PRO

  • PRO

    Note that I am using 'racist' as 'with the express...

    Resolved: The United States should require universal background checks for all all gun sales...

    Re: Contention 1, Subpoint A. This point entirely hinges upon the idea that guns create a safer community. That is patently untrue(1). It doesn't make sense that having easier access to highly deadly weapons could possibly make a community safer. It is also illogical that a flaw in the justice system should stop the justice system from being applied. Re: Contention 1, Subpoint B. Here you make the wild, wild assumption that because gun control may disproportionately affect African-Americans, it is, at its core, a racist idea, and that its express purpose is to discriminate. This is a glorious strawman, and when you apply this logic to other things, then it becomes magnificently hilarious. Note that I am using 'racist' as 'with the express purpose of discrimination.' And without further ado . . . The housing industry is racist(2). The police system is racist, the justice system, contrary to popular belief, is not meant to uphold the law, rather, it is just meant to be racist. Hell, guns themselves are racist(3). /s ^^^ So how about you don't call me a racist next time? Re: Contention 2, Sub A This argument is essentially "Hey, since criminals will buy guns anyway, let's let them buy them cheaply and easily.""seems legit." It should be obvious why that makes no sense(refer to source (1) if your response is going to be "but civilians will also buy guns to defend themselves"). Also, here are the effects of the Japanese black market "running rampant"(4). Here's Holland as well(5). Concise Conclusion It has been categorically proven that gun control is not a racist institution, and that guns themselves pose a great threat to our prosperity, not a lack thereof. Moreover, the assertion found in my opponent's conclusion that law abiding citizens would not be able to buy guns is deeply incorrect, and is borderline misinformation. (1) https://www.hsph.harvard.edu... (2) http://www.npr.org... (3) https://www.washingtonpost.com... (4) http://www.bbc.com... (5) http://www.gunpolicy.org...

  • PRO

    If you were to compare Assad's regime to the Rebels, who...

    Should the US take military action against syria

    While these newspapers are highly convincing, many of them are biased. If you were to compare Assad's regime to the Rebels, who would you side with. A man who kills children? Or people who are fighting to If you were to compare Assad's regime to the Rebels, who would you side with. A man who kills children? Or people who are fighting to basic Human Rights? As for the Turkist Merchants, the people are scared. Imagine this: The nation is at war. Your and family could be killed at any moment. You are working as a rebel in order to secure basic human rights.You see a foreigner near you. Remember, you are suspicious of everybody. Adrenaline pumps through your veins. What would you do. What is better: A man who kills his on people with Weapons of Mass Destruction, or a militia fighting to secure basic Human Rights. As for the UN Inspectors being fired on, look here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com...

    • https://www.debate.org/debates/Should-the-US-take-military-action-against-syria/1/
  • PRO

    The cause of this is greater bureaucratic oversight and...

    Universal health care creates a big, inefficient bureaucracy.

    The cause of this is greater bureaucratic oversight and more paperwork. This lowers the productivity of hospitals, and thus increases the costs for the same amount of work done.

  • PRO

    Whenever the government provides free services to...

    Universal health care creates dependencies on government

    Whenever the government provides free services to individuals, a dependency is created. Dependency is an unhealthy mind-set, and can cause problems down the line.

  • PRO

    A 2008 survey of over 2,000 American doctors found that...

    The majority of doctors in the US support universal health care

    A 2008 survey of over 2,000 American doctors found that 59 percent support legislation to establish a national health insurance program, while 32 percent said they opposed it, researchers reported in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine[1]

  • PRO

    In private and managed health care networks, doctors...

    Universal health care will allow doctors to concentrate on patients

    In private and managed health care networks, doctors typically have to check with insurance companies before they perform a service. Such a system does not relate to the patients needs, but corresponds only to financial considerations.

  • PRO

    To begin, as previously stated, we can cut military...

    Healthcare and Education Should Be Free

    Thank you for your argument, Pro. For starters, I would like to something up. For one, when I meant free education, I meant free community colleges/ two-year colleges but not free large colleges or universities that are not small community colleges. Community colleges already are very low-level when compared to other universities but are still a way to get education beyond the K-12 teachings for some people, so, as a safety net, community college should be free for those who need it. Now, I will state my reasons and rebuttals to Con's reasons. Rebuttal #1: Con stated that he/she believed that it would be too expensive to sustain free community college and healthcare. This is wrong, as if countries like North Korea can afford free healthcare and education, then so can we. There are a few things we can do, however, that can make free healthcare and community college/ two-year colleges free. To begin, as previously stated, we can cut military spending, as our military spending is way beyond other country's military spending. USA's military spending still dwarfs other country's spending, and if other countries can have great militaries with lower spending, then we can too. By cutting military and useless spending in the government, reorganizing the tax system to make taxes easier to understand and easier to pay, and by smarter spending, smart spending cuts, and a reorganized tax system, then the U.S. can afford free healthcare and community college without raising taxes through the roof (as countries like Japan that have very low-cost universal healthcare have taxes similar to ours). Rebuttal #2: Con also stated that he/she believed that free healthcare and education could make the quality of education lower. However, this is also not accurate. For starters, I only want free community colleges and two-year colleges, and these colleges are already not the highest quality, so making them only funded by taxes wouldn't affect their quality by to much. K-12 education is already pretty much funded by the government as of now, so the quality of our K-12 education right now is probably not being lowered by the fact that it's essentially free, as many states with free or close to free education have very good education programs. Healthcare, on the other hand, may have lower quality, but there is also a solution to that. Free public healthcare can still be free and available to all and funded by the government (which I believe can be done well if the government can spend and fund smarter). This would act like a safety net for people who cannot pay medical bills and would provide some level of healthcare to everyone. There would then be private healthcare, which would have to be paid for if you want it and would offer higher quality healthcare. This way, we would have free public healthcare with doctors paid for by government funding, which would naturally lower quality, but we would also have private healthcare, which would have to be paid for and would have higher quality. Many doctors today already work for public healthcare that is still have to be paid for and doctors who cannot work or cannot qualify for working in private healthcare can work in public healthcare. You can do this by restricting the number of doctors working in private healthcare in order to have a good supply of doctors working in both private and public healthcare in order to keep the quality of healthcare, and restricting the number of doctors working today is already what the AMA do today. In conclusion, while Con had some good arguments, his/her arguments are not good enough to show that healthcare and community college/ two-year colleges shouldn't be free. To live in a country that does not even freely provide people with their basic rights and standards for living would take way its citizen's dignity. This is why healthcare and community college should be free.

