Amazon faces potential break-up as FTC finalizes antitrust lawsuit | The FTC is getting ready for the big one::undefined

  • hayes_@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Damn this thread is negative as hell.

    I’m one of the most cynical, pessimistic people I know, but not in here.

    Kinda wish people’s first reaction were “good,” not “yeah right, remember Bell in the 80’s?”

    Maybe I’m naive, but this seems like good news to me. Even if it doesn’t actually result in Amazon being broken up, at least it indicates someone is doing something.

    “Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress” or something like that.

    • whoisearth@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      > “Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress” or something like that.

      Brings back memories to when Obamacare was announced. Did it go far enough? Hell no. It was a step in the right direction and it was still derided. Those who are ripping down the system brick by brick have a singular vision and understand it’s a series of steps to get to their dystopian hellscape. Why are those primary on the left unwilling to accept anything that isn’t a fully realized picture of their ideal society?

      In fact I’d argue a large part of why the system is falling apart is those who want to see it improved are unwilling to do those small incremental changes for good.

      • marmo7ade@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Obamacare did not change any of the fundamental problems with healthcare: the insurance industry.

        Useless health insurance admins are still making 6 figures and you’re still paying $20 for a bag of saline to justify their salary.

      • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 year ago

        > Why are those primary on the left unwilling to accept anything that isn’t a fully realized picture of their ideal society?

        Because at this point, it seems more like theater than actual intent.

        • SwampYankee@mander.xyz
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          1 year ago

          The right sure seems convinced we’re hurtling leftward with communist dictators like Barrack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden leading the charge with the tenacity of the Bolsheviks of yore. I’m guessing the reality is somewhere in between that and perennial fecklessness.

        • whoisearth@lemmy.ca
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          1 year ago

          What came first, people checking out or the system stopping working for us? Or does it even matter?

      • TwilightVulpine@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Makes me think about how cynicism pervades online communities and media. Seems like a lot of people can’t get themselves to hope. People need hope to accomplish anything.

        • whoisearth@lemmy.ca
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          1 year ago

          People are becoming less and less able to be rationalized with.

          A lot of valid triggers have put us here. Housing. Inflation. Income inequality. Identity politics. But it’s gotten to the point where people are frothing at the mouth. Daily I see a comment about “eat the rich” and anecdotally they’re getting more and more aggressive.

          We are tipping toward bloodshed unless things change drastically soon which I doubt will happen.

    • flop_leash_973@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I think what people are tired of and endlessly pessimistic about is the baby steps of doing something never seems to end. It never gets to the other side of helping the people. People need to see the end goal of where the baby steps are trying to lead us AND see that the likes of Amazon are not able to move faster than those baby steps to nullify the steps.

      A lot of the terminally online have been alive long enough to live through multiple examples of how theses kinds of things tend to work. And thus have to ask themselves “why will this time end any different?” Have to do that enough times and it makes you a jaded cynic.

    • MercuryUprising@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Astroturfing. Amazon has PR teams that come here and sow seeds of “pff it doesn’t even matter” in order to make people cynical and complacent.

      • Steeve@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        Yeeaah nah, I can absolutely promise you that Amazon PR isn’t wasting their time trying to make a few hundred thousand Lemmy users apathetic lol. This is such a crazy level of paranoia

          • Steeve@lemmy.ca
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            1 year ago

            And I would’ve gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you meddling Lemmings!

            • Yewb@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Repeat after me: amazon deserves to be broken up!

              Also I think amazon is responsible for a measurable spike in inflation

      • KairuByte@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I highly doubt that. Regular people have no real ability to effect the outcome, and the majority of people are saying “there’s no way this absolutely bullshit situation gets fixed” not “what is there to fix? Nothing is wrong!”

        No company is paying their PR to say “Yeah [we] are real pieces of shit that need to be hacked up and thrown to the wind but [we] are gonna come out of this just fine so suck our cocks.”

        That isn’t how PR works. At least not till they hit dictator levels of power.

        • MercuryUprising@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          PR people aren’t stupid. They know how to muddy the water and make efforts like this seem unimportant because it prevents people from galvanizing. Its the divide and conquer strategy.

      • SCB@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I have 3 children and not only don’t feel regret, I’m quite optimistic. Perpetually-online Doomers are the only ones feeling that way.

              • SCB@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Im smarter, more successful, more wealthy, and more involved in climate lobbying than you, so I know I win.

                Edit: And more attractive. Oh and my Warhammer 40,000 collection is bigger than yours. Oh and I dont mean to brag but my daughter graduates with honors and got a scholarship to college. Also my wife is a smokeshow with a big ol ass.

                Edit: Oh also I have good hair.

    • marmo7ade@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      > at least it indicates someone is doing something.

      That is the entire point, and that’s where it stops. I have been around long enough to see this happen over and over and over and over again.

      Because you’re not actually going to do anything when this doesn’t go anywhere. Right? Most people will make no changes to their life to work towards the goals they want. Thoughts and prayers on social media, then back to netflix, tiktok, youtube, the latest video games, music festival, whatever.

      So the government, who is in bed with corporations, knows they just have to tell you what you want to hear.

      Someone is doing something! YAY!!

    • Steeve@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      Progress needs actual progress though, a lot of progressive regulation is put up with absolutely no chance (or intention imo) of going through. It’s a bunch of tech regulators with no idea how the tech works throwing out drastic proposals to look heavy handed and tough, because that’s what people want to see.

    • ArcticCircleSystem@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      > Even if it doesn’t actually result in Amazon being broken up, at least it indicates someone is doing something.

      Aren’t they just deciding whether or not to do something via the lawsuit rather than actually for sure doing something yet? ~Strawberry

    • legion@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      This is funny, because I literally said “good!” when I read the post title. So I’m right there with you.

    • half@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Shitting yourself is not better than doing nothing.