Thread: What do you think?

  1. #1
    Refugee face_master's Avatar
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    What do you think?

    SCENARIO:
    A 58 year old poor man becomes very sick and dies twice, but is revived in hospital. He is in hospital for 8 weeks. He needs a walking-stick to get around and when he leaves the people at the hospital say "You will need that walking-stick to get around for the rest of your life. If you want that one which is the cheapest, you'll need to pay us $70(AU) [$35(US)]. And he says "Nah, I've got one at home"; and he just walks out with it when he leaves.

    Now, do you think that this man is bad becuase he did this?

  2. #2
    aurė entuluva! mithrandir's Avatar
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    Not really - how else was he meant to get home? Crawl?
    Last edited by mithrandir; 08-03-2002 at 07:08 AM.

  3. #3
    Addicted to the Internet netboy's Avatar
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    How is he going to buy the stick when you say he is poor? Being poor is not his fault. Not being able to buy something he need because he is poor is not his fault either...
    It's unfulfilled dreams that keep you alive.

    //netboy

  4. #4
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    A poor man has his life given back to him (twice) which includes a stay of two months in the hospital, presumably at someone else's expense, i.e. a poor person with great health coverage?

    Now, let's infer, from what we've been given, that our friend has no intention of returning the walking-stick lent to him at the hospital. That makes him a thief, his financial circumstances notwithstanding.

    Is he a "bad" person? Perhaps not, but what he did was wrong.

    -Skipper
    "When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to resemble a nail." Abraham Maslow

  5. #5
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    Originally posted by netboy
    How is he going to buy the stick when you say he is poor? Being poor is not his fault. Not being able to buy something he need because he is poor is not his fault either...
    Who's fault is it, who should have to pay for his walking stick. Its not my fault he got sick and needs a cane, it's not my fault he doesn't have a job. And I'm sure as hell not going to pay for his medical care. Neither should anyone else, if he needs a cane he can buy one, its not society's job to provide him with one.

    Oh joy, another communism vs freedom debate.

    And to return to the original topic, what he did wasnt wrong if he intended on returning it.

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    Proud to be a gun carrying, freedom loving, libertarian
    Don't listen to Right-Wing propaganda, legalize it NOW!

  6. #6
    Go rent the movie 'John Q'. A good movie with interesting content [on this subject] to ponder.
    "There's always another way"
    -lightatdawn (lightatdawn.cprogramming.com)

  7. #7
    Seeking motivation... endo's Avatar
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    Maybe he simply forgot to pay, dont send in the armed response unit straight away!!
    Couldn't think of anything interesting, cool or funny - sorry.

  8. #8
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    John Q. was a terrible movie, even those I know who agree with the message of the movie thought it was bad. Denzel's acting is its only redeming quality. The movie is heavy handed, beats you to death with the free healthcare, hospitals are evil message, and it feels like your sitting through a russian propaganda movie they showed prisoners of war.

    Of course thats just my opinion

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  9. #9
    The Earth is not flat. Clyde's Avatar
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    "And I'm sure as hell not going to pay for his medical care. Neither should anyone else, if he needs a cane he can buy one, its not society's job to provide him with one."

    Bah, if health care is not societies job then i fail to see what is (unfortuneately it is a job society is ill equiped to do - see the NHS). Don't you think we should have ANY responsiblity for each other? You don't believe in any welfare?

    Mild socialism does not = communism by any stretch of the imagination.

  10. #10
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    In a perfect world I would say that no government is the best solution. Depending on when you catch me I tend to go between believing in in Anarco-Capitalism (basicly no government and a free market capitalism economy) and a situation where the government provides only the basic things it has to. The government's job is to protect the rights of its citizens. This falls into 3 sub-jobs:
    1. protect the rights of its citizens from outside forces (military)
    2. protect the rights of its citizens from domestic forces (police)
    3. set up a system to handle disputes among its citizens (judical system)

    However in today's world it wouldnt work easily, people have gotten used to all the crap government does for them. Things like social security, medicare, etc..., could all be gotten rid of and people could simply use the tax dollars they spend on these programs to pay for their own private health care, and retirement.

    I do believe in welfare but its not the government's job to take peoples money and distribute it for them. I believe that people are inheritly good and will help those in need themselves.
    Proud to be a gun carrying, freedom loving, libertarian
    Don't listen to Right-Wing propaganda, legalize it NOW!

  11. #11
    >>The movie is heavy handed, beats you to death with the free healthcare, hospitals are evil message,

    I was thinking that initially (I just watched it last night) but you'll notice that there wasnt some totally evil hospital personal. They all made their own points and it seemed to me that the hospital had more valid ones than the antagonist. I wont spoil the movie for those that havent seen it but it seemed to me to display a man in a lose-lose situation. I didnt see him as the 'good' guy particularly just as the one whos mission became popular with the people.

    I still suggest watching it. However, consider both sides of the argument fairly and you will see that its really the hospital that was in the right. It sucks but thats life.
    "There's always another way"
    -lightatdawn (lightatdawn.cprogramming.com)

  12. #12
    The Earth is not flat. Clyde's Avatar
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    "However in today's world it wouldnt work easily, people have gotten used to all the crap government does for them. Things like social security, medicare, etc..., could all be gotten rid of and people could simply use the tax dollars they spend on these programs to pay for their own private health care, and retirement"

    Right, and the handicapped? The people who have been so poorly educated they barely scrape in the minnimum wage and so cannot afford private health care? The elderly? The mentally ill?

    We have no responsiblity to them? oh and education itself, only the rich deserve a good education?

    "I do believe in welfare but its not the government's job to take peoples money and distribute it for them"

    Sure it is, people are stupid, and inherantly selfish, do you really believe that if all welfare was cut tommorow it would be made up by an increase in charitable donations? I really don't think so.

    "I believe that people are inheritly good and will help those in need themselves"

    If that were true, then the world wouldnt have even a 10th of the problems it does. People are certainly capable of altruistic deeds, but we all look out for no. 1 first, the vast majority of us only give to charity when it has negligable impact on our own lives (go on that luxury Summer holiday, or give to the poor? Realistically most people choose the former). That is why we need social forces imposed on us, and that is why they are there.

    Communism would be great in a perfect world, but it fails to account that people are inherantly selfish, however that doesn't mean we should swing entirely the other way, there is room for a capitalist society where the state still functions as a supporting mechanism, of course where the best balance lies is anybodys guess and much of the differences between political parties are due to different ideas on where that balance should lie.
    Last edited by Clyde; 08-04-2002 at 02:08 PM.

  13. #13
    Its not rocket science vasanth's Avatar
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    Well in ground realities socialism is a very bad idea... Corruption creeps in.. The government own most business.. The job of a government is not to do business but to govern..... Well India adopted socialism till the 80's and it was a very bad situation.....


    (pst:- i am not starting a debate with you Clyde what ever you say next.. i agree is right and you win... );

  14. #14
    aurė entuluva! mithrandir's Avatar
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    Healthcare is free in Australia guys...a little something called Medicare will ensure you get treated for free.

  15. #15
    5|-|1+|-|34|) ober's Avatar
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    *fails to read rest of thread*

    I think I shouldn't have to work today, and they should pay me anyways
    EntropySink. You know you have to click it.

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