    • https://www.debate.org/debates/Healthcare-and-Education-Should-Be-Free/1/
  • PRO

    Hazards of the Individual Health Care Mandate." ... For...

    Mandates will not produce universal care as many will not comply

    Glen Whitman. "Hazards of the Individual Health Care Mandate." CATO. September/October 2007: "The Problem of Noncompliance [...] of course, the mandate will not work exactly as planned. As anyone who's ever driven over 55 mph knows, mandating something is not the same as making it happen. Realistically, some individuals will not comply. [...] Forty-seven states currently require drivers to purchase liability auto insurance. Do 100 percent of drivers in those states have insurance? No. For states with an auto insurance mandate, the median percentage of drivers who are uninsured is 12 percent."

  • PRO

    The LGBT community fulfills the basic principles and...

    sexual orientation should be considered grounds for asylum.

    The LGBT community fulfills the basic principles and purposes of asylum

CON

  • CON

    However I don't need to because based on his own...

    The Circumcision of minors without absolute medical necessity should be banned

    I am happy to accept Pro's definitions. Rebuttal To summarise Pro's argument, the way the USA government handles Female Genitam Mutilation should be expanded and made to apply to both sexes. If we do this, circumcision (as a form of genital mutilation) should supposedly be banned. Now there are a lot of holes I could poke in this such as: - Why should the USA's government's laws be the ones we look at. I am not part of the USA and neither is most of the world. - Why are the female genitals considered the baseline that male genitals revert to, why not vice versa? Why not treat female genitals like make ones? - Why are we treating different genitals that have different health risks from different procedures as if they are the same thing and a violation of the 14th amendment? However I don't need to because based on his own definition and sources, Pro has conceded the point. His third source, and the only one that isn't a basic dictionary definition, does not support what he says. The USA actually only bans certain kinds of female genital mutilation, nameley: "circumcises, excises, or infibulates the whole or any part of the labia majora or labia minora or clitoris"[1] So although it outlaws some actions performed on some part of the vulva, some sections of the vulva like the mons pubis, bulb of vestibule, vulval vestibule, etc are not covered by this law as they are not part of the labia majora, labia minora or clitoris[2] and some actions are fine even when performed on those sections, like a small surgical cut to the labia which causes no lasting damge or even scars. That last example is not a technicality I've invented, but a specific and practiced form of gental alteration which fit's Pro's definition of mutilation ("Any type of cutting or removal of all or some of the genital organs") and is actually advocated by academics as a method which can meet religion and cultural criteria without leaving lasting damage to the child and reduce the number of people who pursue the harmful and long-term damaging types of genital mutilation. [3] All of which still meets Pro's definition of genital mutilation. So in actuality, what the USA does is regulate female genital mutilation. As with all kinds of things - from weapons to food - it allows some kinds and bans others. If we therefore follow Pro's argument and use the USA's treatment of FGM as our basis, then circumcision should be legal. It falls under the type of "mutilation" that is legal on females as one that has no common long term health risks. As Pro has conceded the argument, I don't feel the need to make a positive argument of my own at this stage. [1] https://www.law.cornell.edu... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org... [3] http://jme.bmj.com...

    • https://www.debate.org/debates/The-Circumcision-of-minors-without-absolute-medical-necessity-should-be-banned/1/
  • CON

    Her work proposed that homosexuality is merely a normal...

    Resolved: Homosexuals should be permitted to marry

    You are seriously gonna drag Evelyn Hooker into this? Ok well I would imagine anyone with a brain will see through that crap research too. By the way if you are a psych-major I'm Sigmund Freud. Oh yes and my credentials, for what they are worth, MBA in psychological science Purdue University. But whats that matter anyway as since you have shown people lie on the internet all the time. My opponent contends that because he/she/it is a psych major(highly doubtful) that some how makes their ability to do research better than the average Joe. A brief history on Ms. hooker should suffice to show you are no psych major and if you are, not a very good one as you are using the most biased material available to "prove" your case, you have in effect proven mine for me. Hooker, a professor at the University of California at LA is credited in the medical and psychological community, and most especially amongst Gay activists, with establishing that there is no measurable psychological difference between heterosexual and homosexual men. Her work proposed that homosexuality is merely a normal minority variation of human sexuality. It was first published in the Journal of Projective Techniques in 1957, and is flaunted as proof that homosexual activity is a normal and valid lifestyle. Her 1957 study served as a basis for most of the later hyperbole of the Gay movements ideology, including the notion that any objection to the Gay agenda is born from an irrational fear, that they have since labeled "homophobia." The American Psychiatric Association declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973 only after years of political pressure from gay activists. The American Psychiatrics association board of trustees passed this decision followed by a statement which listed among the reasons for their decision as changing social norms and growing gay rights activism . Hookers Studies, although lacking credibility of nonpartisan peer review was cited by advocates as another reason for their decision to remove homosexuality from the DSM in 1973. Jeffrey Satinover wrote that Hookers work has helped the homosexual movement in keeping with the Marxist theories from which it came - to convince judicial and legislative bodies such as the US Supreme Court that homosexuality comprises an oppressed "class" whose rights have been trampled by irrational prejudice. Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth Hookers Studies however were the product of a deliberate campaign by Gay activists to bring forward particular, pre-arranged outcomes, an approach that ignores scientific objectivity. Objectivity is a basic philosophical concept, related to reality and truth. Objectivity means the state or quality of being true even outside of a subject's individual biases, interpretations, feelings, and imaginings. Scientific Objectivity is a value that informs how scientific studies are conducted and how scientific truths are arrived at. It is the idea that scientists, in attempting to uncover truths about the natural world, must aspire to eliminate personal biases, emotional involvement, etc ... Hookers Studies failed the most basic of Litmus tests regarding Objectivity. Hooker was an associate of the Mattachine Society and was lobbied and eventually convinced to conduct a research study of homosexuality for the sole purpose of advancing their Agenda. Again all of this irrelevant as homosexuals have the same right to marry as anyone else.

