return to society with the harm being neutralized - any alterations must 100% be the choice of the individual (e.g. a serial rapist could elect to be castrated, a kleptomaniac or stalker could elect for permanent tracking via microchip, etc)
We kinda do this already with ankle monitors, not that I think subdermal tracking would be any less fallible.
As long as murder is unacceptable in society, it’s the price you pay for the privilege of stripping someone else’s rights from them.
Therein’s the rub, see. That’s the price to be paid for one person. If the murder of one enriches the many, maybe it was worth it. And since not everyone values lives equally, not everyone can have a unanimous take.
IMO, the only valid use of lethal force is if there’s no valid alternative option to protect innocent lives. I would kill if it directly spared innocent lives, but not if there’s any possibility of protecting innocent lives another way.
I laud you for having and knowing your heirarchy of values, I am still (and quite possibly forever will be) determining my own red lines.
Penn: Absolutely. I believe there are legitimate purposes of the government like defense, courts and police. I don’t think you can privatize police, jails or courts. That’s where legitimate force comes in. My question is: What would I personally use a gun to accomplish? I would use a gun to stop a rape. I would use a gun to stop a terrorist attack. I would not use a gun to build a library. My morality is such that if I’m not willing to use violence myself, I’d never use violence because I’m a coward, but theoretically if I’m not willing to use violence myself then I can’t condone the government using violence.
What are you willing to use a gun for? And I don’t mean theoretically, I mean if the gun was literally in your hand and pulling the trigger would have the desired effect, what would you actually be willing to use a gun for? And what if the desired effect isn’t guaranteed, how much assurance would you need, or how much collateral damage is acceptable?
Everyone has their own threshold, and this threshold surely changes as we have our own experiences in life. My threshold is really high, and I would probably only use violence to protect my family and close friends.
We kinda do this already with ankle monitors, not that I think subdermal tracking would be any less fallible.
Therein’s the rub, see. That’s the price to be paid for one person. If the murder of one enriches the many, maybe it was worth it. And since not everyone values lives equally, not everyone can have a unanimous take.
I laud you for having and knowing your heirarchy of values, I am still (and quite possibly forever will be) determining my own red lines.
Yeah, it’s an interesting thought process to go through.
I really like how Penn Jillette puts it:
What are you willing to use a gun for? And I don’t mean theoretically, I mean if the gun was literally in your hand and pulling the trigger would have the desired effect, what would you actually be willing to use a gun for? And what if the desired effect isn’t guaranteed, how much assurance would you need, or how much collateral damage is acceptable?
Everyone has their own threshold, and this threshold surely changes as we have our own experiences in life. My threshold is really high, and I would probably only use violence to protect my family and close friends.