If Ayn Rand considers something "immoral" then I would consider that same thing as my highest moral obligation. Stop drinking the Kool-aid.
[/QUOTE] Did you to mean to rebut a libertarian with civil rights imagery? That's like quoting the Torah to debate Eichmann. Or reading a fried chicken recipe to a vegan (or, I guess in this case, a libertarian).
Most of the people I've met who quote Rand aren't that well-read, and yet they're pretty obviously (I would say monomaniacally) influenced by what they read. So, I guess I'm thinking, there's still hope? If only Greenspan, Ron Paul et al. had started with Marx?
perhaps I should have included the rest of her quote The civil rights sit-ins were against segregation laws, forcible acts of state. They were not an attempt to disrupt private activity. Shouting and obstructing private citizens going to work is just really weak. This particular mob isn't very brave. They call themselves "Occupy Wall St." but as far as I can tell they aren't occupying anything, just a weak attempt at intimidation with (unimpressive) numbers. More like little kids at the mall whose parents have to drag them along the floor. Lots of "don't taze me bro", "help I'm being repressed" unemployed hipsters living off their parents. I'm sure the cops love babysitting.
I actually hope all of our major political philosophies have replaced our world religions 500 years from now, and enough of our social and economic differences are settled that government is nothing but auditors and engineers.
Tell that to the Woolworth's manager, or the Montgomery bus driver trying to fill Parks' seat. They weren't trying to provoke a court case; they were definitely disrupting private business, trying to force public opinion to change. Except, they're not really intimidating anyone. They lack pitchforks, and haven't attempted any widescale acts of violence. They're peaceful. They're thought of as jokes. So let 'em protest, methinks.
Don't understand a bit of your argument but I am sure behind those products on the picture, someone is using the cash to bribe, kill, rob and arrest the victims of capitalism.
i was visiting ground zero and saw the protests today. there were hundreds of people camping out and chanting. then i went and got some pizza. thabeet needs to put on some weight, ya know.
The actual fact pattern: 1. Woolworth's lunch counters were segregated. 2. Sit-in. 2.a. Sit-in received a lot of publicity, leading to boycotts. Woolworth's faced a loss of private revenue. 3. Woolworth's lunch counters were no longer segregated. Nothing "public policy" about any of that. It's a pretty easy rebuttal to the simplistic, libertarian nonsense that government regulation = evil, private industry = always good. (Point of fact, the Civil Rights Act & related laws acted in contravention to Southern bigotry.) All of this ignores the fact that the protestors in New York are just that, protestors. If a Wall Street worker can't stand a few jeers on his/her way to work, maybe they shouldn't work on the Street?
They're going to need a new "face" for the protest. http://www.postchronicle.com/news/breakingnews/article_212384929.shtml
I'm even more certain every single one of those products was originally fabricated, refined and distributed with a healthy dose of government action, investment and regulation. Unfortunately, probably some of the killing and robbing too.
are you not drinking the kool-aid too when you say you will believe the opposite of someone else solely b/c of who that person is? for the record, i disagree w/ that entire piece, but not b/c ayn rand wrote it. but b/c i support civil disobedience as a means to social/political change.
actually, your woolworths example exemplifies the libertarian philosophy that the free market will solve these kinds of problems. the government didnt need to impose any laws to force them to desegregate - people boycotted woolworths, disrupting their business and brinigng negative publicity and it forced them to change their policy. in the end, the only color that mattered for woolworths was green. imo, civil disobedience and libertarianism go hand-in-hand. i agree.
