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Culture War Roundup for the week of May 25, 2026

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You think parents not letting their kids leave their neighborhood, and parents not letting their kids chop off healthy body parts belongs in the se category?

You don't understand how parents overruling children's autonomy is in the same category of parents overruling children's autonomy?

Finally, what I want to know why is this literally thr only subject where people's libertarianism comes out? Why haven't I seen your principled anti-government libertarianism around during the Covid era?

I've literally argued on this site for legalizing drugs and not caring when addicts overdose because it's their responsibility. I've argued against banning kids from phones and the Internet. I've argued against vaccine mandates. I've argued for free markets and getting rid of government regulations on everything from smaller government control like zoning to larger government control like the FDA which drives up costs and hurts people with long delays or immigration restrictions or anti discrimination laws (which are also unnecessary anyway in modern society to begin with) on large companies which prevents them from proper meritocratic hiring. I've consistently said that I am a fan of people like Reagan, Thatcher and Ayn Rand.

Almost every place that government exists, I say it should be scaled back. Sometimes I acknowledge that there are benefits to some government action (tradeoffs do exist!) like I see how welfare has personally helped a person in my life while also being against welfare overall. Or how I think that social security should have never existed, but since it did exist, it should fulfill the implicit promise behind it to the people they stole money from. Even Ayn Rand famously took her social security, because being against the program doesn't mean you can't ask the government to at least fulfill the promise it made when it took your money from you. She didn't think it should be stolen to begin with, but it's not hypocritical to say "then at least do what you said you would" right?

But generally I'm pretty damn consistent here, government out individual responsibilities in.

You don't understand how parents overruling children's autonomy is in the same category of parents overruling children's autonomy?

Yeah. Parents overrule children's autonomy all the time, arguably that's what they're for. Overriding it to the point where they can't leave their house unaccompanied is so extreme that it does belong in a separate category, in my opinion.

I've argued against vaccine mandates.

Really? You were here during the Covid era? My memory isn't great but I feel like I would have made a note given how vicious the Blues were at the time.

But generally I'm pretty damn consistent here, government out individual responsibilities in.

So you're assuming everyone else is a Randian / bordering on ancap? Because I don't see where's the hypocrisy otherwise.

Yeah. Parents overrule children's autonomy all the time, arguably that's what they're for.

That's true for younger children. But once you get to the teens, historically parents didn't have that much control! Especially the older teens. Their children would have had a job for a number of years and might have already moved out of the house for an apprenticeship as a page or a midshipmen or traveled along as a cowboy or did general work at a factory or whatever was fitting of the time period.

Most riders on the drives were out-of-work farmers’ sons, some as young as 12 years old, who saw the opportunity to trail cattle as both a rare paying job and a rite of passage.

It's very recently where we've started coddling teenagers like we do with babies and toddlers.

Really? You were here during the Covid era? My memory isn't great but I feel like I would have made a note given how vicious the Blues were at the time.

No, I didn't know the site was around back then. I am not those other people, I am just saying that I am consistent.

So you're assuming everyone else is a Randian / bordering on ancap? Because I don't see where's the hypocrisy otherwise.

No, I'm saying that if you're for one form of government coercion against the parent's and child's choices, but for another where it's only the parent, despite the latter also being more severe then there's not a good explanation for that besides politicizing and hypocrisy.

On every front anti vaxx is worse.

Autonomy? Parent alone choosing for a baby vs parent and teen.

Severity? 1.5% of the newborns died with just measles alone in Samoa.

Externalities? Anti vaxx can directly spread to people with weak immune systems or help disease evolve, where as a kid choosing to get their breasts removed and regretting it only hurts them.

Reverseability? While neither are wholly reversible, death is a lot worse than getting breasts removed and regretting it.

An argument that government coercion should overrule parents that cares about transition choices but not antivaxxers is not motivated by saving lives or helping people because the latter is far worse.

It's very recently where we've started coddling teenagers like we do with babies and toddlers.

Ok, do you want to give 12 year olds the right to sign contracts, join the military, etc?

Also, if you want to RETVRN, I'm pretty sure that wanting to chop parts of your body off would be grounds to limit even an adults autonomy, due to lunacy and/or demonic posesion.

Autonomy? Parent alone choosing for a baby vs parent and teen.

Not really. Even you accepted that in case of babies, it's normal for parents to override autonomy, we already accept the parents will be making. Also, there's a difference between forcing a procedure on someone (vaxx), and banning it. We do the latter all the time, but there's a taboo on the former.

Only a tiny minority (if anyone), of trans activists is in favor of a complete abolition of all medical regulations, so I'm not sure why you're seeing hypocricy in only one side.

Severity? 1.5% of the newborns died with just measles alone in Samoa.

Uh, are we talking about transitioning kids in Samoa? Why bring them up?

Reverseability? While neither are wholly reversible, death is a lot worse than getting breasts removed and regretting it.

Sure, I'll even grant that in extreme enough circumstances, mandatory vaccinations could be justified.