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praetorianguard:
Abortion: There are two answers to this one; the general and the personal. Generally, I believe in a woman's freedom to choose, since in the first three months there aren't even really enough differentiated cells in a fetus to give it much of a nervous system, much less a mind. There are a lot of valid reasons behind abortion -- the irresponsibility of bringing a baby into the world if you aren't adequately equipped to care for it; the possibility of trauma to a child who finds out it's adopted in later life; the cruelty of bearing a child whose birth defect or genetic makeup will make its life hell (and possibly very, very short). Personally, I'm not entirely sure I could bring myself to abort a child I was carrying, but that doesn't mean that women who intend to abort should be harrassed and made to feel worse than they already do about making a very difficult choice.
Death Penalty: Yes, our prisons are overcrowded. But I can't believe that the people who commit crimes bad enough to merit the death penalty are anything but horribly, horribly unwell mentally. I don't think "an eye for an eye" is the way to go; the only thing that makes those who carry out the sentence different than the ones being put to death is they kill under government sanction.
Prostitution: I roleplay. My current 7th Sea character is a fee-paying member of a guild of prostitutes. I can play that with conviction because I believe that's the way to take it. Legalise and legislate; that way there are some controls on the whole sordid business (mandatory condoms to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases; recourse for women who are fucked, beaten, robbed and left for dead in an alley someplace; criminalisation of use of drugs to keep the whores of a given brothel in line). Besides, the amount governments would cull in taxation alone boggles the mind. I don't care if some sad git needs to pay to get a woman, and while I don't believe that any woman should be reduced to selling their bodies to make ends meet, it's better than starving on the streets.
Alcohol: I drink very occasionally, when I'm in the mood. I haven't been seriously drunk in quite some time. I wish everyone was as responsible about it. I can't see how making the stuff illegal would help matters -- Prohibition was a joke, and encouraged more crime than it prevented. I think that it would be a good idea to enforce the rules on outdoor drinking more aggressively, though; if people were restricted entirely to licensed premises or the confines of their homes, it would make life a lot easier for everyone but the winos.
Marijuana: Some places have already legalised it for medicinal use. Britain's decriminalising. I think Amsterdam has the right idea; I can't see how alcohol's any less damaging than marijuana. Unless, of course, you're smoking it with tobacco, but tobacco's a whole different (yet legal) kettle of fish. On the other hand, if you really want to do it, just tell the cops you're a Rastafarian and tell them you'll do them for religious discrimination (note: this only works if you have long hair).
Other Drugs: I'm undecided on that one. On the one hand, I don't do them, I'd never do them and I think addiction is a sad, sad thing. I don't condone cocaine or heroin; people hooked on those need serious help. LSD and Ecstacy, on the other hand, might be acceptable if, again, there were stringent legal controls on its manufacture, distribution and use. As for 'shrooms, they've been 'in use' by mankind for a very long time; they were considered an aid to religious communion by some 'pagan' sects, like marijuana or peyote. Like communion wafers, only a lot more interesting.
Gay Marriage: Just read this for my supportive rant on gay marriage.
Illegal Immigrants: The West may be a land of opportunity, but it won't be for long unless we can get some immigration control. I'm not a card-carrying member of the BNP or anything, but I do think that some kind of crackdown is a good idea, particularly in countries like Britain, where residents get the dole, NHS cover and all kinds of other benefits. But then again, there has to be a better way than taking the children of immigrants into care until the parents agree to leave.
Drunk Driving: Two words: "designated driver". If people are too stupid to follow that one simple piece of advice, they're too stupid to drive a car. I think a two years' ban on their licence is appropriate. If they kill someone while driving drunk, lock them up and throw away the key.
Cloning: Creating new human beings is a serious business. If you're creating new people to do a job, you're risking a "Brave New World" slave state and adding to an already epidemic overpopulation problem. If you're doing it for replacement organs for the sick, isn't it kind of obscene to create a human being to harvest it like a wheat field?
Racism: We're all human beings. Just because their skin has more or less melanin than yours, doesn't mean you're smarter or less valuable a human being. In fact, if you're judging your fellow man because he has what is essentially a permanent suntan, you're probably the dumb one. Now go crawl back under your rock and let the more developed human beings, the ones who haven't held onto that stupid outdated notion about "cast out the different member of the pack", evolve in peace.
Premarital Sex: I'm not married. I'm no virgin. You figure it out.