    • https://www.debate.org/debates/Resolved-Homosexuals-should-be-permitted-to-marry/1/
  • CON

    In my second argument, I stated that opposing/denying...

    Immigration reform should include a path to citizenship to the undocumented currently living in US

    For the good of this debate, I shall end this without introducing anymore arguments. A citizenship is given, not earned. A nation is an institution of citizens, and immigrants should never be given the same rights as real citizens. In my first argument, I said that American institutions, values and virtues, aka freedom, equality and liberty, were threatened by the mass migrations from many places whose economic situation was not as good as the US, and I highlighted how they tried to change American culture and how they do not understand it. I also stated that the economic costs were too high and would damage US's economy rather than improving it, because of increasing inflation and the economic situation of the US. In my second argument, I stated that opposing/denying illegal migrant citizenship is not a violation of human rights because the opponent has cited Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but that article stated something immensely different: we should give amnesty to those who escape their country because of persecution, not because of economic factors. I also highlighted the opponent's usage of Pew Hispanic Center, and that Pew Hispanic Research Center is not a center of migration research, but purely Hispanic based research. I also stated that such reform would be a dream, as fees for citizenship and naturalization are only $680, which is not much to pay if you truly want to be a citizen, and the opponent states that "they do not have enough money to do so". The only way such a reform would be achievable was to tax the American Middle Class more, and especially when these illegal migrants are living on one month of an average American worker's wages, there would be massive opposition to such a reform. It is for these reasons, and many more that I am unable to present today, that I urge you to vote con in the following ballot as America as we know it today is threatened. The opponent's absence means that we cannot have a full debate, and I would like to apologize for that inconvenience, although I wasn't able to influence the opponent's choices. I would like to thank the host for hosting this debate, and I would like to thank you for reading the half filled debate and my arguments. Thank You and have a nice day

  • CON

    Earlier Pro stated that I was speaking in absolutes, but...

