How to respond to a statist who uses cases like this:

[AgoristTeen1994]

http://news.yahoo.com/2-charged-death-ala-girl-forced-run-082216169.html

How would each of you respond to a statist or even a minarchist using a case like the one linked too as evidence for the need of a gov't? I know how I would reply...I'm just curious how other anarchists would.

[Seth King]

Too few details to determine.

What would the punishment have been for stopping running?

There are two types of punishments, aggressive and passive.

An example of a passive punishment would be, if she stops running the parents will not take her to Disneyland this summer.

An example of aggressive punishment would be, if she stops running she will get beaten.

My attitude is that if the punishment would have been passive then there is no criminality and it was partly a tragic accident, partly cruel but not criminal, and partly the little girl's fault for being so stupid.

If the punishment was aggressive then clearly there is criminal intent. What should happen to them as a result, however, is highly debatable. The state, of course, has no moral authority to do anything, though.

[AgoristTeen1994]

Seth to each of your points...while I don't know for sure, the article seemed to have implied that it'd be an "agressive" punishment for stopping running. As for if the punishment was passive it being partly cruel but not criminal...I guess we have different definitions of "criminal" though I would agree that if the punishment was passive the girl wasn't being very smart...but I highly doubt she would have followed that verbal order to run without stopping until told to do so if the punishment was "passive"

And I do also agree the State has no moral authority to decide

[randallstevens]

I agree with Seth. The fault lies with shitty parenting and stupid kids. I ran a half marathon this past weekend on the beach and saw what I assumed to be was a pair of sisters around this girl's age. The conditions for the run were normal for this area in this time of year; chilly, windy, and raining. Around mile 9 I saw one of the girls ahead of me (yes, I was getting beaten a ten year old in a race, fuck you:) ) doing a combo run/walk. When I came up beside her she was crying and shivering. I asked if she was okay and she said she was fine, but obviously was distraught. I simply told her that she needed to keep running to stay warm and went on my way. The temperature was in the high 50's if I had to guess, so there was no danger of hypothermia if she simply kept running. I felt bad for a second, but then thought that if the kid wanted to do the race, then she must learn the consequences of long distance running. I thought that the parents were probably stupid for letting a child that young run, but her sister pushed through the misery and kept on going, so it can be done. There is a fine line between teaching kids to rough it and not pushing too hard.

[dissidentX]

My response would be that the community without the nanny state would be more likely to intervene on the behalf of the girl if she were being abused rather than expecting someone else take care of it.