On Thu, May 01, 2003 at 01:12:56PM -0500, Bill O'Hanlon wrote:
On Thu, May 01, 2003 at 11:50:14AM -0500, Harmon Seaver wrote:
Get over it -- public smoking is going to be banned everywhere, plenty of cities have already banned it in restaurants, public buildings, etc. It's only a matter of time before it's also banned on the street, and there are already proposed laws being considered to do just that.
And because the majority (or the state) is for it, it must be right?
Admit it: you're a statist when it suits you. Why are you here?
Bullshit -- it's about the basic right to having your own personal space and to not be assaulted by others, something that some knee-jerk rightwingers don't get. Everyone has a right to use whatever drug they want, they don't have a right to force others to partake of it. Nothing could be more simple. But because we have a number of people in this society who don't get it, and who are too selfish and inconsiderate of others to observe common courtesies, we get laws to spell it out for them. It's like drunk driving laws, zoning laws, etc. Yes, you can drink all you want, but no, you can't then drive. Yes, you have a right to private property, but no, you can't allow the house to fall down or do something else with it that adversly affects my property value. There's always going to be at least a minimal state that lays out these sort of restraints, it's the only way large numbers of people can live in close proximity to one another. Which, BTW, is what the thread started with -- the fact that the state has to have some powers to deal with seriously infectious diseases. And likewise that it has to have some power to restrain those who don't respect the rights of others. I think that some of the people here have some fantasy that the state will totally wither away and there will be no restraints on anyone's behavior except economic ones. Or else believe in some equally fantastized society where everyone will just willingly respect others and all will live in peace and harmony -- which is absurd, especially given the fact that for whatever reason, young people are increasingly oblivious to the rights of others and very much unconcerned with anything but thier own gratification. -- Harmon Seaver CyberShamanix http://www.cybershamanix.com