    universal background checks r a common sense solution to gun violence

    Again, Pro is being redundant. I have already explained why this is not a far fetched scenario as governments have disarmed their own people throughout history to oppress them. Instead of disproving this or offering a counter argument, Pro has just simply repeated herself in saying that history is "far fetched." I have also stated more than once that background checks would stop SOME criminals, but it would also restrict gun ownership to innocent civilians. Not once did I say or even suggest that 100% of PEOPLE (both criminals and lawful civilians) would turn to illegal means to obtain a firearm. In fact I said that law abiding citizens who weren't going to commit a crime would not turn to illegal means if a background check prevented them from owning a firearm BECAUSE THEY OBEY THE LAW. However, CRIMINALS who wouldn't pass a background check would most definitely turn to illegal means to obtain a firearm since they pay no regard to the law. Why would they care about obtaining a firearm illegally if they already accepted the of risk being sent to jail for committing a crime they would use a firearm in? They wouldn't. Pro is simply being redundant, and has not offered any new substance to her argument. Pro is again being racist by assuming that "criminals" automatically means black people living in the hood, or "black hoodies" as she calls them. Not once have I specified the race of these criminals or where they live. Pro is still failing to understand that not all criminals are black or poor nor are all poor black people criminals, therefore Pro should stop being prejudice against impoverished black people. Pro still insists that not having a gun means there will be no crime. I have already pointed out that violent crime existed before guns (I believe since the beginning of recorded history), and that not having a gun doesn't mean you have stopped a crime since areas with no guns still have violent crime such as China. If a criminal has been prevented from obtaining a firearm by all measures (legal and illegal), then it is still a possibility that they will commit the crime. Smaller and weaker criminals MIGHT be deterred after failing to obtain a firearm (both legally and illegally), but a bigger stronger criminal won't. They might use a knife, a fake gun (and no, no one would stop someone with a realistic looking fake gun because they wouldn't know if it was real or not unless they could read the micro-print that says "replica"), or they might commit the crime with no weapons at all. This is call a "strong arm robbery," and it is usually committed by bigger stronger criminals who can't obtain a gun. So no you haven't stopped a crime for sure, but yes you might deter some criminals who are small, poor, weak, and those who have tried all means to obtain a firearm. But is it worth preventing such a small number of crimes with the consequences of restricting access of firearms to some law abiding citizens? This would only weaken us as a nation, and jeopardize lives and freedom. If this is what you want then you are sacrificing freedom and liberty for an illusion of safety. Earlier Pro stated that I was speaking in absolutes, but now it would seem that Pro is speaking in absolutes. Pro states that the studies that she has provided prove that more guns means greater overall deaths. I have already provided the example of Kennesaw, Georgia. In Kennesaw (population 32,400) every head of household has been required by law to own a firearm since 1982. Since the law has been enacted not a single citizen from Kennesaw has even been involved (in Kennesaw or abroad) in a fatal shooting as a victim, attacker, or a defender. The statistic I have just provided then disproves what Pro is suggesting. Pro says that without a doubt more firearms in an area means more overall death, yet the example I've provided above disproves this. I will explain what this means a little later, but now I will focus on one of the studies you have provided (as I am limited on characters). The first study you have provided is from Harvard (usually left leaning, but never the less reputable). They start by saying in cities with more guns there is more homicide. My example above disproves that, but what they do not say is where these places are. Are they saying New York City suffers more firearm homicide casualties than Omaha? Are they taking into account that there are more people in New York City (where it is near impossible to own a gun by the way) than Omaha? New York City has a population of 8.5 million and Omaha has a population of 434,000. Of course there will be more guns in a city where there is over 17 times the amount of people as another place, and of course that large city will have more firearm homicide since you have 8.5 million diverse people living so close together. The second statement by them states that where you have more gun availability, there is more crime. Again this is disproved by the Kennesaw example, but notice in the statement how they leave out legal or illegal availability. It might not be a wrong statistic, but take Chicago and New York City for example. Firearms are illegal to own or possess (with very few exceptions) in these cities, and yet their firearm homicide rate (especially Chicago's) is atrocious. So now Chicago and NYC have disarmed all law abiding citizens so they can't defend themselves, but the criminals in these areas obviously didn't get the memo that firearms are illegal to own. Of course in actuality they know they are breaking the law, but they just don't care. So availability is a broad term, and they don't include legal or illegal in their study. The third statement says, "Using a validated proxy for firearm ownership, we analyzed the relationship between firearm availability and homicide across 50 states over a ten year period (1988-1997). After controlling for poverty and urbanization, for every age group, people in states with many guns have elevated rates of homicide, particularly firearm homicide." They only say that in states with MANY (not more) guns have elevated (do they mean higher, more, or simply a lot?) rates of homicide. Next. The fourth statement of theirs reads, "Using survey data on rates of household gun ownership, we examined the association between gun availability and homicide across states, 2001-2003. We found that states with higher levels of household gun ownership had higher rates of firearm homicide and overall homicide." I stopped it there because again they use the word availability without specifying legal or illegal, and also they are relying on a survey where criminals who illegally own guns would not tell someone if they own a gun or not. 3 studies that directly contradict Pro's studies. Keep in mind that these studies are from the FBI, the CDC, and the DOJ. These are not private universities that made these studies. These are legal and government institutions. http://www.storyleak.com... https://www.fbi.gov... http://jpfo.org... So when you combine all of our studies, statistics, and examples you have many reputable sources directly contradicting each other. So who is right? I believe that none of these studies are right as I believe that a firearm is just a piece of metal. It takes a criminal to commit a crime using a gun, and therefore a gun is not in itself evil. I believe these studies all contradict each other simply because guns are not the factor, but rather people and their environments are. If you mandate background checks you will only be weakening individuals, this country, and liberty. I ASK THE JUDGES OF THIS DEBATE 2 THINGS. PLEASE READ ENTIRE DEBATE, AND REALIZE THAT THE TRUE GOAL OF DEBATING IS TO CHALLENGE YOUR OWN BELIEFS SO THAT THEY CAN BECOME STRONG OR BE REPLACED WITH STRONGER ONES.

