16ccb154   
   XPost: alt.activism.drug-war, alt.drugs.psychedelics   
   From: joelcrump@gmail.com   
      
   "His Highness the TibetanMonkey & the Spirits of the Jungle"   
    wrote:   
      
   >> Not to mention, of course, that you do allude to one of my main tenets   
   >> of my non-practicing belief in the Bible.  While I don't accept it in   
   >> its entirety as "inspired word of God", or whatever, that actually   
   >> helps solidify its value to me - it doesn't need to be that, to show   
   >> its purpose in world history since the time of Jesus.  Sure, it was   
   >> exploited to help justify slavery in the last millennium, but it   
   >> wasn't the *cause* of it, and I can only imagine that every violent,   
   >> discriminatory, tragic phenomenon would have still happened, and been   
   >> even worse, without the influence of Christianity.   
   >   
   >You can never say when I say things seriously, but the practical   
   >effects of religion is that we have illegal prostitution and drugs,   
   >and yet many people just do it with the added risk and aggravation.   
   >   
   >You may also claim that the war in Iraq was a direct result of having   
   >a Christian electorate who doesn't question things.   
      
      
   I consider it extremely simplistic to blame any of those things on   
   religion alone.  Particularly since you mention prostitution, which   
   while not really worth proactively enforcing laws against it *in the   
   case of adults who are freely (and discreetly) choosing to do it*, is   
   hardly something I would want to be fully legal.   
      
   If Amsterdam or Nevada chooses to create a legal industry for it in   
   some way, I guess that's their choice, but I would not take away law   
   enforcement's ability to investigate *exploitation* of prostitutes   
   (especially since they include children and teenagers, obviously), nor   
   to defend public areas from open-air illicit sex markets.  It's not as   
   simple as saying it's a matter of personal choice or liberty - and   
   especially since you apparently are male, you should really be   
   careful, intellectually, in thinking that you truly understand all the   
   ramifications of selling sex.   
      
   --   
   Joel Crump   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)