Shout out to everyone smart enough to figure out that "They're eating the dogs and cats!" is just a lie that racists say, but not smart enough to figure out that "They're closing drug stores because of shoplifting!" is exactly the same thing. https:/...
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Shout out to everyone smart enough to figure out that "They're eating the dogs and cats!" is just a lie that racists say, but not smart enough to figure out that "They're closing drug stores because of shoplifting!" is exactly the same thing.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/09/13/business/theft-retail-shrink-stores/index.html -
the so-called "heatherhorns"replied to mekka okereke :verified: last edited by
@mekkaokereke everything up till "Other retailers have also shifted" sounds like they're finally going to address that it was a lie
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Emmy - Dial Tone *biiiiip*replied to the so-called "heatherhorns" last edited by
@heatherhorns_lite @mekkaokereke the article is a rollercoaster!
"Retailers seem sus"
"Crime!"
"Turns out they were just bad guessers"
"But crime!"
"Retailers lied to cover their asses"
"But they also prevented crime!"
"More suspicious retailer activity..."
"Added security measures reduced crime!"It's written with a tone that conveys factuality, but the "facts" contradict the narrative every couple of paragraphs.
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Adamreplied to Emmy - Dial Tone *biiiiip* last edited by
@sillyCoelophysis @heatherhorns_lite @mekkaokereke
Here are some articles which round out the narrative by looking at the political/policy impact of the crime wave lies:
The shoplifting scare might not have been real — but its effects are
It turns out shoplifting isn’t spiraling out of control, but lawmakers are pushing for tougher penalties for low-level and nonviolent crimes anyway.
Vox (www.vox.com)
https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2023/11/shoplifting-retail-data-moral-panic/676185
Stores say shoplifting is a national crisis. The numbers don’t back it up | CNN Business
The masked thief rode into a Walgreens in San Francico on a bicycle, pedaled to an aisle in the health and wellness section, and loaded a black garbage bag with items off the shelf. Then he got back on the bike, and rode out through the automatic doors.
CNN (edition.cnn.com)
"It’s also easier for companies and the public to blame theft for store closures and retail struggles than admit stores’ over-expansion, strategy mistakes and customers abandoning stores ...
“we can blame it on people we already consider reprehensible”
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@adamsaidsomething @sillyCoelophysis @heatherhorns_lite @mekkaokereke There is an extra effect on crime overreporting: teenagers believing, often incorrectly, that there is a very high demand of not just police but crime prevention related jobs.
I teach secondary, in Spain. "Police" used to be an option for bright kids who didn't want advanced studies. Now many of the brightest students want to do Crime Science, or Psychology with a crime slant at University. There is a catch: there are police jobs, but this country has, roughly, a homicide a day. There is *zero* need for all those detectives and profilers. They don't believe me when I tell them those jobs don't exist.
I assume the same happens elsewhere.
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@laguiri @adamsaidsomething @sillyCoelophysis @heatherhorns_lite @mekkaokereke Here in the US, I have heard teachers and lawyers describe "the CSI effect":
Supposedly realistic fiction greatly over-representing murders, serial killers, etc. and grossly overstating how effective police and associated organizations are.
Which contributes to problems from students wanting to do forensics pseudoscience to voters not understanding what cops actually spend their time doing.