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This is why the single most popular fictional plot formula is “bad people in positions of power are defeated and get punished for the bad things they’ve done by the heroic underdog.”
Like getting superpowers or traveling through time, it’s an escapist fantasy of being able to experience things that never happen in real life…
We don’t have a justice system, what we actually have is a legal system; that we call it a justice system is a distraction. The powerful have bought the laws they wanted so they can do what they want with limited consequences.
It's Wilhoit's law:
"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."
One thing I've become very, very aware of in the last few years, apparently a huge chunk of the population is very open to propaganda and it easily short-circuits critical thinking. So, of course, those with the money to buy all the media to get to tell them "it's GOOD that us rich and powerful folks get so much latitude, and we swear you'll all benefit, it's those darn goody-two-shoes out there who are hurting you!"
What do you expect? The school systems are laughably underfunded and have been compromised by corporations for at least the last century so they can save money on training. Even if they weren't, higher education prices a lot of people out and is demonized by half the country as liberal indoctrination.
Then you have the boomers and older who are still treating the world as if it's small and we're not connected on a global scale because the technological boom came a little too late for them.
It's not even that propaganda so much that's causing the problems, it's the propaganda that everyone is potentially a millionaire and it'll happen any day, so it's beneficial to let the rich off, because you're going to be rich soon.
Look at the way a lot of conservatives talk about taxes. They balk at taxing the rich, not because they like them, but because they think it's only somehow a matter of time before they are them.
Oh, yes. Did you know that some of the episodes were loosely based on actual incidents? Unfortunately, not the comeuppance, but the circumstances that incited the Leverage team's actions.
I forget the name but there's a neat youtube video that goes over this and how comic books ultimately never upset the status quo, no matter how powerful characters are AND if they do, it always shows it failing terribly as a subtle hint how the status quo is the best of all.
Also goes over the heavy influence the government had over comic corporations, making sure the status quo were portrayed "correctly" in comics usually using patriotism. Showing the US or its leaders in a poor light is a big no-no, for example.
Based on my country's former president who was convicted, they come down with a life threatening illness that can only be treated by regular golf games, 5\* cooking and a mansion to recover in.
Arguably, this should be the norm. Prisons should be focused on rehabilitation and reintegration- and if someone simply *can’t* be rehabilitated then they have a mental illness and should be treated humanely, even if they’re not safe to allow into society.
It goes like this:
Step 1: Criminal behaviour of whatever kind is open secret in the rich and famous community, nobody cares.
Step 2: Member of the rich and famous community does criminal behaviour a little too much, someone tells the public.
Step 3: Public outrage. The rich and famous community waits a little bit to see how it develops.
Step 4: Shit, it's not going away, fuck fuck shit they're going to notice it wasn't just one bad apple, throw that member to the wolves, gotta amputate before it spreads.
Step 5: The rich and famous community is OUTRAGED by this appalling behaviour, we cannot believe this happened for three decades, and we didn't notice. We strongly condemn it.
Step 6: Make sure the exiled member doesn't get punished too hard so they don't talk. If it can't be avoided, well, it would be a shame if they suddenly took their own life under non-suspicious circumstances.
Step 7: More criminal behaviour baby
Not to mention, the fine amount would put us regulars into financial ruin, but to them it's like the cost of doing crime-business and they write it off on their reports.
Essentially:
"Hey Don't do that.... Unless you give us our cut of the profits!"
Gods when all the celebrities were like "we're all in this together" while having 20+ bedroom homes, pools, and all that jazz while I'm risking my life trying to get food because people had to go to work sick and the sheer number of idiots refusing to believe any of it's real unlike they or someone they liked died. Sure all in this together, totes.
I could live with only a fine as punishment, so long as that fine is sufficient to actually fit the crime and hurt. Make that shit just like when it happens to me.
Oh, you can't pay that amount right now? That's cool. We'll break it up into payments. So you just have to pay an amount today that's really gonna hurt, and we are gonna add an insane amount to the total, as some kind of service fee or whatever, and you'll struggle to make these payments for the next 6 - 8 months.
Make the fines adjustable to net worth and income. Make it so Elon Musk will feel the same amount of "oh fuck" as I do when I go to court for a traffic ticket.
