If you are principally opposed to eating chicken but would do so anyway simply because someone served you chicken – then you’re not
that principally opposed to eating chicken. You just have a preference not to. I have a preference not to eat meat as well – but I’m not principally opposed to eating meat because I fully acknowledge my lack of self-control around sushi. I would be a hypocrite if I told others not to eat meat while doing so myself. Someone who holds
strong vegan or vegetarian beliefs wouldn’t knowingly eat that chicken, unless they no longer desire to subscribe to vegetarianism/veganism.
To frame it another way, I am principally opposed to pet stores selling animals and I would support legislation that criminalized selling such pets as part of a broader move against puppy/kitten mills. Therefore, I have, and will always chose to adopt, regardless of whether I have an option to buy.
I am ignorant of Norway's social assistance programs - I am a Canadian who lives in Canada, not Norway, lol. I didn’t intend for this to be an argument – I was simply venting my frustration after a particularly aggravating discussion with my extended family. My frames of references are twofold; I have an uncle who used social assistance a few years ago to get himself through a difficult period and
now that he is financially secure, he is against Canada providing social assistance to its citizens. It absolutely
is hypocritical because he didn’t mind EI when he needed it – but all of a sudden now that he’s doing well, everyone else who uses it is a lazy turd. In Canada, social assistance is there for those who
need it. I don’t understand how you can be principally against something you need to survive.
Likewise, I also watched an interview where Ted Cruz, who has devoted his career to whining about and trying to dismantle Obamacare, had to justify why he chose to use it after his wife took a leave of absence from her job at Goldman Sachs. Sure, he’s eligible for it through his work, but he’s a wealthy man and if he was a more principled one, he would have sought private insurance instead. But he said himself that ‘the only good thing about it’ was that it was also available to
him. He doesn’t want everyone else to have it – but eh, when he needs it, it’s a-ok.
These are the kinds of attitudes I was referencing and why I believe this mindset is selfish. If your government ever gave you a helping hand when you didn't know where your next meal came from, then have the decency not to be a jackass when your fellow citizens need a hand up as well. And if you don't need it, then don't use it.
