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Because you care about people? What, should we just give up on people addicted to drugs for example? Or should we help save them from their bad decision to use dangerous drugs?

We take drug addicts to rehab. We don’t just give them money so they don’t need to steal to get high. But we can’t take them to rehab until they admit to themselves that they have a problem.

Some are worth saving. Not all, but some.

I believe parent-poster intended something more like: "The subset of Americans who opposed the nonsense."

The purpose of the deterrent pain response is ultimately to change American policy, and that means influencing people whose positions can changed by it into a positive direction.