On March 26. 1997 39 members of the Heaven's Gate cult committed suicide in an attempt to catch a ride with a spaceship hiding in the wake of the Hale-Bopp comet. Had authorities known of these plans would they have been justified in arresting the cult members to prevent their deaths? After all, police officers forcibly prevent suicides all the time? What about a Jehovah Witness who refuses a blood transfusion for a life saving operation? Should the state force him or her to have the operation to save her or his life? What about a mountain climber who wants to ascend a dangerous Himalayan mountain peak in the middle of winter? Would authorities be justified in arresting her or him to prevent such a foolhardy ascent? Or do individuals have a right to engage in harmful behavior that is meaningful to them?
Allegory of Good Government
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Legitimate Protest?
In February, 2022 a "freedom convoy" of truckers, protesting a new rule requiring truck drivers crossing the Canadian/United States to be vaccinated against COVID-19, blocked city streets in and around the Parliament in Ottawa, Canada. The parked trucks and other makeshift structures effectively impeded traffic throughout the city and has lasted from over a week. Is this a form of legitimate protest? What would Mill say -- and do you agree?
March in Skokie
On October 4, 1976 a neo-Nazi group sent letters to Chicago suburbs asking for permits to hold a white power rally (after their attempts to do so in Chicago itself were blocked). While many of the suburbs simply ignored the request the village of Skokie sought an injunction. Skokie is a suburb with a substantial Jewish population -- many of which were Holocaust survivors. In addition to the injunction the village passed laws to prevent such demonstrations in the future. These laws prohibited wearing military-style uniforms in demonstrations, prohibiting the distribution literature that included hate speech, and requiring a $350, 000 insurance bond. All these restrictios made it impossible for the neo-Nazis to hold the rally.
Are these restrictions justified? What would Mill say? Do you agree?