this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2023
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Yeah I'm with you, I don't think there was a better way to do this (and it needed to be done). I don't think Hbomberguy did anything wrong. But the whole episode has just left me (personally) feeling bad and I don't love how much joy some folks seem to be getting watching somebody get taken apart. Not accusing anybody in this thread of that, I've just seen it in other places.
It's a thief getting their illicit empire taken apart. No sympathy warranted.
It's one thing to steal from the big megacorps. They deserve it because they steal, lie and cheat everyone.
It's a different thing entirely to cheat and steal from independent journalists like James Sommerton did.
I'm not sure that I agree that we should dehumanize people just because the do something wrong or commit a crime. I think all sorts of people deserve sympathy, even those that have done wrong. I'm not saying at all that Somerton shouldn't have to face the consequences of his actions or that what is happening to him is worse than what he did to others, but I don't think that justice and empathy are mutually exclusive.
It's not dehumanizing to say he's a thief.
The entire situation he is in is entirely of his own doing and his own control. he has exclusive agency in all of this.
Generally I would agree. In this specific case the video goes into painful detail into exactly how much the guy's screwed over other people. For profit.
"I don't know, I've no bloody sympathy at all." As long as people don't overstep other boundaries (threats or whatever - edit: the ones he made up obviously don't count) he deserves every last crumb of vitrol headed his way. Pathetic, scamming, ineptly plagiarizing, opportunistic freaking scumbag that he is.