Growing up, watching movies, you’ve seen people having fun and doing awesome things, like having a bonfire on the beach, lighting off fire works, and smoking a doobie all at the same time. You’ve always wanted to do it yourself because of how much fun you know it is. But, like anything awesome, they were all made illegal. We’ve compiled a list of the top 8 awesome activities that used to be legal, but aren’t anymore.
Alcohol At The Beach
There once was a time when it was not only socially acceptable, but almost encouraged to bring your favorite boozahol to the beach. Whether it’s a 6-pack of Corona, a cooler of Budweiser, or the makings for Whiskey Sours, followed by actual sex on the beach, it was a great summer pastime. Not only could you drink on the beach without having to worry about fleeing from beach cops on dune buggies while drunk as a skunk, you could straight up party, and they would join in. The good old days of bonfires on the beach and drinking into the night with friends are now gone. The majority of public beaches along the California coast (primarily Los Angeles) and the northern East coast (Delaware’s Rehoboth, Dewey, and Bethany beaches) now ban alcohol in any size shape or form, as well as bonfires of the epic Grease caliber. They are now both met with fines and possible jail time.
Guns In Public
If you’ve ever fired a gun, you know the exhilarating feeling it brings, the power you hold in your hand, the presumed authority with which you can now kick ass. For the longest time, the second amendment, protecting our right to keep and bear arms, allowed us to freely walk with them in public. Yes, there may have been the Wild West and, while that’s a great example, it’s not the one we’re going for here. No, we’re talking about more recent day farming towns, small towns, the Midwest. You could carry your .44 Magnum revolver on your hip, your double barrel Remington on a rack in your truck, and you’d be greeted openly. With the crackdown on firearms and the infringement of the rights of the people, unless you hold three different kinds of licenses, carrying a gun on your person in view of the public will net you jail time. An interesting trend to note is the increase in gun crimes, and its inverse proportionality to the right to carry them in public. If everyone carried a gun, there would simply be less gun crime, since anyone who tried acting up would have 6 different calibers of ammunition pumped into them before they could harm anyone.
Prostitution
What is the oldest profession in the world? Well, it probably would have been more effective if I asked that before the title, but yeah, it’s prostitution. From the days of the ancient Romans, Greeks, Chinese, and Mongols, dating even earlier, women have had a stranglehold on the industry. And frankly, they’ve made quite a pretty penny, the ones who do it right. It’s perfectly legal almost across the globe, though regulated in some places. The UK, for instance, requires monthly disease screenings, registration, and taxes. Sounds great to us! We wouldn’t want to end up getting the clap from someone we paid. Let alone an ex-girlfriend. But we digress. (Just kidding folks, no clap here). In the United States, the only places you can go for said erotic services are Nevada and Rhode Island. In all other 48 states, it’s illegal, and there are even sting operations going after us- err- them. Frankly, as long as it’s regulated and clean, there’s nothing wrong with bouncing some booty here and there. Besides, think of the pimps!
Fireworks
Only in America would the proliferation of fireworks designed to celebrate America be banned. As far as most of the states in the U.S. are concerned, all you are allowed to have to celebrate the founding of this great nation are sparklers, and a couple mortars that go whiz-bang-pop. Nothing else. Why? Because stupid kids do stupid things with them, get hurt, and their stupid parents sue the asses off of everybody in the phonebook for it. They used to be legal, glorious spectacles of independence, of celebration. Nowdays, if you want anything more impressive than lighting a box of roll caps on fire, you’ll need several different licenses, insurances, and a company that says you’re allowed to. It really takes all the fun out of the 4th of July. Now we’re not saying you can’t get them, can’t launch them, and can’t still enjoy them, because we sure as hell do. It’s just kind of illegal. The Regretful Morning legal department says we should probably say we’re kidding, we never do anything illegal, yadda yadda yadda. Please don’t sue us.
Speeding
If you’ve ever watch any of the Fast and Furious movie series, or any racing movie for that matter, you know just how awesome, fun, and exhilarating speeding is; the wind in your hair, the adrenaline, the roar of the engine. And if you’re anything like about 70% of Americans, you’ve gotten a ticket for it. It used to be that there were places in the Midwest, places like Montana, South Dakota, Iowa, etc. that had vast stretches of road without speed limits. Why? Because the many of the roads were straight, without bends, curves, or turns, for as many as 50 miles straight. How the hell could you expect to regulate speeds there, it would be downright cruel! Well, they didn’t. Until one hotshot lawyer raced through going over 115mph when he was pulled over for driving dangerously, and ticketed for speeding. He successfully fought the ticket, because there were no posted speed limits, and ruined the roads for anyone else who wants to drive through doing 90 without getting pulled over.
