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How can it be a rare event if it's based on a State law? Am I supposed to trust that the government is not starting to enforce laws I cannot live with? Also, v

How can it be a rare event if it's based on a State law? Am I supposed to trust that the government is not starting to enforce laws I cannot live with? Also, visiting a country and living there are two very different things. I often visit the US and I tend to enjoy it. But deciding to live somewhere (i.e. taking a job) requires a conscious decision by me to accept the overall societal and legal framework of a place - and I currently cannot do that for the US. In fact I question why there aren't more Americans who cannot accept it. Can something like the Sexual Revolution ever happen again (= a wide ranging transformation of society through a largely non violent movement). Is the grip by mass media and government too tight? Is it just not bad enough to warrant action?

robotresearcher 12y ago
> How can it be a rare event if it's based on a State law? Because like all laws, it is invoked and exercised with discretion by real, sensible, responsible people almost all the time.
- sgift 12y ago
  Sounds like a nicer way of saying: You break laws all the time, but we won't penalize you. At least we won't if you behave the way we deem good ... you will do that, will you? No more of your silly opposition against your betters? Good boy/girl. You either break a law or you don't. The alternative is the begin of tyranny.
  - rayiner 12y ago
    How exactly would you write a child endangerment statute that didn't require any discretion in administration?
    - sgift 12y ago
      Base it on scientific results regarding child health/endangerement: Your children do not get enough food? Congratulations, we have child endangerment. Your children get hit by you? Congratulations, we have child endangerment. Your children walk home from a park without supervision? Congratulations, we have ... nothing.
      - robotresearcher 12y ago
        > Your children walk home from a park without supervision? It depends on the specific context. Park full of crack heads? Park had a spate of child rapes this month? No lighting for pedestrians? Might be neglectful to let kids navigate alone. Nice, normal park? Kids in pairs? Not neglect by any reasonable judgement. You can't encode the the subtleties and particulars in statute. Hence the statutes are, and must be, open to interpretation and somewhat selective application by people who are held accountable for their judgement.
        chromaton 12y ago
        Most people think child molesters are everywhere and no place is safe. That's why this dude was busted.
      - rayiner 12y ago
        So you're going to enumerate every possible act? Make it illegal to be poor? What is "hitting?" Traditional discipline like spanking is out? In Bangladesh teachers discipline children by sticking a pencil between their fingers and squeezing. Is that "hitting?" Etc.
- marincounty 12y ago
  You're kidding--right? So many state and local laws are fluff? If they sound good, and have no serious lobby interest these politicans will usually pass. In California, we have way too many "well meaning at the time" laws--that should be removed, or seriously modified. I share one that irritated me. For years, in California anyone with a bachelors degree from a four year college, after taking eight required relate state courses could take the realestate brokers examination. The Realestate Lobbiests decided to change the law and require every applicant work under a realeste broker for two years in order to sit for the broker's exam. Gov. Schwarzenegger saw right through the bill. Knew there no probems with the current system, and didn't want to limit competition. He vetoed the bill. A few years forward, Gov. Brown thought it sounded good and passed the law. The result is we have less competition, and the guys' who move a lot of property don't have the competition they used to have. Think about that when you try to haggle over that 3% commission. Anyways, since I followed that bill I will never vote just on party lines. Back to state/local laws--we should be deleting laws every year after instead of holding competitions(Jarrod Huffman) for new bills? I heard California passes over 10,000 new laws/bylaws every year? (Too tired to look it up, but that was the case a few years ago.)
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
- pizza234 12y ago
  In find the the "white people" bias very disturbing. How can you state such things talking about a place where it's a fact that laws are applied unequally based on skin color?
  - tokenadult 12y ago
    You make a very unwarranted assumption here that the persons commenting in this thread from the United States are white people. The majority of my family (all persons but me) are arguably not white people--they wouldn't have been classified that way under the rules of segregated states. My state has never, ever had any rule about "interracial" marriage, and I am a practitioner of interracial marriage. ☺
pjc50 12y ago
Can something like the Sexual Revolution ever happen again It's currently happening - the gradual expansion of non-heterosexual marriage. And drug legalisation is starting to get off the ground. As a Brit who has visited the US a couple of times, I see it best as a big and very variable country with a lot of outliers. Georgia and Massachusetts are probably at least as different as two randomly chosen non-bordering EU countries. Some places in the US are police microstates. Some have a very great deal of freedom. In some ways there is no "overall societal and legal framework of a place" for the US. It's just too varied and too dissenting. By comparison, even Switzerland with its four languages and ultra-local canton government isn't as diverse.
maxerickson 12y ago
This story is about people who are acting to foment change. If they were cowed by the law chasing them, this wouldn't be in the news. Around here, as a consequence of depopulation, a lot of schools have been closed. Door to door busing is as much a financial choice as anything else (Which sounds insane, but there you go).

