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Originally Posted by XYZ
Re: chamber pots:
Why should you care about what affects them directly? What makes you concerned with the "mental attitudes (of) large numbers of people"?
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Obviously, because those things also affect me.
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Why should you care about what other people think? The mental attitudes of anyone, including hordes of people is NOT what affects you. What they SAY about you might affect you. How they VOTE might affect you. What they DO will affect you.
What they think does not affect you.
People think all sorts of crazy things. You may think that what others think is detrimental to you. It's not. Until thought is put into action it is merely fantasy.
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Would you be opposed to their getting their energy from nuclear energy or a clean version of coal generated power plants?
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Nuclear would be great. "Clean coal" belongs in the Unicorn Corral.
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The technology exists to make clean use of coal. The current government will not permit it.
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So he engages in behaviour that you find offensive. Apparently there is no law against it. Would you like to make a law against it?
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No, I'd like to shoot the SOB. Unfortunately, there are laws against that.
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You are on record as saying that. Be careful about what you say. The thought police may come to your door to say that your negative fantasies are endangering others.
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Have you considered speaking to him about it? Have you considered closing your windows?
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I have spoken to him. His response was physical threats which escalated to the point where I decided to call the cops. In retrospect, I probably should have just taken him out then, but I thought it would look better having it on record for the next time.
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What did the cops say when you called them? Tell us more.
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As for closing my windows, 1) It's a diesel truck. Windows don't block the noise. 2) Why should I be denied the freedom of having cool, fresh air in my house?
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You don't have a right or "the freedom" of always having "cool, fresh air". You don't have the right to prohibit all noise you might find offensive or unacceptable to you, except during hours when it is considered unacceptable according to standards set by laws in your locale.
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I have a neighbor who may be similarly ignorant or wasteful. His vehicle is a Honda that he will run at idle in his driveway for at least 15 minutes before driving it at all. It's a waste of fuel. Does it annoy me? No, it doesn't.
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Wouldn't annoy me either, since if he had a nice, quiet, non-stinking Honda, I wouldn't be able to hear or smell it. (I know this because other neighbors do have Hondas & Toyotas.) That's exactly my point: It's perfectly possible to conduct your affairs in a way that at least minimizes your effects on others, which is why many of us are happy to drive cars with working mufflers and emission controls. But there are some people who just seem to get off on doing things that make other people's lives a bit more miserable, even when doing so costs them in money and/or convenience.
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Has it occurred to you that what he is doing may not be directed towards you with the express purpose of annoying you?
By now, after you called the cops, he knows how to 'push your buttons', and so he will. Only you can change your response to it.
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LP meetings & conventions, back when I used to be politically active.
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Political activism won't cure the problems you have described here. This is a problem between neighbors, and your ability to work things out.
Politics is the disease. Politics is not a cure.