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Domestic violence, the new war on poor/minorities (like the drug war)

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Just the facts ma am, Apr 8, 2016.

  1. cranberry

    cranberry Well-Known Member

    So go back to prohibition?
     
  2. Mr. Sunshine

    Mr. Sunshine Well-Known Member

    Wouldn't be the worst thing, but it's untenable in our society. Tied into our economy way too much, which is the element the "legalize all drugs" crowd conveniently forgets. Are you ready for Big Heroin?
     
  3. cranberry

    cranberry Well-Known Member

    Sure, if heroin were taxed and regulated I think we would be in better position to deal with the repercussions of heroin use. There's a market or a black market. I'm for bringing it out in the open.
     
  4. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    I don't know about a "legalize all drugs crowd." From my perspective, nobody should have go argue why something they choose to do (and should have a right to do, if they want) should be legal. It should take something extraordinary for something to be made illegal. Not the other way around.

    Also, I'd venture to wager (if we could quantify it) that criminalizing drug commerce and drug use has created way more tangible harm in terms of the millions of people who have had their lives ruined by incarceration and the people who have been victims of violence because of a drug trade that is made illicit by these laws, than it has saved people from potential addiction. Drug use is illegal. We still have addicts.

    It's insane to me to create the mess we have in a misguided attempt to save people from themselves. That isn't a statement about addiction or the toll it plays on people's lives. Drugs exist. So do lots of things that people can potentially use to harm themselves, for what it is worth. As long as drugs exist, you are going to have people who struggle with addiction. It seems obvious to me that our drug laws haven't meaningfully impacted addiction problems nearly enough to make up for all the other harms those laws create.

    I also don't think that kind of calculation should go into how we create laws. It's the rationale that gives rise to every nanny and moral authority trying to tell everyone else what they can and can't do. It's oppressive. You end up with Mike Bloomberg trying to ban soda, for example. We shouldn't be trying to save people from themselves -- even when it comes to behaviors that can potentially devastate people's lives. People do all kinds of things that are destructive to their lives. They suffer from all kinds of things (mentally, for example) that cause them to engage in behaviors that work to their detriment. Criminalizing the behaviors isn't an answer. It creates an even bigger mess -- an overflowing prison system, drive by shootings, diseases from dirty needles. You can go on and on. It seems almost inarguable to me.

    Also, taxing something should have zero to do with a calculus about this, in my opinion. If we are going to tax consumption, it shouldn't pertain to drugs more than it does to anything else. Tax consumption, period, if that is what you want to advocate for -- stop trying to influence people's behavior based on how you think they should live their lives. It has all kinds of consequences OTHER than the one you intend.
     
  5. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    How about, if you take prescription drugs, you are in significant danger of becoming addicted and harming yourself and others.
     
  6. Just the facts ma am

    Just the facts ma am Well-Known Member

  7. cjericho

    cjericho Well-Known Member

    And in some of the countries they came from, treating women as completely inferior is what they are used to. So we should be more understanding in those cases and understand that some of those bitches need that discipline.
     
  8. Just the facts ma am

    Just the facts ma am Well-Known Member

  9. cranberry

    cranberry Well-Known Member

    Interesting point. Of course that (suspensions) doesn't happen in this and most segments of the entertainment industry, but it exists in team sports primarily because the performance schedule is set by leagues/teams without individual performers' assent.

    In the instance of an individual performer, it can be assumed that the value of his/her performance will decrease and be reflected in the potential box office that will in turn will affect his/her negotiating leverage. The individual performer also can make a decision to take time off to deal with an issue without pressure from a team/league that will necessarily have a different set of interests.

    (IMHO, individual sports (golf, tennis, etc.) that follow a set schedule in which performers compete for prize money should also have suspensions as part of their overall domestic violence programs.)

    The key thing to remember is that the penalty/suspension aspect should be just a small component of an overall program that emphasizes treatment, intervention, education and rehabilitation.
     
  10. Just the facts ma am

    Just the facts ma am Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the thoughtful reply. My take is that we should have only one system to deal with crime, the criminal justice system. In turn, that system should be non-profit, looking for best outcomes, not to maximize revenue for police, lawyers, judges, prisons and law and order politicians, a la Ferguson.

    Also, only in sports do we pretend that notoriety does not increase revenue, in other forms of entertainment, this is a given.
     
  11. cranberry

    cranberry Well-Known Member

    You have some pretty confused ideas about public and private policy relative to domestic violence.

    Employers have every right to take not just criminal behavior but what they considers inappropriate or substandard behavior into account in terms of developing their human resource policies. They have brands and other employees to consider in addition to the welfare of the offending employee and his or her family members.

    The idea that a shortstop or a goaltender provides additional value because he gains notoriety by beating his girlfriend is too dumb for comment.
     
  12. doctorquant

    doctorquant Well-Known Member

    Now wait a minute ... What if his girlfriend is Lena Dunham?
     
    old_tony likes this.
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