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From: boreas@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP (The Mad Tickle Monster)
Newsgroups: misc.misc,net.misc
Subject: Re: Poor People/Lazy People
Message-ID: <548@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 15-Oct-86 00:59:26 EDT
Article-I.D.: bucsb.548
Posted: Wed Oct 15 00:59:26 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 16-Oct-86 08:44:42 EDT
References: <1010@cad.cs.cmu.edu> <1050001@hpspkla.HP.COM>
Reply-To: boreas@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP (Michael Justice)
Followup-To: misc.misc
Distribution: na
Organization: The Zoo
Lines: 38
Keywords: incident
Xref: ucbvax misc.misc:14 net.misc:342

>In article <2021@ihlpa.UUCP> gadfly@ihlpa.UUCP (Ken Perlow) writes:
>> > >The question is not whether these shiftless and lazy (didn't you forget
>> > >"dirty"?) folks have a claim on your wealth.  The question is whether
>> > >you have obligations to people you don't even know.  If you've got
>> > >any semblance of ethics in your yuppie, designer brains you know that
>> > >you *do* have such obligations. [...]

My apologies;  I don't know any such thing.  I don't mind helping, if I
can do something for someone in need of help, but I don't see that any-
one else in this world has any RIGHT to anything of mine, as you seem to
claim.  Moreover, considering the uses that my money has been put to in
the past, I've quit contributing cash;  I've found that it tends to be
misused.  The incident under 'keywords:' was when I gave a two-dollar
bill (they're unlucky :-) to a man on the street collecting for a small,
privately-funded school for underprivileged children.  I headed into 
Kenmore to get some dinner at a pizza place;  while I was waiting in line,
the man dropped in for his own dinner.  Guess what he paid for it with?
Am I "obligated" to pay for his dinner?

In article <20909@styx.UUCP> mcb@styx.UUCP (Michael C. Berch) writes:
>Mr. Perlow misses the boat. The question is not what what ethical
>philosophy he follows that imposes these obligations on HIM, but what
>ethical philosophy he follows that imposes these obligations on US.
>It's perfectly irrelevant to me what Mr. Perlow believes are his own
>obligations to various people; I merely would like him to state his
>argument that I (and the rest of society) are similarly bound...

Me too.  But change the wording a bit:  I'd like to see his argument for
why he believes I should buy that jerk's dinner.
-- 
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