On Wed, 30 Jan 2002 15:30:52 Jim Elwell wrote: ... >I *promised* not to keep this up, but, one more time briefly: individual >freedom means I can do what I want with my own property (barring fraud or >force). That means if I want to set up a stand and try to sell my bananas >by the pound, I can do so, and you nor anyone else nor the men in blue can >stop me. I am hurting no one, and I cannot force anyone to purchase them. > >That is individual freedom. Mandated metric takes it away (as the guy in >England has found out). > >If we all define our own meter, then we open the gates to fraud, which is >something government *should* work to prevent. Selling by the pound is not >fraud. Selling a pound (or kilogram) that is a different size than the >"standard" is. > I hate to say this, but I'll have to use your own weapon against you, Jim. Sorry, my friend.
But, what's wrong with someone wanting to sell by his *individually-defined* pound???! If he tells his customers that his pound is 500 g, what is it to you? Why shouldn't he be allowed that (under your own premise of individual freedom?)? He'd not be committing fraud at all, since he's stating clearly in regulatory terms what his pound means! But you see, even so, you admitted that there must be a *standard*, and that such standard would HAVE to be *enforced*! Otherwise how else can one avoid fraud after all? All we're advocating here is that that standard be metric and ONLY metric, which would evidently be rigorously defined! I honestly don't see any taking away of your personal freedom to use any other thing *provided* **by your own admission** that a 'standard' has been adhered to! Therefore, the bottom line is, enforce that labels be stated in metric since that is the ONLY acceptable legal standing, force it also to be the prevailing value (naturally, if that is the only legal way of selling goods and services!) and let people put any other monkey unit they care about there then! WE (metric proponents) would be happy, and YOU (general you, those who cling to FFU) would be happy, it's a win-win situation, would it not? ;-) Put the burden of the costs on the shoulders of those who insist on being... unique, different from the others. Marcus Is your boss reading your email? ....Probably Keep your messages private by using Lycos Mail. Sign up today at http://mail.lycos.com