  • CON

    Right to Die No, I don't think this is a problem, but you...

    Euthanasia should be legalized

    I thank you for a well though out response. I just want to state, no where in the United States has been euthanasia legal; however, there are 4 states with physician assisted suicide. 1. Immoral Pain is pain no matter what if it is physical or mental, its purpose is still to protect you by letting you know there is something wrong. Although my opponent offers his version of morality which is referred to as the Harm principle which is "As long as the action involves only consenting adults it is morally permissible.", but I don't believe this is really how he would determine morality. Irving Kristol wrote an argument to this saying "[T]he plain fact is that none of us is a complete civil libertarian. We all believe that there is some point at which the public authorities ought to step in to limit the "self-expression" of an individual or group even where this might be seriously intended as a form of artistic expression, and even where the artistic transaction is between consenting adults. A playwright or theatrical director might, in this crazy world of ours, find someone willing to commit suicide on stage, as called for by the script. We would not allow that-any more than we would permit scenes of real physical torture on the stage, even if the victim were a willing masochist. And I know of no one, no matter how free in spirit, who argues that we ought to permit gladiatorial contests in Yankee stadium, similar to those once performed in the Coliseum of Rome-even if only consenting adults were involved." [1] If this is really does believe this then All Drugs & Alcohol, Euthanasia/Suicide, Prostitution, Polygamy, Gay Marriage, Cannibalism, Bestiality, Incest, Public Nudity, Abortion (According to some people), Dueling/Fights to the Death, All weapons of any kind be owned should all be legal and is morally permissible; however I felt that I have shown that it does harm people like the disabled and the elderly. 2. Subjectivity It doesn't deny that it is the patients that feel pain, it implies you can get different opinions from doctors weather an illness is terminal, or you are in unrelievable pain. In fact he actually elaborates further on my point with "Pain can be tiny to one person but huge to another, the most basic example is that some people can walk over broken glass smiling!" Measuring pain does have to do with it because in place where euthanasia is legal "The patient must be experiencing unbearable pain." [2] Why does the family have to be okay with it? Should it not be solely up to the patient? I will address relief of pain later. 3. Right to Die No, I don't think this is a problem, but you said it was a Human rights; However, the supreme court unanimously disagrees. They also ruled similarly, 9-0, in Vacco v. Quill. [3] Also, it is not mentioned anywhere in the Universal Declaration of Human rights. [4] 4. Slippery Slope How isn't this a slippery slope? The Groningen Protocol is a form of Non-voluntary Euthanasia. How isn't it killing infants? You can't euthanize something that isn't alive. Yes, I would rather deny the infants right to life based on my subjective judgement that they don't want to live. When people receive their medical degree they have to take something called the Hippocratic oath. In the Hippocratic oath it prohibits directly or indirectly killing human beings. The oath was created in part so patients could be reassured that doctors only wanted to help them, not hurt them. [7] By violating this oath how can we know the doctor is acting in the patients interest? A physician's role is to kill illnesses not kill patients. 5. Voluntary? You agree that elderly people feel they are a burden and would seek euthanasia because of it, but you think since it would be legal it would make families care more? Why do they need the ability for a doctor to kill them before families pay attention? Like you said if you knew a family member wanted to die, they could kill themselves many ways if they want to they don't need euthanasia to maybe have their families care. I also covered people with disabilities would also feel that "burden" too. In fact those are the two groups targeted by euthanasia the "non-providers", the weakest, and most vulnerable it only makes them feel worse. It was a euthanasia program. It is involuntary euthanasia, but it is still euthanasia. It rarely is an act of free will, so the comparison isn't as far off as you think because the Nazis were getting rid of the people who were "non-providers", the weakest, and most vulnerable. Euthanasia is "The term normally implies an intentional termination of life by another at the explicit request of the person who wishes to die." [5] 6. Pain Relief People say euthanasia provides a way to relieve extreme pain. This is like saying cyanide relieves depression. It is true that they don"t feel pain anymore abut they don"t feel good because they are dead. Now try it with the other example. It is true that they don"t feel depressed anymore but they don"t feel good because they are dead. There is also ways to relieve pain besides death. "It is widely believed that there are only two options open to patients with terminal illness: either they die slowly in unrelieved suffering or they receive euthanasia. In fact, there is a middle way, that of creative and compassionate caring. Meticulous research in Palliative medicine has in recent years shown that virtually all unpleasant symptoms experienced in the process of terminal illness can be either relieved or substantially alleviated by techniques already available." [6] In countries with euthanasia Palliative care is poorly developed. [8] Sources [1] http://www.mandm.org.nz... [2] http://www.patientsrightscouncil.org... [3] http://www.oyez.org... [4] http://www.un.org... [5] http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com... [6] http://www.ethicsforschools.org... [7] http://www.life.org.nz... [8] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com...

