Speaking as an actual conservative...I think it’s just that different people have different assessments of risk throughout life, based on their own previous life experiences, their current state in life, future plans, superstitions, whatever. Here’s my favorite example: during Covid, my husband, 2 year old son, and my son’s godfather, al…
Speaking as an actual conservative...I think it’s just that different people have different assessments of risk throughout life, based on their own previous life experiences, their current state in life, future plans, superstitions, whatever. Here’s my favorite example: during Covid, my husband, 2 year old son, and my son’s godfather, all went out to dinner one night at an outdoor restaurant. As we settled into our seats, the waitress came rushing out - apparently the host/seater person had seated us too early, and she had not had time to properly disinfect the table and chairs. Fine. She proceeded to drench the furniture in God-knows-what disinfectant. It was literally pooling up and then dripping off the arms of the chairs. My 2 year old climbed up into his chair, plopped his little hand right in a giant puddle of it, and as small children are wont to do, raised his hand toward his mouth. I leapt in with napkins, bibs, diaper wipes, anything to get that crap off his hands and and chair, and most importantly, keep it out of his mouth. Why? Because my assessment of the situation was that the chemicals he was about to eat were far more likely to do him harm than the chance of an errant COVID particle. As his mother, it’s my job to to make those assessments. Not yours. So reserve your judgement.
We don’t use a wire grill brush - we use a giant wooden scraper thingamajiggie, because nylon being what it is, I’d also prefer not to have melted plastic in my brisket.
I also don’t get on Ferris wheels, roller coasters, or GOD FORBID ski lifts. Who in their right mind would get on one of those idiotic contraptions designed for death? I don’t want to be within a mile of any of them, nor do I want any members of my family risking life and limb in this way.
I don’t eat ceviche, but I do drink raw milk. Why? Because my mother was raised on raw milk and she’s pretty darn healthy. My grandmother drank raw milk her entire life, including through three pregnancies, and I’m quite certain never spent so much as 2 seconds thinking about bacteria. But uncooked shrimp skeeves me out.
The bottom line is that people assess risk differently, because people are different. Condemning everyone who has a different risk tolerance than you, and suggesting that they be legally prevented from doing so, is...well first of all, not very nice. And second, what’s going to happen when it’s not you in power one day? Why does it bother you so much? I don’t want ceviche and ski lifts to be illegal, I just don’t want to be involved with them, same as I don’t want my child to be involved with buckets of disinfectant.
It doesn't bother me, and I'm not in power. Raw milk is something known to carry some risk of sickness (like sushi, or beef tartare, or oysters.) Athletic activities are known to carry some risk of injury. My real point is that nobody really buys a wire grill brush and says "I know this might perforate my intestine, but it sure does work!" There's a comment down below that captures my point perfectly, probably better than I did: that if a consumer product is on the shelf, you expect it to be more or less risk-free when used according to the instructions or expected purpose. It is not over-regulation for government to ensure that that is the case.
IOW, I would not support a ban of raw milk. I support things like cottage food laws that dispense home kitchens from the some of the regulations that apply to commercial food producers. I see those things from a libertarian-ish perspective of enlarging personal freedom, but I think the freedom to buy boiling-hot coffee or ingest metal bristles is just not the same thing.
Speaking as an actual conservative...I think it’s just that different people have different assessments of risk throughout life, based on their own previous life experiences, their current state in life, future plans, superstitions, whatever. Here’s my favorite example: during Covid, my husband, 2 year old son, and my son’s godfather, all went out to dinner one night at an outdoor restaurant. As we settled into our seats, the waitress came rushing out - apparently the host/seater person had seated us too early, and she had not had time to properly disinfect the table and chairs. Fine. She proceeded to drench the furniture in God-knows-what disinfectant. It was literally pooling up and then dripping off the arms of the chairs. My 2 year old climbed up into his chair, plopped his little hand right in a giant puddle of it, and as small children are wont to do, raised his hand toward his mouth. I leapt in with napkins, bibs, diaper wipes, anything to get that crap off his hands and and chair, and most importantly, keep it out of his mouth. Why? Because my assessment of the situation was that the chemicals he was about to eat were far more likely to do him harm than the chance of an errant COVID particle. As his mother, it’s my job to to make those assessments. Not yours. So reserve your judgement.
We don’t use a wire grill brush - we use a giant wooden scraper thingamajiggie, because nylon being what it is, I’d also prefer not to have melted plastic in my brisket.
I also don’t get on Ferris wheels, roller coasters, or GOD FORBID ski lifts. Who in their right mind would get on one of those idiotic contraptions designed for death? I don’t want to be within a mile of any of them, nor do I want any members of my family risking life and limb in this way.
I don’t eat ceviche, but I do drink raw milk. Why? Because my mother was raised on raw milk and she’s pretty darn healthy. My grandmother drank raw milk her entire life, including through three pregnancies, and I’m quite certain never spent so much as 2 seconds thinking about bacteria. But uncooked shrimp skeeves me out.
The bottom line is that people assess risk differently, because people are different. Condemning everyone who has a different risk tolerance than you, and suggesting that they be legally prevented from doing so, is...well first of all, not very nice. And second, what’s going to happen when it’s not you in power one day? Why does it bother you so much? I don’t want ceviche and ski lifts to be illegal, I just don’t want to be involved with them, same as I don’t want my child to be involved with buckets of disinfectant.
It doesn't bother me, and I'm not in power. Raw milk is something known to carry some risk of sickness (like sushi, or beef tartare, or oysters.) Athletic activities are known to carry some risk of injury. My real point is that nobody really buys a wire grill brush and says "I know this might perforate my intestine, but it sure does work!" There's a comment down below that captures my point perfectly, probably better than I did: that if a consumer product is on the shelf, you expect it to be more or less risk-free when used according to the instructions or expected purpose. It is not over-regulation for government to ensure that that is the case.
IOW, I would not support a ban of raw milk. I support things like cottage food laws that dispense home kitchens from the some of the regulations that apply to commercial food producers. I see those things from a libertarian-ish perspective of enlarging personal freedom, but I think the freedom to buy boiling-hot coffee or ingest metal bristles is just not the same thing.