Reply #158: no, it wasn't a question, Davey

[iverglas]

It was the use of a nasty little rhetorical device much favoured by the right wing.

If you want to know what I think, you can always ask. Making presumptuous statements about what I think and tacking a question mark on the end will get you nowhere every time.


My statement:

And there are many things that people are entitled to have/do that reasonable, decent people would never think of doing.

I am entitled to jump off a bridge. Being a reasonable person, I would never think of doing it.

I am entitled to tell the 3-yr-old kid next door she is a nasty ugly stupid child and Santa Claus will be bringing her switches and onions because she is so ugly and stupid. Being a decent person, I would never think of doing it.

If I were a particularly stupid person myself, or otherwise vulnerable to dishonest argument, I might be persuaded to do one or both of those things, or any number of other things, in the belief that it was in my interests, or not against someone else's interests, to do them.

So I guess I should say that there are some things that reasonable, decent people, operating with full knowledge of the relevant facts and not under the influence of any dishonest persuasive techniques or other factor that might impede their cognitive or ethical abilities, would never think of doing.