🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1993May14.110315.21033@aisb.ed.ac.uk> diana@aisb.ed.ac.uk (Diana Bental) writes:

# Even if it were money mis-spent, at worst it could only be called a
# *trivial* waste of money.

I'm sure you wouldn't mind if the Council spent money on posters saying
that over 90% of people who abandon babies are women, over 75% of
shoplifters are women, etc, but I would, and for the identical reason. 
If the campaign stirs up hatred, distrust and prejudice where formerly
none was apparent (`95% of abusers of children are male'), it is not a
trivial waste of money, but a serious misuse of public funds.  It is
also a waste of a trivial amount of money, but that is not quite the
same thing.  If you do not object to a trivial amount of public money
being wasted on supporting a lunatic political cause with which you
happen to agree, you can pay my share.  It won't cost you much. 

#  In a democracy, most of [us?] get used to shrugging our shoulders
# over small amounts of money spent on something that benefits others
# but not us,

I wonder why you use the word `democracy' here, since there is no
evidence of popular support for this expenditure: it has just been
okayed by a handful of feminist groups with an axe to grind.  In a
dictatorship, we would have to shrug our shoulders about such waste; in
a democracy, we can expect the Council to listen to what the electorate
has to say.  In any case, the issue is the expenditure of money on the Z
campaign, not money put to a purpose that benefits people. 

# When the people get upset if they have ...  a belief that what is being
# done is very wrong indeed. 

Count me in.

-- 
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young women are taken. It's a basic rule of   # tel 031 650 2756, fax 650 6513
the universe, and if you don't like it, go    # Seeking job: C, Prolog, Unix,
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