Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

"I'm still not comfortable with the fact that the government will require people to attend what is essentially a religious service as criminal punishment"

Maybe there's some kind of slippery slope there, where they eventually start sending you to church for a parking ticket. But we don't seem to be sliding to that conclusion very quickly; so if it works, just go with it.

If you want to make a big federal case out of it, you could probably win it. But I honestly don't see how anyone wins with that outcome.



Boise is dealing with this.

A few homeless shelters are "open", even when they don't have beds. They require mandated participation in multiple religious activities per day.

Boise statutes say "If a homeless shelter is open, you can be arrested and jailed for sleeping on the streets", and "but I don't want to be subjected to mandatory religious activities for only the _potential_ of a bed at the end of the day" is not considered an excuse.


> But I honestly don't see how anyone wins with that outcome.

Then you presumably aren't aware of how abusive religious people can be towards atheists, and that includes in AA groups.


It's one thing to criticize religious impositions on a secular activity (like addiction recovery). What you have just done is criticize religious people as a group, and claim that they are abusive.

Criticize ideas and policies; not groups of people.


> What you have just done is criticize religious people as a group, and claim that they are abusive.

No, I have obviously not.

> Criticize ideas and policies; not groups of people.

Why? What, in your mind, is the problem with criticizing abusive religious people as a group?




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: