Everyone complains about discrimination but many people are in favor of it, as long as is doesn’t negatively affect them. Health and life insurance companies do it all the time. Usually based on sound actuarial reasons. On the other hand, government takes a completely schizophrenic attitude toward discrimination. Smokers are routinely treated like pariahs. It’s ok to charge them hefty premiums for insurance and to even deny them employment based on their expected healthcare costs. On the other hand, groups that are far more likely than the general population to contract AIDS are granted a status that disallows similar treatment despite the fact that their foreseeable ailment costs much more, is even more likely and usually occurs at an earlier age. While I usually don’t like having government dictating to private companies I’m not sure I like private companies dictating how I live my life either. Should motorcyclists be protected? Sky Divers, Scuba Divers? Cliff Divers? (I’m stopping there ) How much control should government or our employers have over our lifestyle choices? Should we expect the rest of society to pick up the marginal additional costs of our lifestyle choices? I’m torn on this issue.

We all like to think of ourselves as rugged individualists. But when push comes to shove most of us are sheep who do what we are told. Worst of all, a lot of us become unpaid agents of whoever is controlling the agenda by enforcing the current dogma on the few rugged individualists who actually exist.