Re: ``Law-Abiding''
What's the deal with the phrase ``law-abiding''?
Usually, it's used by people ranting agaist laws or proposed laws they find objectionable. I typically see this phrase in gun-control debates or (more recently) in copyright debates surrounding the DMCA and similar laws.
Well, it's stupid.
If you've not registered your gun in Canada (say), or you're making a a backup of you hard-drive onto a CD, you're not ``law-abiding'' any more. In fact, you're ``law-breaking'' (in the latter case your law-breaking nature is presumed by the tax on blank CDs). Sure, it might be quite a justifiable thing to do, but you're still breaking the law. The problem, of course, is that there are many unjust laws; breaking such laws is a Good Thing.
So, next time you're temped to say ``law-abiding citizen'', please try ``justifiably law-breaking citizen'' instead and address the real problem: unjust laws.