Yes join the army and really hope that you will not be disabled.

And me, as soon as I can't keep working. I am hanging on by a thread. Prepare the euthanasia chamber.

I've paid taxes for 16 years, how much has Joe paid?

My first reaction was


But I reconsidered after realizing that all 17-year-olds know what’s best. After all, they do have the life experience that most of us don’t have yet. Putting it into context, I believe this is an adequate answer to those profound statements in the OP.


Oh... I almost forgot to add this.

LucidFlight wrote:We should probably kill off the chronically unemployed as well — oh, and lazy sods... and philosophers. Unfortunately, though, it would appear that modern forms of society come with the burden of its people having a conscience, which in turn requires them to exhibit some degree of compassion. Sucks, huh?

Oh.. and the homeless. They should probably die - I mean, uh... be euthanised - as well.

Don't kill me!

Spinozasgalt wrote:

cjoe1994 wrote:I have nothing against disabled people, but if someone can't work and has no one to work for them, why is their life so important? How is it fair that money is wasted on people who aren't particularly useful for much at all when money could easily be spent to save productive and important people and improve their quality of life?

Why not just humanely kill/"murder" them?

It's been attempted many times, of course. But, like the elderly, disabled people are lethal when it comes to defending their rights and welfare. Sure, go ahead and see if you can succeed where a million others have failed. You think regular assassins are deadly? Just wait till they're outfitted with silent wheelchairs.

You'll soon see why it's reasonable to fear the disabled. They will get you!

:tehe:

This is pretty much how it'll go down.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOTjgwfM_p8[/youtube]

I don’t view the people the OP cited as useless to society.

The unemployed could be the last gap soldiers defending Europe’s democracies like so many were in the First and Second World War. Employers also use them to keep wages and maybe inflation down?

The ill and infirm are the ones doctors use to practice medicine and learn all well being from illness and they also provide employment to those who make health care products etc.

The only people I seem to view as totally worthless and indeed harmful to society seem to be those who move money which isn’t theirs about and take large wages from it. They are unproductive; give nothing back and parasitical in the way they leach off the rest of us.

Same might be said of some criminals, but not all crimes are the same so I don’t think I’d like to lump them all together as the worth of a man who steals bread for a child seems greater than the man that steals bread to sell to a staving child.

I’d think I might add students to the list too. In that 20 children taught to read and write is to me worth the cost of free education, but teaching someone to be a master of biblical scripture seems a total waste of cash.

Paul G wrote:And me!

Get a pet.

I mean whenever I feel down after the Scrooge rants of the gutter press, I only have to look at my rescue dog and know if I wasn’t there he’d be back in a cage or put down. And even if I get depressed, he loves running about laughing as dogs do, so at least one of us is having a good time.

It's unfortunate that so many people (the OP is certainly included) have such a distorted perception of what "important and productive" is. Many people in the private sector---think Wall Street---are admired by others, but what do they actually contribute to society? On the contrary, they often make their fortunes at the expense of the general population. People's success and productivity are usually measured by their income and visibility, both of which are horrible indicators of an individual's value to society.

Furthermore, the OP's agreement that the unemployed should be euthanized makes me wonder if he's really being serious. Unemployed people don't fall off the face of the earth when they lose their jobs; they're still paying bills and spending money on necessities. And don't forget the millions that retired people put into tourism and other industries every year.

Paul G wrote:I've paid taxes for 16 years, how much has Joe paid?

Those taxes should just about cover the cost of you execution and burial. Well done Sir.

THWOTH wrote:

Paul G wrote:I've paid taxes for 16 years, how much has Joe paid?

Those taxes should just about cover the cost of you execution and burial. Well done Sir.

I'm sorry, but constant Tory bashing is a credit to society and you'd all be at a great loss without me.

Peter Brown:

I have many pets, mostly frogs and fish. We have two dogs in the house, who I'm fond of, but drive me utterly insane. I like pets that don't jump on my balls or try to eat my toes.

GreatApe wrote:

MoonLit wrote: Man, still can't tell if the OP is serious or not. Someone help me out here?

MoonLit, here's my advice (for what it's worth): "Expect the worst and hope for the best!"

