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discussion

Majority rights vs minority rights(not race)

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1Report
at 5 Aug 2008: 20:39

Read this thread;
http://www.tomatopages.com/folsomforum/index.php?showtopic=14914

Also, here is the news story that sparked the argument;
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article2547541.ece

Personally, I believe it is not fair to punish 500+ students so that ONE student can be accomodated. While I feel it's pefectly acceptable to label food and products as containing certain allergens...it's NOT ok to ask people in the world to discontinue using a product for .1% of the population. It's an unreasonable request and if my kid had allergies like this I wouldn't expect the entire world to baby or accomodate him/her.

How do you feel about the rights of the minority forcing the majority to give up their rights or freedoms?

2Report
at 5 Aug 2008: 21:10

>>1 I don't care either way. Also, the Europeans do some really screwy things.

3Report
at 5 Aug 2008: 21:33

>>1
I'm pretending the kid's a furry with an allergy to the social scorn of his peers, in order to make this topic relevant to Fchan. 

With said fabrication firmly in mind, I'm in favor of majority rights in this case, as they're not opposed to my personal rights, but rather someone else's. 

On the other hand when did education become a right anyway?  I was under the impression that barring a very low minimum standard, education was mostly a personal responsibility - and a privilege - rather than a right. 

If it is a right, then how come so many folks aren't getting it?  I know folks that went through high school who still can't read worth a damn, use a comma correctly, or calculate a 5% tax without a calculator... 

4Report
at 5 Aug 2008: 21:48

ummmmmm... The kid was kicked out of school because of a nut and latex allergy.  Also, he was required to wear a tag that automatically outcasts him from the rest of the students.  The parent just wanted to have some better accommodations for him at school. 

It's very common for restaurants to alert their customers if there are nuts or other allergic items in their products.  Hell, you can even find a label on a Baby Ruth bar that says "product may contain nuts."  These things don't really affect me much, but these small changes (besides the Baby Ruth example) could be very helpful to someone who suffers from these kinds of allergies.  It's not that hard to add a couple labels here and there.  I don't see why this is considered as punishing the 500+ students at the school... unless you consider the sign that says "may contain nuts" next to the PB&J sandwiches in the cafeteria as punishment.

5Report
at 5 Aug 2008: 22:07

>>4
He's not 'required' to wear a tag, but Medical Alert bracelets and the like are a very good idea for folks with serious medical conditions (since the EMS guys can't know you're dying of a bee sting if they don't know you're allergic, yanno?).

6Report
at 5 Aug 2008: 22:53

In my opinion (note: opinion.), majority rights should be more important every time. If the minority has a special requirement, it should fulfill it itself.

In the example in >>1, the kid is allergic to nuts. Rightly, he was sent home, as the school could not care for him at that time. If he was to have an attack, which could be from something as simple as sharing a friends sandwich, the mother could have sued the school. Even if the staff acted correctly, and used his epipen, she could've sued if they weren't officially qualified to do so.

This would've resulted in a severe drain on the school's funds, to the detriment of the other learners. It honestly isn't worth the risk for them to allow him to stay there until they can cover themselves.

This isn't an issue of "selfishness" as one commentor on the article mentioned, this is simple common sense.

Also; in the article they mention that being sent home may have "really set back" his education. Doesn't say much for their home-tutor they apparently hired eh?

7Report
Spindel at 6 Aug 2008: 02:45

Haha. Rights.

8Report
at 6 Aug 2008: 14:30

>>3
Strange analogy. I know plenty of well-adjusted furries, some of which still attend school. There's no similarity between misanthropy and allergies.

This is a conundrum, though, especially with the legal implications stated by >>6. Many poorer districts can't afford to take the myriad of precautions required by students with such a sensitive allergy.

9Report (sage)
at 6 Aug 2008: 14:46

>>8
I was commenting snidely on the relevancy of some conversations on /dis/, not making a serious analogy between allergies and furry social dysfunction, but thanks for missing that point, as it offers support for the idea that furry social dysfuntion might be related in some way with people being clueless. 

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