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#unusual

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WIST Quotations

A quotation from Nassim Nicholas Taleb

I don’t particularly care about the usual. If you want to get an idea of a friend’s temperament, ethics, and personal elegance, you need to look at him under the tests of severe circumstances, not under the regular rosy glow of daily life. Can you assess the danger a criminal poses by examining only what he does on an ordinary day? Can we understand health without considering wild diseases and epidemics? Indeed the normal is often irrelevant.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb (b. 1960) Lebanese-American essayist, statistician, risk analyst, aphorist
The Black Swan, Introduction (2007)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/taleb-nassim-nichola…

#quote#quotes#quotation
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Led By Fools

#Racism at its worst: Would #Trump do this in 2025? I think he would.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_S

In the 20th century, the youngest person #executed in the United States was George Stinney Jr. At just 14 years old, he was executed in the electric chair. From the day of his trial until his execution, the young man held a Bible in his hands, constantly proclaiming his innocence.

Stinney was charged with murdering two white girls. One victim was 11-year-old Betty and the other was 7-year-old Mary. Their bodies were found near their own homes. During the trial, all the jurors were white and the proceedings lasted only two hours. Just 10 minutes into the trial, the death sentence was handed down. Stinney's parents were threatened with death and were not allowed to give their son any comfort in the courtroom. They were subsequently forced to leave their town.

George Stinney spent 81 days in prison before his death and was never allowed to see his parents during that time. He was held in solitary confinement about 50 miles from his hometown. His execution was carried out by applying 5,380 volts of electricity.

Seventy years after his death, a South Carolina judge has proven George Stinney innocent. The two girls had been killed by a beam weighing more than 40 pounds, which would have been impossible for 14-year-old Stinney to lift, let alone use to inflict lethal blows. The entire case against him was fabricated, and Stinney was targeted simply because he was black.

This tragic story later inspired Stephen King to write his novel "The Green Mile." It is often said that people in the past were more humane, but that is a blatant lie. People were cruel then, just as they are now. The only difference is that before, cruelty was hidden, whereas now it is exposed for everyone to see.

14 year old George Stinney being led to the execution chamber
#cruel#unusual#punishment
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