this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2025
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35
What exactly do people mean when they say “wildfires started by arson?” (hexbear.net)
submitted 2 months ago by rootsbreadandmakka@hexbear.net to c/askchapo@hexbear.net
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Obviously there are the climate change denialists who think “global elites” have paid actors setting forest fires around the globe, but there are also reputable people saying this. When I hear arson, I hear a person starting a fire with malicious intent. Are there really massive numbers of malicious firestarters around the globe, or does arson also cover things like recklessness/carelessness, like if I burn trash in my backyard or start a campfire on the woods and it gets out of control?

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[–] SoyViking@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

This kind of response to issues affecting society is very common on the right. When a problem is brought up they don't discuss solution, instead they go straight to finding someone who can be made personally responsible (fairly or not) and blaming them. This blame-assignment is then presented as a solution in and of itself.

The nice part about this is that blaming some guys doesn't cost anything, it doesn't require the government to do anything (except punishing them) and it avoids discussion about structural issues that might be uncomfortable to the right and the interests they represent.

The point of the fires is not who started them. Fires start from time to time, sometimes because of arson, sometimes for other reasons. The issue is how to handle the fires through having fire brigades, through technical measures to prevent fires from starting and spreading etc.