Smoking at the Bar
Don’t let the surgeon general or any of those anti-smoking campaigns fool you: smoking makes you look cool. (No it does not. Don’t smoke – RM Legal Department) Totally badass. In fact, you should have a smoke now. Up until about 5 years ago, you could go out to your favorite honky-tonk, bar, or pub and light one, two, or a hundred cigarettes or cigars up while you were pounding your beer or sipping your scotch. Not anymore. Thanks to U.S. lawmakers, you could get fined. So now all of us smokers have to leave our drinks unattended and stand outside the front doors, even in the dead of winter, so satisfy our cravings for awesome, officially moving the cool people hangout in every bar to 3 feet in front of the front door.
Internet Piracy
Far less cool than actual swashbuckling, Internet piracy is as much a part of modern culture as McDonalds. Well, we are using the term ‘culture’ relatively loosely here. Either way, when Al Gore invented the internet in 1958 (followed promptly by the advent of Cracked.com), there wasn’t much internet to be had. Years later, in the 90s, the internet expanded rapidly, exponentially even. Music on CD became more widespread, and people began putting music on their computers. Learning they could use the internet to add to their music collection, thousands of internetters across the land began sharing and downloading music. Then, a couple of fuckwads, excuse me, the RIAA decided they could profit from this new fangled Internet thing, and all the cyber hippie music sharing that was going on. So they had it illegalized. Then, like all cool pirates, it got more popular because of it’s illegality. So, thank you RIAA for 90% of the content of my hard drive. You made it possible.
Marijuana
Speaking of smoking, here’s one for you; pot. Mary Jane. Grass. Ganja. Whatever you may call it, it’s the relaxing pseudo-depressant cannabis plant that was once legal. A long time ago. Then, it was banned. Not many people are sure why, as it poses fewer health risks than smoking or drinking. Many rumors abound as the reasoning behind it’s illegality, including our favorite: it was made illegal because Mexicans and other immigrants always had some when they came with them, and the government banned it to use it as an excuse to keep them out. Whatever the reason, it is illegal. It used to be fine and dandy. In fact, the current administration is pushing to have it legalized in the U.S, and in Canada, depending where you are of course, if rarely enforced and even accepted. Oh well. We really don’t care. We’re off to roll another fatty. No, they’re not – RM Legal Department
Like what you read? Even if you didn’t, follow more of John Scrovak’s writing here and at Cracked.com on Facebook or on Twitter.
Be sure to check out Regretful Morning’s official Facebook Page or Twitter!
Feel free to comment below, or discuss this article in the Regretful Morning forums.
September 8, 2009
#1
I live in Arizon and you still see some people carrying guns, but it’s frowned upon. I dn’t know what kind of licenses they have if they have any. I love the local massage parlors, too, but they’re always getting busted. True, life is getting pretty boring and it kinda pisses me off. You want masagee???
October 3, 2009
#2
In Arizona it’s legal to carry a gun in public, as long as it’s not concealed right?
September 8, 2009
#3
Erm Prostituion is illegal in the UK… you’re thinking of Holland.
September 8, 2009
#4
Alcohol at the beach is illegal? … just how many folks are obeying that rule?
Guns in public? … haven’t these folks heard of the 2nd amendment?
Speeding? … more about a public racket to collect money that about safety
Smoking at the bar? … this one is just stupid. If you’re treating your liver like a pimp treats a whore then it is obvious healthly living isn’t at the top of your list to begin with so who is a little smoke going to hurt?
Marijuana? … I’m actually old enough that I knew a man in my younger days who’d actually smoked week before it was outlawed. Oh for the good old days.
September 8, 2009
#5
The open carrying of firearms is still legal in many states.
opencarry.org
September 8, 2009
#6
You should also add kreteks to the list of things your are not allowed to smoke anymore. You see, the tobacco lobby was worried that if people start smoking black clove cigarettes they will lose money, so they got the government to ban them completely, along with flavored tobacco. it’s supposed to prevent teenagers from smoking but thats OBVIOUSLY bullshit since teenagers aren’t allowed to smoke. The government is just fucking with us. I recent;y bought several cartons and I plan to smoke them all in front of the nations capitol, while taking care to remain 15 feet from the entrance and dispose of the filters in the proper receptacle.
September 8, 2009
#7
Many states allow open carry of handguns… previous poster is wrong about AZ… it’s perhaps MOST common there.
Virginia is also a big “open carry” state.
Many states have unlicensed opencarry, but licensed concealed carry.
Best info on this is at http://www.opencarry.org
September 8, 2009
#8
In Colorado it is legal to have a gun on your hip in plain view as long as you are not at a school or airport, court house, etc.. If you have a gun on you and it’s hidden without a concealed firearm permit and get caught that’s where you get boned.
September 8, 2009
#9
I’m glad public smoking is going out. It’s stupid as hell, and smokers are little more than victims of big tobacco companies, so there’s nothing glorious or cool about it. Plus, it’s the only vice on this list that actually drifts across the room and hits nearby people in the face.
I do miss the freedom to play with fireworks.
And one you missed, although you could include it in firearms, is BB guns. Used to be, kids as young as 10 had them, all over the country. For the sake of birds and wildlife, it’s probably a good thing they’re gone, but … still, it’s sad.
