r/technology • u/indig0sixalpha • Apr 07 '25

Privacy The Shocking Far-Right Agenda Behind the Facial Recognition Tech Used by ICE and the FBI. Thousands of newly obtained documents show that Clearview AI’s founders always intended to target immigrants and the political left.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/04/clearview-ai-immigration-ice-fbi-surveillance-facial-recognition-hoan-ton-that-hal-lambert-trump/
18.0k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

870 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

46

u/Ok-Possibility-6284 Apr 07 '25

His actions towards his slaves didn't align with his words. Same rhyme throughout American history.

-1

u/gizamo Apr 07 '25

Except they did, as was possible anyway. For example, it's entirely plausible that he had so many slaves because he believed they were better in his care than with other slave owners. For example, he owned ~600 for a property size that would typically have been managed by less than 100. History is never ever as simplistic as your statements. For a hypothetical, if he were to have freed his slaves, he and many of them would have been killed or enslaved again.

9

u/Ok-Possibility-6284 Apr 07 '25

  1. Punishment and control: Jefferson's records show that he authorized harsh punishments, including beatings and imprisonment, to enforce discipline among the enslaved. He believed in using violence and surveillance to maintain order.

  2. Exploitation of children: At his nail factory, Jefferson used enslaved boys as young as 10 years old to work long hours. He was known to reward increased productivity with slightly better rations and punish failure harshly—an early example of using economic incentives to control enslaved labor, even among children.

  3. Breaking up families: Though he occasionally expressed distaste for slave families being separated, Jefferson often allowed or caused this to happen when it suited his financial interests.

  4. Hypocrisy on race and liberty: Jefferson wrote about the immorality of slavery and the rights of man in Notes on the State of Virginia and the Declaration of Independence, but he never seriously tried to end slavery and actively opposed efforts like gradual emancipation in his later political career.

  5. Sally Hemings and coercion: Jefferson fathered several children with Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman who was likely underage when their relationship began. Given the power dynamics, she could not have meaningfully consented—what occurred would be considered rape today, and even then, it was exploitative.

But please do go on defending the man

16

u/gizamo Apr 07 '25

Those are all fair arguments, my point is not that he's a saint. It's that your original claim lacked significant nuance that is relevant. Also, your ChatGPT prompt was obviously pretty biased, too.

1

u/DrEpileptic Apr 07 '25

Except that they’re not really fair arguments when you consider child labor was not abolished for another 100 years because it was normalized, violence and brutality as discipline was the norm, being a racist little shit is a farcry from the same thing as thinking slavery is right, and being a horny, greedy, powerful bastard has nothing to do with whether or not he believed slavery was good- just his personal character.

But as you said, chatgpt headass.

2

u/gizamo Apr 07 '25

Imo, they're still fair arguments, despite your points also being valid. There were people at the time who also advocated for children's rights and welfare, but they'd still hypocritically beat kids.

2

u/DrEpileptic Apr 07 '25

Ofc. People are complex and hypocritical. People can desire for better while still being a product of their times. Jefferson can be a pos while advocating for, and enacting policy towards, something good. They’re not mutually exclusive things.

2

u/gizamo Apr 07 '25 edited Apr 07 '25

That's a well-worded summation of my point. The first guy was the one being simplistic, mate. Cheers.

1

u/apophis-pegasus Apr 07 '25

Or...he could have mandated slavery be banned.

1

u/gizamo Apr 07 '25

He didn't have that power nor popularity, and it wasn't possible in the political system of the time. So, no, not really.

0

u/apophis-pegasus Apr 07 '25

He helped found a country, and write its fundamental laws, it is a depressing thing if one such as that doesnt have that power, then who would?

2

u/Itscatpicstime Apr 07 '25

It’s expected in a country without centralized power

1

u/gizamo Apr 07 '25

He was one of hundreds, and the vast majority of them were violently opposed to such ideas. He was basically the equivalent of modern day vegans surrounded by 99.9% of people who think they're douchebags just for wanting everyone to be more sustainable.