Posted by Isis at cau03.cau.cornell.edu on June 18, 2002 at 11:48:37:
In Reply to: answers inside posted by ScreamingMonkeys on June 18, 2002 at 11:35:32:
: A right is more like permission, like a right to bear arms. Legally we can have sex with consenting adults not minors. Thats the law. When we talk about 'rights' it is better served for statements like "we don't have the right" to do something sexual. I have more then a right to masturbate. I just can. A right to it is the lesser part of it.
I think it's important to say that people have rights to their bodies, because the first step of any fascist regime is to attempt to control people's bodies -- literally, the "means of production" of future humans. There's a reason why Hitler's first act in office was to outlaw abortions. Your body is your first and last possession, and trust me, if the fundamentalists of the world keep distracting us with the sad "Sum of All Fears" plotline they seem to be following these days (i.e. pitting themselves against each other in order to grasp dictatorial power), you'll be feeling like these rights are vital. Hey -- already in the U.S. in some places, you can't live with your lover if you're gay, you can't fuck them, and you damn sure can't get married. Legality is important.
: Violence is a different topic. To sum it up with my opinion on the matter, violence is all in the eyes of the one receiving violence.
Bullcrap. A nine year old Vietnamese girl with her body on fire because she's been napalmed isn't in pain because she's imagining it. Violence is defined by the experience of the victim, yes, but that doesn't mean it's not an objective thing. And spanking someone isn't necessarily violence -- violence is an unwanted act of harm.