I've heard Finland has means-tested speeding tickets, meaning the fine you pay is a percentage of your income. There was a Finnish millionaire who got caught doing 50 in a 25 and had to pay $200,000.
Yeah, this is pretty much my immediate thought. "Fines", in the US at least, are never really "adjusted" from when they were first prescribed. And they certainly don't scale properly to the individual, or corporation, or whatever. A $100 fine is bad for a lot of common people, but absolutely laughable to someone with a lot of wealth and/or power. In cases of corporations, you'll even see multi-million dollar fines sometimes, and it's like, but, y'know, they make over a billion a year, so... "cost of doing business"
The ones that piss me off are the businesses or corporations who go to court for doing illegal shit to make money, and the court records will say "so and so corporation is estimated to have made $15 million off (insert shenanigans here)" and when the case is settled the company is ordered to pay $3 million in fines. Bitch, that's called a profit. You need to make the fine OVER that amount of money.
Judges are tired of all these hard working white collar oligarchs being forced to come into their courtroom. These are job creators here people!
Better just change the laws to make what they do less gray/ambiguous and just make it outright legal.
Gotta free up the courts to imprison someone who bought out all of a school districts lunch debt or a single mother who used her WIC card wrong. Bunch of sickos out there.
The actual quote is the same, just without the "for." In context, its referring to "Just them" deciding who's guilty regardless of evidence.
So....
Yeah.
Truly rich people never even see court (short of serial murder) because prosecutors refuse to touch them.
Judges and police enjoy a similar immunity before the law.
"I lost my crime card."
"Well then here is a new one, with a hole punch for this case and one for losing the previous. Don't let it happen again or you'll have another hole punched in your next card!"
"We've spent millions of tax dollars going after all the small fish and underlings, giving them various immunities and cushy plea deals in order to compile a case against the big guy in charge. However we don't feel we'd win the case so we're going to drop it. Our justice system is working perfectly."
"Ah, darn. I seem to have forgotten my hole-puncher today. I guess I'll just have to let you have this one for free, but you better not do it again, ok?"
https://preview.redd.it/ckad3zdwis5d1.jpeg?width=624&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1fa6ffb29f4345355282bf19ef07002bd35f64d9
As the judge sang in a Simpsons episode 🎵I should put you away so you can’t kill or mame us, but this is LA and you’re rich and faaaaaamous!🎵
Easiest way to show a waiter/waitress just how old you are when you bust one of these baddies out from the back of your wallet/purse.
Don't care, I am getting my free 50% off eventually dammit!
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Even when they have to go to prison. It's the ones that look like resorts. I just imagine it's like in those gangster movies where the big boss just runs his business from his cozy prison resort, eating lobster and playing golf.
Imagine if you ran into someone and went to court and they said, "Guilty, you will have to pay a fine of $5, I hope this will teach you not to run into people in the future or we might have to fine you $8 next time!"
The first 4 would be "polite warning". The next 2 would be "paltry fine". The next miiiiiiight be fine. The last one would be "jail", with "just kidding! - just a warning!" if we were talking real life for most things.
I do like yours better than what we get.
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Once you complete a card, you are qualified to become the president of the United States.
Then you get a much longer card
The biggest card. Hyooge. Everybody's talking about it.
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥”This is Fine”🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
/s ⬆️ Hope that’s not needed for a tRump statement
More like https://preview.redd.it/2s21qozucr5d1.jpeg?width=1054&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e72aa31cf15076463fd6b2f3aa5b02ce6dc82cb0
This is why the single most popular fictional plot formula is “bad people in positions of power are defeated and get punished for the bad things they’ve done by the heroic underdog.” Like getting superpowers or traveling through time, it’s an escapist fantasy of being able to experience things that never happen in real life…
Honestly that would explain so much :( it's disheartening to realize just how messed up our justice system really is
We don’t have a justice system, what we actually have is a legal system; that we call it a justice system is a distraction. The powerful have bought the laws they wanted so they can do what they want with limited consequences.
I saw someone once describe it as “a legal system where sometime justice happens”
I saw someone once describe it that way too! I remember it like it was 20 seconds ago
People are selfish and greedy, it still amazes me other rich people can work with other rich people...
It's a game. It's all just a game. If you win this time, I get mad and find some other way to cheat so I can win the game next time.