The BIG ONE you missed, by which I’m guessing you’re not a dog owner, is the right to walk your dog through the neighborhood without a leash. I used to run all over the place with my dogs, but today if they’re not leashed 24/7, you’re subject to fines. Hell.
Another one: You used to able to rake up your leaves in the fall and burn them, but no more. Your neighbors would scream and the fire department would be down on your ass in 5 minutes.
One factor behind a lot of this stuff going missing, something most of us fail to realize, is population growth. The progressive pressure of more and more people forced to live more closely together, with fewer resources has cost each of us these types of little freedoms.
And it will get worse, a lot worse. (But I’d bet five bucks that some smirking idiot will chime in here and say “Oh, there’s no such thing as overpopulation! That’s just silly!”)
September 8, 2009
#10
Pretty low brow aspirations if you ask me. I guess it’s useless to expect much from someone that uses the word awesome every other sentence. Go back to sleep John. The world is filled with wonders and potential you can never dream of.
September 8, 2009
#11
Prostitution is legal in the UK, you can’t solicit for business, advertise or live of immoral earnings (be a pimp)
September 8, 2009
#12
All these things where outlawed for good reason, each and every last one of them. The no guns in public was made law because of the intense amount of mindless shooting that occurred in every day life. Society is to fragile towards violence to allow such things to happen, anyone who didn’t agree with your words would get a cap in their head.
The beach is a fun place, a place for families to chill over their vacation time, who the hell wants girls getting drunk and revealing themselves inappropriately in front of YOUR kids and guys getting hammered and fighting on the beach, possibly resulting in a knife fight, if if number 1 wasn’t illegal a shoot out.
Fire works are fun, no doubt about that, but they also cause a lot of dangers for places that are dry constantly, its called FIRE and that WILL BURN DOWN YOUR HOME. That’s why they are illegal in some places. Even then they are more than allowed in others.
Speeding kills millions per year. That’s all I need to say about that.
Smoking in bars I agree is retarded, there was no need for that really.
Piracy, even though I do it too, Is illegal because it siphons BILLIONS of dollars from companies annually, they are loosing major profit because no one buys their things any more. Piracy should be illegal completely in reality, all these P2P websites just make it harder and harder for feds to track people. Still the point being its crippling the American economy.
And Marijuana. Lets face it. Its a good thing its illegal. Can you imagine the amount of car accidents and accidental deaths that would occur because people where high? Are you stupid for saying this should be legal? I mean this one could very well be the leading cause of death if it as legal due to the large amount of cases where people where hallucinating while driving or walking about.
THAT is why all these “fun” things are illegal. God forbid we should need a stable country with laws protect the average joe and his kin. Next time think before you people post things like this, tardos.
September 8, 2009
#13
I live in Michigan, and here, as well as some other states, we have ‘open carry’ laws which allow you to carry a legally owned firearm sans any licenses as long as it’s in plain sight.
September 8, 2009
#14
Drinking on the beach? I hate drinking in the sun anyways, so I could care less. It’s too damn hot and I don’t feel like visiting the ER because I caught heat stroke from my friend Jack.
Guns in public? OK, this is the stupidest one of all. Gun violence in our Presidents home state has risen significantly since they outlawed carrying of concealed weapons. Any state that has laws against the carrying of concealed or openly carrying of guns have much greater violent crime rates. New York for instance. I am a repo man and in Michigan it is LEGAL to carry openly. But some asshole prosecutors and cops like to mess with you just because they think they are doing the world a favor. Tell that to the gang banger on the eastside of Detroit that pulls his chrome plated 9 mm on me because he can’t pay his bills. All this even though the states attorney general says it is Legal and completely safe.
Smoking in bars? Yeah I don’t really care about this one. I am a smoker but I really can’t stand how smokey it gets in bars. I would rather go outside.
And weed? Well this should be LEGAL and will be legal soon. I believe thoroughly this will become federally accepted in the next 5 to 10 years. This is so so much safer than cigarettes and many people would rather smoke this anyways. Not only that if you make it legal it would put the drug cartel’s out of business. Hmmm theres a thought. Take 70% of there profits away. Wow now we are thinking.
September 8, 2009
#15
“So now all of us smokers have to leave our drinks unattended and stand outside the front doors”
Technically, this is likely illegal as well. Most states/cities say 100 feet from the door.
September 8, 2009
#16
Carrying guns in public is still LEGAL!!
states have different laws about it but for the most part you can carry a Gun in public. I live in California and I Unloaded Open Carry my Beretta M9 on a dialy basis with a loaded magazine right next to the weapon. I get plenty of shit about it from police but have never been jailed.