Religion: I think it's nice that people can believe in something that urges them to be better people. Unfortunately, because religions are created by people and people are, by and large, stupid, it never really works out. Most religious texts are outdated and full of contradictions, and mostly people just take from it what they want to believe -- and there's far too much racism, gay-bashing, anti-semetism and hypocrisy for me to really condone religion. I don't think it's the opiate of the masses; I think it's the crack of the masses; it makes so many possibly decent people act like completely irrational lunatics.
The War in Iraq: There was no real proof that there were WMDs; the accounts were vague where they weren't garbled and generally the entire thing smelled positively rodential. After awhile, though, it became clear that there was no other alternative as far as Bush and Blair were concerned. They had dug themselves a hole and eventually decided to turn it into a mass grave so all their effort wasn't wasted. The only true result of Gulf War II was an increase in my personal disillusionment with government in general and New Labour in particular -- that and a lot of dead bodies.
Bush: He made jokes about the lack of WMDs. After all the death his government's assertion caused by insisting there were WMDs in Iraq -- after they found out all that death was needless because there were, as anyone with any sense figured, no fucking WMDs -- he plays the fool. He was never truly elected, he should have been ousted the moment questions started being raised about Florida, and there is a lot of blood on his hands. If he goes another term, what little respect I have for the American people dies. I think he's dumb, and I think he's been very lucky to last as long as he has. However, when all is said and done, he's better than Blair. At least, he's less slimy than Blair.
Downloading Music: I agree with downloads -- to a point. Most of the mp3s I have came off my own CDs, or from bands whose CDs I already own; it's more convenient to have a CD with a lot of my favourite tracks on it than to carry all my CDs and switch according to mood. The rest are from friends trying to introduce me to bands but can't invite me over to listen because they live 8,000 miles away. So I think the crackdown's stupid -- to a point. A lot of corporate people blame music downloads for the decline in CD sales. It never occurs to them that the reason CDs aren't selling is that most CDs nowadays are pure tat. If record companies weren't screwing the listener for every penny they could grab, they might consider selling CDs cheaper and maybe promoting bands with actual talent instead of manufacturing their own pretty-people pop groups in order to secure a quick buck from teenie-hacks.
The Legal Drinking Age: Two out of the three countries I've lived in considered it a suggestion rather than a law. I really wouldn't know.
Porn: If you want to watch some woman getting it on with a goat, fine. I think you're sick, but fine. I don't have a problem with porn unless it involves child abuse. If you're into that -- or worse, creating it -- you should be castrated because you have no right bringing a child into the world if that's how you think they should be treated.
Suicide: Ooh, there's a tough one, given my past. Anyway, the word 'suicide' brings up a couple of different associations. Euthanasia and assisted suicide is a different thing than "I hate myself and I want to die". In the former case, I think it should be allowed; if you're in enough pain, have no quality of life to speak of, and have a radically reduced life expectancy in any case, surely you should be permitted to die with a little dignity. Some physical pain has no end, and wanting a release from that so you and your loved ones don't suffer anymore (or at least, not in the same helpless way) is not wrong. "Night falls fast" kind of suicide is another thing altogether. I still don't think it should be illegal per se, because that adds a weight of guilt and stress to an already overburdened mind. I think anyone prevented from an attempt should be committed to a mental hospital on at least a short-term basis to at least try to find a less drastic way for that person to end their mental suffering. At least, it seems to have worked for me.
Now that I'm done being opinionated, a few notes.
Went to see "Shaun of the Dead" last night. Yeah, it was pretty good, in that "guy's night in" sort of way, but I didn't really enjoy myself. Part of this was due to my parental units being complete arseholes (David opened my mail, the nosy little fucker), but the rest was growing migraine. This shouldn't surprise me; I know that staring at a screen in a dark room for any extended period of time triggers a migraine so I really should have known better. I just can't bring myself to cut cinema out of my life completely when it's such a social thing. Of course, without the parental stress, it might not have been so bad, but all the same, it sucks. Same thing happened to a lesser extent after Zatoichi, though I didn't sit quite so close to the screen in that one.
