From: John Brothers <johnbr@atl.mindspring.com>
Date: Thu, 1 Aug 1996 09:31:18 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: A Libertine Question
Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19960731223430.006cdb98@pop.atl.mindspring.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


At 06:01 AM 7/31/96 -0700, Greg Broiles wrote:
>At 04:50 PM 7/30/96 -0700, Mike Duvos wrote:
>>Alan Horowitz writes:
>>> On Mon, 29 Jul 1996 jbugden@smtplink.alis.ca wrote:
>>> 
>>> > Think of how many of our laws are being enacted that tacitly make being
>>> > poor or indigent a crime.
>>> 
>>>    Horseshit. This is a poorly-disguised re-tread of one of the standard 
>>> lines of the Patrice Lumumba University brand of leftist agitprop.

>(* Other people (apparently not "strong libertarians") buy into all of that
>suspicious crap about the Bill of Rights and people being allowed to be
>themselves even if other people find it upsetting or non-decorous.

Speaking as a strong libertarian, I can assure you that Alan Horowitz is
completely off-base.  My gut feeling is that he is trolling this entire
thread, so I will attempt to make my response as civil as possible.

Strong libertarians recognize that my right to walk the street is in no
way superior to anyone elses right to walk the street.   Strong libertarians
recognize that it is not against the law to smell bad, or to have rotten
teeth, or in other ways be un-appealing.  

"They have no right to live in Seattle, they should move somewhere they can
afford".   That statement is ridiculous.  No one has a 'right' to live in
a certain place.  In fact, Mr Horowitz, you don't have a right to go to
downtown Seattle and not be accosted by the homeless.   If you don't like
it, move to somewhere the homeless ain't, and don't let the door hit your
ass on the way out.

Apparently Mr. Horowitz is one of the tiresome "legalize everything that doesn't
offend me, ban everything else" libertarians.   Here's a clue to a true 
libertarian thought process:
    You offend me, Mr. Horowitz.  Your attitude by itself is enough to make
my throat clench in distaste, but the fact that you call yourself a
libertarian is exceptionally galling.  From your e-mail, you show no
understanding of what
it means to be a libertarian, and libertarians are extremely ill-served by 
your preposterous claims.  But I will defend to the death your right to make
them.  




   
---
John Brothers 
   Do you have a right not to be offended?