🚀 go-pugleaf

In <1992Mar3.145328.13317@franklin.com>, Jesse Perry writes:
>
>>>>>> On 28 Feb 92 14:16:05 GMT, mathew@mantis.co.uk (From A to B) said:
>mathew> I am saying that allowing someone to do something is not the
>mathew> same as assisting the person in doing it.
>
>abraham@iesd.auc.dk (Per Abrahamsen) replied:
>>I think your use of the word "assisting" is at least as interesting
>>as the FSF use of the word "free".
>
>"Assist" is active; "allow" is passive.  There is a difference.
>
>If I'm at the grocery store, and I see an old lady struggling
>to carry out a heavy bag, I'm hardly "assisting" her by, say,
>refraining from knocking her over -- I'm then merely "allowing"
>her to carry it.  I would be "assisting" her, if I offered to
>carry the bag for her.
>
    But, of course, if you'd produced the groceries she was 
carrying, you would already have rendeed assistance, wouldn't you?
    To push your analogy a little further, if you gave the old lady
the groceries, but told her she could only eat them herself, or give 
them away, would you claim you'd been of no assistance to her?


-- 
       John Henders      jhenders@jonh.wimsey.bc.ca