Re: even if the parties are minors?

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> Deaths in football (or any other kids' sport) are accidental. The fun that comes from playing sports is not in that you are cheating death or whatever it is that makes Russian Roulette "fun"... The question of "minors" is a tricky one and I'm not sure I have the answer.. It goes beyond whether or not they should be allowed to play Russian Roulette and there are questions to be asked in much less controversial subjects about it.. It's hard to judge when we should declare that people in general have the mental faculties in order to make decisions regarding all sorts of things... Statutory rape is one such example...no doubt there are minors who are "responsible enough" to make their own choices as to whom they want to sleep with, not to mention several 20 and 30 year olds who are probably much less mature in that respect as some 17 year olds.. Same thing with drinking, voting, driving, etc. > I think perhaps that as long as a guardian is providing for and has a minor under his/her care, they are in charge and can not only rightfully deny a child's request to do dangerous things such as riding a bike without a helmet, playing football or ice hockey, and playing "games" like Russian Roulette, but have the responsibilty to not allow the child to engage in activities in which the potential for death is not accidental. Do they let kids skydive? By "they" I mean "the authorities".. I mean, that certainly seems dangerous and life-threatening but deaths that occur in that activity don't occur as part of the natural course of the activity. > I mean, you look at the object of the game. Object of the game in Chutes and Ladders is to get to the top of the board before anyone else. Object of the game in hockey is to score more goals than the other team. They don't add "and don't die." Object of the game in RR: Don't die. > > > You've already agreed that it's okay for a parent to give consent for his son to engage in one potentially life-threatening pastime (football). But if a parent were to give consent to allow his child to play RR, he would surely be jailed. Should he? > > If not, how can you rationalize it? > > To be entirely clear here, I'm NOT arguing for banning football. > > > Russian Roulette? If both/all parties freely choose to engage.. well, that's their problem. Suicide is "illegal" too but.. what can you do? They're dead. > > > How fun is Russian Roulette, really? I don't know and will probably never find out. > > > > > > > > > > > > Don't be petulant. It doesn't make sense to say that since the ideals I espouse are based on the ideals of someone else, that they are therefore somehow invalid or unworthy of mention. To say so is ridiculous. Of course, we've been here billions of times before, and all you've ever resorted to is saying "libertarianism sucks." > > > > I'm sure I've been more specific than that in my chats with Isaac > > > > > Even when you say more than just those words, you've never really gotten beyond that. So I find it more than acceptable for me so respond and say "statism sucks" or "environmentalism sucks." We never get anywhere so..it's always a waste of time. > > > > > > > > > I didn't really try to conflate the two arguments into one. I couldn't care less who YOU think is an asshole or not. I guess the knowledge of what makes you consider someone an asshole DOES make it easier for me to determine whether or not YOU are an asshole, but that wasn't really what I was striving for. > > > > > > > > > > You ignored the point. Here you seem to me making the argument "Since SUVs are more dangerous than cars they should be banned or penalized in some way" (I know you haven't explicitly said this but the venom of your remarks on the subject makes me assume this.) My point is - how is that any different than saying "Since playing real football is more dangerous than playing video-game football, then playing real football should be banned, or taxed heavily." ESSENTIALLY, (not just arbitrarily based on whatever whims you might have) the reason we don't ban football, even though kids have died playing it, is that football is FUN. We enjoy it. We know it's dangerous but playing it makes life more enjoyable. > > > > You're evading the point. Russian Roulette is FUN too. But it, unlike football, is illegal. So are you saying it should be legalized? If not, how can you rationalize that without being inconsistent regarding your stance on football? > > > > Are you, in fact, accepting my point that you've got to draw a line somewhere; that a fun/danger trade-off exists? > > > > > It cracks me up the crusades some people take up for the simple sake of having an opinion and the perverse pleasure they get from being indignant. > > > > > That said, it DOES also crack me up that some people get some sort of perverse pleasure from driving around in a big old pickup truck or SUV... But that's all it does.. I find it amusing and vaguely disappointing. I don't think that the person is an asshole or that it should be banned... > > > > > > > > > > If they're driving around in one of those in and have a tendency to wear a cowboy hat as well, then all bets are off - I consider them to be an asshole.

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