The controversy only arises because society decided that medical and socio-economic problems should be considered in terms of morality; if you are poor, you are a bad person. If you do drugs, you are a bad person. And bad people deserve punishment, not assistance.

100% Everything you say. However, with a certain group of people these arguments are never going to convince them and I am going to presume the OP is among them. Assuming there is a subset of this group who are open to some discourse on the matter, I think taking the human/emotional plea aspect out of the argument is…

It’s not enabling. Addicts are going to shoot up whether they have access to clean needles. No one says, “You know, I was never going to use heroin. But then I discovered there was a needle exchange in my town so I figured, ‘Why the hell not?’”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1138_(number)

That was actually an interesting story. I don’t blame you for passing it along, even as I don’t blame your friend for taking it. It’s akin to buying a house you know someone died in, etc. It will bother some and be ignored by others. People are complex.

Tangentially related: when my grandfather died about 10 years ago, one of the pieces of furniture my grandmother gave me when she moved out of the old house was a big, beautiful, oak desk and a matching chair. They brought it home with them from Germany when my grandfather was stationed there as an officer in the US…

You’re right. Roughly 18-34. I actually had that segment posted under the Children of Millennial section in the second paragraph, but copy and pasted it into the first paragraph as I thought it provided a good example of viewing trends. I should have been clear that he is a post-millennial or whatever they settle on…

My brother-in-law and his wife convinced us to go on a cruise for a few days a few years ago. They go on one once every year or two and love them.

Decent knowledge of the law/access to folks with knowledge of the law? The whole “I’m not <insert negative stereotype about ethnic/racial/gender/sexual orientation>, I’m <insert highlight of most positive trait of the person this happened to>” we find ourselves having to do whenever we’re treated like crap and the…

When baby items are gate checked, they go into the hold last, so that they can be quickly retrieved as parents deplane. There would be no “digging around in checked luggage” for it, it’s literally the last thing they put in. AA refusing to go get it was just a dick move, especially when she’s traveling solo with a…

In my experience it just makes them call you a bitch. I do it anyway.

Ready for inspection, Mr. President.

...Man, I think I’m going to keep coming back to this piece all day, thinking about it more. Upon reflection, this bit is really sticking with me:

This is a Banff.

Unacceptable

Unacceptable

I’m interested in knowing more about this water skiing squirrel you speak of.

“The way the media, as a whole, is seen, has changed dramatically over the past 20 years.”

This may be true for YOU and YOUR political views, but there are plenty of people out there who aren’t on the fringes of politics and prefer a more centrist, moderate approach. There is nothing wrong with wanting, say, pro-choice rights for women, marriage equality, AND lower taxes and smaller government.