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From: REM%IMSSS@SU-AI.ARPA (Robert Elton Maas)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: accepting one's share of risk, doing one's share to avoid overpopulation
Message-ID: <8603101133.AA02049@s1-b.arpa>
Date: Mon, 10-Mar-86 06:33:22 EST
Article-I.D.: s1-b.8603101133.AA02049
Posted: Mon Mar 10 06:33:22 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 12-Mar-86 05:27:39 EST
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TK> Date: 7 Mar 86 12:19:22 GMT
TK> From: hplabs!qantel!ptsfa!gilbbs!mc68020@ucbvax.berkeley.edu  (Tom Keller)
TK> Subject: Re: absolutely vs. relatively safe level
TK>    I would like to suggest to you that *YOU* volunteer to be
TK> amongst the first to contribute your death the "slowing of the
TK> population explosion".  If you are unwilling to do so, then **HOW DARE
TK> YOU** suggest that it is in any way acceptable to visit this fate on
TK> some unknowing and probably unwilling soul?

I am already in the lottery for death by lung cancer caused by other
people smoking near me (but I protest that as unfair to me), by cancer
and other diseases caused by fumes from automobiles (which I accept
but don't want to get any worse and would like to ameliorate), by
cancer etc. caused by burning coal and fuel oil (which I want to
greatly reduce by using nuclear energy instead), by explosion when
gasoline trucks get in accidents if I happen to be near, by earthquake
and other natural disasters, by poisoning from overturned trucks
containing toxic chemicals (which I want to see better regulated to
reduce chance of accident), etc. etc. -- Note I didn't say I wanted to
name some person out there to die, I was referring to the lottery of
risk from accidents and biosphere contamination. It is not fair for
you to ask me to volunteer to "win" the death lottery when I wasn't
asking anyone else to do that; it is enough that I play the lottery
the same as anyone else. -- Regarding overpopulation, I am already
making the sacrifice; long ago I decided to have only one or two
children, maybe three but probably not, instead of the 5 children our
neighbors in Sylmar had (they're catholic by the way), or the 8 that
are advocated by a certain TV program, or the 20-some-odd that some
couple in the appalachians had. Now if everyone else in the world would
make the same sacrifice I'm making we'd have a lot more time to work
on the problem of resources running out.

TK>    This is simply another case of "I don't care what the risks and
TK> costs of my progress are, so long as *I* don't have to bear them"
TK> syndrome...becoming more and more popular of late.

Nope, I'm bearing down to do my part to alleviate population explosion
on Earth, and if everyone else does likewise this planet will continue
to be tolerable. How about you, how many children do you have already
and how many do you plan to have?