So yes feel free to carry your weapon around
September 8, 2009
#17
Marijuana is illegal due to a guy named William Randolph Hearst. He owned a paper and owned hundreds of acres of timber forests and a vast number of paper mills designed to manufacture paper from wood pulp. Hemp interferered with Timber (since hemp can be grown any where, and way faster than timber.. AND is WAY cleaner than using timber for paper… the first bible was printed on hemp paper) and he created propaganda against the Mother plant. They associated marijuana with hemp and created racist bullshit about marijuana (at the time know one knew that marijuana = hemp.. marijuana is a relatively new term for it) Racist propaganda like “if you smoke marijuana youll be lazy like the black man, and he will take your women!” and other ridiculous claims. There was even a scientific doctor claiming that “if you smoke marijuana, youll grow 6 in fangs, and turn into a bat” And yes, people believed him.
Marijuana is mainly illegal because hemp would ruin the timber industry, and not because of its recreational use. Any smoker will tell you that you CAN NOT smoke hemp, and there is a significant difference between Cannabis sativa and industrial hemp.
September 8, 2009
#18
In the “Wild West”, most towns did not allow you to have a gun in your posession while in the city limits, you were required to leave them with the sheriff and pick them up on your way out of town.
September 8, 2009
#19
I agree with the spirit of this article entirely. It seems we’re moving towards a nanny state of unprecedented levels and anyone who reads into a subject realises that simply banning something doesn’t make it go away. More often, it makes people want to do it more. Kind of the whole “want what you can’t have” theory. In that vein, does Prohibition ring a bell?
In a small technicality, I’d like to chime in and say that most states allow for carrying a firearm in public. It is almost universally frowned upon by everyone – including most gun owners – as it often leads to more confrontations than it does to anything productive.
September 8, 2009
#20
I’ve got a good one: The Harrison Narcotics Tax Act, which was passed in 1914 (barely an eyeblink ago, legally) made the use of both cocaine and opium illegal. It was the granddaddy of most US drug laws…Cocaine, incidentally, was referred to there as a narcotic. Openly racist terms had been used to describe its ill effect on society. Admittedly, even Sigmund Freud eventually decided it was a party worth pooping, but still. As late as 1914, you could stroll into a drugstore and buy yourself a box of Forced March brand cocaine pills, just like the South Pole explorers of the era. (Well, OK, not from a drug store AT the South Pole.)
September 8, 2009
#21
Well the gun thing is looking up
.
It’s easy to get a concealed carry permit in 36 states with just a background check and training, and in two more no permits are needed to carry concealed or open (Alaska since 2003 and Vermont since 1903.). In several more permits for concealed carry are “theoretically” available but issuance is under the control of sheriffs, police chiefs or sometimes judges and are often either very hard to get or flat-out sold for campaign contributions – California, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and a couple others are infamous for that crap.
In most of the states where carry permits are available to commoners, open carry is also legal but usually not common and sometimes frowned on. Arizona where I am (and have a carry permit and pack daily) is one of the better open-carry-friendly states and no concealed carry permit is required for open carry. A couple of the local gun-rights forums and mailing lists have been putting together open-carry group dinners. We showed up at one buffet in Tucson where the Jehovah’s Witnesses had a convention nearby and that made an interesting contrast
.
Long-term looks good too. In 2008 the US Supreme Court decided US v. Heller in our favor. While it wasn’t specifically about “street carry” and only applies so far to US law rather than state, there’s a favorable mention in footnote nine to half a dozen older state-level cases that all said the same thing: it’s possible for a state to restrict concealed carry only when open carry is legal.
Self defense is a basic human right. We’re finally getting it back.
September 8, 2009
#22
Marijuana is a psychoactive drug, not a depressant; although it is downright awesome.
September 8, 2009
#23
All those things (except guns) are legal in different parts of Europe.
I’m glad I don’t live in the US
September 8, 2009
#24
Anychance of posting a larger version of the beachdrinking pics?????
September 8, 2009
#25
In many States, carrying firearms in plain view is in no way illegal, except when you take it into places that serve alcohol or specifically prohibit firearms (posted signs, federal buildings). Carrying them in a concealed fashion is different. Perhaps that is what you mean? For that, you need one license. This license is designed so the State make keep your fingerprint on file and cross reference against fingerprints found at crime scenes. God forbid. Also, the notion that more people carrying guns would reduce gun crime because of the deterrence effect is very ignorant of modern criminal justice research. It is generally accepted that deterrence does not work (all rational people who care about consequences are sufficiently deterred by prison, anyone who commits a crime is not rational and no deterrence will work). Furthermore, the vast majority of unplanned gun crimes occur when there was a gun present. Meaning, people do not get angry at someone, go home, get a gun, come back, and shoot them. They simply grab a nearby gun if one is available and commit the crime. If no gun is available, generally, no crime is committed. Hence why your premise that everyone having a gun present would reduce crime is insane. Your idea that an increase in gun control has led to an increase in crime is ridiculous. Do you think gun control laws are the only variable affecting crime rates or are you just completely ignorant of cause and effect?
September 8, 2009
#26
Most smoking laws were proposed by citizens, voted on by citizens, and passed by citizens who go to the bars and didn’t want to be around smoke. It is literally what the people wanted. How does that have anything to do with law makers? You really should do some research before posting your columns. Maybe hire a fact checker or two? I mean…jesus christ man. It’s like reading a future college dropout’s English 100 essay.
