Comment by SoftTalker
5 days ago
When my state introduced seatbelt laws they assured the public that they would only be a secondary offense, never the primary basis for getting pulled over and issued a ticket.
Now they run "Officers are watching! Click it or ticket!" as an advertising campaign.
And I'm not arguing that seatbelt laws are bad per se, just that any time there is a pathway for more control, it will eventually be taken, even if assurances are made that it will not happen.
The arguments of they never "usually" do this, or "the guidance says" are meaningless. Whatever can be used for control, will be.
When you’re dealing with people so persistently stupid that they haven’t figured out the value of seatbelts, while still generally insisting that the costs of their medical care are socialized, my appreciation for the necessity of social control is enhanced rather than dampened.
When it comes to attestation, it's purely promoting business and state interests against yours. No security comes with it, it's purely control.
Imagine being the owner of a small business who is now required, to do business with any providers, to have a rogue executive that is loyal to them rather than you, and overrides your decisions; your provider refuses to sell you any materials if this executive is not obeyed. Do you think any business owner would accept that? I think on the contrary, this practice would be outlawed by Congress or the relevant legislative body in a matter of weeks. Those who voted seatbelts in. Then it's exactly that, if you replace business by computer.
You’re telling a story and the story is consistent, but it’s still a story. Besides you’re making a lot of assumptions about me, my beliefs, and what might be of concrete benefit to me.
The people are in control at all time, so I don't think this slippery slope argument is correct here (it's a logical fallacy for a reason).
You just have to remind the politicians from time to time - the French are a great example in that.
And every time you point it out, some useful idiot will say "you're making the slippery slope fallacy."