Laws everyone is breaking - a threat to society?

[Loppan Torkel]

Downloading material, copying a book you need in school, riding a bicycle at night without lights, not paying the TV-license and other minor lawbreaking actions that a lot of people do, that doesn't hurt any individual directly, only indirectly, in statistics or in the future. The chance of getting caught is diminishing.

Being punished for something many people do might be accepted by you because you knew it was against the law, but at the same time, won't it make you feel like the 'one in ten'-guy the Nazi-soldier shot in the head? Why you, when all the others got away with it? Were you singled out because of someones ill will against you or were you just at the wrong place at the wrong time? Did you just lose a lot of money for being unlucky?
Could these laws be used to smear politicians or people you don't like? Their kids probably have downloaded something that's against the law.

You're punished for downloading songs, while some criminal cost society millions of dollar and wont ever pay it back, or the bankers that use some loophole to gain access to tens of millions while the bank's going bankrupt.

Are these laws necessary, will they ever achieve what they're intended for or would it be better to tax the air so it at least is equal for everyone? Do these laws lower your trust in the state?

 

[gangleri2001]

Is this a rhetoric thread?

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Can you prove, with solid statistics, that everyone does, indeed, break these laws?

 

[Winner]

I am pretty sure he used "everybody" in a rhetorical sense, meaning "a lot of people" or perhaps "majority of people".

As for the question - I don't know. But something tells me that if a law is ignored by vast majority of people and is essentially consistently unenforceable, something is wrong either with the law or the people.

 

[Loppan Torkel]

Can you prove, with solid statistics, that everyone does, indeed, break these laws?

The vast majority has broken some minor laws and many do it frequently. Driving while talking in the cellphone or without a belt are also crimes, aren't they?

But, no, I can't prove that everyone is breaking these laws. I haven't said they do and it's not required that all do for my question/argument.

 

[JohnRM]

I never trusted 'the state' in the first place.

 

[innonimatu]

As for the question - I don't know. But something tells me that if a law is ignored by vast majority of people and is essentially consistently unenforceable, something is wrong either with the law or the people.

For once we seem to agree. And I'd add that it is usually the law.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

it's not required that all do for my question/argument.

If the hypothesis is not based on solid observational data, then why bother testing the hypothesis in the first place?

 

[Loppan Torkel]

If the hypothesis is not based on solid observational data, then why bother testing the hypothesis in the first place?

You can make whatever you will of it. If you can't reason with the info given, I can't help you. It's just an argument based on nothing but speculation.

 

[Ecofarm]

Laws are enforced subjectively; welcome to the world, sorry that's the only way it works. You'd best get used to it and not start thinking that everyone is equal under the law and other useless stuff like that.

Oh yeah... and acquire some money so that you get the better end of the deal.




This reality check was brought to you by Ecofarm, maker of all things good.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Yeah. It's a very good thing you can frequently buy off justice in the US. Just ask the "law and order" Republicans.

 

[JollyRoger]

Obeying the law is sometimes dangerous. Try driving at or below the speed limit on a U.S. road where the general flow of traffic is 5 to 10 mph above the legal limit.

 

[bhsup]

Obeying the law is sometimes dangerous. Try driving at or below the speed limit on a U.S. road where the general flow of traffic is 5 to 10 mph above the legal limit.

I do it all the time. Screw them if they don't like it. And this brings up another thing that rubs me wrong. People who get tickets all the time for speeding but pay to have them reduced to defective equipment (Hey bro, you reading this??). That practice should be outlawed.

 

[JollyRoger]

If the prosecutors were willing to take each case to trial, then settling down to a lesser charge wouldn't be so easy. You need to pay for more prosecutors and judges. I'm not for blocking an accused from a method that puts the government at a choice of how much it wants to push its accusation.

 

[bhsup]

But the State is willfully engaging in fraud when they do this.

 

[JollyRoger]

Then the state should drop the charges completely if they don't have the resources for a trial.

 

[Ecofarm]

Yeah. It's a very good thing you can frequently buy off justice in the US. Just ask the "law and order" Republicans.

As if it is not true everywhere. Some places, like Iran, you can buy off justice with government office.

Are 'law and order' republicans the people who supported that old guy from the show for president? Well, I googled 'law and order republican' and all I got was this guy:

I remember he said something like "I don't really want to be president" and then everyone forgot his name. I think the "cool, disinterested guy" tactic was epic fail.

 

[Harbringer]

The root of the problem with laws that are constantly ignored is that they dont always need to be enforced, and thats why people just ignore them. "California Rollin" is a good example, you dont need to ALWAYS stop at a stop sign completely, its pointless and ********, but if a cop happens to be driving by you get a ticket anyway.

 

[PredatorFett]

Yeah. It's a very good thing you can frequently buy off justice in the US. Just ask the "law and order" Republicans.

I don't recall this thread's topic revolving around politics.

 

[Ecofarm]

The root of the problem with laws that are constantly ignored is that they dont always need to be enforced, and thats why people just ignore them. "California Rollin" is a good example, you dont need to ALWAYS stop at a stop sign completely, its pointless and ********, but if a cop happens to be driving by you get a ticket anyway.

No, you really should stop at every stop sign.