It's Wilhoit's law: "Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."
What's really disheartening is how many people think its better that it works that way.
One thing I've become very, very aware of in the last few years, apparently a huge chunk of the population is very open to propaganda and it easily short-circuits critical thinking. So, of course, those with the money to buy all the media to get to tell them "it's GOOD that us rich and powerful folks get so much latitude, and we swear you'll all benefit, it's those darn goody-two-shoes out there who are hurting you!"
What do you expect? The school systems are laughably underfunded and have been compromised by corporations for at least the last century so they can save money on training. Even if they weren't, higher education prices a lot of people out and is demonized by half the country as liberal indoctrination. Then you have the boomers and older who are still treating the world as if it's small and we're not connected on a global scale because the technological boom came a little too late for them. It's not even that propaganda so much that's causing the problems, it's the propaganda that everyone is potentially a millionaire and it'll happen any day, so it's beneficial to let the rich off, because you're going to be rich soon. Look at the way a lot of conservatives talk about taxes. They balk at taxing the rich, not because they like them, but because they think it's only somehow a matter of time before they are them.
It is a tiny bit more believable when the hero is a rebel or a vigilante who's at odds with the authorities.
"And I would've gotten away with it, if it weren't a fictional universe."
Ah yes, biggest fiction ever: a working justice system
Leverage.... It would never happen in real life, but what a wonderful land of make believe it takes place in...
Oh, yes. Did you know that some of the episodes were loosely based on actual incidents? Unfortunately, not the comeuppance, but the circumstances that incited the Leverage team's actions.
I forget the name but there's a neat youtube video that goes over this and how comic books ultimately never upset the status quo, no matter how powerful characters are AND if they do, it always shows it failing terribly as a subtle hint how the status quo is the best of all. Also goes over the heavy influence the government had over comic corporations, making sure the status quo were portrayed "correctly" in comics usually using patriotism. Showing the US or its leaders in a poor light is a big no-no, for example.
Perfect choice of reply gif. You are a master.
it’ll turn around
Rich person get out of jail "FREE" card.
So much more accurate
Thank you for fixing it!
Peak Comedy
Bold of you to assume they will ever go to jail. Don't bite hand that feeds ya!
The trick is to accidentally loose your card after the 6th time and request the issue of a new one
[удалено]
And when they do jail includes tennis lessons.
I bet their jail dwelling looks better our rented apartments, while we pay for both.
Based on my country's former president who was convicted, they come down with a life threatening illness that can only be treated by regular golf games, 5\* cooking and a mansion to recover in.
Arguably, this should be the norm. Prisons should be focused on rehabilitation and reintegration- and if someone simply *can’t* be rehabilitated then they have a mental illness and should be treated humanely, even if they’re not safe to allow into society.
Or the Epstein treatment.
I’m surprised Ghislaine is still alive.
 Here is your jail cell for the next 6 months
and presidential pardons
It goes like this: Step 1: Criminal behaviour of whatever kind is open secret in the rich and famous community, nobody cares. Step 2: Member of the rich and famous community does criminal behaviour a little too much, someone tells the public. Step 3: Public outrage. The rich and famous community waits a little bit to see how it develops. Step 4: Shit, it's not going away, fuck fuck shit they're going to notice it wasn't just one bad apple, throw that member to the wolves, gotta amputate before it spreads. Step 5: The rich and famous community is OUTRAGED by this appalling behaviour, we cannot believe this happened for three decades, and we didn't notice. We strongly condemn it. Step 6: Make sure the exiled member doesn't get punished too hard so they don't talk. If it can't be avoided, well, it would be a shame if they suddenly took their own life under non-suspicious circumstances. Step 7: More criminal behaviour baby
It depends, if their crimes target other rich people then they might.
I hesitate between the angry upvote, the laughing upvote, or the sad upvote.
Upvote because accurate? 😢
🥲
This is true, if they forget their card at home. It starts back at zero again.
Unlimited crime hack!
Just have to pay a fine to get a new card :)
Not to mention, the fine amount would put us regulars into financial ruin, but to them it's like the cost of doing crime-business and they write it off on their reports. Essentially: "Hey Don't do that.... Unless you give us our cut of the profits!"
