[TriLUG] [offtopic] Considering a move to RDU area

[James Tuttle]

Your right.  I do see people as groups.  No man is an island.

'Supposedly intelligent people'?  So, not only do you know how 
intelligent I am (not), but you know that I see things in absolutes, 
too.  Wow, you really know me.  Thanks for pointing out my miserably low 
IQ (since I disagree with you) and the obvious character flaw in that I 
must only see labels, like Republican.

Gee, and that Libertarian thing was just starting to grow on me.  The 
funny thing is that I haven't ever talked to anyone who claimed to be a 
Libertarian who wasn't a jerk.  Of course, that's probably just my 
obvious character flaws talking.

Really, though, I've been wondering for some time why libertarian 
thought seems to be over-represented in TriLug compared to the general 
population.  Anyone have any ideas about that?

Jim



Paul McLanahan wrote:
> On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 4:42 PM, James Tuttle <jjtuttle at trilug.org> wrote:
>>  >
>>  > * "free" as in "you force the costs onto everyone else." Fortunately
>>  >    that's one form of coercion for which most libertarians can't seem
>>  >    to muster much outrage.
>>
>>  Well said.  That pretty much sums up my thoughts on libertarianism.
>>
> 
> Yeah... man... That whole liberty and freedom stuff sure is terrible.
> I just love it when the government forces stuff on me. Obviously you
> do too. Well done!
> 
> </sarcasim>
> 
> I've got plenty of outrage for waste and environmental damage. The
> difference is that I don't want to rely on the government to force
> anything on people. You want the government to solve your problems,
> but with everyone else's resources. I'm just not that arrogant. I
> think if a problem is really worth solving, free people will come
> together and solve it. You think Google installed millions of $ worth
> of solar panels to supliment the power for their data center because
> the government forced them? Free markets will respond to pressure from
> consumers. That pressure is highly evident today from the emergence of
> efficient cars, the explosion of "green" stuff everywhere, and all of
> the companies issuing press releases about all the environment saving
> things they're doing. Could your precious government have pointed the
> barrel of the police at citizens and businesses and gotten such a good
> response? If you want free people to change, you have to change their
> minds. Only the imprisoned are changed by rulings from on-high. It
> just depends on how you see US Citizens. If you attempt to legislate
> and threaten people with jail or fines, you'll foster only more hatred
> for the government, and more waste as a form of rebellion. That is
> your preferred coercion?
> 
> The real difference between the libertarian philosophy and yours is
> that you see people as groups, and libertarians see them as
> individuals. Where I get angry at an individual or company for
> polluting and want to change their mind, you get mad a "republicans",
> or "libertarians", or "SUV driving scum", and want to write a law that
> would steal their money or freedom. You have to think in absolutes
> because your philosophy of forcing things on people via the government
> requires it.
> 
> I can't tell you how depressing it is to hear supposedly intelligent
> people hate freedom so much. It's especially surprising coming from
> people who support software freedom. I suggest that financial and
> civil liberties are of equal or greater value than that of software.
> In fact, I don't believe you can truly have one without the others.
> 
> I apologize for the rant. I was trying to stay out of this
> discussion... but for people to assault liberty, the very heart of the
> idea on which this country was founded, on a list which I've come to
> respect a great deal, was just too much.
> 
> Paul


-- 
--
---Jim Tuttle
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