(no subject)
We as a society try to make rules against engaging in certain activities to discourage their use; one example is making recreational drug use a criminal offense. This is based on the assumption that humans are rational creatures who, faced with penalties for engaging in unhealthy or inappropriate behavior, will avoid it. In fact, humans are not inherently rational creatures, and will be drawn more to behavior that has been made taboo, not repelled from it. I believe that, if there is a behavior that we want to discourage for the self-harm that it can cause (as opposed to behavior that harms others, such as theft or assault), we should not restrict it, and people will engage in the behavior less.