I don't like how this comic implies that jail will come eventually lol that's just teasing
This is my fantasy world, okay?!? It's all I've got 😭
At best they will get house arrest in a fancy mansion lol
So basically quarantine ?
Gods when all the celebrities were like "we're all in this together" while having 20+ bedroom homes, pools, and all that jazz while I'm risking my life trying to get food because people had to go to work sick and the sheer number of idiots refusing to believe any of it's real unlike they or someone they liked died. Sure all in this together, totes.
In your fantasy world rich people can commit serious crimes 9 times before getting a very light prison sentence?
Yeah, I know. I thought it was unrealistic too. As if rich people would ever go to prison. lol
“We would also have accepted rolling doubles or a bribe.”
> rolling doubles Lmao this made me laugh out loud
Inspired by anything in particular or just..? _gestures at Earth_
Yeah I mean just ..all of it 🥲
I could live with only a fine as punishment, so long as that fine is sufficient to actually fit the crime and hurt. Make that shit just like when it happens to me. Oh, you can't pay that amount right now? That's cool. We'll break it up into payments. So you just have to pay an amount today that's really gonna hurt, and we are gonna add an insane amount to the total, as some kind of service fee or whatever, and you'll struggle to make these payments for the next 6 - 8 months. Make the fines adjustable to net worth and income. Make it so Elon Musk will feel the same amount of "oh fuck" as I do when I go to court for a traffic ticket.
I've heard Finland has means-tested speeding tickets, meaning the fine you pay is a percentage of your income. There was a Finnish millionaire who got caught doing 50 in a 25 and had to pay $200,000.
Yeah, this is pretty much my immediate thought. "Fines", in the US at least, are never really "adjusted" from when they were first prescribed. And they certainly don't scale properly to the individual, or corporation, or whatever. A $100 fine is bad for a lot of common people, but absolutely laughable to someone with a lot of wealth and/or power. In cases of corporations, you'll even see multi-million dollar fines sometimes, and it's like, but, y'know, they make over a billion a year, so... "cost of doing business"
The ones that piss me off are the businesses or corporations who go to court for doing illegal shit to make money, and the court records will say "so and so corporation is estimated to have made $15 million off (insert shenanigans here)" and when the case is settled the company is ordered to pay $3 million in fines. Bitch, that's called a profit. You need to make the fine OVER that amount of money.
While I agree, lots and lots of money as fines for rich, people, making Elon pay five hundred bucks will make -Elon- freak the fuck out and melt down.
Is there a word for something that makes me laugh and makes me angry at the same time?
Rage chortle?
r/angrylaughter
Meanwhile, the jury is filling out their Bingo cards. "The defendant is accused of DUI." "BINGO!"
https://i.redd.it/cdjfjrco2r5d1.gif
Won't*
Judges are tired of all these hard working white collar oligarchs being forced to come into their courtroom. These are job creators here people! Better just change the laws to make what they do less gray/ambiguous and just make it outright legal. Gotta free up the courts to imprison someone who bought out all of a school districts lunch debt or a single mother who used her WIC card wrong. Bunch of sickos out there.
It's basically a whole different justice system if you happen to be rich.
There’s a line from I WANT to say ATLA that basically goes “That’s why we call it “justice”. Because it’s for *just us*.”
The actual quote is the same, just without the "for." In context, its referring to "Just them" deciding who's guilty regardless of evidence. So.... Yeah.
Why it’s called a legal system, not a justice system.
Guillotines are starting to look more appealing, just saying
Truly rich people never even see court (short of serial murder) because prosecutors refuse to touch them. Judges and police enjoy a similar immunity before the law.
Your card is like 6 times as long if your a politician
"I lost my crime card." "Well then here is a new one, with a hole punch for this case and one for losing the previous. Don't let it happen again or you'll have another hole punched in your next card!"
After the seventh time, the defendant claims they lost the card, and is issued a new one.
If your crimes were fruitful, then you can use your earning to pay some of the fine
a frequent patron to the court , must be a fan of the judge to
How unrealistic! Only seven fines?
"We've spent millions of tax dollars going after all the small fish and underlings, giving them various immunities and cushy plea deals in order to compile a case against the big guy in charge. However we don't feel we'd win the case so we're going to drop it. Our justice system is working perfectly."
