Re: Where to smoke in LA and Seattle


"Mickey" <Mickey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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"Alex W." <ingilt@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


"Mickey" <Mickey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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Isn't this supposed to be why we are Constitutional Republic, and not
a Democracy? Democracy is mob rule, whereas in a Republic, the
minority is SUPPOSED to be protected from the whims of the majority? I
don't feel very protected at the moment.

Cite?

Narrowly, The United States, in the 1950s and 60s, over civil rights.

Drawn more broadly, anywhere where unpopular ideas or behavior is
allowed.

At one time or another, America actively discriminated against Jews, blacks,
Asians, the Irish and the Japanese, women, natives, the poor, drinkers,
Mormons and other religious groups such as Quakers or the Amish, workers and
trade unionists, political dissidents such as Socialists or royalists, the
culturally divergent such as Cajuns ... and this is just off the top off my
head.

Every country/state/society discriminates, always. Certainly the Brits do.
The only thing that changes over time is the target.




Seriously -- was there any point when there wasn't a social group which it
was acceptable and even fashionable to deride and revile?


Ideally, a minority should be protected from the majority in a
Republic. There is a natural human tendency, often exploited by
governments, to scapegoat a group. That doesn't make it right.

No, it doesn't. But it does help to understand the underlying psychology of
such tendencies. Knowing where it comes from can help shape our defensive
strategies. For instance, knowing the irrational root of anti-smoking makes
emotional arguments more powerful than a rational facts&figures approach.
We also need to be clear that unless and until there is a replacement
scapegoat, we will continue to be the pet hate group of the day.


.

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