this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2023
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Today I Learned (TIL)

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On January 21, 1970, Leary received a ten-year sentence for his 1968 offense, with a further ten added later while in custody for a prior arrest in 1965, for a total of 20 years to be served consecutively. On his arrival in prison, he was given psychological tests used to assign inmates to appropriate work details. Having designed some of these tests himself (including the "Leary Interpersonal Behavior Inventory"), Leary answered them in such a way that he seemed to be a very conforming, conventional person with a great interest in forestry and gardening.[108] As a result, he was assigned to work as a gardener in a lower-security prison from which he escaped in September 1970, saying that his nonviolent escape was a humorous prank and leaving a challenging note for the authorities to find after he was gone

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[–] [email protected] 172 points 1 year ago (1 children)

10 years in jail for having 2 joint butts.

[–] ewe 110 points 1 year ago (4 children)

My boomer mom is all up in her suburban town councils business because she's afraid there is going to be a "marijuana shop" that goes in across the highway from her neighborhood in the strip mall that's being developed.

Anti-drug propaganda really did a number on that generation

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's fascinating how some of that generation have turned out. My parents are in their mid 70's and are on an edibles kick right now since they "are to old to be smoking". Their neighbor is the same age and has bought into the whole war on drugs and just about every other bit of propaganda authoritarians have put out in the last 50 years. The neighbor is a good source of daily excitement and stories that my parents like to tell us when we see them.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

You see the division in all generations though, plenty of people of all generations are at either extremes of the political spectrum

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The really fucked up part about that situation is the "strip mall across the highway from her neighborhood" part.

Car-dependent urban design has really done a number on every generation since the Silent Generation.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago (2 children)

There's pot shops all over Washington state. They don't generally tolerate nonsense and respect the neighborhood they operate out of. I have not heard of any shops causing news worthy problems outside of financial. The shops always have a nice low profile vibe.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago

When my state legalized I recall tons of 'predictions' about dispensaries being some sort of crime dens, but it turns out the crime dens are really stores like Walmart and Target as they have police there multiple times a day to arrest people for stealing and people don't really rob dispensaries because the product is so cheap and accessable.

[–] ewe 6 points 1 year ago

That's what I told her. I'm in Oregon and she's in Minnesota. I think it's just new and different for her. She's afraid of an "unwelcome element" coming into her suburb 🙄.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Really? Every boomer I know, including me, was an absolute pothead. Many still indulge regularly.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago (4 children)

"Boomer" used to mean a specific thing: the boomer generation, people born from 1946-1964.

Now it's just a buzzword that's been poisoned and just means "old people I disagree with." What? It's completely subjective and serves one purpose anymore: mindlessly dividing people along generational lines.

Point I am trying to make here is that "boomer" being used in a discussion - when not used with its original meaning - becomes meaningless.

[–] ewe 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I was using it as a description of the age of my mother. She just happens to also personify the stereotypes of her generation as well. I love her, but I roll my eyes when she tells me about her latest scrap with a city council member and the interaction she had with the developers of the piece of land being developed near her house.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Yeah, I've started thinking that, too, so I push back every chance I get. As an actual boomer, I think it's my prerogative, in a kind of "get off lawn" way. :)

[–] Random_user 3 points 1 year ago
[–] Astroturfed 1 points 1 year ago

Are you a mad old person? Boomer defense network

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

You apparently associate with a specific kind of boomer.

Remember, for every boomer that was a hippie, there were a whole bunch that weren't.

[–] bappity 53 points 1 year ago (1 children)

10 FUCKING YEARS for possession of marijuana??!?!

[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is the wildest wikipedia article I've ever seen thanks for posting.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I thought so too. I'm surprised it hasn't been made into a movie yet.

[–] OskarAxolotl 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Seems like somebody Sam O'Nella could make a video about.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago
[–] GreenCrush 3 points 1 year ago

That's a biopic I'd really enjoy.

[–] thrawn21 28 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Man that wiki page is a trip, what a crazy life.

[–] hypnotoad__ 14 points 1 year ago

Yeah, I kept saying the same thing to myself. This dude lived 100 lives.

[–] Leax 27 points 1 year ago

Quite a cool story!

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Damn what a life that man lead. True main character energy. Inspirational

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What, you don't have a famous Beetles song written about you?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] Dogs_cant_look_up 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

V.I. Lenin. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov!

[–] Speculater 14 points 1 year ago

Now that's a crazy ass life.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

And some say potheads never accomplish anything.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago

"His website team, led by Chris Graves, updated his website on a daily basis as a proto-blog. The website noted his daily intake of various illicit and legal chemical substances, with a predilection for nitrous oxide, LSD and other psychedelic drugs. He was also noted for his trademark "Leary Biscuit", a cannabis edible consisting of a snack cracker with cheese and a small marijuana bud, briefly microwaved."

A man of vision.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

Wondering if his test was eventually retracted from legal usage?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

https://youtu.be/Zbm0ZMwGm0U

Leary and Watergate burglar G. Gordon Liddy did a series of debates.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago