Right now it seems like he's willing to defend he and his friend's personal safety (his friend's safety as an after thought mind you), but he doesn't much care about the safety of people he's upset with.
Very well written. I would also add they dont just want safety, they want someone else to make it safe for them. They dont want to be responsible for their own safety.
Good point on the presumably different behavior of people who might underestimate how much at/of a risk they actually are.
And I agree that the weakest the "protect others" is, the least justifiable mandates are. The story is definitely not as straightforward as it's often portrayed.
Thank you for the peaceful exchange, I've very much enjoyed it.
"It’s been a bit of a slow realization for me, but I don’t actually want to be safe, I’d rather be free and unsafe."
This, I believe, is the key tension in democracies. A majority of the constituents can be scared into compromises for "their security", not fully understanding what they are really giving up. A large number would rather "feel safe" than "feel free".
If we're going the analogies here, this is more like someone with a gun pointed at them worrying that they may get shot. "Stop worrying!" you say. "You can trust the person holding the gun! They almost never shoot people who don't deserve it!"
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