September 8, 2009
#27
Chris: Prostitution isn’t illegal in the UK, solicitation however, is.
If you phone a prostitute and she come’s to your home all is well, if your curb crawl, it isn’t.
September 8, 2009
#28
Marijuana was made illegal in the United States because William Randolph Hearst had a monopoly with his newspapers and magazines and hemp products threatened his start-to-finish control of the printing and publication of his magazines. Hemp can be turned into cheaper paper than wood can, but his influence changed its legality.
September 8, 2009
#29
I would like to respond to 3 people on this list (Hank Fox, Alex and Prowess). Your arguments show that you do not understand the concept of freedom.
Just because you don’t like something doesn’t mean you have the authority to regulate others. Their is no Right to not be offended. Smoking in Bars should be the right of the bar owner(It’s his bar) and the augment that the poor employees who have to work their are exposed to smoke? Well I don’t see a right to work, if you don’t want to work in a smokey environment don’t. If a bar owner wants to make his bar smoke free that is his prerogative.
Regarding fireworks and drinking on a beach, well if i damage your property from my fireworks or start a fight with someone and they charge me, well then i am liable. It a weak argument to make something illegal because of what you might do.
And Hank, most of america is not very populated drive across the country. Yes the cities are pretty cramped but they are separated by vast areas of nothing but sand, forest and fields.
Driving fast shouldn’t be illegal, driving in manner that endangers the public should be in danger.
Self responsibility is your responsibility not the government. The only things that have the authority over you are your God(if you believe in God) and your parents(until they determine you have reached an age and or maturity to responsible for your own actions and that you understand your rights) at which point the authority is passed on to you the individual.
Read the history of the united states in particular the treaty of paris where every american was declared sovereign and became their own King.
September 9, 2009
#30
This part of article about carrying is so stupid.
I can not beleive some could say this:
“If everyone carried a gun, there would simply be less gun crime, since anyone who tried acting up would have 6 different calibers of ammunition pumped into them before they could harm anyone.”
I live in Croatia. We were in war in ’90s and one of the reason was we had to many guns. In ex Yugoslavia. No guns at all, no murdered people at all.
September 9, 2009
#31
come to nebraska, guns are just fine here. it’s legal to have a sidearm out in plain view, it’s legal to have that shit concealed (with the correct permit) and yes, i live in the city.
September 9, 2009
#32
This is my very first time here at Regretful Morning, I love the theme of this post , quite creative, something Cracked.com wished they’d thought of it for sure. What I wanted to point out are the incredibly cool, pictures you guys post. The babes you’ve got on this page are some of the best,
but get most credit for posting the pic of the awesome race car I’ve seen nowhere else!
September 9, 2009
#33
@ Peter
“Just because you don’t like something doesn’t mean you have the authority to regulate others. Their is no Right to not be offended. Smoking in Bars should be the right of the bar owner(It’s his bar) and the augment that the poor employees who have to work their are exposed to smoke? Well I don’t see a right to work, if you don’t want to work in a smokey environment don’t. If a bar owner wants to make his bar smoke free that is his prerogative.”
I agree 100%, well said sir. Why is it that level-headed people such as you and I are never given a voice in government, and are instead labelled as ‘reckless’, ‘naive’ and ‘short-sighted’ even? Sigh. We can only hope one day things will come right.
September 9, 2009
#34
Peter said:
“Just because you don’t like something doesn’t mean you have the authority to regulate others. There is no Right to not be offended. Smoking in Bars should be the right of the bar owner (It’s his bar) and the argument that the poor employees who have to work their are exposed to smoke? Well I don’t see a right to work, if you don’t want to work in a smoky environment don’t. If a bar owner wants to make his bar smoke free that is his prerogative.”
Smoking is about more than simply being “offended”: If a guy walks into a bar and hasn’t bathed in three weeks, and has pissed and shit his pants, he WILL get thrown out. If he insists on staying, he could be arrested. Because at a certain point, some odors visited on others against their will become a type of assault.
But smoking is more than a simple bad odor, however powerful. It’s not just some benign personal choice of activity, one that some people choose and others don’t. It’s been proven harmful.
Considering that, the core of the matter is that secondhand smoke is this type of assault, and that most of us have come to see that clearly. If a man and his wife are sitting at one table, the couple sitting at the next table has no right to come over and, for instance, pour sewage over them. Preventing people from coming over and pouring sewage on you is not “regulating others.” It’s preventing others from “regulating” YOU.
Also, this is not simply a matter of the bartender’s rights: “It’s his bar.” If he invites the public in (and in my state private clubs can still allow smoking, as I understand it), he’s subject to the laws that apply. You can’t set up a public place where some patrons are allowed to surprise others by pouring sewage over them. But you CAN do it in private, where all parties agree.
“And Hank, most of America is not very populated drive across the country. Yes the cities are pretty cramped but they are separated by vast areas of nothing but sand, forest and fields.”