--GA

That does help. Though after reading through this thread I think the OP is actually being serious. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Why don't we just nuke Africa as well, that'll save loads from the foreign aid budget and we won't have to look at TV and news reports showing us pictures of people suffering from malnutrition and starving to death and of course we'll be doing them a favour by ending their suffering.

We also have missiles with pin point accuracy that can be fired into other areas of the world which suffer from extreme poverty and cost us money.

Lots of ideas around that will save money, you just have to think out of the box.

Sorry, but gods manservants, Hitler and the Nazis*, made sure that no one will ever be able to have a sensible conversation about genetic engineering (to better mankind), euthenasia, stem cell research, eugenics of various sorts (debating whether severely disabled babies should be just "put to sleep" at birth, etc), and other things like that...


* In a discussion I was involved with once with bible-thumpers and several other people, the postulation was actually put forward that Hitler and the Nazis could have been "part of gods plan", as it results in a situation now where we can't talk about these subjects because an awful lot of people automatically scream "NAZI" and frighten you off saying any more when you bring them up, thus preventing them from happening in society...

(Uncle Orph'sTM popcorn - "the NECESSARY snack food" )

johnbrandt wrote:Sorry, but gods manservants, Hitler and the Nazis*, made sure that no one will ever be able to have a sensible conversation about genetic engineering (to better mankind), euthenasia, stem cell research, eugenics of various sorts (debating whether severely disabled babies should be just "put to sleep" at birth, etc), and other things like that...

I disagree. Whilst the actions of some people (not just the Nazis, the Allies meddled with eugenics too) have meant we're unable to conceive of doing it again there are many more ways to improve ourselves than selective breeding. Pre-natal screening, genetic engineering and artificial implants will play a large role in future generations.

cjoe1994 wrote:I have nothing against disabled people, but if someone can't work and has no one to work for them, why is their life so important? How is it fair that money is wasted on people who aren't particularly useful for much at all when money could easily be spent to save productive and important people and improve their quality of life?

Why not just humanely kill/"murder" them?

Hey cjoe, it's been a while since you've posted. Were you banned or did you just take a break?

I'm assuming that your OP was a joke or a poe right? The last time you were here you were singing the praises of liberalism and democratic socialism. Granted, you were doing it in a pretty naive way with rudimentary arguments but you reminded myself of a young(er) me so I enjoyed your posts.

So I find it hard to believe you actually believe that disabled people should be put down. Unless in these last six months you've fallen to the darkside. The essence to a fair and just society is finding an acceptable balance between the rights of the individual and the rights of society. For the better of one the other must suffer, but other times it will be the other way around. Condemning an individual for something they have no choice in even if it saves the wider society a whole lot of hassle is ultimately and fundamentally wrong.

cjoe1994 wrote:I have nothing against disabled people, but if someone can't work and has no one to work for them, why is their life so important? How is it fair that money is wasted on people who aren't particularly useful for much at all when money could easily be spent to save productive and important people and improve their quality of life?

Why not just humanely kill/"murder" them?

I am hoping this is a Johnathan Swift type proposal. I will go ahead and give you an honest answer if that is not the case. In my opinion, a human being's worth should be measured by their passion and by what they enjoy. It shouldn't be measured by what they contribute to society unless what they are contributing is something that they are passionate about. I will give you an example. I wax floors at Walmart and I freaking hate it. But it pays the bills and I bust my ass doing it. I guess that is my contribution to society according to your definition but I absolutely hate it!

I am passionate about my role playing writings and sharing that experience with my friends. I love every minute of it but according to you because I don't make money off it, I have contributed jack shit to society. But I value my writing far more than what I have to do at Walmart. I value my passion more than my contribution to society. That is what makes me human.

Remember, nobody asked or wanted to be born into this world. To kill them because they weren't granted a means to "contribute" is inhumane and quite stupid. They are human just like you and me. They contribute in their own way. Especially if they have a driving passion or if those around them have a passion for them.

I don’t view the people the OP cited as useless to society.

Neither do I,but only through indifference. I DO make a distinction between those who are useful to me,as well as those who annoy me,those who don't as well as those I don't mind,the six people I actually like and the many,many,many,many more who give me the tom tits.