Month: April 2004

A meme, and an excuse to use the carefully constructed “interview” class again. Ateric has a list of other people’s answers

Abortion?:

Yes, unless it’s medically too late, but it’s a binary switch decision, you shouldn’t be able to change your mind either way later. Yeah, I realise it already is in one direction already, but I think that which every way you make the decision you have to stick with it, and since I don’t draw a thick black line “after x months it’s Wrong” I’m imposing this fairly arbitary “Choose, then live with it”. Since I believe that the closest thing we have to a soul is life itself, either it’s always okay or it never is, and I’m choosing the former because the parents are going to have to spend a large portion of life and income on this particular choice, so they should get the opertunity to make it.

Death Penalty?:

We’re wrong too often. I believe that locking someone away for the rest of their life is more cruel than killing them, and would therefore support the death penalty if the person being killed felt the same way I do *and* had confessed and there was no *possible* doubt. See suicide, below.

Prostitution?:

Legalise, Santitise, Regulate, Do as you will an it harm none who don’t desire it.

Alcohol?:

Legalise, Santitise, Regulate, Do as you will an it harm none.
I drink occasionally because I like doing so and like the taste.

Marijuana?:

Legalise, Santitise, Regulate, Do as you will an it harm none.
I’ve never done any “drugs” in this sense (ie, other than asprin like stuff), but flatmates have done while I was there. I’ve no objection to people doing whatever they like to themselves providing they don’t do it to me unless I want it, and despite the governments insistance to the contrary, I doubt anyone on pot would go on a murderous rampage unless they thought you were hiding a Mars bar.

Other drugs?:

Legalise, Santitise, Regulate, Do as you will an it hurt none.
This means that if you’re causing another person harm – physical or mental – by taking the things, you shouldn’t, but that should not be a state problem. Being “high” should be no defense.

Smoking?:

Legalise, Santitise, Regulate, Do as you will an it hurt none.
“Having a smoking section of a resturant is like having a peeing section of a swimming pool”
I could support a ban on smoking in anywhere that was serving food and wasn’t properly ventilated, but a blanket ban isn’t fair.

Gay marriage?:

Society needs to take the +5 Great Cleaver of Concepts and split in twain the concept of marraige, dividing the legal “People as one unit” from the religious “Joined together in the eyes of $DEITY”. The law shouldn’t care how many, or who is in the marriage. The church can do whatever it believes is right. See “religion” below.

Illegal immigrants?:

I may be about to go Daily Mail on you, for which I apologise, but currently we seem to be turning illegal immigrants who couldn’t get here legally into legal immigrants becase they broke the law and are already here, and they won’t stop being imported – be it under their own steam or by slavers – until we stop trying to say “Oh, don’t worry, we’ll take you anyway”. I’m not sure what should be done, but legalizing them on mass isn’t it.

Drunk driving?:

Ah, after more than five or six pints you should probably consider getting a taxi.

Are you insane? Drink _OR_ Drive. Bloody stupid question.

Cloning?:

Don’t like the idea of cloning people, but the idea of cloning organs to make replacement better I like.

Racism?:

Is bad, m’kay?

Premarital sex?:

Do as you will an it harm none.

Religion?:

Believe what you like. Let me do the same.
I’m not a commited Christian, although a lot of what I believe is compatible with that faith – mostly, I suspect, because I was brought up going to Family Service every so often with the Scouts. I believe that the thing killing religion off quickest is Fundermentalism and it’s inherant reluctance to understand an issue before condeming it. Most Real Christians I know aren’t like that, but the Fundermentalists get more press.

I was going to explain the basis of what I believe here, but it’s beyond the scope of this article.

The war in Iraq?:

The ends do not justify the means. We should not have gone in the first place, we should not have declared victory until we won, we sure as fuck shouldn’t be there now.

Bush?:

Small tree.

George W Bush?:

Was listening to George Carlin on the subject of “The War in the Persian Gulf” yesterday. It was scarily still true, down to the names of the people involved, even. I think Bush is doing what he things is right, and not what is right _for America_ (Letting the economy go to shit because of a war, for example). Worse, according to the latest polls, People think GWB is good for the war, but Kerry is better for everything else, but they would _still_ vote for Bush.

Downloading music?:

If it’s not available by any other means, I don’t have a problem with it. Same goes for all other media.

The legal drinking age?:

Is about right.

Porn?

Do as you will an it harm none. But still, get over it. Real MOAS are better.

Suicide?:

Don’t be so damned stupid. The only justification for suicide is as an alternative to complete paralysis or intense pain for the rest of your life, and even then, convince someone who loves you after you’ve convinced yourself. If you can do that, go ahead. I can say this from the moral highground of someone who came out of suicidal depression, but don’t do it, it _will_ get better, it _is_ a vicious circle, and doing it will cause more pain to others than you’re feeling right now.