RoR: Forum

One is caught by a thief, who will steal a percentage of the money you tell him you earned. If the thief learns that you did not tell how much you earned, then the thief forces you to go to jail.

I was wrong by calling him a lier. Instead, he chose to only tell the thief what he thought the thief would find out, as to avoid jail. Unfortunately, he made a mistake in predicting what the thief would learn.

Post 21

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 6:58pm

I must have been very angry when I wrote my second post to this thread. Nothing else can explain its grammar. I can't believe that no one has had anything sweet and comforting to say about it. It must be because Robert Bidinotto and George Cordero are elsewhere.

Barbara

Post 22

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 7:35pm

Barbara,

I'll cover for the time being for Robert and George. Especially since I learned my lesson.

So you see, about what you said...

Well... uhm...

Ahhh... ahem...

When you get grumpy, you...

Hmmmmm.

Yeah...

Michael

Edit - Oh my God! I didn't say that! (Just covered my head with a quilt. Maybe all this'll go away.)

(Edited by Michael Stuart Kelly on 3/17, 7:48pm)

Post 23

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 7:47pm

You know, Michael, you've been pretty indecisive today. Seems like a hint of a larger issue, a la the "Objectivist pickup line" thread controversy....

Post 24

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 8:00pm

Barbara at War!

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 9:14pm

Barbara: "He's like the people who think they're striking a blow for drug legalization by smoking pot in their living rooms. They're not striking a blow for anything. They ought to be out yelling against laws they object to."

Sounds like the theme to last night's SOUTH PARK.

Post 26

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 11:02pm

Michael, please stop! I can't bear the pain!

George, I can't believe I look that good when I'm angry. And why won't you tell me where you get those wonderful pictures of my hero?!

Barbara

Post 27

Friday, March 18, 2005 - 3:52am

Barbara,

I completely disagree.

What do you do when the Government wants to steal your wealth or livelihood? What do you do when the Government trys to lead you to the gas chamber?

You fight back! Either on their terms (if possible) or your own.

Fighting back on your own terms is equally valid - especially when you do it for the right reasons. Anderson called himself Ragnar Danneskjold, so I am pretty sure he was fully aware of the justification in his actions

Post 28

Friday, March 18, 2005 - 5:41am

Marcus, of course you fight back. But the question is: How? My objection is to this man's futile and wasteful way of fighting. Futile because all he will win is prison; wasteful because so much of his life has been spent hiding and skulking when he might instead have been a leader in the fight against governmental injustice.

Barbara

Post 29

Friday, March 18, 2005 - 5:49am

Barbara - If that's what he wanted, I agree. Still, there is that little thing of about a billion dollars...

Maybe he didn't want to fight. Maybe he just wanted to keep his money.

Michael

Post 30

Friday, March 18, 2005 - 6:20am

Michael, I'm not suggesting that he had to fight. But now we're back to my earlier post, where I said: "It seems as if he spent most of his life scheming and plotting to avoid the law and to hide his money and his identity. . What a waste! Wouldn't he have been better off to have paid his damn taxes and lived like a human being?"

Barbara

Post 31

Friday, March 18, 2005 - 6:22am

Either Her Majesty is up early or the posting was time-delayed.

I have to agree with you on this Barbara.

Jason

Post 32

Friday, March 18, 2005 - 7:00am

In my opinion he was fighting. He was fighting to keep his own money.

What the hell is so dishonest about keeping what is rightfully yours to begin with?

When anyone else violates your rights - including the Government - surely you have the right to self-defence!!!

Come on!!! You want him to treat a thief with respect?

Post 33

Friday, March 18, 2005 - 7:05am

Marcus, I didn't say he was dishonest. But you're not answering the points I made.

Barbara

Post 34

Friday, March 18, 2005 - 7:06am

Jason, I'm not up early. I'm STILL up.

Barbara

Post 35

Friday, March 18, 2005 - 7:09am

Marcus, I also didn't say he had no right to self-defense. And I didn't say he should treat thieves with respect. I said he shouldn't waste so much of his life, and ruin what now remains of it.

Barbara

Post 36

Friday, March 18, 2005 - 7:17am

Barbara,

Yep.

Michael

Post 37

Friday, March 18, 2005 - 7:18am

You mean then that he has wasted his life?

Why? Because you think that his ideal should be the same as yours? To fight it out in the media?

No. Not wasted. He earned a lot of money and found ingenious ways of not paying taxes.
There was a risk of being caught, but now he can fight it out in the courts.

That is what Roark did. Sabotaged his building with explosives.

That is what Ragnar did.

That is what John Galt did - hid away in a secret valley without paying taxes or getting permission from local authorities. (There are always local authorities).
I suppose if Galt would have died under torture you would have said - "Galt's Gulch - what a waste of time!"

According to you all of these characters wasted their time hiding from the Government or breaking the law.

Post 38

Friday, March 18, 2005 - 7:29am

Marcus, I'm bewildered by the things you're reading into my posts. I DON'T think his ideals have to be the same as mine. And he's not going to fight it out in the courts; he's going to spend the rest of his life in prison, an entirely predictable fate.

And no, it may have escaped your attention, but I DON'T think that Roark, Ragnar, and Galt wasted their time. Context, my friend!

Barbara

Post 39

Friday, March 18, 2005 - 7:32am