Newsgroups: alt.politics.clinton,alt.politics.bush,alt.politics.marrou
Subject: Re: Legislation of morality
From: steiner@jupiter.cse.utoledo.edu (jason "Think!" steiner)
Date: 30 Sep 92 17:23:50 EST
Distribution: usa

cathy@octel.com (Cathy Kearns) writes:
> 
> I'm confused about what you people are argueing about.
> You seem to all agree to me.
> 
> a)AIDS is a deadly virus.
> b)It can in most cases be avoided if they "exercise personal 
>   responsibility".
>   b1)  All people should be educated so that they know how to 
>        exercise personal responsibility.
> c)Even if people started "exercising personal responsibility" from 
>   the day they were informed of the risks, there are still significant 
>   numbers of people who will get the disease. We should do whatever 
>   we can to stop the death of these people.
> 
> The part you seem to disagree on is what to do with the people who
> knew the risks and then purposely decided to act in a manner that 
> put them at risk.  Well, I vote we do the same thing with them that
> we do with the rest of those people who partake in risky behavior,
> you know, the motorcycle riders, the smokers, the pregnant women,
> the football player, the personal vehicle drivers, the airline
> passengers, the people who eat red meat, the hang gliders, the
> skate boarders, the people who lay in the sun, etc.
> 
> Let's at least be consistent.

ok, lets.

let's say i park my (non-existant) new car in the bad section of town,
doors unlocked, keys in the ignition, and leave it there overnight.

obviously, that doesn't make stealing it any more justifiable. the
people who will inevitably do it should be punished all the same.
but nobody is going to sympathize with my plight, much less want
to replace my car for me. and the more i whine about my bad luck
and what a victim i am the more people will scoff.

if i instead park it in a reputable garage, lock it up and install
a car alarm people will be a lot more sympathetic if it gets stolen.

it's the same with sex or any other risky activity. some risks
("driving a personal vehicle, being an airline passenger") are low
enough that if i'm injured in the process it's generally considered
a tragic thing. others ("skateboarding, hang gliding") are risky
enough that when i get a road rash or break my neck people shake their
heads at how crazy jason was, but will feel he had it coming.

sure, i feel sympathetic toward people who have AIDS. it's a shame 
that anyone has to die, much less like that. however there are a lot 
of people, including myself, who feel like some AIDS activists are
screaming that we should be "replacing their cars" and we're getting 
rather uncomfortable about being painted as heartless bastards just 
'cause we'd rather not pay the price for someone else's thoughtless 
fun. 

jason

ps: FYI, flying is one of the most risk-free things you can do, 
    outside of laying in bed all day. the running joke around pilots 
    is that if air travel stays as safe as it is eventually
	they'll be the only ones left on the planet. that is, if they don't 
	get killed driving to the airport...

--
`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`
`,`        "The common man is an idiot" - Alec Patton         `,`
`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`, steiner@jupiter.cse.utoledo.edu ,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`
Newsgroups: alt.politics.clinton,alt.politics.bush,alt.politics.marrou,alt.politics.correct