Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Poor MPs. Being power hungry must really suck in the age of social media :(


Really?

You can disagree with the position, whilst accepting that MPs have been murdered, and MPs do get threatened online.

What specific level of power hunger makes a threat to life acceptable?

Further, I wasn't in favour of these proposals, but if you have people on HN of all places thinking its acceptable to threaten people, maybe we do need this law.


Every law that the MPs create is itself a threat against the people. A prescriptive law can only be described as "Do what I say, or I will hurt you." Agents of the state create laws, and then take your money and pay that money to men with guns to come after you if you fail to comply.

Law === Threat


"If you don't do X, I won't do Y"

That is a threat in the broadest sense.

the more useful comparisons are

law != violence || threat of violence threat != violence

unless youre just equivocating the 2 meanings of threat to construct an argument?

So as law isn't equivalent to violence, why is it acceptable to bring violence into it?


Threatening people online was already illegal.


Ok, lets replace this with murder.

MPs are getting murdered, so they introduce a new law to prevent murder.

Is the parents comment acceptable?


Murder is already illegal, and threatening to murder someone is already illegal. Any further legislation, the burden of proof is on them not on me or the parent poster. Otherwise one day they might claim that me taking a shit will lead to their murder and have my toilets removed.


Im not saying the burden of proof is on you. I'm not saying murder is legal.

I'm saying that making sarcastic comments suggesting that MPs deserve to be murdered or threatened isn't acceptable.

Its a completely separate issue from the law theyve introduced, which as I said, I'm not in favour of, and I agree they need to make the case before they remove your toilets, I've already made such a comment elsewhere in this thread.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: