4 responses to “Obama’s America: Bureaucracy Fines Theater $80,000 for Racism”

1. 

   Philip France

   March 9, 2011

   Great article Selwyn – articulate and spot-on, as always.
   Thank you for being the champion of true social injustice.
   PMF

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2. 

   tm

   March 11, 2011

   “And if I discriminate unjustly, sure, I should be subject to scorn and social ostracism. But the idea that such behavior should be the domain of Big Brother is as un-American as it gets.”
   Hmmm. Just how long should this guy be prevented from selling hotdogs once the crowd has “decided” he has discriminated “unjustly”. Perhaps he should have to live under a bridge for the rest of his life for such an infraction. Surely the mob makes better decisions about misbehavior than the government and is certainly fair, not to mention proportional, when exacting such justice.
   Oddly enough, you remind me of a conversation I had with an administrator at a high school who told me that she wouldn’t do anything to interfere when a mouthy 9th grader was getting verbally harassed by some 17 & 18 year olds who were repeating 9th grade classes. I just wanted someone to back up my authority b/c teaching was sheer agony for the hour and a half I and the other students had to endure the battle of insults. Frankly, we didn’t care whether the squirt deserved being bullied or not. We innocent bystanders shouldn’t have had this ugliness inflicted on us.
   Perhaps you didn’t intend to advocate what I consider a form of vigilantism. If you did, I’d like you to consider the tension and disruption caused by one group of people dragging as many members of society into a conflict as possible in order to make a point. First, this is the opposite of conflict resolution. The more people who get involved, the more rumors likely to be generated as well as a likelihood that more aggressive, immature types will never let the conflict die. Second, the government would have forced payment via fines and/or incarceration had the targeted individual committed a crime. Unless the vigilantes have some organized though unofficial system of justice, the penalty can be quite out of proportion to the infraction despite said breech in socially acceptable behavior does not rise to the level of criminality.
   If it’s all the same to you, Selwyn, I’d rather be at the mercy of the government than a mob. Don’t you think advocating that members of society take certain matters into their own hands is primitive behavior that can easily degenerate into the sadistic.
   Of course we can trust people like you to know what’s best for us all. So what if you also manipulate bystanders with the fear that if they don’t conform to the norms of an aggressive faction, they’ll be on the receiving end of a “scorn and social ostracism” that might interfere with their rights in an erratic, ruthless manner. And who’s to say if the target ever received anything like a fair trial by a crowd acting as judge, jury and executioner.
   Care to explain further?

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3. 

   Shaun

   March 11, 2011

   Tm, What????
   You took what he said and ran a marathon with it. Selwyn didn’t advocate that lynch mobs run around executing everyone they disagree with, he made a hypothetical exmaple:
   Should a white hog dog owner put a sign outside his stand saying for example: “Whites only” It isn’t in the government’s place to come in and fine him for “civil rights” violations. He says its up to society to determine if the business rises and falls. A lot of people will find the sign revolting and refuse to eat there regardless of the quality or service or product. If enough people find the sign in bad taste the vendor goes under..problem solved. He didnt advocate that a local mob hang him. I thought that was pretty clear.

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4. 

   Shaun

   March 11, 2011

   Lol, I just now noticed my typo’s…. Hog dog lol……I meant hot dog.

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