Looking for stories of times you interacted with a criminal organization in any capacity. Were/are there any infamous locals frequently talked about in your area (please don’t dox yourself). Please give a genuine answer not a political stance. The only one I think I’ve had was a story I’ve told here before about having met an Aryan brotherhood guy when I was 12ish.

  • Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works
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    4 days ago

    The overriding memory of that life was right at the beginning when an old timer that I’d just started to roll with told me this: “There’s no such thing as victimless crime - so choose your victims carefully.” That really stuck with me.

    • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      1 day ago

      timer that I’d just started to roll with told me this: “There’s no such thing as victimless crime -

      The only victims of the crime of cannabis possession are the people who get arrested for it.

      Edit: guys, I’m aware that illegal cannabis ruins lives. That was quite literally the point of this comment.

      I don’t think listing a handful of instances where illegal cannabis can lead to victims does anything but prove my point for me.

      • Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works
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        3 days ago

        Hey, let’s not forget the victims of trafficking that got to become indentured farmers at the behest of criminal overlords in jurisdictions where cultivation is criminalised.

        Let’s not forget the militias that get armed via resin and kiff sales.

        Let’s not forget the corner boy who gets nanked for slinging off the wrong curb.

        I wish the ganja business people were more like their target audience in demeanour; but criminals always going to criminal.

        • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          1 day ago

          Every single thing you listed is a direct consequence of cannabis prohibition.

          It only has victims because it is illegal. Which was literally my point.

          Who is going this deep and up voting the pro-cannabis prohibition comments? Weird. If I didn’t know better, I’d think someone was using alts.

          • Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works
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            1 day ago

            Yes, that’s literally my point too. Because the law decided to make it a crime there are victims. If it was not criminalised then none of my scenarios would exist. Without the “crime” there would be no victims - which is what you correctly stated.

            I haven’t seen any pro-prohibition comments and really don’t care about votes or whatever. Internet strangers ain’t no thing to me; respectfully.

            I’ve smoked weed for 35+ years - I am as anti-criminalisation as you could ever meet.

    • SmoothOperator@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      There most certainly are victimless crimes. Who’s the victim when a woman gets a dog to lick peanut butter off her vagina? It’s certainly a crime in most places.

      • Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works
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        4 days ago

        Just like smoking crack - the human is both the victim and the perpetrator in that crime.

        I’m all for kinks and all that, if it floats your boat, but “cross-species” romance, absence of consent or liking humans that are “a bit too young” is where I’d have to draw a line.

        • SmoothOperator@lemmy.world
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          4 days ago

          I’m all for kinks and all that, if it floats your boat

          That’s nice - but certain kinks and LGBT relationships were illegal for a long time, and still are some places. Are they victimless crimes then?

          If yes, do you think that your specific society crossed a threshold at some point going from a legal system with victimless crimes to a legal system without victimless crimes?

          • Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works
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            4 days ago

            Anyone who grows up thinking that two - or more - consenting adults can’t live or love together is a(nother) victim of that (in the legal sense only) “crime”.

            Where I currently live there is an old and much copied legal system but I’m not really qualified to think about nor answer your second question.

            • SmoothOperator@lemmy.world
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              3 days ago

              Anyone who grows up thinking that two - or more - consenting adults can’t live or love together is a(nother) victim of that (in the legal sense only) “crime”.

              Ah, but then they’re a victim of the illegitimate criminalisation of LGBT relationships, not the victims of the LGBT relationship itself. Meaning the crime has no victims, the law has victims.

              Where I currently live there is an old and much copied legal system but I’m not really qualified to think about nor answer your second question.

              Sure you are, don’t put yourself down like that. All citizens living under a law should have their say in the justness of that law.

              • Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works
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                3 days ago

                The “crime” only exists because of the law; so a person coaxed to bigotry from a young age would still be a(nother) victim of said “crime.”

                But this is just an opinion, from me. It’s fine to not agree; in fact it’s good.

        • The Stoned Hacker@lemmy.world
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          4 days ago

          All of the examples you just gave are not victimless crimes. Besriality is an abuse of power and at best coercion but more normally just straight up animal sexual abuse. Absence of consent is just rape, and children can’t consent to sexual activity. Unless you dont consider animals, people, or children to be capable of being victims none of those are victimless.

          Kinks are consensual, that is the difference.