# Protecting People From Themselves: What Should We Prohibit?



## JayDubs (Sep 1, 2009)

What types of behaviors do you think society should prohibit in the name of protecting people from themselves? Assume we are dealing with sane, reasonably intelligent adults. 

Why?


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## Glenda Gnome Starr (May 12, 2011)

not wearing a seat belt can endanger others because, if you get ejected from a car in an accident, it could cause more accidents to occur. 
Smoking... well... if you want to do that, I don't care. Just don't do it around me and my allergies. So I like seeing that regulated but not outlawed.


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## snail (Oct 13, 2008)

I voted for certain heavy drugs, and prostitution, but only halfheartedly. Those are not just self-harm, but put innocent people at risk. Meth addicts tend to have numb consciences and will steal even from their friends, so it is the effect on culture that causes me to think it should be illegal. Prostitution encourages sexual objectification, another cultural problem that is already out of control. 

Everything else on that list should be legal, as long as the people doing them are only harming themselves, and realistically, even the ones I selected should be legal if we lived in a world where those engaging in such behaviors were not destroying society or damaging any other lives by doing so.


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## Consistently Inconsistent (Feb 22, 2011)

I don't think any of them should be banned but, but I do think there should be some regulations such as it being illegal to drive while drunk or high.


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## clicheguevara (Jul 27, 2011)

A prohibition of suicide wouldn't make much sense; you cannot possible punish someone after they finished their life. And like self-cutting, it is something people wouldn't normally do if they felt like they have a choice, so laws wouldn't have any effect.

As for the other options, I vote selling body organs, heavy drugs and not wearing a seat belt. The rest should be legal but people need to be educated about it.


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## Super Awesome (Jul 11, 2011)

People don't need babysitters. If someone wants to slowly (or quickly) kill themselves through risky behaviors, that's fine with me. It's their choice, you know? As long as we each understand that we're responsible for what we do, I have no problem with it.

As long as no one is trying to sell drugs to my kids or blow smoke in their faces, I'm content to live and let live.


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## Falhalterra (Apr 24, 2011)

The only thing I see up there that can't possibly be turned around and manipulated too much over time would be selling bodily organs. There's a reason we have a donor program, and selling organs on the black market is very high risk, and doing it in the first place is above and beyond dangerous. No one should be doing that, period.


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## simonor (Nov 26, 2011)

I believe in freedom of choice no matter what, so what i would not allow is manipulativ media and poor politics(hi usa).


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## JayDubs (Sep 1, 2009)

Falhalterra said:


> The only thing I see up there that can't possibly be turned around and manipulated too much over time would be selling bodily organs. There's a reason we have a donor program, and selling organs on the black market is very high risk, and doing it in the first place is above and beyond dangerous. No one should be doing that, period.


Selling bodily organs actually does concern me, but for very different reasons. That is, creating a market for organs may (counter-intuitively) shrink the supply or organs, though I can't be sure. Right now, organ donation is thought of as an altruistic act that people do for free. Monetize it, and some of those volunteers may disappear. I don't know enough about it to know if that would yield a net gain or loss in terms of available organs for those in need. 

As far as it being dangerous to sell organs on the black market, of course it is. But, a lot of that danger is because it is currently prohibited. Illegal operations are less likely to be performed by qualified surgeons in ideal facilities. If selling organs were legal, those problems would disappear and it would become as safe as donating organs normally.


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## Arclight (Feb 10, 2010)

Educate me.. But do not tell me what to do.. There is nothing I hate more than hearing "We've decided it's in your best interest to..."
It's at this point that you can't even tell the left and the right apart anymore. 
I can be one stubborn and contrary SOB.. 
I will decide what's in my best interests and how dare anyone think they know better. 
I will die to protect this right of autonomy.


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## JayDubs (Sep 1, 2009)

Ooh... now I'm curious. We've got hits for unhealthy food and risky recreation, but not alcohol or tobacco... That's an odd bundle.


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## Leeoflittlefaith (Dec 8, 2010)

Really want tobacco banned. Cocaine and heroin can go too. To me they're just destructive and nothing more, and the resulting addiction is pathetic.


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## Shahada (Apr 26, 2010)

I don't care about making people wear seat belts.

Prostitution laws should be revamped but not discarded entirely. Many prostitutes are forced into the profession through various circumstances and should be protected. At the same time, leaving it entirely legal opens the door for more abuse, as more and more people would be willing to use a prostitute, demand ramps up, and more people are forced into it through various means. Decriminalize the actual selling of the sex maybe while putting in place stiff penalties for pimps and johns.

Drugs need to be regulated but criminalizing drug use is a proven failure. Control dangerous drugs (the very addictive ones) but don't criminalize addicts.

Making selling bodily organs legal could lead to some...unintended consequences, to say the least. Gonna have to go for no on that one.

Criminalizing "unhealthy food" across the board is bad, but there should be certain controls in place so people aren't getting rat poison in their food because its cheaper than doing it the right way. Outlawing certain products that serve no purpose but to increase profits at the cost of the consumer receiving a quality product, like high frutcose corn syrup, I would be fine with. 

Self-harming and dangerous sexual behaviors...I mean, not really good things, but trying to make them illegal would probably cause way more problems than they would solve.

All the other stuff I don't care about and should probably be left alone.


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## RobynC (Jun 10, 2011)

I get leery when I hear this... protecting people from themselves. We can't legislate to the dumbest and least competent, not that I don't feel sorry for people like this, but such a society would be a nanny state. In my book that's just unacceptable. 


R.C.
My tagline...


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## JayDubs (Sep 1, 2009)

RobynC said:


> I get leery when I hear this... protecting people from themselves. We can't legislate to the dumbest and least competent, not that I don't feel sorry for people like this, but such a society would be a nanny state. In my book that's just unacceptable.


I don't disagree. I named the thread as such because this seems the primary justification used for the types of prohibitions I've listed. Though, there are (and people have raised) some other concerns that some of these activities do pose a risk to other people. I just wanted to test the water of public opinion, so to speak.


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## Shahada (Apr 26, 2010)

RobynC said:


> I get leery when I hear this... protecting people from themselves. We can't legislate to the dumbest and least competent, not that I don't feel sorry for people like this, but such a society would be a nanny state. In my book that's just unacceptable.


In a world where everyone was actually equal (same opportunities, same education, no misogyny, no racism, no hugely powerful organizations to influence people through marketing and propaganda, etc.) I would agree that people should be allowed to do whatever they want as long as they don't harm others. We don't live in such a society though, and when you make everything allowable in an unequal society you'll have people with more power than others engaging in exploitation, and putting no restrictions whatsoever on a lot of the things listed (like to go back to a previous example, allowing food manufacturers substituting chemicals for actual food and flooding the market so you can either buy cheap crappy food or break the bank to buy something that's not garbage) enables that exploitation.


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## RobynC (Jun 10, 2011)

@JayDubs



> I don't disagree. I named the thread as such because this seems the primary justification used for the types of prohibitions I've listed. Though, there are (and people have raised) some other concerns that some of these activities do pose a risk to other people. I just wanted to test the water of public opinion, so to speak.


Understood


@Shahada

I don't want exploitation but I don't want a nanny state either. They are 2 extremes.


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## mercuriously (Nov 26, 2011)

I think the mutilation one is interesting. Particularly when many ppl concider certain piercings (and even 'traditional' piercings) and even tatoos as mutlilation.


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## birthday (Feb 6, 2011)

If we are dealing with sane, reasonably intelligent adults then there shouldn't be a reason to protect them. Unless by reasonably intelligent you mean incredibly stupid or mentally incapacitated. People know what they get themselves into in the first place.


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