Compassion

From: John K Clark (johnkc@well.com)
Date: Mon Jun 23 1997 - 21:29:03 MDT


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On Mon, 23 Jun 97 "Rick Knight" <rknight@platinum.com> Wrote:

>So, 100% accuracy and assurance are necessary to invoke common sense
>legislation.
         

Not at all, governments have about a 2% accuracy rate, but that doesn't
prevent them from having all sorts of nifty common sense legislation. It's
common sense that the Earth is the center of the Universe and those who say
otherwise should be burned alive. It's common sense that black people are
sub human and thus ethical to enslave. It's common sense that Jews are evil
and so should be exterminated. It's common sense that government should
monitor and control what we say to each other on the Internet, it's for our
own good, we're too dumb to do it ourselves and your typical government
bureaucrat is far more intelligent than either one of us.
                

>I choose to devote some measure of my effort to protecting the
>innocent AND the stupid, whether it is regarded as wasted energy or
>not.

                
I have absolutely no objection to that, I might even help you, provided it's
voluntary. My objection is when people insist of saving me from myself,
whether I want to be saved or not. I don't think I'm significantly stupider
than the average person and I don't want to be protected, if I'm wrong about
my mental capacity I'm willing to accept the consequences.
                

>I would concur with your consideration that it is a character flaw
>on your part to speak erroneously and without compassion in such an
>absolutist fashion about free speech. It's one of my big gripes about
>the practice of libertarianism. Taken to its extreme, there is just
>efficiency and no feeling. [...] I'll continue to note signs of
>compassion however practically applied.
                

Actually I'm a very nice fellow, my dog thinks I'm wonderful and it's been
months since I evicted and widows and forced their pre school children to
work in my rendering plant. My employees like me also, they tell me that all
the time, good thing too, otherwise I'd fire their ass so fast it'd make your
head spin. But then, why wouldn't they like me, hell, I let them take half
a day off every other Christmas.
 
  Snidely Whiplash johnkc@well.com

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