Stupid laws.
Comments from my Make you Fink on Friday post made an old issue raise its ugly head.
The world is full of stupid laws that prevent people from living their lives as they want to.
The one in question is the zoning laws that outlaw earth ship type houses, but there are many others.
To my way of thinking, when you buy land, it is yours. If you want to build a castle, a house or an earth ship, that is your decision and the local authorities have no say in the matter.
Earth ships are usually free form and reflect sustainable living
An Earthship is a type of passive solar house made of natural and recycled materials (such as earth-filled tires) – Wikipedia
But local authorities ban them, why?
There will come a time when this type of dwelling is necessary.
They are not ugly buildings, quite the opposite, they conform to nature.
Another stupid, stupid law prevents most people from growing their tomatoes and other veges in the front yard or areas that can be seen from the street.
Criminal activity, growing veges in the front yard
Why can’t you grow veges in the front yard, if you choose this form of self-sufficiency, you should be awarded.
But you can only grow flowers… You can’t eat flowers!
The criminals are the ones who complain that front yard vege gardens ruin the neighbourhhod, it is these people who are responsible for our declining society.
Yet another stupidity. Why can’t we buy fresh milk? But we have to buy the crap sold in supermarkets.
Just look at that full cream at the top of those jars
We are forced by law to buy milk that has been pasteurised, homogenous, ultra heat treated and had the crap beaten out if it, because if we don’t the bastard dairy corporations won’t make a profit.
One of the biggest cons; skim milk, sold as ‘low fat’ or diet milk. Skim milk has part, or all the butterfat removed, what’s left has no use in the human food chain. When I was a kid it was slops feed to the pigs… maybe it still is. Because they sell it at the same price as ‘whole’ (which it isn’t) milk; raking in even more profit from the gullible.
If we choose to buy milk direct from the source, why can’t we. “It’s bad for the health! It’s full of bacteria!” Bullshit! I have been drinking whole unpasteurised milk almost most of my life (60+ years), neither I nor anyone I know has ever suffered from any milk related illness.
These are just three examples of stupid laws.
Can you think of others?
Leave a comment, because for sure I haven’t covered the whole gamut.
Eco-Crap 
Posted by Rachel on April 14, 2014 at 3:41 pm
We should definitely be able to grow veggies on the footpath and that earth ship looks miles nicer than the house in the second photo.
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Posted by argentumvulgaris on April 14, 2014 at 4:35 pm
>Rachel, I think the earth ship looks just great too.
AV
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Posted by Lois Field on April 14, 2014 at 4:58 pm
I can come up with so many ridiculous laws it makes my head spin. Some of the worst, in housing, are most often in the subdivisions. Home plans must be approved before you can build, no clothes lines in the back yard because it could be visible from a neighbors back windows, even the color you paint your front door must be approved first, and no solar panels on roofs because it would be different from the neighbors.
Recently in my apartment complex we were informed that we can no longer have a chair or table outside our doors any longer because each person has a different chair/table so it looks bad. I think it shows the personalities of the residents and shows we are not a community of people who close themselves up indoors all day. I’ve also lived where all curtains on the windows must be the same color, or all must have identical blinds so the apartments look the same from the outside.
Outside of housing, there are even more crazy rules. Our elementary school insists that all children must ride the bus or be picked up by a parent. There is one family who’s property meets the school’s. There are no roads that need be crossed to get to this house yet their children are required to get on the bus. The bus pulls out of the driveway and comes to an immediate stop to let their children off.
Sorry for the rant, but this is a topic that drives me crazy. So much for freedom.
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Posted by argentumvulgaris on April 14, 2014 at 10:09 pm
>Lois, I had forgotten about that clothesline one. When I first heard about, I couldn’t believe it. Yes, you came up with ones like the door colour and the curtains and no solar panels. I would do it just to be different, what are they going to do? Chuck you out? Fine you for civil disobedience?
