the hell is fruit?” (He’s been in every episode this season)… “I can’t remember her name” (Rhonda - pretty much every episode of all 3 seasons)… Not to mention the ongoing inability to recognise Cheese (or Sergei in S2) because he has a “forgettable face” 😂
David
2023-08-10 00:43:45 +0000 UTC
I humbly request a theatrical reenactment of your lost intro 🧐
HenryM
2023-08-10 00:34:47 +0000 UTC
judging by the tan on the thumbnail i imagine you're back from your vacation 😂