# Corporations to the rescue in Georgia **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 28, 2016, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corporations-to-the-rescue-in-georgia/750468 "2016-03-28T16:31:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corporations-to-the-rescue-in-georgia/750468/81 "2016-03-30T01:05:35Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Why, exactly? When BP spills oil in the Gulf, or Cal Edison spills methane in California…that’s bad. When Microsoft donates gob-tons of money to promote literacy, that’s good. > > When a corporation promotes civil rights, that’s great. When a corporation argues against civil rights (you can still find a very few who argue that restaurants ought to have the right to exclude blacks from being their customers, and there’s a significant number of owners who feel they have the religious right to exclude gays) then that’s bad and ugly. > > Why is it “silly” to have a moral compass? Because we aren’t talking about what corporations say, we’re talking about their right to speech. We’re talking about rights. Rights are not conditioned on a moral compass (or your idea of where it should point). Even immoral assholes have rights. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corporations-to-the-rescue-in-georgia/750468/82 "2016-03-30T09:16:44Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > I think we’re done here. You’ve walked into the realm of absurdity. If you no longer want to discuss it, then fine. I still hold it’s reasonable to hold a discussion on what kind of rights non-human entities and things have and should have, and that it’s reasonable to necessarily be 100% convinced that they all get the exact same rights in the exact same way. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corporations-to-the-rescue-in-georgia/750468/83 "2016-03-30T09:17:46Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Shitting isn’t a constitutional right though. That’s what is missing in your analogy. If this were just about whether to regulate something, you’d obviously have a point. It’s not a right, so then we should be worried that the government could take it a way at any time, right? ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corporations-to-the-rescue-in-georgia/750468/84 "2016-03-30T11:42:16Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > If you no longer want to discuss it, then fine. I still hold it’s reasonable to hold a discussion on what kind of rights non-human entities and things have and should have, and that it’s reasonable to necessarily be 100% convinced that they all get the exact same rights in the exact same way. So you want to consider the idea that churches don’t have freedom of religion and news organizations don’t have freedom of the press? No thanks, not interested. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corporations-to-the-rescue-in-georgia/750468/85 "2016-03-30T11:43:32Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > It’s not a right, so then we should be worried that the government could take it a way at any time, right? Good point - we should simply not have any rights because we can just not worry instead. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corporations-to-the-rescue-in-georgia/750468/86 "2016-03-30T11:49:06Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > So you want to consider the idea that churches don’t have freedom of religion and news organizations don’t have freedom of the press? No thanks, not interested. No, especially since “freedom of the press” is explicitly called out, and therefore press organizations explicitly have this right (which is one of the few examples in which a type of non-human entity is explicitly called out as having rights in the constitution). “Free exercise of religion” would similarly protect the right of the people to practice their religion in church settings. I thought you wanted a discussion on this – if you didn’t want to discuss it, and only wanted agreement and/or to rant, then why didn’t you post it in the Pit? It really might be reasonable for people to disagree on this. I might not be evil or stupid – just in honest disagreement on some differing assumptions and understandings. Best wishes to you in all things, even if you don’t want to discuss it. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corporations-to-the-rescue-in-georgia/750468/87 "2016-03-30T11:50:41Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Good point - we should simply not have any rights because we can just not worry instead. I’ll worry about what seems reasonable and rational – and the fear that government might restrict the legality of shitting seems neither reasonable nor rational. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corporations-to-the-rescue-in-georgia/750468.md?page=4)