Uber hate

A sad letter-to-the-editor denouncing “Uber Grandma” is here. The writer has the audacity to mock her intelligence in response to her continuing to drive illegally: “Obviously intellectual acumen is not required to be an Uber driver.”  Since when is civil disobedience stupid? The answer is that it’s stupid to someone who supports the law. I looked up the definition of civil disobedience. From Merriam-Webster:

civil disobedience: refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing concessions from the government

This is exactly what Stephanie Franz is doing, and whether the letter writer likes the law or not, questioning her intelligence for engaging in it is itself intellectually flawed.

Regardless, the letter makes same tired argument: Franz is breaking the law, so she is wrong in what she is doing and is a bad person.  The writer’s anger with Franz is sad but expected in a society that encourages division and robotic law enforcement. Instead of recognize the unethical of victimless crimes, he seems like he would prefer punishment.

I have some questions for the letter writer: when slavery was legal, was it moral? Of course not: a statute does not imply morality. So, the argument that Franz should change her ways because she is breaking the law is meaningless.

I have another question: to what lengths will you go to force scofflaw Franz to obey the law? Issue a fine? Arrest? Threat physical violence? What is the limit for a victimless crime?