I’m not sure I get your point about the vast areas of sand, forest and fields. Is it that people COULD move there and relieve the crowding in the cities?
But as I said in my original post, I was 100 percent sure that someone would say something like this. And there’s almost nothing that can convince people who don’t have the perspective of how much change due to population has happened in the past 50 years.
As I also said, it’s not just about crowding, it’s about progressively more limited resources. For the population we have, there just ain’t enough stuff to go around.
But maybe I’ll put it in terms of rights, again. If you live in a place, say Las Vegas, where there’s just enough water for 500,000 people, and 1 million more people move in over a ten-year period, and now there’s not enough water, and there’s no way to get more, the “right” of those original 500,000 to have enough water has been taken from them. Yes, it’s been trumped by the “right” of the new million to have whatever share of the limited water there is, but those original inhabitants really have suffered a stressful personal loss.
Bear in mind also that I’m not talking just about the U.S. – in the WORLD we live in, 95 million new babies, roughly the population of Mexico (or the combined population of California, New York, Florida and Texas), arrive every year. That’s a lot of new people to be plopping down in cities. There isn’t even enough “sand, forest and fields” for them to live on.
Even aside from living space, there’s not enough water, not enough fish, not enough copper, not enough petroleum, not enough wheat – not enough RIGHT NOW. And for a lot of this stuff, there isn’t going to be enough, ever, because we’ve already reached the end of it. There’s no more of it. It’s gone. Used up. Finished.
But even for the stuff we can produce more of … Even if we solve the problem of enough wheat to feed 95 million people THIS year, there will be an additional 95 million arriving NEXT year.
Worldwide, it’s like we’re zipping down a sliding board that has a wood chipper at the bottom. Only one thing can slow us down, only one thing can save us – but because we’re not going to use that solution, because most of us can’t even see that there’s a problem, NOTHING can save us.
The truth of the matter – what nobody is telling you, and what people like you aren’t getting – is that we’re royally screwed. We’re sliding down faster today than we were just a year ago.
It’s all happening now, kiddo. Enjoy the ride, because it gets ugly at the bottom, and probably most of us alive today will get a really good look at the bottom.
September 9, 2009
#35
Thanks Benjamin,
I think it’s only fair that I disclose that i’m not American but a Canadian. I went to school in Boston and lived and worked(yes legally) in Texas for 4 years( I left on my own even though I would prefer to have stayed in Texas when I was laid off and my visa was about to expire). I’m sure Hank will attack me for not being American and somehow that disqualifies me from understanding America.
Hank please read philosophy and history more. If you want socialism, where the collective tries to regulate good behaviour move to Canada(LOL).
Somehow Hank you think a business open to the public is public property(Well I guess that is true if you are a US Bank or Car Company LOL). You don’t have a right to enter a private business(ever seen the sign “We reserve the right to refuse anyone.” The owner grants your the revocable privilege to enter his bar. If the Bar Owner determines the person with bad hygiene is welcome then so be it. It becomes his right to tell them to leave as they are disturbing his other customers. If he refused to leave he is then trespassing.
YOU CAN”T REGULATE GOOD BEHAVIOUR!!
On to your comments on Water. Again I can’t seem to find anywhere in the bill of rights a right to water. If you have a well and it’s deep enough you will find water.
Next to your Not Enough comments. Don’t kid yourself enough crops are destroyed every year to feed most of Africa. They are destroyed to keep the price at market high. It’s not good but liberty isn’t perfect.
95 Million where do you get your numbers? You may have an Illegal resident problem but at least don’t make up ridiculous numbers(Do you work for FoxNews?).
The USA is in bad shape but it’s because of devaluing the currency(Bailouts,Entitlements,War) and over consumption.
American is still the most free country on the planet but if people keep asking the government to give them more entitlements and regulating things they don’t like i’m not so sure it will be in 5 years.
On a side note i was in Berlin last year and their public transportation train was on the honor system(you get what you expect lots of law abiding citizens with a train pass) and a cop opened my beer(wasn’t a twist-off) on the sidewalk in the middle of the city.
September 9, 2009
#36
Clearly, Americans have a total disregard for the law… haha. Awesome!
September 9, 2009
#37
Bill Hicks in reference to smoking: “I’m willing to die seven years before my time just so I’ll be cool each last fucking day.”
I lived at a spot where alcohol was legal on the beach until 2008. The police instigated a disturbance on the beach by trying to break up a topless slip ‘n slide that was being held on private property. As a result of that incident the effers in City Hall banned booze on the entire city’s beaches. It was for the children. Of course the city had many, many, many, family friendly beaches and parks that already prohibited drinking, but again, for the children. Effing little rotters. Should go back to the days of crapping out nine of the little shits cuz six would die and the three that lived would be the choice of the litter, who would never grow up to allow such a thing as booze, cigarettes, prostitution or any other of life’s simple pleasures to be banned or otherwise shat upon.
