5 ms·

But whose right is it to decide when someone is exempt from the law? If people disagree with the law, they should campaign for it to be changed. (And indeed, a

by jfk13 8y ago

But whose right is it to decide when someone is exempt from the law? If people disagree with the law, they should campaign for it to be changed. (And indeed, a change is in the works in Missouri, apparently. But as of now, possession of marijuana is illegal.) A society where people feel they can pick and choose which laws to respect and which to ignore is a worrying proposition, IMO. The law as a whole may be far from perfect, but it's better than anarchy.

gumby 8y ago
The legal system is not a set of axioms. Police need to prioritize what they enforce all the time. AlsopPart of the purpose of juries is to try to prevent miscarriage of justice. We are humans, not robots.
threatofrain 8y ago
Any immigrant knows -- the law is never what people say. It's always what happens and what's happening, and that's true in every nation since civilization.
stallmanite 8y ago
So you would have been morally justified to return escaped slaves back in the day? The moral thing to do would be to just focus on getting the law changed?
- alexandernst 8y ago
  Not even sure how you got from "let a dying men take some marijuana" to "return slaves" ...
  - stallmanite 8y ago
    Seems really straightforward to me. You implied that following the law whilst attempting to change it is always the moral thing to do. I provided a simple counterexample. I’m not equating the degree of immorality.
LyndsySimon 8y ago
> A society where people feel they can pick and choose which laws to respect and which to ignore is a worrying proposition, IMO. I contend that not only is this exactly what we have, but that you, personally, do it as well. Do you drive? If so, have you ever exceeded the speed limit? Turned right on a red without first coming to a complete stop? Rolled through a stop sign? Driven with a bulb burned out so that your license plate is not lit? If you've ever consciously done any of the above, then you have picked and chosen what laws you respect. I doubt that there is anyone in the entire country that has not consciously broken some law at some point. > The law as a whole may be far from perfect, but it's better than anarchy. That's... debatable :)
- cannonedhamster 8y ago
  I apparently live in the place with some of the worst drivers on the planet. I live in the suburbs and was shocked after moving here. People routinely run red lights for no reason. Turn on red where it's clearly marked not to turn on red. Literally tonight I had to swerve off the road because someone just felt like driving at me head on. It's really weird because it's a nice, fairly affluent neighborhood with no real reason to have such a concentration of terrible driving. Marijuana is legal for personal use even here. Our police unions supported decriminalizing it because they said it was wasting their time.

by jfk13 8y ago

gumby 8y ago

The legal system is not a set of axioms. Police need to prioritize what they enforce all the time. AlsopPart of the purpose of juries is to try to prevent miscarriage of justice. We are humans, not robots.

threatofrain 8y ago

Any immigrant knows -- the law is never what people say. It's always what happens and what's happening, and that's true in every nation since civilization.

stallmanite 8y ago

So you would have been morally justified to return escaped slaves back in the day? The moral thing to do would be to just focus on getting the law changed?

alexandernst 8y ago
Not even sure how you got from "let a dying men take some marijuana" to "return slaves" ...
- stallmanite 8y ago
  Seems really straightforward to me. You implied that following the law whilst attempting to change it is always the moral thing to do. I provided a simple counterexample. I’m not equating the degree of immorality.

LyndsySimon 8y ago

> A society where people feel they can pick and choose which laws to respect and which to ignore is a worrying proposition, IMO. I contend that not only is this exactly what we have, but that you, personally, do it as well. Do you drive? If so, have you ever exceeded the speed limit? Turned right on a red without first coming to a complete stop? Rolled through a stop sign? Driven with a bulb burned out so that your license plate is not lit? If you've ever consciously done any of the above, then you have picked and chosen what laws you respect. I doubt that there is anyone in the entire country that has not consciously broken some law at some point. > The law as a whole may be far from perfect, but it's better than anarchy. That's... debatable :)

cannonedhamster 8y ago
I apparently live in the place with some of the worst drivers on the planet. I live in the suburbs and was shocked after moving here. People routinely run red lights for no reason. Turn on red where it's clearly marked not to turn on red. Literally tonight I had to swerve off the road because someone just felt like driving at me head on. It's really weird because it's a nice, fairly affluent neighborhood with no real reason to have such a concentration of terrible driving. Marijuana is legal for personal use even here. Our police unions supported decriminalizing it because they said it was wasting their time.