14-year-old boy confesses to deliberately starting several fires in Portugal, police say
Posted by thinkB4WeSpeak@reddit | anime_titties | View on Reddit | 23 comments
Wish_Dragon@reddit
This is the problem. It takes so little to start a wildfire, which back in the past would have been hard enough to fight.
But now with climate change they’ll burn stronger and longer. They’ll do millions to billions in damages, and take and destroy lives, livelihoods in the process.
The fires won’t be recoverable. It’ll get worse and worse and worse.
You can’t police it. You can prevent a single person from taking a walk and lighting a match.
The societal changes necessary to address mental health and social behaviour will not come fast enough, if at all.
Beat_Saber_Music@reddit
Also fun fact, fires are perfectly natural as they burn awy the dry material that has piled up and essentially controlled burning would be the best way to mitigate fire damage. You can't burn a burnt forest after all
RedScud@reddit
You can absolutely do a lot more to the fire starters than what's being done right now. Ask any Portuguese
Cavalleria-rusticana@reddit
While I agree, this is completely tangential to the issue and not preventative in any real way.
RedScud@reddit
Well, I disagree. If murder was just a month in jail and a fine, do you think it'd happen more or less than it does now?
Cavalleria-rusticana@reddit
Strawman.
It's been proven ad nauseum that length or severity of sentencing does not meaningfully affect crime levels. I'm all for taking things seriously, but my point was that fires like this will continue to burn regardless if we lock people up after the fact. It is unhelpful in addressing the pressing issue which is that anyone can start these with a match and a fart.
Being proactive in treating wildfire hazards, and adjusting our lifestyles to address climate change are the only meaningful actions here.
RedScud@reddit
That's complete nonsense. It's also been proved that people that have done arson tend to reoffend.
Portugal and countries like it are facing extreme challenges from climate change. These people are a real danger and releasing them after doing nothing at all, which is what is happening, is extremely counter productive.
Reasonable-Ad4770@reddit
I would argue that they would be even more expensive than a whole army of firefighters. It's not an easy problem.
spudmarsupial@reddit
Addressing mental health and social ills have a lot more knock on effects thab just limiting wildfires.
Socraman@reddit
To actually address mental health you'd need to address the fucked up society and economic relations we live in. And that is basically impossible short of a revolution.
jayesper@reddit
Well, that is quite likely coming, at least. These circumstances just can't last.
Private_HughMan@reddit
I don't think it is expensive when you consider the money spent on dealing with the harm caused by not addressing the problem
Wish_Dragon@reddit
My point
Britstuckinamerica@reddit
Luckily these wildfires helped him get much better grades and surrounded him with friends for life! Right?
I hope he gets the treatment he needs to never do this again but it's beyond infuriating that people are risking their lives to stop fires started by a frustrated child
takbotes@reddit
The boy abandoned by his village will burn it down to feel its warmth.
tonability@reddit
That's quite poetic! Is there a source for it or did you just come up with that?
Beat_Saber_Music@reddit
It's from spmewhere else, I've heard this phrase years ago
InnerRisk@reddit
Or maybe he will be using the fox ghost inside of him to safe the village one day, despite all the hate.
The__Hivemind_@reddit
More relevant than ever
Future_Sign_2846@reddit
Incredibly based of him o7.
Just to full the character limit :
Anti-AI talking points are eerily similar to transphobic rhetoric
Anti-AI rhetoric mirrors transphobic rhetoric. I'm gonna get downvoted, but sorry to say, it's similar and there's not much you can do to change my mind.
"AI art isn't real art" just like people say "trans men/women arent real men/women"
"We can always tell" is the same weaponized skepticism used to harass both AI users and trans people that targets creators identities and authenticity
"I'm not transphobic, BUT trans women shouldn't be in women's sports" so AI art is fine for fun but using it for anything meaningful is immoral
"Look at the hands/style" pointing at literally anything that doesn't align with your view of beauty and weaponizing it
"They're ruining the industry/community" because just existing is somehow offensive even if you mind your own business
"People who use AI are subhuman" more dehumanization given to trans people and AI artists
"Ban them from online spaces" is the same rhetoric as excluding trans women from bathrooms and other public places
This is all gatekeeping nonsense propagated by the anti-AI side. Different targets, same playbook. I'm not ashamed of who I am, sorry not sorry.
Physical_Mushroom_32@reddit
Bad comparison, AI is not conscious
Banana7273@reddit
If only our country took these criminals seriously and gave them actual consequences for their actions.... hmmm
Private_HughMan@reddit
I'm in Portugal right now visiting family. Fuck this kid. Maybe lash out in a way that doesn't cause half the country to burn. I've known lots of kids with various problems. In highschool, one kid I knew killed himself because he struggled with a cocaine addiction. It was awful. But one thing these kids never did was indiscriminately hurt millions of people at once.