More meeting-new-people. We're going up to Peterborough to meetcholten99's friend Nic. I'm not 100% sure I'm up to it but I'll give it a go. It's something to do other than sit in the house all night playing Sims. And of course, it's not like I'd be able to shuffle around online like I normally do because there's something up with the wireless network in the house. There's a link I've never seen before on a different channel than the Frankenbox's and I'm not sure whether this is what's causing the problem. It says the hardware's fine and the connection seems open from my end, but something's gone wrong because the Frankenbox can't see the Internet. I should've checked to see if it could see Rufus V, but it was first thing in the morning and I had to go to work.
praetorianguard: Abortion: There are two answers to this one; the general and the personal. Generally, I believe in a woman's freedom to choose, since in the first three months there aren't even really enough differentiated cells in a fetus to give it much of a nervous system, much less a mind. There are a lot of valid reasons behind abortion -- the irresponsibility of bringing a baby into the world if you aren't adequately equipped to care for it; the possibility of trauma to a child who finds out it's adopted in later life; the cruelty of bearing a child whose birth defect or genetic makeup will make its life hell (and possibly very, very short). Personally, I'm not entirely sure I could bring myself to abort a child I was carrying, but that doesn't mean that women who intend to abort should be harrassed and made to feel worse than they already do about making a very difficult choice.
Death Penalty: Yes, our prisons are overcrowded. But I can't believe that the people who commit crimes bad enough to merit the death penalty are anything but horribly, horribly unwell mentally. I don't think "an eye for an eye" is the way to go; the only thing that makes those who carry out the sentence different than the ones being put to death is they kill under government sanction.
Prostitution: I roleplay. My current 7th Sea character is a fee-paying member of a guild of prostitutes. I can play that with conviction because I believe that's the way to take it. Legalise and legislate; that way there are some controls on the whole sordid business (mandatory condoms to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases; recourse for women who are fucked, beaten, robbed and left for dead in an alley someplace; criminalisation of use of drugs to keep the whores of a given brothel in line). Besides, the amount governments would cull in taxation alone boggles the mind. I don't care if some sad git needs to pay to get a woman, and while I don't believe that any woman should be reduced to selling their bodies to make ends meet, it's better than starving on the streets.
Alcohol: I drink very occasionally, when I'm in the mood. I haven't been seriously drunk in quite some time. I wish everyone was as responsible about it. I can't see how making the stuff illegal would help matters -- Prohibition was a joke, and encouraged more crime than it prevented. I think that it would be a good idea to enforce the rules on outdoor drinking more aggressively, though; if people were restricted entirely to licensed premises or the confines of their homes, it would make life a lot easier for everyone but the winos.
Marijuana: Some places have already legalised it for medicinal use. Britain's decriminalising. I think Amsterdam has the right idea; I can't see how alcohol's any less damaging than marijuana. Unless, of course, you're smoking it with tobacco, but tobacco's a whole different (yet legal) kettle of fish. On the other hand, if you really want to do it, just tell the cops you're a Rastafarian and tell them you'll do them for religious discrimination (note: this only works if you have long hair).
Other Drugs: I'm undecided on that one. On the one hand, I don't do them, I'd never do them and I think addiction is a sad, sad thing. I don't condone cocaine or heroin; people hooked on those need serious help. LSD and Ecstacy, on the other hand, might be acceptable if, again, there were stringent legal controls on its manufacture, distribution and use. As for 'shrooms, they've been 'in use' by mankind for a very long time; they were considered an aid to religious communion by some 'pagan' sects, like marijuana or peyote. Like communion wafers, only a lot more interesting.
Gay Marriage: Just read this for my supportive rant on gay marriage.
Illegal Immigrants: The West may be a land of opportunity, but it won't be for long unless we can get some immigration control. I'm not a card-carrying member of the BNP or anything, but I do think that some kind of crackdown is a good idea, particularly in countries like Britain, where residents get the dole, NHS cover and all kinds of other benefits. But then again, there has to be a better way than taking the children of immigrants into care until the parents agree to leave.
Drunk Driving: Two words: "designated driver". If people are too stupid to follow that one simple piece of advice, they're too stupid to drive a car. I think a two years' ban on their licence is appropriate. If they kill someone while driving drunk, lock them up and throw away the key.
Cloning: Creating new human beings is a serious business. If you're creating new people to do a job, you're risking a "Brave New World" slave state and adding to an already epidemic overpopulation problem. If you're doing it for replacement organs for the sick, isn't it kind of obscene to create a human being to harvest it like a wheat field?
Racism: We're all human beings. Just because their skin has more or less melanin than yours, doesn't mean you're smarter or less valuable a human being. In fact, if you're judging your fellow man because he has what is essentially a permanent suntan, you're probably the dumb one. Now go crawl back under your rock and let the more developed human beings, the ones who haven't held onto that stupid outdated notion about "cast out the different member of the pack", evolve in peace.
Premarital Sex: I'm not married. I'm no virgin. You figure it out.
