Well that’s stupid from a physics point of view. “It’s the Earth that’s moving” is stupid from a “having given it any thought at all” point of view.
Isn’t that the point of relativity? That saying “the earth is moving towards you” is equally as valid as saying “you’re moving towards the ground”?
Source: I got about halfway through a book called “How To Teach Relativity To Your Dog” before deciding that the author’s dog was smarter than I am. But the chapters I did read, they made a big deal about how frames of reference are equal.
Yup, I thought all objects had an attraction towards each other. The earth is attracted to us, but that attraction is many magnitudes weaker than the earth’s attraction on us. Where abashed’s failure to understand is, he thinks the person or object falling from a 1000’ tall building is suspended in space and pulls the entire earth a thousand feet in that person’s direction.
I happen to think it is a horrific idea, actually. I don’t know where this idea came about that just because one posits a hypothetical - it necessarily means that the OP is a troll. I was just genuinely curious as to how one could go about fulfilling the campaign promise that seems to be such a big deal to this administration.
Naturally, it is a stupid idea, and would cause more harm than good - but exploring how it might be able to happen and at what cost is a worthy thought exercise.
Of course, it is much easier to put ones fingers in ones ears and go Nyah-Nyah-Nyah - but I think it is actually dangerous to ignore and dismiss ideas such as this one.
But yeah, sure, rant away.
Yes, but that wasn’t what he wrote. He was stating that the Earth moving was what was “actually happening”. But interesting though it might be I’m not going to continue cluttering up the troll thread with it. 
Why not say this in the thread? When putting forward truly colossally stupid ideas, you’re going to get some critical pushback. But if you make it clear that you recognize how truly stupid these ideas are, then you might actually get some discussion (even if it’s only about the relative levels of colossal stupidity of these various ideas).
I thought I had, but given the degree of pushback it seems that that got lost in translation. Many were very unwilling to admit that such a thing as having Mexico pay for the wall was even possible, but if the last few year has taught me anything, it is that nothing is truly impossible - and when you have such an insistence from the President of the United States that this can and will happen, I just thought it was worthwhile to say, okay… let’s say it is possible… how could this happen?
I’ve engaged in a number of fascinating thought exercises over the years here at Straight Dope, but the political nature of this particular exploration, and the sheer inhumanity of what it would likely take to achieve the stated goal, has perhaps put everyone a bit more on the defense than expected.
Just so you know, that was not a “fascinating thought exercise”. Not only was it one of the stupidest things I’ve heard of in a long time, you didn’t even have your facts straight. Your proposal did not have Mexico pay for the wall, but it did violate the civil rights of people in this country (whether here legally or illegally). You were told that frequently, but continued to defend the idea nonetheless. That’s what trolls do. If you don’t want people to call you a troll, don’t act like one.
Someone who thinks it’s a terrible idea doesn’t say:
Next up on the “fascinating intellectual exercise” circuit: Well, if we’re going to kill all the Jews, what’s the best way to do it? Extra credit if you can figure out a way to make them pay for it!!
This is the last time I am going to comment on this thread, as this is really meant to be a place to rant - but I did point out that in order to achieve the goal of having Mexico pay for the wall, it could require a reinterpretation of what paying is. I found it very interesting that no one seemed able to meet the twin goals without violating civil rights. Even my ‘solution’ could not avoid that.
I think it is important that we really understand that if the only way of accomplishing this goal is by such draconian measures, then it really calls into question the wisdom of pursuing the actual goal. The fact that our President continues to repeat ad nauseum that this is a goal worth pursuing, but doesn’t provide any details other than that it will be accomplished by ‘reimbursement/other’ is troubling in the extreme.
Not worth going on and on about at this point, until the President or someone in his party can give us something more concrete to go with. When the best case scenario is to force the wall out of the labor of the people - well, it is a problem far beyond my ability to solve.
We need our media to confront the President and get something more definitive as to how this goal would be accomplished. Forget about whether or not the goal is a worthwhile one (because it isn’t), but go ahead and say - sure, Mr. President, presuming this is a goal to pursue, how exactly are you going to accomplish it.
I’m not optimistic he can answer that though. He’s had plenty of time to map out a workable strategy, if one exists. If he can do it, and avoiding a human rights travesty at the same time would be nice as well, then he needs to ‘sell’ us on the idea.
You might want to read up a bit on what type of punishment is even available for illegal immigrants before you propose your next “fascinating intellectual exercise”.
A new troll has thoughtfully come here to educumate us about why the South seceded. Feeding ensues almost immediately.
Not so new - he’s been around for a year. ETA: although only posting in the last month.
That explains the emaciated appearance and the need for sustenance.
So feeding him could be considered charity, I guess.
No No No. Because feeding the hungry is both hard and bad for them, apparently.
I think we have prettymuch established that the musty rabbit (D’ank Coney) is a troll. I just wanted to give cunning roach a bit of a slap for feeding it far too heartily. Just let the musty rabbit molder in its leachate.
The call for a new Civil War is the best part. 
So let’s see – the OP started a thread with an insane premise, so far is not participating in his own thread, and is surfing the site in stealth mode. Troll? Nah, probably just really interested in history! :rolleyes:
But that’s not he was saying. According to his question, I’d be having a drink in a bar and suddenly whoaaaaa, there goes my drink again --some idiot jumped off a roof and now the entire earth is moving upwards so he can splat on it.
The question is, does he really believe that? Or the trollish option, where he’s thinking “Bet I can get these smartypants to get their smartyundies in a bunch!”
I saw something along these lines on a flat-earth site. The author was saying that there is no such thing as gravity, that the pizza-Earth was simply accelerating upward at 9.8 m/s[sup]2[/sup]. No one ever falls, they just hang in the air till the earth hits them. Because, you know, general relativity equates gravity with acceleration (seems to me the author actually did invoke Einstein). Perhaps abashed is a FECT?
It strikes me that that could only happen if Wile E. Coyote were to run off the edge of a cliff. 