robotresearcher 12y ago

> How can it be a rare event if it's based on a State law? Because like all laws, it is invoked and exercised with discretion by real, sensible, responsible people almost all the time.

sgift 12y ago
Sounds like a nicer way of saying: You break laws all the time, but we won't penalize you. At least we won't if you behave the way we deem good ... you will do that, will you? No more of your silly opposition against your betters? Good boy/girl. You either break a law or you don't. The alternative is the begin of tyranny.
- rayiner 12y ago
  How exactly would you write a child endangerment statute that didn't require any discretion in administration?
  - sgift 12y ago
    Base it on scientific results regarding child health/endangerement: Your children do not get enough food? Congratulations, we have child endangerment. Your children get hit by you? Congratulations, we have child endangerment. Your children walk home from a park without supervision? Congratulations, we have ... nothing.
    - robotresearcher 12y ago
      > Your children walk home from a park without supervision? It depends on the specific context. Park full of crack heads? Park had a spate of child rapes this month? No lighting for pedestrians? Might be neglectful to let kids navigate alone. Nice, normal park? Kids in pairs? Not neglect by any reasonable judgement. You can't encode the the subtleties and particulars in statute. Hence the statutes are, and must be, open to interpretation and somewhat selective application by people who are held accountable for their judgement.
      - chromaton 12y ago
        Most people think child molesters are everywhere and no place is safe. That's why this dude was busted.
    - rayiner 12y ago
      So you're going to enumerate every possible act? Make it illegal to be poor? What is "hitting?" Traditional discipline like spanking is out? In Bangladesh teachers discipline children by sticking a pencil between their fingers and squeezing. Is that "hitting?" Etc.
marincounty 12y ago
You're kidding--right? So many state and local laws are fluff? If they sound good, and have no serious lobby interest these politicans will usually pass. In California, we have way too many "well meaning at the time" laws--that should be removed, or seriously modified. I share one that irritated me. For years, in California anyone with a bachelors degree from a four year college, after taking eight required relate state courses could take the realestate brokers examination. The Realestate Lobbiests decided to change the law and require every applicant work under a realeste broker for two years in order to sit for the broker's exam. Gov. Schwarzenegger saw right through the bill. Knew there no probems with the current system, and didn't want to limit competition. He vetoed the bill. A few years forward, Gov. Brown thought it sounded good and passed the law. The result is we have less competition, and the guys' who move a lot of property don't have the competition they used to have. Think about that when you try to haggle over that 3% commission. Anyways, since I followed that bill I will never vote just on party lines. Back to state/local laws--we should be deleting laws every year after instead of holding competitions(Jarrod Huffman) for new bills? I heard California passes over 10,000 new laws/bylaws every year? (Too tired to look it up, but that was the case a few years ago.)
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
pizza234 12y ago
In find the the "white people" bias very disturbing. How can you state such things talking about a place where it's a fact that laws are applied unequally based on skin color?
- tokenadult 12y ago
  You make a very unwarranted assumption here that the persons commenting in this thread from the United States are white people. The majority of my family (all persons but me) are arguably not white people--they wouldn't have been classified that way under the rules of segregated states. My state has never, ever had any rule about "interracial" marriage, and I am a practitioner of interracial marriage. ☺

pjc50 12y ago

Can something like the Sexual Revolution ever happen again It's currently happening - the gradual expansion of non-heterosexual marriage. And drug legalisation is starting to get off the ground. As a Brit who has visited the US a couple of times, I see it best as a big and very variable country with a lot of outliers. Georgia and Massachusetts are probably at least as different as two randomly chosen non-bordering EU countries. Some places in the US are police microstates. Some have a very great deal of freedom. In some ways there is no "overall societal and legal framework of a place" for the US. It's just too varied and too dissenting. By comparison, even Switzerland with its four languages and ultra-local canton government isn't as diverse.

maxerickson 12y ago

This story is about people who are acting to foment change. If they were cowed by the law chasing them, this wouldn't be in the news. Around here, as a consequence of depopulation, a lot of schools have been closed. Door to door busing is as much a financial choice as anything else (Which sounds insane, but there you go).