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Re: The Limits To Growth



In article <329EF79C.5C6@ix.netcom.com>, mfriesel@ix.netcom.com wrote:
>charliew wrote:
>.....
>> 
>> Fahrakkan is out for Fahrakkan - plain and simple.
>
>I reply:
>
>Then no more need be said on the issue.
>.......
>
>
>Later charliew says:
>
>> 
>> For once we agree on something.  I'm glad.  Incidentally, I am now 
raising
>> two small children.  I often have to deliberately suppress compassion in
>> order to provide justice when my children don't follow the rules.  
Justice
>> is not always pleasant, and it doesn't always involve spanking, but it 
sure
>> is something that I would rather avoid.  However, (and this is the most
>> important point of this discussion) my children decide if justice is
>> appropriate - I do not.  Their actions alone either merit praise or
>> punishment.
>
>I note:
>
>For the last decade or so (when I had more money than I needed) I made a 
>point of occasionally offering people $5 - $20 no strings attached.  I 
>probably did this about 200 times.  One girl working at a hotel check-in 
>counter took $5, she refused it the first time and said hers was the 
>only one in the hotel which could not take tips, so I told her it wasn't 
>a tip.  A divorced Mormon woman living at her mother's with her teen-age 
>son at work took $20, and asked me four or five times if I was sure I 
>wanted to give that much money away.  I'm starting to think that only a 
>fraction of the people whom we label criminals are really criminals as 
>we like to think of them - most may be very ethical people in their own 
>way.
>

Sadly, it's not most people you have to worry about.  The 1-2% of the true 
social deviants are responsible for way more than their "share" of crime.


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