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Path: utzoo!linus!security!genrad!grkermit!masscomp!clyde!floyd!whuxle!pyuxll!abnjh!u1100a!pyuxn!rlr
From: rlr@pyuxn.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.followup
Subject: Re: enforcement of mandatory seatbelt laws
Message-ID: <426@pyuxn.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 27-Jan-84 19:01:16 EST
Article-I.D.: pyuxn.426
Posted: Fri Jan 27 19:01:16 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 31-Jan-84 02:30:15 EST
References: <923@druxy.UUCP>
Organization: Central Services Org., Piscataway N.J.
Lines: 39

We have reached the extremities of the nonsense universe.

The notion of "it is my right" to be a moron.  Giving morons freedom
of choice is a very dangerous thing especially when their decisions to
"do what they want" (they apparently believe in free will) affect
other human beings.  It's very simple.  Things that you consider to
be "rights" and "freedoms" are not things to be taken for granted,
but rather earned.  Those who cannot show a reasonable level of
competence in an activity should not be allowed to do it.  Those
who would complain about this are either (1) incompetent enough
that they would lose their freedom as a result (too f**king bad!)
or (2) too lazy to learn how to achieve a reasonable level of
competence.  Who the hell says you have a right to drive the way
you want to on roads where other people drive, on roads for which other
people paid their share?  Before being allowed to exercise a "right"
one should be required to show that one knows how to exercise it
properly (meaning without causing damage to the lives of other people).

Would there ever have been any clamor at all about the right not to
wear seatbelts if there had never been any other way to drive a car
than with a seatbelt?  Of course not.  One might just as well argue,
then, that a person released from prison after serving a term for
mass murder should be allowed to continue to behave as he used to,
because otherwise his freedom would be curtailed.

I'm not concerned with the means by which people show their competence,
just that they do.  Leave it to societal engineers to figure out.  And if
you don't like the dangers inherent in societal engineering (wow, like,
1984, man, bummer!), then stop a second to realize that it goes on anyway,
whenever a commercial for a Schlockomotors ZPL-X-1000 TURBO-CAR is aired
on the top-rated TV show "Let's Kill Some Minorities" (a comedy produced
by Fred Silverman).  So there.

Uhh, isn't this net.flame??

Summing it all up (that's my job)
-- 
Pardon me for breathing...
	Rich Rosen    pyuxn!rlr