From: Greg Jordan (jordan@chuma.cas.usf.edu)
Date: Thu Mar 27 2003 - 06:37:04 MST
On Wed, 26 Mar 2003, Lee Corbin wrote:
> context. Do you maintain that billboards on private
> property that happen to be within sight of highways
> (just as distant mountains are within sight), should
> be restricted in what appears on them?
>
> (I'm *not* yet taking a stance here. I just want you
> to clarify your position by considering a *perhaps*
> parallel question.)
>
> Why is one forced to look at people one considers ugly
> and is not forced (I guess!?) to look at unappealing
> billboards?
My point so far is merely to point out that an economic activity such as
putting up a billboard is an act of force - it forces me (and others) to
see it. Like I said, whether a particular exercise of force is good or bad
is an aesthetic judgment. It may depend upon the characteristics of the
billboard. Here in Florida billboards are almost everywhere - huge and
loud. I personally don't usually like them, and enough people who think
similarly have exerted THEIR force to pass laws against them, thus
forcing advertisers to seek some new medium. If the advertisers had
put up enough well-designed billboards *supporting* billboards, maybe they
could have forced enough people to agree to prevent the law from being
passed. :)
gej
resourcesoftheworld.org
jordan@chuma.cas.usf.edu
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