Acies

TL;DR: Even adequate service still merits an adequate tip.

Regardless of your personal opinion on the relative morality of an employer not paying his employees fairly, the fact remains that our culture has a very strong expectation for guests to tip certain service providers.

If you truly feel that such things are morally wrong, you should not be spending money at the hotels, restaurants, and other nonessential service providers that engage in this practice. Taking advantage of a system you believe to be unfair is usually considered morally wrong and no one has put together a convincing argument to suggest otherwise.

That being said, the only time you should not tip your waiter, bellhop, valet, etc, is when the service is so exceptionally bad that their manager needs to be notified.

Adequate service still merits an adequate tip. Claiming to hold out for perceived 'outstanding' service fools nobody except possibly yourself, as your service prover could be breaking their back behind the scenes in ways you never notice.

I believe that suicide rates would be a lot higher if people agreed with you.

And if you claim to have that right for someone else, what keeps someone else from claiming that right for you? Suppose your spouse decides to leave you, but kills you first as a mercy, for example. Suppose you have a difficult medical diagnosis and the doctor shoots you instead of telling you and letting you make up your own mind.

The mercy killing excuse cannot be justified.

Should murder be illegal as a choice?

So it's okay to mercy kill someone who is alone. Maybe homeless people should be mercy killed?

You're denying that unborn child the opportunity to love and be loved. You're denying the world the chance to be blessed by that individual's talents and skills. You're depriving an innocent and completely vulnerable individual of every chance under the sun. And in so doing you are sending a terrible message to the rest of the world, that you believe some people's lives are not worth living.

This sort of thing only increases the despair of poverty and affirms people grappling with depression and suicidal thoughts. You are not just killing one person, you're killing hope for thousands.

Some middle eastern cultures still stone women to death. Some Indian cultures still rape the siblings of the adulterer. These cultures are inferior and should be wiped from the earth.

There is a disturbing trend in American society to re-define words to better suit the needs of a particular group. It must stop.

TL:DR Alcohol is destructive all of the time. Firearms can still keep society safer when used correctly.

To quote https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/alcohol/crimes/

"Nearly 10,000 people are killed annually on U.S. roadways due to alcohol-related accidents. Thousands more suffer from injuries due to intoxicated drivers. Close to 70 percent of alcohol-related violent acts occur in the home. Roughly 20 percent of these incidents involve the use of a weapon other than hands, fists or feet. An estimated 1.4 million incidents of alcohol-related violence are committed against strangers each year."

Also, an estimated 37% of rapes are committed by someone under the influence of alcohol. There's no data to suggest how many victims have been targeted because they were under the influence of alcohol, but it's safe to say that if everyone's sober, rape rates would go down.

Furthermore, an estimated 2/3 of domestic violence is perpetrated by a spouse or s/o who has been drinking. 4/10 child abusers admit to being under the influence of alcohol. 40% of homicides are committed during or after drinking.

And that's not even touching the fact that I've never seen evidence of alcohol having a constructive effect on society.

I posit that anyone who wants to make society safer should concentrate their efforts on alcohol, which only damages people and relationships. Firearms can be used defensively to keep society safer. A drunk woman can do little to fend off a rapist. A sober woman with a 9mm can destroy a rapist, saving not only herself but also any future victims of the scumbag.

Thank you for the 'Good Point' and the intelligent response! I agree we are on the same page. I didn't mean to seem as if I was posing an either/or question. Alcohol does have its place in the economy, though so do firearms. I merely want to draw attention to the fact that gun control activists are misusing their energy if they truly want to make society safer, or else lying about their motivations.

Voting is not something to be taken lightly. It should not be done easily. Immature people and people who do not care should be discouraged from voting.

With the exception of military, I propose that the voting age should be raised to 25.

People are more divided by culture. Does culture equal nationality? In America, one might think so, but it's rather blurred. Some first-generation immigrants are the proudest, most patriotic people I know. They consider themselves Americans now, their countries of origin as important and irrelevant as your state of origin.

TL:DR Doctors are not slaves

To say that you have a right to healthcare is to say that you have a right to the doctor's time and energy. To say you have a right to the doctor's time and energy is to say the doctor is your slave. This is why a culture established on basic premises of personal freedom and evolved to despise all forms of slavery will never accept the 'right to healthcare'.

This is an excellent point. With a society as saturated in pornography as ours is today, I think that the female nipple will always be associated with erotic thoughts, at least for men.

Should women be free to expose their nipples? Yes. Should they be free to complain when men react a certain way? Also yes. Will they be taken seriously about their complaints? No. Will they use this to divide society more by complaining that it's a conspiracy by the organized Patriarchy to keep women oppressed? Also yes. Is this complaint justified? No.

It's sad, but we created this situation. We have enough problems without adding more fuel to the fire.

Language evolves. A hundred years ago it would be grammatically incorrect. But a need has arisen, and a word has evolved to fill that need.

This creates an interesting problem.

Pronouns are almost never used to someone's face. When I speak to someone they will almost never know what gender I think they are because I use their names. Pronouns usually only come up when A speaks to B about C.

The problem arises because of the Orwellian concept of Wrongthink. By demanding that someone use your personal pronouns you demand that they affirm your opinion to other people whether or not they share that opinion. Attempting to coerce them to parrot an opinion they don't agree with is wrong and will not endear you or your cause to them.

Essentially, the Trans movement's demand for personal expression under the First Amendment cannot come at the expense of other people's First Amendment rights. Whenever the perceived rights of two people come into conflict, the aggressor should usually give way.

It is your right to request your personal pronouns. It is not your right to coerce other people to capitulate to your opinions.

Violence should be put off until

1. there is no other choice and
2. victory is ensured.

Otherwise you will only harm your cause and go down as the villains.

Jesus said to give of your own resources. He did not say to take a sword to your neighbor's house and force him to give as well (taxpayer dollars are usually considered to be extorted, not given freely).

There is no moral value in being generous with other people's money, and generosity itself is not limited to liberal philosophy.

Anyone interested in the public welfare needs to start with alcohol, not firearms.

A knowingly uninformed opinion is an insult to everyone who hears it.

I posit there would be fewer open wars, and a lot more assassinations.

If white people shouldn't wear dreadlocks, black people shouldn't dye their hair blonde.

It's an absurd excuse to be racist against white people.