[ExI] playing psychologist

[William Flynn Wallace]

ballard wrote -
I tend to think, in the absence of clear and present danger, that there
don't really need to be restrictions on things. I think a lot of things
which are currently illegal should instead come down to personal
responsibility. However, I also think that things which involve the public
trust need to be taken more seriously and treated more harshly.

For example, should slapping or punching someone (when it does not lead to
any injury at all) actually be a crime? Sure it's anti-social and you
shouldn't do it, but does it really need to be something that will land you
in jail? Or does heroin really need to be illegal? Sure, it's bad for you
and you shouldn't use it, but how does prison time do anything for you?

I just have this one question for anarchists:  if you are totally opposed
to socialism in any form, then we have to get rid of police departments,
fire departments, street, food inspection and dozens more (yeah, there are
probably more than a few we could eliminate without endangering anyone).
These are not the kind of socialistic things that force all sorts of things
on people - they are just people voting to be taxed to get these things
done without having to do them yourself.  Public safety, in other words.

Re heroin and other drugs - I used to all for total personal responsibility
and no laws at all about what one can put in one's body, who one can have
sex with, and all the rest.  I have changed just a bit as a result of my
early career in clinical psych:  there are drugs, and I would include
heroin, crack, and meth, that are just too potent and too many
irresponsible people who would not only ruin their own lives, but the lives
of their spouses and children.  I hate making them illegal, but there is
just too much temptation for many people.  And I would not put people in
jail for distribution or usage:  I would make therapy and education
mandatory, though.  Repeated arrests could result in having to do public
works after work or on weekends.

bill w

On Sun, Aug 26, 2018 at 2:33 PM, SR Ballard <sen.otaku at gmail.com> wrote:

> Yes, I am going to play a bit.  I was asked a question on Quora about what
>> my parents did to me that was immoral or unfair, and my answer was
>> 'nothing.'  I was the freest kid ever.  Went everywhere on bikes and buses,
>> etc.
>>
>>
>>
>> I then reckoned that maybe that is what helped me to be a libertarian -
>> no authoritarianism in my upbringing.
>>
>>
>>
>> So I just thought I'd invade your privacy and ask you what helped you
>> become a libertarian, as I suppose most of you are, and when it happened.
>> Few people just look at all the philosophies and pick one.
>>
>>
>>
>> bill w
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> First to your point of kids running free.  BillW, I was part of the
>> biggest generation.  We never worried much about weirdos stealing kids: if
>> they ever wanted to do that, there were plenty of them to choose from,
>> hanging around everywhere.  Go outdoors in nearly any suburb like the one
>> where I grew up, or even that one, and ask the obvious question: wheeeeere
>> are all the children?  Why don’t we see them everywhere like we did back
>> then?  Answer: they have a loooot better more fun stuff to do indoors,
>> compared to when we were that age, when being indoors at home was playing
>> Monopoly or watching Gilligan’s Island.
>>
>>
>>
>> spike
>>
>
> My upbringing was almost directly opposite of this. I was never allowed
> outside unless physically supervised but had a mother who was (is)
> extremely agoraphobic. To the point where she will struggle to get the
> mail. But, being raised very nearly close to true poverty, I had nothing:
> no toys, no games. I was also forbidden to watch television. Having no
> siblings I did not play with anyone. It was difficult to go to the library
> with a mother afraid of the outdoors, so I would read all my school
> textbooks and daydream, perform thought experiments, etc.
>
> I don't know if I fit exactly into 'libertarian' because there are so many
> competing definitions, some of which I agree with and others which I don't.
> But I do think that my political philosophy was shaped a lot by my
> upbringing and the friends of my parents. My parents are social democrats,
> but most of their friends, (and my friends in school) are anarchists. I
> tend to think, in the absence of clear and present danger, that there don't
> really need to be restrictions on things. I think a lot of things which are
> currently illegal should instead come down to personal responsibility.
> However, I also think that things which involve the public trust need to be
> taken more seriously and treated more harshly.
>
> For example, should slapping or punching someone (when it does not lead to
> any injury at all) actually be a crime? Sure it's anti-social and you
> shouldn't do it, but does it really need to be something that will land you
> in jail? Or does heroin really need to be illegal? Sure, it's bad for you
> and you shouldn't use it, but how does prison time do anything for you?
>
> At the same time, figures of public trust, such as cops, firefighters,
> politicians, doctors, teachers, religious figures etc have the public
> trust, and I feel like they should be punished for violating it. Such as
> firemen stealing, cops abusing, politicians accepting bribes,
> doctors/teachers/religious figures molesting. When these types of figures
> abuse the public trust, they do a great injury to society as a whole.
>
> And again, some libertarians I know what to dismantle and privatize
> EVERYTHING which I just can't get behind. Pay a toll to walk on the
> sidewalk? Privatized CDC? I mean, I think it's a bit too much. I think that
> there is a place for "public works" and a place for private business, there
> is a place for regulation and for individual judgment, a place for social
> responsibility and individual responsibility.
>
> But I also think that as automation and AI increase that social safety
> nets are both more viable and important. If a robot can do everything from
> "go" to "final product", then using money for basic needs such as housing,
> food, clothing, etc, seems silly. There would be no more jobs if robots
> could do everything, but people would still have needs.
>
> So, to put it a long way, I don't think I count as a libertarian, but I do
> think that my upbringing had a profound effect on my political outlook.
>
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