    • https://www.debate.org/debates/Euthanasia-should-be-legalized/4/
  • CON

    In response to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,...

    Serial Bullies should be expelled and be sent to reform school

    Again, if you don’t mind, I’ll rearrange your arguments in numerical order. Also, you previously conceded Statement 3.2 (Note: “Since my opponent has clearly brought up all of the requests which I have asked in this section, I will have no choice but to concede on 3.2”), but your rebuttal matches Part 2 of your objection to Statement 3.3, so I’ll refer to that as Statement 3.3.2. Let the final round begin, and thanks for a good debate! ===Preface=== Before I begin, remember that Pro has the burden of proof. In fact, in my opponent’s conclusion, he even admitted that Statement 2 is “Still in Debate”. Therefore, by default, he has not met his burden of proof. However, for the sake of the debate, I will address the remainder of his arguments. ===Response to Statement 2=== My opponent’s proposed method of using a psychologist to distinguish a bully from a victim is valid, but implausible for statistical data mining. As the original point of contention was on the accuracy of gathering data for statistical sources, using a psychologist to determine bullies from victims would involve interviewing and profiling every individual to be sampled. Assume now, for the sake of argument, that every bullying event is captured on camera. Even now, using cameras is not a viable data collection method because of the tremendous amount of footage that would need to be traversed in order to get a marginal sample size. Furthermore, on camera and out of context, many “joshing” gestures common with high school males can be misinterpreted as bullying (as in the football analogy.) Obviously, this is not a viable option for gathering data. My overall point here is not that data is impossible to gather, it is that the data gathered will be biased in one direction or another due to having to use teachers or students. ===Response to Statement 3.1=== To begin with, two of the three sources you mentioned (bbc.uk and hreoc.gov) do not mention the figure 158 billion dollars on the page to which I was directed. Furthermore, even with the source you cited, I believe the data to be faulty. Given that the total federal expenditure on all education in the United States is 153.1 billion dollars as of 2012 [2], bullies costing the US educational system 158 billion dollars annually is ridiculous and illogical, as it would yield a net gain of -4.9 billion dollars per year. Obviously, my opponent’s sources are either taken out of context or exaggerated. In response to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, my opponent’s statement about people being free from violence is correct. However, my opponent’s solution that bullies should be denied a free education is incorrect, as it contradicts the UDHR in article 26: “Everyone has the right to education. Education should be free.” [1] The solution, therefore, would be to send the students to an alternative school (NOT a reform school – they are two different things, and my opponent has already conceded sending bullies to a reform school) where they could still receive and education while causing minimal collateral damage. However, this contradicts with my opponent’s assertion that ALL bullies should be denied a free education. Since the very source my opponent uses to support his argument also negates it, Pro has not met the burden of proof. ===Response to Statement 3.2=== My opponent has previously conceded his statement, in that his original assertion that all bullies should be sent to reform school was incorrect. I am assuming his “Rebuttal to Statement 3.2” is referring to Part 2 of my rebuttal to Statement 3.3 (effectively Statement 3.3.2), as his argument matches with that, and he made no indication he wished to withdraw his concession. ===Response to my Rebuttal to Statement 3.3 (Effectively Statement 3.3.2)=== My opponent seems to have misunderstood my analogy. My opponent had requested that I explain the original analogy of the football player vs. the senior. (I was not comparing the football player to the serial killer – that what I said the consequence of his line of reasoning would be.) Both the football player’s actions and the senior’s actions could fall under the category of Assault and Battery, a felony in the USA punishable by multiple years in prison. However, obviously, the football player’s actions are less condemnable than the senior’s actions. But if both were prosecuted “to the fullest extent of the law”, both could potentially face the same punishment. I then went on to state that if this was the ideal my opponent was pushing for, then one should try petty thievery on the same lines as serial killing. Obviously, this is a ridiculous concept, it was simply taken ad infinitum to show the implications of prosecuting all bullies “to the fullest extent of the law”, as almost all physical bullying will fall under the category of assault and battery. My original analogy was to demonstrate the need for a qualifying system to determine the severity of bullying, rather than simply prosecuting all bullies “to the fullest extent of the law” – a system prone to abuse. Therefore, since my opponent misunderstood my actual analogy, he has not made any viable counterarguments, so the analogy is viable, and my argument still stands. ===Conclusion=== As this has been a rather long and arduous debate, I will address each element of the resolution in turn. 2. Statement 2 is still under debate, even to the admission of my opponent. My goal in rebutting Statement 2 was not to prove that bullies are more often than not given punishment, but rather to show that my opponent cannot prove his statement from the original resolution. Though I have done so adequately, my opponent has already done the job for me by admitting that it is still under debate; therefore, he has not proven Statement 2. By definition, since he even admits he has not proven Statement 2, he has not proven an element of his case, and therefore has not met his burden of proof. 3.1. My opponent has used an element of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to support his argument; however, later in the declaration, the same document refutes his solution to the argument. My opponent has based his argument off of a document which both supports and negates it; thus, his argument is flawed. Because he has not proven Statement 3.1, he has not met his burden of proof. 3.2. My opponent actually conceded this point, indicating that his original assertion that all bullies should be sent to reform school was incorrect: “Since my opponent has clearly brought up all of the requests which I have asked in this section, I will have no choice but to concede on 3.2” Since, by his own admission, he has conceded Statement 3.2, he has not met his burden of proof. 3.3. My opponent still maintains the ridiculous assertion that bullies cause more damage every year, at 158 billion dollars, than the entire federal expenditure on education for 2012 – 153 billion dollars. Furthermore, his argument against my rebuttal to Statement 3.3 is based on a misunderstanding of the original analogy I put forward. Furthermore, since almost all physical bullying would be categorized under the blanket category Assault and Battery, my opponent suggests that all bullies be prosecuted to the fullest extent that Assault and Battery would allow, regardless of the severity of the crime. My opponent’s sources are questionable and his argument does not allow room for modification, therefore, my opponent has not proven Statement 3.3, and has not met his burden of proof. In conclusion, my opponent has admitted he has not proven Statement 2, downright conceded Statement 3.2, and not proven Statement 3.1 and 3.3. Therefore, he has not met his burden of proof. My opponent’s argument does not stand, and his proposed anti-bullying measures are draconian and unjust. I ask, therefore, that you render a decision in favor of Con. ===References=== [1] http://www.un.org... [2] http://www.usgovernmentspending.com...

