Comment by jdiff
2 days ago
Authoritarian has a definition, it's not just "people who make laws that keep me from doing what I want."
People in the USA still complain in the same way today about laws mandating seat belt usage, but it's still not authoritarian. It's a net positive for the wearer and everyone around them, and it's incredibly childish to push back on something for no other reason than because someone is telling you to do it.
New Hampshire is a state with no seat belt laws, yet it's near the bottom of traffic fatality rates in the US:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_road_de...
In the EU, Germany infamously has roads with no speed limits, but its traffic fatality rate isn't high either.
The statistic is almost funny to looking at, seeing SC at the top of the list with 40% more fatalities as the next state.
Germany only has no speed limits on some Autobahns. But you mostly end up in a Stau or Baustelle anyway, so it's not that exciting.
>It's a net positive for the wearer and everyone around them
This is literally the argument autocrats use for any authoritarian law they pass.