Using Outliers to Justify Positions

I remember during the early 70s the conversation surrounding abortion. The argument by pro-abortionists was about the victims of incestuous rape being forced to have babies. That was the argument that pro-abortionists used. It was garbage then and it is garbage now.

Based upon the argument, abortion was un-Constitutionally imposed by the Supreme Court. If one bothers to actually read Roe vs. Wade, the court case that legalized abortion, the justices used the logic that the babies could be aborted if they were not viable. In other words, abortion was not a crime because the babies would be unable to live if born before X number of months.

This type of logic, using extremes to justify all abortion is deceitful. What percentage of abortions are done by the victims of incestuous rape, it is very few. The millions of abortions done every year in America are usually the result of people who did not have the sense to use protection.

The deceit at the heart of the Supreme Court case was that they knew they were misusing logic. The proof is in what they did later. If they had stuck to the logic of viability of the baby then we would preventing more and more abortions because we can now remove babies from the womb at 4 months and they can be kept alive outside of the mother.

This is not about abortion, it is an example. It is about intellectual integrity and the truth. Not to attack my commenter; but, lets consider Aids. I was told that I didn't understand the issues because non-homosexuals can get Aids. Let us consider how this argument came to be popular.

When Aids first appeared in the United States it was the result of a gay flight attendant who contracted it in Africa. The man in question knew he was sick and knew he was contagious, he kept sleeping around with other gays and did not tell them that he would make them sick. He didn't care.

He slept with a lot of people and they then passed it on to others. The other group that quickly spread it was Haitians who were intravenous drug users, needles were hard to get in Haiti and the sharing of needles was very common. There is a good book on the history and spread of Aids called, "And the Band Played On". The result, in the early years, was that Aids was almost exclusively a disease that was in the gay, Haitian and drug using community.

Many people who claimed to be Christians began saying that the disease was the result of God's wrath and that the gays deserved it. For me this exposed those claiming to be Christians as not really Christian. Aids is horrible disease and we should not wish ill of that type on anyone. I have lived through seeing too many people die from degenerative diseases, I could never wish such a thing on anyone.

Because there appeared to be little sympathy for gays and drug users, the gay community sought an example of an innocent. They chose Ryan White, a young boy who got Aids from a blood transfusion. They used an innocent little boy to achieve a goal. They used a sympathetic outlier to justify spending millions to find a cure. Their argument was insincere. I understand their reasoning; but, I think they should have hit the real issue and stuck to it before dealing with outliers.

The real issue behind legalizing abortion was whether or not anyone should be prevented from having an abortion. You can take any side you like; but, the real issue and the real consequence was to legalize it for everyone. The same is true with funding of Aids cures. The real issue is whether or not we should seek a cure for diseases that are primarily spread by consensual acts by groups that are not generally accepted. Because some people will say no others attempt to look at side issues, the infinite what ifs.

I personally believe that Marijuana should be legal for those over 18. I see the medicinal marijuana argument as another lie. Yes, marijuana has medicinal uses; however, the millions of people with medical cards for its use have no such diseases. Because the real purpose behind the law is to legalize marijuana, underage people can buy it. The lie lead to consequences.

Let us tell the truth about these things. The truth is that in the United States the greatest number of people with Aids are gay people who engaged in unprotected sex. Because of their actions it spread to people like Ryan White. The vast majority of people who have abortions have likewise had unprotected sex, this is just the truth. Finally, the vast majority of people with medical marijuana have no disease. They just want to smoke pot.

I wish to return to discussing Ryan White for the moment. I referred to him as innocent, that does not mean I consider the gays guilty. Let us not be simplistic or naive. As I said the man who brought Aids to the United States knew he was sick and he did not warn those he spread it to. He was complete jerk. The people he gave it to were also innocent; however, they engaged in unprotected sex knowing that they could get venereal diseases, they knew they were taking a risk. Ryan White did not have a choice, he needed blood transfusions.

Sorry, I don't time to finish this post. I have just been given my move out day. January 24th. Free at last.