  • CON

    Note that I am not arguing possible scenario as a main...

    Serial Bullies should be expelled and be sent to reform school

    ===Acceptance=== I accept this challenge. Note that the argument was clarified in comments 1 and 2 to this more formal version: 1. Many students are scarred for life due solely to the fact that they were bullied in high school. 2. In most cases, bullies are given no punishment whatsoever. 3. All students who go to school for the sole purpose of degrading their peers and causing psychological injuries onto their victims should be 1) denied a free education, 2) sent to a reform school, and 3) be prosecuted by the fullest extent possible in accordance to whatever country/state/province/etc. they inhabit. Note that 1), 2), and 3) will all apply to all cases, not some combination of the three. ===Disclaimer=== Before I begin this debate, I would like to make a disclaimer that I do agree with the general premise of the debate. Bullying is a regrettable aspect of the public school system and society in general and should have consequences and penalties. However, I am not debating that bullying is bad - this would be a ludicrous argument; rather, I am debating the extreme level of retaliation that my opponent is proposing against bullying and the problems with implementing this in the public school system. ===Rebuttal=== Since my opponent is the instigator arguing an affirmative change to an existing policy, rather than a hypothetical debate, he has the burden of proof. Also, since my opponent's long introduction constitutes an argument, and the first round was not specified to be acceptance only, I will proceed directly to rebuttal. This will use the numbering system established in the formalized version of the argument. Rebuttal to Statement 1. My opponent's statement that many students are scarred for life due solely to the fact that they were bullied in high school is unsubstantiated and uncited. I shall proceed to give two possible counterexamples. 1: An adult who happened to be bullied in high school could be scarred for life as a result of bullying in high school, among other factors, rather than solely due to bullying in high school. Furthermore, such an adult could have never learned to develop the proper emotional defensive skills, such as standing up to opposition and bullying, and thus be scarred due to further bullying in the workplace. Note that I am not arguing possible scenario as a main point, but simply presenting a possible counterexample. 2: Because the source is uncited, I will dispute it by default. However, it is a reasonable assumption, so if presented with a source or citation for this, I will agree with this point. Rebuttal to Statement 2. Again, my opponent's statement is uncited and unverifiable. A sample size for the amount of bullying happening in school is impossible to get from a relatively unbiased source, such as teachers or administration, and prone to exaggeration and hyperbole from a biased source, such as students. Obviously, one is less likely to be bullied in front of, say, the school principal or other administrator, than when no other adults are around, making it impossible to establish an accurate sample size. Conversely, a sample taken from the student body is prone to exaggeration for multiple reasons, such as varying definitions of "bullying", reticence or shame to admit to the interviewer, etc. Rebuttal to Statement 3. While my rebuttal to my opponent's statements 1 and 2 were mostly technicalities, the main issue I take issue with (and I presume the main issue of the debate) is statement 3. I will break the third part of my opponent's resolution down into the three components established in the formalization of the argument, namely: 3.1. All students who go to school for the sole purpose of degrading their peers and causing psychological injuries onto their victims should be denied a free education. 3.2. All students who go to school for the sole purpose of degrading their peers and causing psychological injuries onto their victims should be sent to a reform school. 3.3. All students who go to school for the sole purpose of degrading their peers and causing psychological injuries onto their victims should be prosecuted by the fullest extent possible in accordance to whatever country/state/province/etc. they inhabit. Rebuttal to Statement 3.1. According to Section 26 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (General Assembly res. 217A (III), 10 December 1948), "Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free..." [1] While bullying should by no means be condoned in school, denying people who bully the right to a free education is not the answer. Education in high school and particularly college is not only a time of academic maturation, but also social maturation. Also, bullies tend to come from homes with immature parents prone to domestic violence. Aside from having to rewrite the entire Universal Declaration of Human rights, an argument could be made that by denying bullies free education, a perpetuating cycle would ensue, as bullies would be forced out of the school system, missing a major part of maturation, growing up to be immature adults more likely to have children ending up to be bullies, just to name one possible scenario. By denying all bullies the right to education without regard to the severity of their social crimes (note that no qualifier was made; "all students who go to school for the solve purpose of degrading their peers" indicates an absolutist argument), one may perpetuate the social cycle that promotes bullying. Rebuttal to Statement 3.2. By definition, reform schools are correctional institution for the detention and discipline and training of young or first offenders. Like in prison, reform schools commonly have rape problems, as evidenced by a nine-year investigation in Ireland's reform school systems. [4] By simply casting away bullies without regard to the severity of their victimizing tendencies, one may be condemning a child to an institution far out of proportion to their crimes. Though reform schools are necessary in some case, a delimeter or qualifying process would need to be institutionalized in order to determine who to send to a reform school. Rebuttal to Statement 3.3. Many states and countries have drastically different bullying laws, as evidenced by the plethora of new anti-bullying laws constantly being instated, some quite harsh. By prosecuting ALL bullies to the fullest extent possible, one is ensuring a draconian system that does not take severity into account in penalties, similar to the scenario in the rebuttal to my opponent's statement 3.2. Furthermore, in the United States, if a student physically bullies another person, he/she can be charged with assault and battery [5] and tried as an adult if at or over 18 years of age. Due to the nature of bullying, (see Rebuttal to Statement 2) the vast majority of prosecuted statements could conceivably turn into a he-said-she-said situation, as bullying is much less likely to happen in front of authorities or a group of unbiased individuals. Since the fullest extent of, say, assault and battery can mean multiple years in prison if convicted, prosecuting all offenders to the fullest extent of the law, regardless of their crimes, is an unnecessarily severe punishment more subject to abuse than proper implementation. ===References=== [1] http://www.hrea.org...; [2] http://www.education.com...; [3] http://www.thefreedictionary.com...; [4] http://www.huffingtonpost.com...; [5] http://boston.cbslocal.com...

  • CON

    Next I will address the case of "Billy". ... My opponent...

    The United States should implement universal health care modeled after the french system.

    My source for the 50% tax is from an article by Lynn Davidson, August 27, 2007, www.newsbusters.org. First, I will address the impact of the 50% tax on the United States. Just consider that for a second, if the government suddenly cut 50% of your paycheck, what would the response of all of the workers in the United States be? It is common sense that, considering all of the facts, this system of health care would not work in the United States, although it has good intent. Next I will address the case of "Billy". My opponent stated in his own case that "Billy" died because he did not receive treatment, and then stated that it was not considered an emergency, contradicting himself, but even if his injury was not considered serious, he could have still received treatment from a government-run or nonprofit hospital, which would have given free treatment, rendering my opponents scenario irrelevant in this debate. And with that said, I wish my opponent luck and urge a negative vote.

  • CON

    This will be a Public Forum style debate, and if you are...

    The United States should implement universal health care modeled after the french system.

    Hello, my name is Joseph and this is my first online debate. This will be a Public Forum style debate, and if you are not serious about this debate, then please do not accept it. i expect the voters to act as judges and please read the entire debate if you will vote, and explain why you voted affirmative or negative, i will appreciate it. I expect my opponent to respond to all of my arguments, or i will assume that they concede it to me, and vice versa. I will allow my opponent to start this debate, and thank my opponent for accepting it.

  • CON

    A theory however elegant and economical must be rejected...

    Resolved: The country of Scotland should legalize gay marriage.

