Smapti also believes that if he has knowledge of a bomb on a plane, it’s morally acceptable for him to not tell the authorities.
Wow, thanks for the info.
It’s like parody.
I do not believe that slavery should be permitted or that efforts to abolish slavery are illegitimate.
What I do believe is that in a democracy one is obligated to obey the law even if one finds it morally distasteful to do so. Democracy cannot function unless the will of the people is respected and adhered to - deciding that your own personal moral compass trumps the law and so you’re going to ignore or actively disobey the laws you don’t like is anathetical to the democratic process.
What does democracy have to do with what you said? There was nothing about democracy in the hypothetical in which you refused to assist slaves in freeing themselves at no risk to yourself. In fact, you ‘justified’ your choice by saying that it would be wrong to help those slaves escape because those slaves might be harmed if they escaped – nothing about democracy.
Except for police officers; they can do whatever the fuck they want.
At least they didn’t taser him for not putting his arms behind his back after being KO’d.
And I stand by that. If I release a slave and he is later captured and slowly tortured and beaten to death for escaping, then I have committed murder.
Posts like these are why I’ve concluded that he’s either a troll, or has some serious mental issues. If he’s a troll, engaging him is what he wants, but if he has mental health issues, it’s not right to keep engaging him.
The term “fascist” gets thrown around a bit too frequently, but despite his claim to respect democracy, Smapti appears to be one of the few remaining actual, genuine, dyed-in-the-wool fascists.
So it has nothing to do with democracy then – why did you mention it?
And if you choose to not release a slave, and that slave is raped, tortured, and beaten to death because that’s what the master wants to do, you have not committed murder?
If this is your calculation, it’s utterly monstrous, and just continues to confirm what a terrible, horrible neighbor and fellow human being you are (based strictly on your posts).
That makes perfect sense for those that are part of the democratic process.
In 1860, the franchise was limited to white men. (Feel free to note exceptions that only marginally affect the rule.) The four million slaves didn’t get to vote on the legitimacy of slavery, nor did women get to vote on either those laws or the laws limiting their legal rights.
Also, our democracy, at its creation, included something called the Bill of Rights, which encapsulates the notion that we have some basic rights that can’t be legislated away. Again, Negro slaves were excluded from those rights, without any ‘democratic’ say in the matter.
It was democracy for us other folks, but not for them. Why should they have been expected, let alone required, to respect the democratic will of a bunch of other people, just because it was decided democratically among that other group? “Hey, we white folks all voted, and the outcome was that you black folks are still slaves. But it was all democratic. So shaddup and keep pickin’ cotton.”
Because sometimes, in the real world, there’s more than one reason why a given action is the right one.
No, because I never became part of the scenario, and nothing happens that would not have happened if I didn’t exist.
Who would you rather live next door to - me, or Freddie Gray?
Some straight lines are just too easy.
This is not one, since my hypothetical said nothing about democracy (and in fact, strongly implied that whatever government was present was anything but democratic). Not that obeying a democratic law that allows slavery is morally acceptable.
You became “part of the scenario” as soon as you gained the knowledge that you could help and chose not to. If you pass by a wounded child and do nothing to help, you are part of the scenario and failed as a human.
Your choices are unconscionably bad. I can’t imagine how you can even live with yourself knowing that you believe inaction is an acceptable response to these scenarios.
Definitely Gray. It’s a cinch. You would walk right by my child if they were hurt. You would say nothing if you knew of a bomb on a plane nearby. You would turn me in if the government was looking for Jews. You’re a monstrous and terrible person, based on what you’ve posted. Much, much worse than a petty criminal (if Gray was indeed a petty criminal). And much, much more dangerous to your neighbors.
You aren’t here for the hunting, are you?
You are, no doubt, aware of the things happening to women in Nigeria and Iraq under the control of Islamist militias. Have you “failed as a human” because you could help and choose not to? How do you even sleep at night with as much guilt as you must be facing?
Whereas he’d just steal your car or shoot you.
I help as much as I can while balancing my responsibilities to others. But sometimes I can do more to help them and others, and I feel guilty when I miss the opportunity.
But nice try justifying fucking doing nothing while walking past an injured child.
I’m unaware of Gray having a history of gun violence or car theft. But even if he did, either would be preferable to fucking doing nothing while walking past my hurt child.
Disgusting.
I never said I wouldn’t. I said I wouldn’t be obligated to.
You would be obligated to. That’s part of your obligation as a human being. I sincerely hope that, as cowardly and morally bankrupt as you are, Smapti, you wouldn’t actually walk right past an injured child in real life without stopping to help. I hope that you’re just trying to make some sort of indecipherable philosophical point with this one.
If you aren’t “obligated to”, then, why would you do it?
Because I wanted to?