On Fri, 11 May 2001, Eric Cordian wrote:
> Before we descend completely into Choatian Philosophy here, permit me to
> remind you that the topic under discussion is Tim's assertion that
> most falsehoods should not be actionable.
Agreed. I have not in the least lost that focus.
> Tim asserts that the falsehood "John is a child molester" should not be
> subject to either civil or criminal action.
Exactly. The simple act of making that statement in public or private,
alone or in a crowd is irrelevant to any action that follows. It therefore
can not be held responsbile. The 'speech' can do no harm.
> Whether he feels the falsehood "I have your cat in my microwave" or "I have
> your kid" should be treated the same way, he has yet to state.
And those statements in and of themselves, whether made in jest or
intentional malice, should not be punishable. Now if the cat is actually
in the microwave then the person who actually PUT them in there should be
held accountable. If party B claims that party A's comment 'made me do
it', then we are in effect saying that party B was not in full control of
their actions. Now, what about party A's actions? If party B is a 'victim
of circumstance' because of party A's comments on 'stuff' is acceptable.
Then clearly party A has a claim to prior influence by agents in their
life. Hence party A isn't responsible for their acts either. Ad nausium.
This entire perspective also ignores the fact that causing a riot in a
theatre is a crime irrespective of mechanism used to cause it. Not only
should the person yelling 'Fire' in the theatre be criminaly accountable
but the theatre owner and patrons should also have civil recourse. Not for
the screaming if "Fire", or the waving of a pistol or a penis.
You in effect do not believe that people should be judged for their acts,
but also for their fundamental beliefs. As if there were some critical set
that was less relative than the other alternatives.
Angels among men.
____________________________________________________________________
God was my co-pilot, then we crashed in the Andes.
So I ate him.
Anonymous
The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate
Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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