05 November 04
Something more specific that’s been bugging me today - the view that opposing a ban on something is the same as embracing that thing. If you don’t support a ban on gay marriage, it doesn’t mean you want more gay people roaming the streets. It doesn’t mean you are gay yourself. It just means you don’t support banning gay marriage. [Note - ‘gay marriage’ is being used as an example here as a single, simple idea. Obviously it’s far more complicated - see the following post if you haven’t already.]
I guess another annoyance is how many people like banning things whenever they get the chance, even if they perceive it as an over-ban. Ban now, patch the ban later. Or ban now, forget about it later because the media isn’t terribly focused on it and besides it never directly affected me anyway. Or my favorite - Ban now, and with the increased precedent of banning shit, ban even more later so you can live in a safer homogenous world where everybody shares your specific moral values and nobody does things like pushing the envelope or questioning the Top 40.