Religion: I think it's nice that people can believe in something that urges them to be better people. Unfortunately, because religions are created by people and people are, by and large, stupid, it never really works out. Most religious texts are outdated and full of contradictions, and mostly people just take from it what they want to believe -- and there's far too much racism, gay-bashing, anti-semetism and hypocrisy for me to really condone religion. I don't think it's the opiate of the masses; I think it's the crack of the masses; it makes so many possibly decent people act like completely irrational lunatics.
The War in Iraq: There was no real proof that there were WMDs; the accounts were vague where they weren't garbled and generally the entire thing smelled positively rodential. After awhile, though, it became clear that there was no other alternative as far as Bush and Blair were concerned. They had dug themselves a hole and eventually decided to turn it into a mass grave so all their effort wasn't wasted. The only true result of Gulf War II was an increase in my personal disillusionment with government in general and New Labour in particular -- that and a lot of dead bodies.
Bush: He made jokes about the lack of WMDs. After all the death his government's assertion caused by insisting there were WMDs in Iraq -- after they found out all that death was needless because there were, as anyone with any sense figured, no fucking WMDs -- he plays the fool. He was never truly elected, he should have been ousted the moment questions started being raised about Florida, and there is a lot of blood on his hands. If he goes another term, what little respect I have for the American people dies. I think he's dumb, and I think he's been very lucky to last as long as he has. However, when all is said and done, he's better than Blair. At least, he's less slimy than Blair.
Downloading Music: I agree with downloads -- to a point. Most of the mp3s I have came off my own CDs, or from bands whose CDs I already own; it's more convenient to have a CD with a lot of my favourite tracks on it than to carry all my CDs and switch according to mood. The rest are from friends trying to introduce me to bands but can't invite me over to listen because they live 8,000 miles away. So I think the crackdown's stupid -- to a point. A lot of corporate people blame music downloads for the decline in CD sales. It never occurs to them that the reason CDs aren't selling is that most CDs nowadays are pure tat. If record companies weren't screwing the listener for every penny they could grab, they might consider selling CDs cheaper and maybe promoting bands with actual talent instead of manufacturing their own pretty-people pop groups in order to secure a quick buck from teenie-hacks.
The Legal Drinking Age: Two out of the three countries I've lived in considered it a suggestion rather than a law. I really wouldn't know.
Porn: If you want to watch some woman getting it on with a goat, fine. I think you're sick, but fine. I don't have a problem with porn unless it involves child abuse. If you're into that -- or worse, creating it -- you should be castrated because you have no right bringing a child into the world if that's how you think they should be treated.
Suicide: Ooh, there's a tough one, given my past. Anyway, the word 'suicide' brings up a couple of different associations. Euthanasia and assisted suicide is a different thing than "I hate myself and I want to die". In the former case, I think it should be allowed; if you're in enough pain, have no quality of life to speak of, and have a radically reduced life expectancy in any case, surely you should be permitted to die with a little dignity. Some physical pain has no end, and wanting a release from that so you and your loved ones don't suffer anymore (or at least, not in the same helpless way) is not wrong. "Night falls fast" kind of suicide is another thing altogether. I still don't think it should be illegal per se, because that adds a weight of guilt and stress to an already overburdened mind. I think anyone prevented from an attempt should be committed to a mental hospital on at least a short-term basis to at least try to find a less drastic way for that person to end their mental suffering. At least, it seems to have worked for me.
Now that I'm done being opinionated, a few notes.
Went to see "Shaun of the Dead" last night. Yeah, it was pretty good, in that "guy's night in" sort of way, but I didn't really enjoy myself. Part of this was due to my parental units being complete arseholes (David opened my mail, the nosy little fucker), but the rest was growing migraine. This shouldn't surprise me; I know that staring at a screen in a dark room for any extended period of time triggers a migraine so I really should have known better. I just can't bring myself to cut cinema out of my life completely when it's such a social thing. Of course, without the parental stress, it might not have been so bad, but all the same, it sucks. Same thing happened to a lesser extent after Zatoichi, though I didn't sit quite so close to the screen in that one.
More meeting-new-people. We're going up to Peterborough to meet
cholten99's friend Nic. I'm not 100% sure I'm up to it but I'll give it a go. It's something to do other than sit in the house all night playing Sims. And of course, it's not like I'd be able to shuffle around online like I normally do because there's something up with the wireless network in the house. There's a link I've never seen before on a different channel than the Frankenbox's and I'm not sure whether this is what's causing the problem. It says the hardware's fine and the connection seems open from my end, but something's gone wrong because the Frankenbox can't see the Internet. I should've checked to see if it could see Rufus V, but it was first thing in the morning and I had to go to work.![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2004-04-21 07:52 am (UTC)