From: Subir Grewal <grewals@acf2.nyu.edu>
Date: Sat, 18 May 1996 15:58:45 +0800
To: Jim McCoy <mccoy@communities.com>
Subject: Re: [NOISE] Re: Edited Edupage, 9 May 1996
In-Reply-To: <v02140b01adbffa43e336@[205.162.51.35]>
Message-ID: <Pine.ULT.3.92.960516175918.23964E-100000@acf2.NYU.EDU>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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On Wed, 15 May 1996, Jim McCoy wrote:

:Yes, he is.  It is times like this that I must count myself among the
:pitchfork and torch wielding mob, if only because I have been cursed
:with a small amount of compassion for those who were not as lucky as I.

Compassion requires direction as well.  It seems as if you're suggesting
that your goals are laudable simply because they manifest compassion
regardless of their effectiveness.  The argument being made was that the
state is extraordinarily inefficient at providing education (unless you
consider west point education).  Of course it's entirely possible that you
don't believe the axiom "I am generous, I am morally superior, the rest of
you are narcissist selfish capitalist pigs.  I have feeling for the poor
and I want to help them any way I can, even if those methods are
ineffective".  But it doesn't sound like it.

Once again, the argument being made was regarding inefficiency, _not_
compassion or lack thereof.  I can have lots of compassion and still
believe that handing pink fluffy teddy bears out at street corners is
going to do anyone any good.

:BTW Mr. Avon, the reason we, the unruly mob of collectivists, socialists, and
:[insert libertarian/anarchist buzzword here] should stick a gun in your
:back and make you cough up money for education is because we can.  If you
:don't want to do so, they why don't _you_ move?  Are your feet cast in
:concrete blocks?

That argument can be made on a local level.  Not when there are federal
mandates requiring public schools and their funding by local govts.
Voting with you feet is a reasonable way to permit regional govts. to
compete with each other (like in Europe, or between the states).  People
only make as major a decison as moving from a large country like the US
if there is some extremely pressing need, genocide is a good candidate.

hostmaster@trill-home.com * Trills 4 thrills * Blue-Ribbon * Lynx 2.5
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          -- Bullwinkle J. Moose [Jay Ward]

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