| now i am a personal space invader |
[Aug. 20th, 2009|07:08 pm] |
lol okay, just because prohibition is a bad idea doesn't mean that applying other bad ideas to the situation is making it better.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/19/bolivia-cocaine-bar-route-36
Uhm, do we all know where cocaine comes from? The biggest manufacturers of cocaine are in South America, most notably Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia...you get the idea. You'll notice that these countries are also quite notable for their appearances in some of the Worst News Headlines Ever, all of which tend to have something to do with how the country is falling apart and is in desperate need of aid.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out why selling cocaine is bad for the World As We Know It. Jesus Christ, if even Hugo Chavez doesn't want to do business with you, you are Doing It Wrong(tm). And honestly, it doesn't necessarily speak volumes to Chavez's character- the United States has been in deals with Colombia to open access to Colombian military bases to US military materials (ie, soldiers, guns, bombs, etc.) Considering that our last president was deemed by Chavez to literally be the Devil, it is not surprising that Chavez wants to initiate a tiny, personal sanction on Colombia-- so Venezuela can continue in its own dirty dealings. Nevermind the fact that cutting ties with Colombia will certainly result in economic downturn for both nations, and the additional fact that neither of those nations have strong enough human rights policies to support healthy reform programs- for Colombia, reform programs aren't even scheduled to activate until next year! Chavez's falling out with Uribe is almost certainly going to cost Colombia precious time (and potentially other precious commodities) in its attempts to clean up its act and provide a safe, healthy environment for its citizens. Venezuela, meanwhile, intends to continue in shameless drug-trafficking to support its own economy.
You know. Drug trafficking. As in, cocaine. One of Venezuela's prime exports.
Keeping up the trade of cocaine- something that really isn't good for you in the first place- is something that drags on the progress of developing nations. Colombia, Peru- they are two countries who are doing well in terms of world trade and economy; however, much of their economic success has come from cocaine trafficking (indeed, Peru is expected to be the top distributor of cocaine by 2011), and thereby comes at the cost of decent standards of living. Possession and sale of cocaine is a crime, and whether or not it should be, the fact that it currently is means that people are going to try underhanded and immoral methods to continue to make a profit off of it, because the fact that it is illegal really only increases the capital. And obviously, cocaine is illegal in the first place because it was causing some sort of social unrest. It was being manufactured by countries who had nothing better to sell, and as many industries do, the cocaine industry did attempt to enhance its capital with seedy tricks, like 'eliminating' the competition and raising sweat shops to get the work done cheaply.
While those things are not the fault of the cocaine itself, and rather represent issues born from human indecency, cocaine threatens our lives on smaller, personal levels as well. Cocaine is a physically unhealthy and highly addictive drug, as we all know, which means that those with insatiable addictions are prone to go to iniquitous lengths to get a fix. Obviously not everyone who tries or even considers himself a 'user' of cocaine will fall to those lows- but that only explains why prohibition is an arbitrary, unjust method of controlling things that typically generates more and sometimes more harmful crime. However, as long as the issue exists for these people or any people, buying cocaine contributes to the problem, not the solution.
So what kind of reasoning goes into starting up an entire institution based on, if I may appropriate Sean Bonnette, 'a sin against your fellow man'? The trade of cocaine is, at present, a dangerous action that plays host to all sorts of terrible consequences. So even if it isn't fair to some of us that cocaine is banned by the government, it isn't something that particularly helps us when we use it and it is certainly not helping anyone else when we buy it. Honestly, a little respect for human life and standards of living is all anyone can ask of anyone else, because respect something that we want for ourselves as well.
So for fuck's sake, don't sell or buy cocaine, and do not support the establishment of these speakeasy-esque bars. I don't know why someone would engage in something so carelessly selfish to begin with, but there do exist some concepts in our world that truly are just Wrong. Hurting people is one of those things; and while hurting people is unavoidable (that's what apologies are for) we should all make the attempt to avoid it whenever possible. It is possible sometimes! I mean damn.
/pretentious preachery
Think I'm just pulling this shit out of my ass? Fuck no!
WTO: Classification of Developing Countries
Chavez to abandon partnership with Colombia, despite economic perils...
...because he loves coke.
Yes, Virginia- cocaine is bad for you.
Peru: a wondrous capitalist dream-land.
Who Cares What Chavez Thinks Anyway? A study on how Hugo Chavez is a total douche.
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