Comment on Stop children using VPNs to watch porn, ministers told

Gerudo@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

• sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  Yup, and that’s how the US got the Mafia. We banned alcohol, but people wanted to drink, so the Mafia made that happen.

  All a ban does is hurt law abiding citizens and businesses.

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  • ICastFist@programming.dev ⁨55⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago

    Not all bans are bad or hurt law abiding citizens. Slavery and gambling come to mind, both still exist illegally (or, in the case of gambling, semi-legally, what with the deluge of sports betting and online casinos HQd in shitty countries), but I would say them being illegal is a net positive for society.

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    • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works ⁨26⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago

      Eh, I disagree. Slavery being banned is obviously a good thing, but that’s because it’s immoral to own someone else, so it’s essentially just kidnapping. Gambling, on the other hand, shouldn’t be banned for the simple reason that consenting adults should be able to do it if they choose.

      Basically, I believe there are two types of rights:

      • negative rights - restricts others from preventing individuals from doing things to you (e.g. freedom from slavery, freedom to gamble, etc)
      • positive rights - forces others to provide goods or services to you (e.g. free healthcare, right to counsel, etc)

      I believe nobody should gamble because it’s a poor financial decision and very addictive (and I choose to avoid gambling), but I also believe you should be allowed to gamble, and the government should ensure that companies that provide gambling services do so fairly (i.e. advertisements about win-rates and whatnot are accurate).

      So yes, if gambling wasn’t allowed, people w/ addictions would be better off, but those who aren’t at risk of gambling addiction would be harmed due to restrictions on their freedom. So the question is, do we want government to protect us from ourselves, or merely provide a safety net for when we screw up? I’m absolutely in the latter camp, and I think we should use taxes to fund recovery programs for addictive behaviors in lieu of banning them. In general, I think a tax is way more rights-respecting than a ban.

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  • Mynameisallen@lemmy.zip ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    This is a fairly revisionist history version of the mafia, they were here for decades before prohibition. One might say that they profited greatly from prohibition, but to suggest they began with it is incredibly incorrect. I hate to be the actually guy but I find organized crime fascinating and I can’t let this one go

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    • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Eh, not revisionist, just overly simplified. Prohibition massively increased their power and relevance.

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• piecat@lemmy.world ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Dead drop USBs for file sharing?

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