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Comment by whitemary | Hacker News Reader

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Isn’t this analogy wrong? The question implied is: if shoplifting were legal and if some people shoplifted to feed hungry babies, should we make shoplifting illegal?

If it weren't wrong, it would not be an analogy. Most intelligent people will realize that the current state of the law is irrelevant, but if you really can't get past that:

If shoplifting were undesirable and if some people shoplifted to feed hungry babies, is shoplifting then desirable?

From the guidelines [1]:

> Be kind. Don't be snarky. Converse curiously; don't cross-examine. Edit out swipes.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Recently I saw that baby formula in our nearby store is now in the plastic box, with a tracker to make sure it's not stolen. Made me really sad. I asked the store employees, and apparently it's a common problem.

We have already established, that 'just following orders' is not valid, and there does come a point where the law is so inhumane that you must disobey it.

I don't think the line is at 'Hitler is in charge', I think it comes much earlier. For example 'The law' in Britain has castrated Allan Turing for being gay after he won a Nobel prise and helped win the war. Would you follow those orders?

>Allan Turing for being gay after he won a Nobel prise and helped win the war

- Alan, not Allan

- prize, not prise

- Turing never received a Nobel Prize

Right. Ironically, Great Britain, who financed the construction of the Nazi's military infrastructure, did in-fact draw the line at 'Hitler is in charge.'

Under capitalism, the line is drawn by the owning class. Unfortunately, working people don't get a say.

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