I found this on another site. Interesting case if you ask me. Granted I only watched the video once and don’t know the whole story, but how do you guys feel about this? How should a libertarian feel about this? Is neglect a just thing in the libertarian legal system? Can a parent send their child to work in a factory (child labor), but be in trouble for neglecting to care/abuse and virtually ruining his life (555 pounds can easily kill you)? I’m more interested in economics so I haven’t really read much on a libertarian legal code.
I don’t see how arresting and imprisoning the mom helps out anybody, especially the kid.(He may not have been taken care of properly by his mother, but I’m sure he didn’t want her to be broken away from him). If the state really was compassionate, was there no other option they could’ve taken to help this family other than imprisonment?
This is barbarism!! For start, why does everyone assume that this is a cultural/nourishment problem? Obesity is a physical disease! The child is obviously sick, but it seems that the State is not claiming neglect based on lack of medical attention. If it did, why did she get no warnings or advise about such medical conditions? It is obvious that the State has kidnapped this child, and to add insult to injury, is charging the mother for neglect.
If you follow your logic, anyone who has a sick or disable child is now a suspect of improper nourishment? I see no valid point on your behalf.
Why is child obesity any different from the thousands of other child diseases/disabilities? The answer is very simple: that obesity is not conceived by the mainstream intellectuals, media, and masses as a real physical disease.
The popular attitude is as follows: The child is a “blank Slate”, and if he eats like a pig he has not been taught how to eat. So I guess all the skinny children have been simply properly “trained” or “programmed”. We’re not blank slates you say? Perhaps, but it’s not all in the genes, so perhaps the mother is just 50% at fault.
The fact of the matter is that obesity is a closed loop system malfunction. There is ample scientific evidence to support this, and in fact, those who are familiar with physiology, neuroscience, behavioral genetics, and are among the few who have the capacity to reason logically, can see no other explanations to any such diseases, regardless of specific empirical evidence. In this case there are plenty.
I know that us libertarians, have this obsession with “free will”, but we should really learn to accept that denying “free will” in its full literate meaning does not somehow weaken our libertarian positions.
I simply responded to the hypothetical case that such a point is used to make a connection between neglect and child disease. I realize now that that was not what your point.
That part was just a general comment on the issue not related to your remark.