Hacker News Reader

I see what you mean, but declaring yourself a king doesn't actually cause anything physical. It'll be make believe with no real consequences.

Becoming a slave can essentially physically make you a real slave and both parties of the contract can live the rest of their lives as a slave and a slave owner. It's only the ephemeral concept of law that doesn't happen.

They're essentially completely opposite scenarios.

View on HN

Fair point, I hadn’t considered that angle. That said, I still think you can construct many scenarios where your consent to prosecution as a victim are meaningless from a legal perspective.

For a closer example to the original consideration, assume a person that is abused by their spouse: There is a good reason why the abuse will be prosecuted regardless of that person's wishes if authorities are made aware of the abuse.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com