September 9, 2009
#38
Peter: “I’m sure Hank will attack me for not being American…”
Actually, no, I won’t. Canadians are some of the greatest people in the world. No nation could ask for better neighbors.
Peter: “Somehow Hank you think a business open to the public is public property. You don’t have a right to enter a private business (ever seen the sign “We reserve the right to refuse anyone.” The owner grants your the revocable privilege to enter his bar.:
Duh, wrong. A private business is a private business, but the owner must still abide by laws that regulate businesses that cater to the public. Just because you own a meat market doesn’t allow you to spit on the floor or scratch your crotch before handling the meat. And even if you own a bar, you can’t throw people out for just any reason – for instance, you can’t throw people out solely because they’re African-American, or female, or old, or handicapped.
Peter: “YOU CAN”T REGULATE GOOD BEHAVIOUR!!”
Right. But you can regulate ACCEPTABLE behavior. To most of us, having others smoke nearby while we eat is not acceptable. These laws weren’t passed by an oppressive nanny government. They were passed because a majority of citizens asked that they be passed, and it happened only after decades of resistance by the minority who thought they had a “right” to dirty other people’s air.
Peter: “95 Million where do you get your numbers? You may have an Illegal resident problem but at least don’t make up ridiculous numbers (Do you work for Fox News?).”
Nope, I don’t work for Fox News. And these population increase “ridiculous numbers” are not, as you appear to believe, for the U.S. They’re for the world. I got them from UN figures a year or so back, but attempting to verify them now, I couldn’t find a citing. The CIA World Factbook, though, says world population is growing by about 80 million a year.
By U.S. gov’t figures I was off, but not by much. This is an annual increase in population roughly equal to the populations of California, Texas and New York. If all the new babies in the world each year were their own country, they’d be the third most populous nation in Europe, the 15th largest nation in the world.
No matter how uninterested in the facts you are, you, poor fellow, will feel the pinch of that population increase in your lifetime. It’s already happening.
September 9, 2009
#39
Hi Hank,
I might have been a little harsh with the personal attacks, but I must say that your last few postings, before your last one, were a little weak on argument.
The founding principles of The USA were very much against regulations. I disagree with your argument and think the property owner should have the sovereign right to refuse service to anyone. I personally don’t discriminate but believe that passing laws to prevent someone from discriminating against someone just makes them do it in private and secret. Maybe their was a time where these laws were needed but public opinion has changed and a business that was public about discrimination would feel the weight of public opinion talking with their greenbacks.
The USA was founded as a constitutional republic not a democracy (you wouldn’t know that from the amount the North American Media throws around the word democracy in relation to the USA). A democracy is mob rule(51% of the population dictating how the other 49% have to live). A democracy is two wolves and a chicken deciding what to have for dinner.
I don’t want smoking in a restaurant either but in principal I will defend their right to do so. I will however support the restaurants with designated smoking areas or non smoking restaurants.
I retract my comment regarding the Fox News comment that was just mean LOL. Based on the context of your argument, as it wasn’t explicitly clarified, the implication was that you were implying 95 million immigrants(legal and illegal) to the USA a year, not an increase in the world population.
I am very interested in the facts and that is why i get more information from books than the shame of a media we have today.
I agree the global population is a problem but the bigger question is who has the authority to tell another human being that they can’t have kids. Authority come from your creator and for atheists they don’t have a higher authority. Your parents or guardian hold your rights and liberty in trust until you reach the age and/or maturity level where you can understand and defend your rights.
In Closing, I hope that you or any bystanders aren’t offended by this philosophical debate and see this for what it is a debate. I’m actually enjoying this and hope you are to Hank.
Peter
September 10, 2009
#40
Alex you ignorant slut. I don’t drink, smoke, do drugs. Can’t afford a hooker. My truck only goes up to 45 mph…but if I could afford her, I’d pay a gun toting prostitute to drive a speeding car while drinking a Bud tall boy, smoking a blunt AND a cigarette, you duck taped to the back with a sparkler hanging out of your ass, all the way back to the Canadian Mennonite compound you escaped from! (I’d pay her extra if she could figure out how to do it while on a beach.)
September 10, 2009
#41
” … the bigger question is who has the authority to tell another human being that they can’t have kids. Authority comes from your creator and for atheists they don’t have a higher authority.”
I am an atheist, and no, authority does not come from “your creator.” It never did. It comes as part of our own hierarchical nature, and it plays out in dominance and submission interactions (leavened with all the other types of interactions that play out between us, including compassion and love – which also don’t come from gods). Yesterday we accepted kings, today we elect people, and we go along with them or not according to what we think best, or want most, or fear worst.
The bigger question is NOT “who has the authority to tell another human being that they can’t have kids.” The bigger question is, “What will happen if somebody doesn’t? What will happen if things go on as they are WITHOUT some sort of directed intervention?”
As near as I can tell from the available facts, the only conclusion for anybody interested in living on Planet Earth, and having a planet that IS livable, is that not only can population increase not continue, but that even the current population is unsustainable.
