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From: rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Rich Rosen)
Newsgroups: net.abortion
Subject: Re: Re: Rosenblatt
Message-ID: <1685@pyuxd.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 14-Sep-85 13:44:08 EDT
Article-I.D.: pyuxd.1685
Posted: Sat Sep 14 13:44:08 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 15-Sep-85 00:23:59 EDT
References: <452@spice.cs.cmu.edu.ARPA>
Organization: Whatever we're calling ourselves this week
Lines: 28

>> . . . the rights available to any person (or organism) are limited only by
>> abilities.  You have the "right" to do whatver you can do. . . [R. ROSEN]

> If a person's rights are identical to their abilities, then child molestation,
> rape, murder, robbery, etc. are all perfectly OK--if the attack succeeds, the
> attacker had the ability (and thus the right) to carry it out, while the
> victim did not have the ability (and thus did not have the right) to avoid the
> attack. [NEWTON]

Well, Thomas, that's the whole point.  Any restrictions on those "rights" are
part of what human-defined morality is all about.  I quoted the word "right"
above for a reason.  Because the conversation had drifted into areas like the
"rights" of animals.  Clearly, rights are things "granted" by a society,
meaning things that the society agrees NOT to restrict you from engaging in
your ability to do them.  We were speaking, for example, of the "right" of an
animal to kill you.  It is for this reason that rights from the perspective
of a society/government/morality are really things that the powers that be
agree not to restrict you from doing.  Do you have a right to be in two places
at the same time?  Should I defend to the death your right to be in two
places at the same time?  Should we add an amendment to the Constitution for
this purpose?  Or does the fact that you can't do this make the question of a
right to do it moot?
-- 
"I was walking down the street.  A man came up to me and asked me what was the
 capital of Bolivia.  I hesitated.  Three sailors jumped me.  The next thing I
 knew I was making chicken salad."
"I don't believe that for a minute.  Everyone knows the capital of Bolivia is
 La Paz."				Rich Rosen    pyuxd!rlr