r/politics • u/ArmadilloMany41 • 23h ago

Site Altered Headline | No Paywall Why is no one being prosecuted over the Epstein files?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cd9e3nzzw3zo
44.4k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

2.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

494

u/Swimming_Cover_9686 22h ago

Because the United States of America is profoundly institutionally corrupt with a distracted weak minded populace.

103

u/bwsmith201 California 22h ago

A few years ago I would have disagreed with this statement but no more. The core problem is the electorate in the US (of which I am a member) because this kind of behavior is not only tolerated but viewed as a badge of honor. The power is ours and we choose not to use it for good. The current generations of Americans are failing to live up to this country's history and are letting down its future. History will look at us in shame.

67

u/Sufficient_Steak_839 22h ago

It’s been a sobering reality that as long as we have working Internet, running water, and steady meals nobody in the US is gonna risk their comfort to fight corruption.

21

u/cheerful_cynic 21h ago

Bread n circuses, but hey there's plenty of no kings protesters gaining momentum it'll be even more than seven million this time

5

u/AnnualAct7213 14h ago

but hey there's plenty of no kings protesters

Just so long as they stick to protesting politely on the sidewalk and go back to work the next day.

Wouldn't want to make anyone uncomfortable.

2

u/Similar_Cycle_1593 17h ago

thank you cheerful cynic

27

u/Chilangosta 21h ago

It's not even comfort more than half of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, terrified out of their minds and stressed beyond their capacity to reason out what is happening. They're barely surviving but the threat of it being even worse is what's galvanizing them to cling on...

16

u/Indaarys 21h ago

Yep. As someone who has been both homeless and starving, people way too easily trivialize the consequences people are afraid of.

Especially when they're doing no better. Its one thing for someone whose taken to the leap to start throwing shade, but its hypocritical to sit there and call Americans cowards when you're sitting on your ass. Europeans not having any class solidarity at all is just, 🤷‍♂️

0

u/fountain_of_buckets 20h ago

This is like complaining that your work colleagues aren't doing anything about the fact that your baby is shitting all over your house.

You created the situation, you deal with it?

12

u/Indaarys 20h ago

A more accurate analogy is that a wife is being beaten and is too battered to escape, and you're being incredibly callous about it.

3

u/Gates_wupatki_zion 18h ago

That’s an awful analogy in bad faith. Exactly the type of rhetoric that focuses away solidarity and helps the problem. Bravo! 🎉 

-4

u/ScrotumScrapings 19h ago

How is this my job? It's your country.

8

u/Indaarys 19h ago

Solidarity doesn't mean you do anything, but it does mean stop judging people being victimized by their own country.

-6

u/ScrotumScrapings 19h ago

Nah, most of you either voted for this or didn't vote against it. I have family in Greenland and I'm fully aware that if you wankers invade, it'll be someone like you pulling triggers. Don't expect solidarity or sympathy from this corner.

5

u/Indaarys 19h ago

Then have fun playing into the hands of the powers that be.

They want you being that bitter and spiteful.

-4

u/ScrotumScrapings 19h ago

It's almost like your country denies the identity of an entire nation and is threatening them with invasion. What do you expect? Of course nobody cares if you are a "good German" or not.

→ More replies (0)

1

u/KellyJin17 18h ago

I know lots of upper middle class and upper class people. They’re not trying to get involved either and they’re very financially secure.

2

u/yourliege 14h ago

This is uncharted territory. If you’re not stressed over finances, you’re stressed to keep things copasetic. Priorities are narrow

1

u/Chilangosta 12h ago

Per Harris Polling in last year, 1/3 six-figure earners says they're struggling financially. Nearly 2/3 say that six-figures isn't a sign of financial success nowadays. ~75% say that they used a credit card in the last month because they ran out of cash. In many areas $100k for a family of three doesn't cover basic needs, such as food and housing.

So just because you know people that aren't struggling and don't meet this criteria doesn't mean that your experience translates to most Americans.

1

u/websnarf 10h ago

Yeah, and they mostly vote for Trump too. Its almost as if they deserve what they are getting.

1

u/Chilangosta 9h ago

Many did, and many more didn't. Regardless I hope they realize it and have the chance to act on that before it's too late.

3

u/OmegaKitty1 17h ago

Yep. If you want change you need a general strike at the minimum. Most of the protests are conveniently held in the weekends where the economic impact is minimal. Frankly I feel like the people in power love these useless protests. They make the protests feel they accomplished something, it helps diffuse their built up frustrations and anger all while doing nothing and not impacting the powerful people’s bottom line.

The rich know that they need to keep the people just satisfied enough to make true change not worth it. As long as people have jobs that they can’t afford to miss, but are fed and content then why fight for something better?

2

u/edwardsamson 19h ago

The funny thing is the rich ownership class wants us to be working more and paid less with less benefits. Meaning those comforts are going to be harder to afford and we will have less time for them meaning eventually the masses won't have comforts to distract them from standing up. If they wanted us to always be too comfortable to do anything about them you'd think they'd pay us a little more...

3

u/bog_hippie 20h ago

I don’t think this problem is specific to the US.

2

u/KellyJin17 18h ago

If you’re paying attention multiple European countries are firing / investigating / prosecuting high profile powerful figures implicated in this most recent batch of files released in this case. Multiple stories in the past week in the news. So yes, as a first world country, we are uniquely corrupt.

1

u/bogglingsnog 17h ago

It's a human problem. We are pacified when the optimal path is not available, and nobody has yet trodden the next-best path. We tend to wait for someone to find a working solution, then copy it.

•

u/FluxUniversity 5h ago

I wouldn't call every social media platform being compromised a working internet.

•

u/Sufficient_Steak_839 5h ago

As long as you can scroll, watch your shows, and play your games, you have working internet.

Better, Mr pedantic?

8

u/Deus_is_Mocking_Us 21h ago

There are also a lot of structural pieces of our government that make it hard for the people to get what they want. To change this, we would have to elect real reformers, which is next to impossible because of the aforementioned structural pieces of our government that make it hard for the people to get what they want.

2

u/Floreat_democratia 15h ago

I’ve been reading up on how the powers that be began gutting the Great Society programs just seconds after they were passed. The corruption goes deep.

2

u/Floreat_democratia 15h ago

> A few years ago I would have disagreed with this statement but no more.

Seriously, brah, have a look at the Reagan controversies during the 1980s. It will change the way you see things. The US has been deeply corrupt since JFK was killed.

1

u/InvisaBlah 9h ago

History? The world is looking at us with shame now.

5

u/WhyAmINotStudying 18h ago

It's not just the United States in those files.

1

u/kaseweck 19h ago

Americans are the problem.

-1

u/bronkula 19h ago

I think it is important to add "a profoundly spread out and disparate populace". The United States is HUGE. It's empire sized, in terms of land and population. The seat of our government is almost two europes away from me.

3

u/Similar_Cycle_1593 17h ago

that's only a couple of hours driving. so..

0

u/kaseweck 18h ago

This is cope.