    I apologize for not refuting my opponent’s case earlier and I ask that the voters only penalize me by awarding conduct points to my opponent. The ideal end of a state is to promote Justice, properly defined by Aristotle as “treating equals as equals and unequals as unequals” [1]. Philosopher John Rawls explains, “Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. A theory however elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if it is untrue; likewise laws and institutions no matter how efficient and well-arranged must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust. Each person possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override. For this reason justice denies that the loss of freedom for some is made right by a greater good shared by others. It does not allow that the sacrifices imposed on a few are outweighed by the larger sum of advantages enjoyed by many. The rights secured by justice are not subject to political bargaining or to the calculus of social interests. The only thing that permits us to acquiesce in an erroneous theory is the lack of a better one; analogously, an injustice is tolerable only when it is necessary to avoid an even greater injustice. Being first virtues of human activities, truth and justice are uncompromising.” [2] This has two important implications. First, my opponent must demonstrate that it is just to grant gays the right to marry each other and that second, social benefits to individuals and economic benefits of a policy are outside the realm of justice. Utilitarian calculations are not a good basis for affirming. I have two brief observations. First, “marriage is fundamentally centered around procreative type acts. Since sexual acts between individuals of the same sex are not procreative in type, they do not qualify as marriages. This renders Con's response against the point that "Gays can't have children" to be irrelevant. Marriage is based on acts that are procreative in type, not whether they are procreative in effect. Infertile couple are therefore irrelevant to the argument.” [3] Second, my opponent’s argument really centers on the idea that the state A theory however elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if it is untrue; likewise laws and institutions no matter how efficient and well-arranged must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust. Each person possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override. For this reason justice denies that the loss of freedom for some is made right by a greater good shared by others. It does not allow that the sacrifices imposed on a few are outweighed by the larger sum of advantages enjoyed by many. The rights secured by justice are not subject to political bargaining or to the calculus of social interests. The only thing that permits us to acquiesce in an erroneous theory is the lack of a better one; analogously, an injustice is tolerable only when it is necessary to avoid an even greater injustice. Being first virtues of human activities, truth and justice are uncompromising.” [2] This has two important implications. First, my opponent must demonstrate that it is just to grant gays the right to marry each other and that second, social benefits to individuals and economic benefits of a policy are outside the realm of justice. Utilitarian calculations are not a good basis for affirming. I have two brief observations. First, “marriage is fundamentally centered around procreative type acts. Since sexual acts between individuals of the same sex are not procreative in type, they do not qualify as marriages. This renders Con's response against the point that "Gays can't have children" to be irrelevant. Marriage is based on acts that are procreative in type, not whether they are procreative in effect. Infertile couple are therefore irrelevant to the argument.” [3] Second, my opponent’s argument really centers on the idea that the state should recognize marriage, and not that it shouldn’t ban marriage. Marriage is a process by which two individuals publicly commit to each other. Scotland does not prohibit gays from doing this; it simply refuses to grant state recognition to gay marriages. It is therefore within the scope of my argument to claim that Scotland should not actively prevent individuals from engaging in such behavior, but rather that it should not formally recognize such behavior. My sole contention is that recognizing gay marriage is unjust. The state has no compelling reason to recognize same sex marriage. 1. Heterosexual union is the indispensable means by which humans come into existence and therefore has special social value (indeed, the greatest possible social value because it is the first precondition for society). 2. The indispensable means by which something of special social value can occur itself has special value. 3. What has special value to human society deserves special social recognition and sanction. 4. Civil ordinances which recognize gay marriage as comparable to heterosexual marriage constitute a rejection of the special value of heterosexual unions. 5. To deny the special social value of what has special social value is unjust. 6. Therefore, gay marriage is unjust. [4] Rebuttals My opponent first claims that not recognizing gay marriage is a violation of marriage rights as described the Universal Declaration. This argument reveals a lack of understanding on the nature of rights. Rights entail negative interference and not positive enforcement. This means that the state has an obligation to not violate rights and not an obligation to provide for the means to rights. For example, the right to freedom of speech entails that the state does not inhibit my ability to express my opinion and not that it has to provide me with a means to express my opinion (such as access to radios) and also not a recognition of my opinions. What the Universal Declaration means when it outlines a right to marriage is that the state should not prevent individuals from marrying and not that it must recognize marriages. Scotland fits within these guidelines because it does not prevent gays from privately marrying; rather, it simply refuses to recognize these marriages. The state is not forcibly preventing such ceremonies from taking place and preventing people from engaging in gay activity. This means that the state is not violating the negative right to marriage. He next claims that the state is creating second class citizens. First, according to his definition, second-class citizens are systematically denied legal rights, civil rights, and economic opportunity in addition to being harassed and mistreated. Gays are not treated in such a manner in Scotland, so they are not second-class citizens; they have all the political, legal, and civil rights that heterosexual individuals have. This leads to my second response, namely that gays are not denied the right to marry. Scotland is not Iran; the state is not actively preventing gays from forming relationships and privately marrying. Not only are gays permitted to privately marry but they also have state recognition of any marriage to a consenting adult individual of the opposite sex. This is the same recognition afforded to heterosexuals, so even if my opponent convinces you that the denial of marriage recognition classifies gays as second class citizens, his argument still fails. Third, even if you see this lack of recognition is turning them into second-class citizens, keep in mind that injustices are permitted in order to prevent larger injustices (as noted by the Rawls analysis). Denying heterosexual marriage its proper special social status is a larger injustice than not recognizing the private marriages of gays, so this injustice would still be permitted. He next says that prejudice against gays is detrimental. I agree. This is why we should be attacking the root of the issue, prejudice, instead of granting gay marriage undue social recognition. Granting gay marriages governmental recognition will do nothing to alter the negative perceptions that the religious right have towards gayity. He cites a study from the APA that discusses the impact of Prop 8’s passage, but I would contend that this has nothing to do with gay marriage and rather has everything to do with the heightened scrutiny and attacks that these groups fell prey to during the election process. Correlation is not causation; he needs to critically examine the study. In addition, even if it does cause them stress, it doesn’t matter because this utilitarian calculation is not to be taken into account when determining the justness of the nonrecognition. There is no inherent right to not be stressed, and society has no obligation to reduce the stress of individuals within it. The indigent are under more stress than the rich, but that doesn’t mean that it is just to redistribute wealth in order to make the groups financially equal. He next discusses commerce. First, as per the Rawls card, social and economic benefits do not impact what individuals are due, so they are not to be taken into account when determining if an action is just. In addition, this benefit is nonunique. Gays can still get married Scotland, meaning that all of the economic benefits can still be enjoyed even if the state does not recognize gay marriage. Gays are choosing not to get privately married; nobody is preventing them from doing so. Sources http://www.pages.drexel.edu... A Theory of Justice, John Rawls, pgs. 1-2 http://www.debate.org... http://wisdomandfollyblog.com...