I'm really good at staying out of the way of people who want to do things I dislike. Even self-destructive things. Until they try to involve me.
Then they could mistake me for someone who is "closed-minded" and wants to control others. They would be wrong.
You have the right to perforate yourself in the cranium with a cordless hole puncher.
I'm not going to help you do so.
I'm not going to do it for you- except in self-defense or in defense of an innocent victim.
I'm not going to make you feel better by encouraging you to do so.
If you ask my opinion, I'll tell you not to do it.
I may even hurt your feelings if you whine about me not supporting your desire to harm yourself (or others). Yes, I'll probably tell you it's a stupid thing to do.
The same goes for many other socially popular methods of self-harm.
I oppose legislation violating your right to harm yourself, whatever your chosen method. (For that matter, I oppose ALL legislation.) It's none of the State's business or concern. That's not the same thing as thinking you should do harmful things to yourself. Those are completely different issues.
I'll stand up for your right to do something I think is stupid or self-destructive. Just don't think I'm going to participate or keep my opinion to myself.
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One of the most annoying things about living in a collective oriented society is the way it imposes the costs of dealing with the consequences of others misuse of their freedom upon those who prudently avoided making the mistakes personally. Far too frequently, vices are subsidized and virtues punished.
ReplyDelete“Honest men are the soft easy cushions on which knaves repose and fatten.”
---Thomas Otway (1652-1685)
“The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.”
--- Herbert Spencer
That is The Truth.
DeleteHow does this blog relate to assisted suicide? Presume that the person is terminally ill, and wants his life to end - but needs help. Would providing it "do harm"?
ReplyDeleteIn that case, it might depend on whether I think it’s more harmful for that individual to stay alive than to die. It’s not a position I’d want to be put in, because what do I know?
DeleteI regard the phrase ‘assisted suicide’ as an oxymoron; suicide is killing yourself. Asking for the help of others in this task is more accurately described as participatory euthanasia. However desirable it might be for the person desiring it, it is still a shirking off of the ethical responsibility and also the consequences of the act on to another.
Delete