Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!hc!lll-winken!uunet!mcvax!ukc!tcdcs!tcdmath!dbell
From: dbell@maths.tcd.ie (Derek Bell)
Newsgroups: news.misc
Subject: ACLU policies (was Re: Freedom of hate)
Message-ID: <778@maths.tcd.ie>
Date: 29 Apr 89 18:45:16 GMT
References: <14130@gryphon.COM< <8132@chinet.chi.il.us< <1216@frog.UUCP< <8301@chinet.chi.il.us> <3994@ficc.uu.net>
Reply-To: dbell@maths.tcd.ie (Derek Bell)
Organization: Maths Dept., Trinity College, Dublin
Lines: 34

In article <3994@ficc.uu.net> jeffd@ficc.uu.net (jeff daiell) writes:
>First, on ethical grounds -- Human rights are universal -- and second,
>on practical grounds.  As Ayn Rand put it, when The State wants to
>violate a right, it starts with the most socially unacceptable 
>elements and violates their rights ... but then moves on to the
>rest of us.  If we can prevent politicians from repressing the
>leftwing crazies and the rightwing crazies, then the rest of us
>should be fairly safe!

		Hmm... Dou you mean _all_ leftwing crazies & rightwing crazies
shouldn't be repressed? And what would you think of as oppression, stopping
extremist acts (eg harassing ethnic minorities) or cracking down on (say)
racist propaganda??

>If we adopted the ACLU's drug legalization program, homes wouldn't
>be burglarized for drug money, because drugs wouldn't be a Mafia
>monopoly with monopoly prices.  Nor would we have pushers trying to
>hook our children.  When's the last time somebody broke into a house
>for booze money -- or hung around a school yard selling whiskey?

		What does the ACLU propose? Legalising all narcotics, or a
few? No restrictions or just allowing it on prescription to addicts on 'cold 
turkey'? (If that's the phrase.) These drugs will still be addictive, and if
legalised with no restrictions, could cause much more problems that alcoholism
does now, IMHO.

>Jeff Daiell


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