AV
PS rants are fine by me.
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Posted by smallftprints on April 14, 2014 at 5:43 pm
The “growing veggies in the front yard” rule really gets me … vegetables are beautiful and why does anyone have the right to tell people how to landscape their property. I would NEVER buy a home in an area which is governed by a homeowner’s association … they get a little carried away telling people how to live. We have an interesting law in North Carolina: “A bill has been passed that restricts local planning agencies’ ability to use climate change science to predict sea-level rise.” Not that’s a dumb law!
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Posted by argentumvulgaris on April 14, 2014 at 10:05 pm
>Small, quite agree, I think that veges are beautiful. It’s time these local politicians that make stupid rules were voted out.
AV
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Posted by Julie on April 14, 2014 at 9:12 pm
Looks amazing
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Posted by argentumvulgaris on April 14, 2014 at 9:24 pm
>Julie, thank you.
AV
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Posted by Friday Faves, A Good Soul | Living Simply Free on April 18, 2014 at 2:03 am
[…] Argentum Vulgaris hit on one of my pet peeves, stupid laws. Freedom to express ourselves or take risks should be a given. What rules drive you […]
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Posted by argentumvulgaris on April 18, 2014 at 8:34 am
Thanks for the link. Loved that video.
AV
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Posted by graemeu on April 19, 2014 at 12:29 am
“The Law is an ass” I don’t know who said that but it is so appropriate. We recently had a first for this country ‘Pegasus Town’, I think they’ve relaxed a little but the rules included, no clotheslines, specified lawn length (minimum and maximum) no childrens play equipment on the front lawn etc. It makes me think of the original Stepford Wives or the beginning of Edward Scissor Hands. But this isn’t new, I stumbled across Tony Watkins last year and he graciously sent me a copy of his book The Human House a collection of essays first published in the Auckland Star in the 1970’s. What is remarkable is that while the laws from then would be considered minor by comparison with now, all the essays could just as easily have been written today.
Tony was a lecturer in Architecture at Auckland University at the time and ended up in a small war with the city council. His website is very interesting with a strong focus on planning gone wrong, civil liberty and commonsense.
http://www.tony-watkins.com/content/view/404/696/
If you have a good read of Tony’s website you’ll see he paid a heavy price for not being anonymous and for not toeing the line.
Graeme
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Posted by argentumvulgaris on April 19, 2014 at 8:55 am
>Graeme,I have been away from NZ for 20+ years, and I had no idea that such ludicracies had encroached on the long white cloud.One more reason that I abandoned ship.
Thanks for bringing me up to date.
AV
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Posted by graemeu on April 20, 2014 at 11:11 am
20 years: much has changed, much is the same, rules that govern the lives of every day folk have got harsher (not allowed to build your own home) and for the squanderers of natural resource the rules have been relaxed to encourage ‘Growth’.
But what I can’t resist is giving an excerpt from Tony’s essay ‘Do not Forget the Beaureaucratic Room’ in essence every new home needs a Beaureaucratic Room as “…a command post for directing the continuous battle against all the people who are paid by rates and taxes to make the lives of others as inefficient and mediocre as their own.” and it should contain among other things “…a copy of Alice in Wonderland…a computer, an endless paper supply, a first aid kit and a brick wall to bang your head against….” for starters.
Not all the new rules are bad, I fully endorse the one that requires new houses to have double glazing.
Cheers
Graeme
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Posted by argentumvulgaris on April 20, 2014 at 4:34 pm
>Graeme, some rules make sense, the double glazing for example, but many are so nonsensical and go against life’s grain. Love the Bureaucratic Room, brick wall a must.
AV
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Posted by graemeu on April 22, 2014 at 9:52 pm
To borrow form Bryce Courtenay and “The Power of One”
“Absaloodle”
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Posted by graemeu on April 22, 2014 at 9:54 pm
That’s to borrow FROM… damned autocorrect another irritation
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