[Vision2020] WHAT PART OF EQUALITY DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?

[Paul Rumelhart]

Is it just me, or is this hard to parse?  Using "stealing" as a metaphor 
here is just as bad as using it to cover copyright infringement.  The 
accusations of "taking advantage of", "stolen water" and "bread eaten in 
secret" are confusing.

I think the key concept that you seem to be missing here is that of 
personal choice.  Why shouldn't two people choose to marry in one 
situation, and two others choose not to?  Why shouldn't two men or two 
women marry?  How can it be a bad thing if both members involved have 
consented to the situation?  To me, it's that simple.  Their choice may 
not be the one you would have chosen, but you aren't one of the people 
deciding in this case, so who cares?

You may have personal beliefs that limit your own personal choices.  I 
have no problem with that.  But why limit others who do not believe as 
you do?  What right do you have to tell two people that they *should* do 
anything?  What right do you have to tell two people that they should 
not take wedding vows?  Why do you think that you have the right to 
judge someone's personal relationships in a public forum?  Govern 
yourself and anyone else who has voluntarily given power over to you, 
but leave the rest of us alone.

Paul

P.S.  I don't know what Nick Gier's relationship status is and I don't 
care.  I make no judgements in either direction.


heirdoug at netscape.net wrote:

> WHAT PART OF EQUALITY DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?
> It's Indivisible and Universal Anyway
>
> The part of universal Equality that I don’t understand is the part 
> where the lady with whom you are living with doesn’t have the same 
> benefits that your ex-wife enjoyed. The part of indivisible Equality 
> that I don’t understand is that you think that “gays and lesbians” 
> should have the right to marry but that your lady friend shouldn’t 
> have the benefit of a marriage license. You say that “millions of 
> sexually active heterosexuals …make…. decisions for their spouses.” 
> Does this person, who you take advantage of, have these same rights 
> you wish to espouse. “Liberal democracies make a distinction between 
> so-called sins and crimes,” Is it a sin or a crime the way you treat 
> your friend.
>
> The part of Equality that I don’t understand is the part where you 
> steal from the woman who is not your wife to make up for your lack of 
> manhood. Stolen water is sweet Mr. Gier and bread eaten in secret is 
> pleasant. But he does not know that the dead are there, that her 
> guests are in the depths of Sheol.
>
> You are nothing but a simple thief. You take what you have not 
> sacrificed for, all in the name of “love”. You are willing to 
> discriminate against her honor for your selfishness. What has happened 
> to your most basic value now? What part of Equality don’t you understand?
>
> I love liberty by taste, equality by instinct and reason
> —Alexis de Tocqueville in a letter to John Stuart Mill
>
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