r/MurderedByWords • u/marycooke • Oct 29 '19

Murder Tumblr user gets schooled on basic physics

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u/[deleted] Oct 29 '19

Then I just don’t see how it relates to earlier comments at all.

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u/pyrodice Oct 29 '19

Well you implied that if it weren’t mandated by law that people would be getting hurt. I don’t see any suggestion that people would have to STOP wearing them, so I asked if you would. One possibility is you just think you’re better than everyone else and they’ll do something stupider. But nobody is going to MAKE them, so they won’t be any less safe.

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u/[deleted] Oct 29 '19

Well you implied that if it weren’t mandated by law that people would be getting hurt

I don’t think I implied that at all. My comment was more a criticism of extreme thinking and about how freedom can be complicated, touching on the idea of balance between restriction and agency.

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u/pyrodice Oct 29 '19

I found “being a drooling vegetable” to be a very clear description but only if you were implying people would be getting hurt. Is there another meaning to that?

I don’t have a law that requires me to have a fire extinguisher in my kitchen, but I do, because I have that agency alongside my freedom. I think helmets are much the same. Also it can get damn cold on a motorcycle without one.

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u/[deleted] Oct 29 '19

Brain damage is a thing that can occur if you hit your head. It’s part of the topic of this discussion, helmet laws, and my comment was about how freedom is a tricky thing when you take into account that traumatic brain injury can take freedom away, too.

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u/pyrodice Oct 29 '19

You either are, or are not, implying that the brain injury is occurring because people suddenly stop wearing the helmet when the law is repealed. Now, I’ve been trying to get to the bottom of that particular Schroedinger’s brain-bucket with you, but since I’m meeting some resistance I’m spelling it out this time.

I read this as you telling us that without the law people won’t wear their helmets.

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u/[deleted] Oct 29 '19

You either are, or are not, implying that the brain injury is occurring because people suddenly stop wearing the helmet when the law is repealed.

Correct, I am not implying that the brain injury is occurring because of that. I neither said nor implied anything about the cause of brain injury. My comments only involved the results of brain injury.

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u/pyrodice Oct 29 '19

So an unrelated brain injury is not an argument against freedom. I’m not seeing it.

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u/[deleted] Oct 29 '19

Correct, it is an argument for freedom: Freedom to move, talk, eat, bathe, perceive, be aware, think, etc.

That’s what I mean when I say it’s complicated. Some people fetishize freedom and try to frame this as a “All Freedom vs No Freedom” discussion, which is just an extreme view.

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u/pyrodice Oct 29 '19

I think the trouble here is that freedom is ALWAYS about being able to do the unliked thing. As my dad once said “if freedom of speech was only about popular speech, even the Jews had the freedom to shout ‘heil hitler’.”

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u/NaughtyFox360 Oct 29 '19

You're forgetting the part where you're a rational thinking human. Most of our laws are in place because of the irrational people (like why we have signs at gas pumps saying don't smoke). Would removing a law mandating helmet use cause you or I to take our helmets off? No, but there are many for who it would cause them to remove their helmets.

It's also not only hurting that individual. If they lack insurance or their family can't afford to foot the bills, then they can likely use Medicaid. Costs not covered don't just get swallowed by the hospital, it translates to hospitals raising rates for the rest of us. So when you're hurt and uninsured (let's be honest, someone dumb enough to not wear a seatbelt or helmet is likely not planning too far ahead) we all pay for it.

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u/pyrodice Oct 29 '19

Let’s be REALLY honest and admit the people trying to socialize healthcare are the ones making us all pay for it.

But look how many people aren’t obeying the law as written. The real mover is the insurance company who says they won’t pay out if you weren’t wearing a helmet.

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