Commuter trains should have segregated carriages for both ladies and homosexual gentlemen

Thank you, Brian, for the timely reply! I would first like to start off my addressing your point that the Japanese have such a strong influence, that eventually, groping women on trains will spill over into other countries because Japan is well known for starting trends. The examples you use are cars, which civilized nations use as their most reliable form of transportation, and restaurants, where people go to enjoy their favorite type of food. I don't see how something like groping young women on a train could spill over into other cultures, as it's not something that many people consider doing as a good, or useful thing. Just as you said, society enforces the rules, and thus society would continue to prevent these acts, as they currently are doing. The reason it's widespread in Japan is because they have a different cultural outlook on reporting sexual harassment. It makes them feel weak, and down on themselves. Over in other modernized countries, this is not the case. "[...] civilization is not something absolute, but [...] is relative, and [...] our ideas and conceptions are true only so far as our civilization goes."[1] So the idea that Japan has such a strong influence, that even their sexual crimes will follow suit in other countries, is far fetched. Now, in regards to your response to my points about the homosexual men trains, it would seem that this part of your debate is taking a turn toward more of a gay bashing debate, and, while I would have no issue debating against you with that as well, it is not quite the topic of this argument, so I wouldn't want people to be swayed by that in the voting. Finally, for your last points about finding the correct carriage, you make a very valid point about smoking vs. non-smoking, and the different classes. However, I would like to point out that smoking back then was not as detailed as what we are debating. What we are asking each other, is if separating by sexual orientation AND gender, would be at all confusing. Absolutely there are similarities to generalized segregation with smoking, and gender, but sexual orientation, and sex are not as cut and dry, and easy to walk around with. If you are a gay man, or a transgender women often announcing this to the public is not easy, since many of these people struggle to announce it to anyone at all. *39 percent [of LGBT people] said they"ve been rejected by a family member or close friend because of their sexual orientation or gender identity *30 percent [of LGBT people] said they have been physically attacked or threatened *58 percent [of LGBT people] said they have been the target of slurs or jokes [2] Therefore, getting on a train and selecting the appropriate carriage, may prove to be very difficult for some, and if others are not too afraid to step onto that train, then what about the possibility of hate crimes? You stated that society would be the only ones controlling the trains, so what if a hate crime occurs on a late night train with nobody on. Then you have an epidemic on your hands, all because a few pervy guys in Japan couldn't keep their hands to themselves. Thank you. [1] Franz Boas 1887 "Museums of Ethnology and their classification" Science 9: 589 [Cultural Relativism] [2] http://news.discovery.com...