Pamphlets under windshield wipers

[Taxing Matters]

nice history lesson. Totally irrelevant but nice.

Then I think you missed my point or you simply think my point is not worth discussion.

I guess you missed my point then because that is precisely why I used that quote. Obviously the acts are nowhere near comparable with the acts the quote originally spoke of but it is no less meaningful and accurate in the context I used it.

I think I do get your point, I just disagree with it.

In addition to that; why bother having laws if people don’t care if they are enforced? It would seem the law is simply a means to harass violators of the cops feel like it. I thought laws were put into place because people were offended by the violation addressed. I guess I was wrong.

I think you are wrong in assuming, as your statement implies, that everyone has a universal feeling about the enforcement of every law. There are a number of laws on matters that are much less significant than fundamental rights and freedoms that I wouldn't care so much about them not being enforced because I disagree with the law to begin with. I certainly understand that the government is entitled to enforce those laws if it wishes, assuming the law is constitutional, but I wouldn't be upset if they don't enforce them. And indeed, there are a number of laws that government officials make decisions on how vigorously to enforce, and sometimes those choices are to enforce very lightly or not at all. Take possession of marijuana, for example. It is still very much illegal under federal law. But in states that have legalized marijuana for either medical use or altogether for recreational use the feds have made the decision not to enforce the federal laws against possession when the person is compliance with the state law. A lot people are not offended by that lack of enforcement yet the law against marijuana possession is still on the books. That is but one example that undercuts your notion that "I thought laws were put into place because people were offended by the violation addressed" if by "people" you mean all or most of society. A lot of minor criminal laws, like leaflets under windshields, are laws that likely most the public has no strong feelings on one way or the other. A number of these laws are pushed through by the few people who do really care about it. You can find a lot in our laws that are responsive to what may be called special interests rather than to what general public as a whole might really want. Such is the nature of our (admittedly rather imperfect) political system.

 

[quincy]

Seriously, I specifically said the level of grievance is not equivalent.. The quote applies to all situations in its meaning, great and small. It speaks to apathy. Sorry you can’t see that

Maybe that’s why crime is so bad. Too many people willing to ignore it until it affects them. By then it’s hard to reverse course.

Apathy is also why more Democrats didn’t vote. I guess it is ok though. Ya got what ya deserve with trump.

I understand what you are saying, justalayman, and can agree with the gist of your message if not the whole of its content.

A thread on advertising flyers tucked under car windshield wipers in one Alabama city seems an awfully odd place for this discussion, though.

 

[justalayman]

Sorry you can't see how ridiculous you're making yourself look. Particularly since what you're decrying isn't even illegal everywhere.

And I voted.

It doesn’t matter if you voted if you allowed apathy to cause others to not vote. Did you urge others to vote against trump?

Trump won because he demanded attention. He made certain people were not apathetic and when he woke those that heard him, they heard his bad the other side was. Given apathetic people are also generally ignorant people, all they had to judge the issues on was what trump told them and given their apathetic tendencies, they had no desire to see if what they were being told was the real truth.

So, he didn’t win because the people that always vote voted him in. He won because he controlled those that didn’t think it was worth voting in every other election.

I couldn’t care less if anybody thinks I’m ridiculous. I’ve lived my entire life speaking my mind and your feelings aren’t going to change that. I feel the same about . them if they can’t understand how apathy allows a degradation of our country and our way of life. The fact you have a problem with me borrowing the words of a writer much greater than myself that spoke to the very same base issue is what I think is ridiculous. .

The failure of a dam starts with the most innocuous of cracks. As time passes and the crack grows and each observer sees it and says: it’s not bad. It will be just fine, it sows the seeds of apathy. People see the cracks but don’t give it much thought because it isn’t falling down and if nobody else sees it as a problem, it must be ok. Eventually as the cracks grow and the dam becomes dangerous, it’s often too late to fix the dam. If only somebody paid attention to the cracks when they first started and realized it took nothing more than reducing the headwater by 3 inches, the damn was well capable of standing eternal. Apathy destroyed the dam.

I care about the least important of our laws just as I care about the laws addressing the most egregious of crimes. If we don’t care about the little laws, eventually many people won’t care about the laws involving more serious issues.

.

 

[quincy]

You probably can continue this discussion in the senior forum. The discussion is veering far from city ordinances in Alabama.

 

[justalayman]

Then I think you missed my point or you simply think my point is not worth discussion.



I think I do get your point, I just disagree with it.



I think you are wrong in assuming, as your statement implies, that everyone has a universal feeling about the enforcement of every law. There are a number of laws on matters that are much less significant than fundamental rights and freedoms that I wouldn't care so much about them not being enforced because I disagree with the law to begin with. I certainly understand that the government is entitled to enforce those laws if it wishes, assuming the law is constitutional, but I wouldn't be upset if they don't enforce them. And indeed, there are a number of laws that government officials make decisions on how vigorously to enforce, and sometimes those choices are to enforce very lightly or not at all. Take possession of marijuana, for example. It is still very much illegal under federal law. But in states that have legalized marijuana for either medical use or altogether for recreational use the feds have made the decision not to enforce the federal laws against possession when the person is compliance with the state law. A lot people are not offended by that lack of enforcement yet the law against marijuana possession is still on the books. That is but one example that undercuts your notion that "I thought laws were put into place because people were offended by the violation addressed" if by "people" you mean all or most of society. A lot of minor criminal laws, like leaflets under windshields, are laws that likely most the public has no strong feelings on one way or the other. A number of these laws are pushed through by the few people who do really care about it. You can find a lot in our laws that are responsive to what may be called special interests rather than to what general public as a whole might really want. Such is the nature of our (admittedly rather imperfect) political system.

But when you object to another person that wants to see those laws enforced, you have gone beyond apathy (which is what you claim to be) If you don’t care if they are enforced, then act like it. Don’t belittle a person if they want to see such laws enforced because, as you said, you don’t care if they are enforced or not. To argue against the person wanting to see the laws enforced, you are proving you do care and you are proving you don’t want them enforced.

 

[cbg]

JAL, you have absolutely no idea what I did and didn't do. Please don't make assumption about my "apathy" as you put it.

Have a good night.

 

[justalayman]

You probably can continue this discussion in the senior forum. The discussion is veering far from city ordinances in Alabama.

Sorry about that.

 

[quincy]

Sorry about that.

It happens.

 

[Taxing Matters]

But when you object to another person that wants to see those laws enforced, you have gone beyond apathy (which is what you claim to be) If you don’t care if they are enforced, then act like it. Don’t belittle a person if they want to see such laws enforced because, as you said, you don’t care if they are enforced or not. To argue against the person wanting to see the laws enforced, you are proving you do care and you are proving you don’t want them enforced.

I think you misunderstand my position. I'm not belittling anyone who wants a law enforced that I myself don't care about. Indeed, I indirectly indicated that when I said that the government has every right to enforce those laws, which also means that people who do care about violations of those laws have every right to complain to law enforcement and urge that the law be enforced. My only point is that your invocation of that particular quote regarding Nazi Germany's treatment of Jews was not, in my view, applicable to the situation presented in this thread.

 

[Just Blue]

There's a thread for this discussion in the old peoples forum.

 

[quincy]

Please. This is a good discussion - but this is not the best place for it.

Apologies to MelodicaVagrant for the detour away from her question.