Re: Negative baggage

From: Mike Lorrey (mlorrey@yahoo.com)
Date: Sun Dec 15 2002 - 14:35:46 MST


--- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> wrote:
> > (Olga Bourlin <fauxever@sprynet.com>):
> > From: "Jef Allbright" <jef@jefallbright.net>
> >
> > While gods don't exist, people do. So, by definition, people
> cannot
> > be "victimless" of a crime committed against them.
>
> Ah, but people can be, and often are, irrationally offended by things
> that do not harm them in any other way, and which are therefore
> none of their damned business.

Quite. Furthermore, anything done by individuals to themselves, or
between consenting individuals, which pretty much covers all
'victimless crime'.

THere are, however, frequently externalities that are not considered,
which I've illustrated before. For example: if I have minor children to
care for, and am legally responsible for, then in intoxicating myself I
am abdicating responsibility for them while I am intoxicated. If I
become addicted to an intoxicant, I have physiologically and
psychologically abdicated the ability to make responsible decisions
free of the influence of the addiction.

While I frankly don't care what people do to themselves or between
themselves as consenting adults, doing so while responsible for kids is
as much an act of externalizing costs onto others as driving drunk or
high, or polluting other people's air or water.
 
If you are insured against potential damages to others from such, fine,
go to it, have fun and let me know how to contact your insurance
carrier. If you aren't, then I have a problem with your behavior,
unless you can post some other sort of bond.

I dont' wish to attract numerous rude flames from those on the list who
are militantly pro-drug to the point of flaming anybody with a rational
libertarian argument such as that above. If you don't agree with my
opinion, so be it, but don't think that your posting rude responses is
going to change my opinion (I'm only saying this because that was the
response from a few individuals the last time I made the above statement).

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