Religious tolerance or safety?

[TheStinger]

Thats the problem with religion, they all want you to do something silly e.g wear a hat/turban, eat certain foods,work on certain days,read the correct books, pray facing the right direction,treat cows as sacred,venerate your ancestors, and other such things.

Why don't they just saytreat everyone decently adn do away with the ritual nonsense

[Buck Birdseed]

Why should parents be able to decide over the life and death of their children? You americans are so cold-blooded and evil I get scared, often.

[loinburger]

Treat everyone decently? You heretic!!!

[TheStinger]

Originally posted by loinburger
Treat everyone decently? You heretic!!!

everyone except the non believers of course

[loinburger]

Originally posted by Buck Birdseed
Why should parents be able to decide over the life and death of their children? You americans are so cold-blooded and evil I get scared, often.

Since when is "not wearing a helmet on your bicycle" equivalent to "being sentenced to die"? Stop being so melodramatic.

[Kontiki]

I guess the bigger question really is should certain religious groups be exempt from laws that apply to everyone else. There are plenty of examples of this happening, but how far should it be taken? Note: I'm not saying that helmet laws are an extreme situation, I'm just wondering how far exemptions should go.

[Boris Godunov]

As far as the U.S. goes, I support laws requiring helmets and seatbelts, etc., so long as our healthcare system is the way it is. If a kid goes and splits his head open and doesn't have insurance, the hospital is obligated to treat him and the cost gets passed on to everyone else anyway. Why not try to reduce potential costs with pre-emptive action? Certainly requiring helmets would be better than banning the activity...

[MrFun]

Loinburger, you do realize that a helmet minimizes serious head injuries right??

What did you think helmets are for??

[DinoDoc]

Why should government protect you from yourself?

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Why should government protect you from yourself?

Realistically, this is always going to be a part of any government. The good of the many outweigh the good of the few, and sometimes the good of the many means protecting some imbecile from hurting himself.

[Kepler]

Not wearing a seat belt or helmet should be like drunk driving. You lose your right to injury benefits. That's much better than having a law.

If you think it's an absolute truth that a law that saves lives is worth the expense of freedom, then we should have mandatory speed limits of 1 mph. Think of all the lives that would save. Even cute little children.

[Stefu]

I think the answer is obvious. They should wear turbans, since turbans are safer. Why? Simple experiment: Drop a bicycle helmet and a turban from a high building. Helmet breaks. Turban doesn't.

[loinburger]

Originally posted by MrFun
Loinburger, you do realize that a helmet minimizes serious head injuries right??

What did you think helmets are for??

I thought they were used as portable toilets, 'cause I'm so fucking stupid.

What gave you the impression that I don't know what a bicycle helmet is for, BTW?

[Lincoln]

When helmets are outlawed only outlaws will have helmets... Oh wait, wrong thread. OK, nevermind. The nanny state needs to keep track of its own corrupt officials and not worry about what people's kids wear when they ride a bicycle. The world is full of risks -- even for kids. People need to deal with it without passing new laws.

As far as the religious issue, they have a point. It isn't exactly like they are sacrificing babies or something. Of course maybe in the eyes of socialists they are sacrificing babies on the alter of that quaint little old concept called freedom.

[Ethelred]

Evolution in action.



I guess the Sikhs will just have to breed faster or go extinct in the world of two wheeled transportation.

However if an adult wants to be a stupid fool that is one thing. Making their children die on the altar of their idiocy is another thing.

Never ride a motorcycle without a helmet. You don't have to make a single mistake for some blind driver to look RIGHT AT YOU and then make a left hand turn in front of you and claim they didn't see you. I have had people change lanes with me directly lined up with their head and in no way whatsoever in their blind spot. I even looked at the side of her head as she blithely continued on into my lane. Bicycles can only be worse.