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Originally Posted by dd3953
I might be wrong, but isn't that what's been happening since the start of our government? I mean with "separate but equal," "over weightiness," and now with smoking. I'm sure there are other examples, but those were the first that came to mind.
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Well, yeah, I'm sure the average anarchist would argue that any decision made through non-collective means is essentially authoritarian. What I generally object to are arguments against authoritarianism (as it is defined in this thread) that are made by people whose problem isn't really with authoritarianism, but with authoritarianism crossing some certain arbitrary threshold. Notice FTA's stance on authoritarianism with respect to smoking bans vs FTA's stance on authoritarianism with respect to child labor laws. Clearly it isn't authoritarianism he rejects, but the extent to which it is employed. There's nothing invalid with this way of looking at things, it just isn't the kind of perspective that can be defended with arguments that would seem to reject authoritarianism altogether.
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I have to agree with this. I didn't take the time to look up "reasonable" but I feel like it is a bit controlling and unneeded. Children may not be "smart" enough to make the "right" choices, but then again, neither are some adults. But being an adult means having the freedom to what you want (inside the laws of the land).
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Controlling and unneeded work for me. I don't necessarily agree with that characterization, but at least we've gotten beyond the idea that the only reasonable position is the one that we agree with.
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But when laws are an interfere with people's everyday life, they get ignored, even if they are "reasonable." Laws that come to mind are jaywalking and talking on cell phones in cars. And while people are willing to put up with non-smoking laws indoors, I think any laws put on outside places are going to have a good number of people ignoring them.
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I agree. The smoking ban in my city also says that smokers need to smoke at least 25 feet away from entrances. They don't, and unless some cop is having a bad day nobody cares.
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And while this may not have any effect (or is it affect?) on the conversation, I can't help but wonder how many people in the discussion are smokers, non-smokers, or ex-smokers. . . . Is it too late to add a poll to this?
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I used to smoke. Now I'm just taking a break from smoking until I don't have anything to live for. Hopefully I die first.