RB>        . Quoting Ron Taylor from a message to Ryan Bagueros  .
RB>RT> * You have CHOSEN to use marijuana.  Some of us believe that it is
  >RT> detrimental to your well being.  You don't.  Nevertheless, it is
  >RT> your choice to use it.
RB>And will it be my choice if I am ever *arrested* for using marijuana?
You got it!  _YOU_ are responsible for your actions. Whether or not you
think a particular law is right, YOU make the choice to abide by or
break it.  If you decide to use drugs for whatever reasons, YOU decide
to take the consequences of getting caught.
Lets compare you and me.  You are more likely to get arrested for using
marijuana than I.  Does that indicate classism to you?
  > I suppose it will be my *choice* to go to jail, right?
Without a doubt.  Your choice is exercised when you choose to do
something illegal.
 > The key there is that "some of us believe..."
I wasn't addressing the legality of drug use, I was referring to whether
or not it is detrimental to your personal well being.  In the case of
legality, it would be more appropriate to say that the majority of the
citizenry believes that it is harmful to society and have passed certain
laws against it.  If you believe otherwise and _choose_ to break those
laws, then you _choose_ to take the consequences in furthering your
protest.  Still a matter of choices... in this case there are two
alternatives... take it or leave it.
  > Maybe you forget that the police actively hunt drug users, to
  >justify their own bloated war against it?
Maybe you forgot that no policeman has ever passed a law.  You are
correct though, the police do actively hunt drug users, as well as
drunken drivers, reckless drivers, murderers, child abusers, bank
robbers, and a whole raft of other law breakers.  Thank God!
RB>RT> * You have CHOSEN to enter into a lease for living space so that your
  >RT>   freedom to travel is hampered.  Now you blame the landlord for what
  >RT>   you freely CHOSE to do in the first place.   Your choice.
RB>Ah, I see. MY fault. I was such an idiot for not seeking out that perfect,
  >LEASELESS apartment (that everyone else is also looking for).
  > Your right, my choice was to either live on the streets
So you are telling me that EVERYONE in your city either owns their own
home, has a long time lease, or lives on the street.
Pretty thin argument Ryan.  I'm not buying it.  But if I did, there
would still be one alternative... move to another city.  But then,
you've already showed us that you _choose_ to live in your present
situation.
  > (when my
  >previous lease was up and I was kicked out of that apartment)
What!!  You were _kicked out_ of your apartment?  What wealthy slob
perpetrated this dastardly deed against you?  Or, more
realistically, what particular activity did you choose to do or not do
that might have led to your disposal?  Choices Ryan, choices.
RB>RT> No question, at times we find ourselves in situations where our
  >RT> choices are limited, like your apartment problem.  But, these
  >RT> situations are directly related toa time when we DID have a choice
  >RT> and made the wrong one.  Even now, you still have choices in that
  >RT> situation.
RB>Of course, everything could be drawn into that simple idea, huh.
Pretty much.  Its all a matter of your own priorities.  Think about it.
  > We could
  >even blame the blacks for the systemic racism against them in the
  >50's and 60's -
You ain't black and this ain't the 50's and 60's.  Don't try to divert
the attention to something else.  You are pretty good a playing "ring
around the rosy".  Unconvincing, but good at playing the game.
RB>Maybe if that 13-year-old kid wasn't sick of working at Kroger's to 
upport
  >his family and hadn't decided to mug a drunk rich person going
  >through their neighborhood one night, they wouldn't be spending
  >life in prison, only to become an even more hardened criminal, etc
  >etc.
Damn right, but then I think your hypothetical example is unrealistic
cause a 13-year-old kid with the ethics to even go out and get a job at
Kroger's has more moral fiber than someone who goes out looking for
a victim.
(Continued to next message)
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