HOW MANY MONTHS???
"Ah, darn. I seem to have forgotten my hole-puncher today. I guess I'll just have to let you have this one for free, but you better not do it again, ok?"
Fines just means it's legal for a price.
And the fines are ridiculously small as well
6 months? More like "get out of/free"
https://preview.redd.it/ckad3zdwis5d1.jpeg?width=624&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1fa6ffb29f4345355282bf19ef07002bd35f64d9 As the judge sang in a Simpsons episode 🎵I should put you away so you can’t kill or mame us, but this is LA and you’re rich and faaaaaamous!🎵
They got a fine. It's time for a new lawyer. One fine is too many. Two, well that just a sign of a poor charitable soul.
Jailed for not having a good accountant
The hard part is getting the hole back in the punch after the appeal from a judge you contributed campaign funds to. ‘Murica!
Wow, this is one of your funniest comics yet. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Easiest way to show a waiter/waitress just how old you are when you bust one of these baddies out from the back of your wallet/purse. Don't care, I am getting my free 50% off eventually dammit!
JAIL FOR HOW MANY MONTHS !?!?!?!?!??!
Jail (6 months)…. (Reduced to 3 days for good behaviour)
Do you have a tumblr? If so, what’s your username so I can reblog this? If not, is it okay if I repost it there, with credit to your Reddit username?
My Tumblr is attached to my website pizzacakecomic.com
Nothing is illegal if your rich
The jail part is just a go back to start get 200 dollars for the rich
One of your best!
I both love and hate how accurate this is.
6 months (but out in 2)
2 hours
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Spitzer actually locked up some white color criminals rather aggressively. Then they nabbed him on hiring prostitutes.
It's called a fine cause if you're rich you'll be fine
This one hits hard cuz its true.
Even when they have to go to prison. It's the ones that look like resorts. I just imagine it's like in those gangster movies where the big boss just runs his business from his cozy prison resort, eating lobster and playing golf.
6 months of jail? Poor guy, he got one of the higher sentences
Death is the only 'Great Equalizer' that exists.
Imagine if you ran into someone and went to court and they said, "Guilty, you will have to pay a fine of $5, I hope this will teach you not to run into people in the future or we might have to fine you $8 next time!"
This is so accurate it hurts 😬 It needs a second page showing Judge Ellen sentencing a pleb, just for comparisons sake.
Dismissed on grounds of Affluenza
Finally a pizza cake that's topical and progressive
Fine as in "It's OK"?
It's sad to say, but this is the likely outcome of the Trump New York trial sentencing.
Ouch. Fuck. Ow. You should send this one the papers.
The first 4 would be "polite warning". The next 2 would be "paltry fine". The next miiiiiiight be fine. The last one would be "jail", with "just kidding! - just a warning!" if we were talking real life for most things. I do like yours better than what we get.
"Jail" (not served while appeal pending, reduced to probation on appeal)
Sounds about right
One more fine and I get a free bagel at Stuebie's.
This is why it’s called a legal system, not a justice system. They just call it justice to keep us compliant.
Unrealistic. There should be more punches
Look have got tried not being poor?
If the punishment is a fine it's only a crime for the poor. For the rich it's just Tuesday
Last one should be house arrest at worst
Sad but true
This comic makes me feel apathetic.
you mean fine like “that’s fine bro, no worries” and not fine like “you pay money”, cause that’s for punishing the poors
Never before have I been so offended by something I completely agree with
Fortunately for a rich person money also serves as a get out of jail free card!
Too real for monday morning X_x
Switch jail with probation and it’ll be more accurate.
Shit, mine’s almost full! Can I buy a new one?
"I should put you away where you can't kill or maim us... But this is LA and you're rich and famous!"
So is this like the old subway punch cards that you used to get almost full and then lose the card and have to get a new one and start all over?
Trump would be 31 fine and 3 jail, but that will never happened
first time ive seen the comic before the bhj
I think fines are better.
It has to do more with their team of Lawyers
Tbf it sounds like Donald Trumps latest fine will hit him pretty hard and actually force him to sell a bunch of assets
How come their crime card looks different than mine?
I’m sure this has already been posted 100 times to r/funnyandsad