For instance, according to data compiled by New Scientist (http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/archive/2725/27250901.jpg), 13 million hectares of forest are destroyed every year. This is roughly the equivalent of the land area of the state of Louisiana. And the destruction is speeding up.
We humans are wrecking the world, making it progressively less livable for us and most other life forms.
The “authority” – the consequences of simple facts of physics which arise from our population growth – is already with us, making the decision that a shitload of people are not going to be allowed to have kids because they’ll be too busy starving and dying. And probably not all that far in the future.
Rather than allow that to just happen, I’d rather we showed ourselves to be as rational as we brag we are, and proactively, rationally, act to stop it.
Is that going to happen? Considering what I know about human beings – for instance I’m talking right now to a person whose first reaction to the idea of overpopulation is “Yeah, but who gets to decide that people can’t have kids? – I feel pessimistic about the possibility.
And the weird thing is, as I realized a couple of years ago, humans under pressure become LESS intelligent. (Which is why people who want to control you politically make a point of scaring you first.) So the worse things get, the more pressure the situation places us under, the less we’ll be able to solve it. (I think the deliberate stupidity of fundamentalist religion in the US and elsewhere is a result of rising fear.)
Not a very pretty picture, is it? Yet pessimism has its uses. A sunny optimist who denies he has cancer is probably headed for a worse outcome (I know someone it happened to) than someone less optimistic who admits to the cancer and then looks at the realistic options.
As a science fiction fan all my life, I dream of us going to other worlds, and living better on this one. But as a realist, I see those things happening only as a very low probability, and that only after a catastrophic singularity that kicks us awake by killing most of us.
It really looks to me like we don’t have the brains, not in any past civilization and not in this one, to stop population growth.
A last little cheery note: I met a climate scientist at an informal get-together after a conference last year, and I jokingly asked “So, what do you think? Are we fucked?” And he said, with a sad nod and no hint of a smile, “Yeah, we’re fucked.” Meaning: The time to fix things was probably about 50 years ago, and there’s no stopping it now. It’s happening.
Interesting times we’re living in, kiddo.
September 10, 2009
#42
thats 1/60th of a world pop. of 6 billion.
September 10, 2009
#43
Nice! I totally agree with you! except for that part that you’re a total douchebag.
September 10, 2009
#44
hank, do you know how to put 100 m new people per year into perspective terms with 6 bil world pop.? lol jeff
September 11, 2009
#45
dodds j, damned if I could figure out what you were asking, or talking about.
Here’s a hint: Try complete sentences. Grammar. Capitalization. And like, duh, spelling out whole words.
Current population is estimated at about 6.75 billion. 80 million new people per year would be an increase of 1/84th or about 1.2 percent.
September 11, 2009
#46
@Alex:
I’m sorry, but speeding doesn’t kill millions every year. Bad driving kills millions every year.
Also, no it’s not a good thing that marijuana is illegal. We have overcrowded prisons& high violent crime rates thanks to marijuana being illegal. It’s much less harmful than either alcohol or tobacco, and if it was legal nobody would be shooting people over it. duh.
September 16, 2009
#47
Carrying weapons in public is not legally banned in a lot of places. As long as the weapon isn’t concealed and isn’t being brandished, it is legal in my state. To carry concealed you have to have a license, but that’s about it. Deer hunting season in my town would be a bad time for someone to commit violent crimes, because I’ll bet that 50% of the population is within reach of a loaded firearm.
September 16, 2009
#48
Everything you said about marijuana is completely retarded and you should kill yourself….tonight.
September 16, 2009
#49
Your opinions on why weed should remain illegal are borderline retarded. Did you escape from the looney bin this morning? Buy a bag of dope. See if you trip like you said people do driving and walking around. Cut your bullsh*t and stab yourself in the head with a dull butter knife til it penetrates your 12″ thick skull.
September 17, 2009
#50
Are most of you really so ignorant as to not recognize the humor that the article was written in?
re: Alex – Did you completely miss the boat? None of your comments or reasons make sense. I especially like the tired arguments about pot. Even most cops will admit that it would be better if pot were legal as opposed to alcohol. I could go on about the inherent flaws in your statements and about the need for laws to protect but it would make no difference as people like you are convince that their self perception of reality is the only correct one.
Oh well I think I will head down to the beach to have drink some beer, smoke some pot, dance around the bonfire and shoot off my gun and light some fireworks … you all have fun now.
November 2, 2009
#51
Prostitution is in no way legal in the UK. All of the things mentioned go on in Amsterdam (Holland). I so wish it was true though….
November 3, 2009
#52
wait a minute! alyssa myers has a photoblog?? oh, right… the same photoblog as jennifer tilley, except this time she uses a different name. same dorky pictures, tho.
November 3, 2009
#53
Chris says: erm Prostituion is illegal in the UK…
actually prostitution is not illegal in UK
the act of touting fro business is, brothal’s are legal too as long as their are no more than two women working from the premises
November 4, 2009
#54
i think/hope we are evolving to a better future.