Can anyone name a few " slippery slope " these/ideas ( as in; That's a slippery slope that if you follow it out to it's intended path, it will have a negative impact on society." ) that have actually come to pass AND that we are dealing with today?

I'm talking and asking about " hot button " issues. Not elected officials.

Gay Marriage.
Beavis and Butthead.
Marilyn Manson.
Gun registration.
Dixie Chicks.
South Park.
Andrew Dice Clay.

Stuff like that.

When you look back on all the times that large groups had such a hissy fit about them and their stated fears and " If you let this happen, it will OBVIOUSLY lead to X happening." it feels like they never come to fruition. Ever. Am I wrong? Or perhaps I am just deluded? Brainwashed? Haven't thought about it enough?

Specific things that led to actual worst case fears being realized.

And can we just move on ( dot org ) about making this all about Bush's failed Iraq or Domestic policies? I'm talking about the more mundane things in our lives. I can support the idea that there is a connection between it all too. But that's not what I'm asking about.

Some other threads recently have touched on " Communism or Socialism will take place if we do that! " Or " Gun registration will lead to having our guns taken away."

Maybe those fears are real. I don't think so - but they are future things to deal with. I'm asking about PRESENT day effects of a slippery slope.

Got any?

Keep it simple.

I don't believe in slippery slopes, just bad ideas.

Once one company started reducing the half-gallon ice cream container down to "1.75 quarts" then everybody did it. Now I can't find an honest half gallon anywhere (except maybe in those store brand ice cream bricks). And yesterday I accidentally bought a 1.5 quart ice cream! This is happening with many food packages, and it really ticks me off.

(not a hot button issue, but simple enough?)

Yeah, cutting back on ice cream should be a criminal offense!

Ice Cream is one of the 3 major food groups. Popcorn and Chocolate are the other two!!

Hmm . . . I'm wondering who is going to be the first to knock 10% off the price of a gallon of gas by reducing the size of a "gallon" to .85?

I'm thinking Exxon.

If they start doing that, then they have to start trimming some X's out of their name.

DRM

This is a current day issue. People have purchased media asets only to have them nullified because a license server was taken down because a company decided they would not maintain it as a business. Just a week ago, a work mate was trying to cut and paste some text from an application to archive their test scores because a server was performing poorly. DRM on that machine prevented that action (and yes that's VISTA). He was faced with leaving a window open, not using that computer, etc... while he waited, or just taking the test over. Ended up retaking the test as he had NO proof he had actually done it! My point here is the number of bad scenarios is increasing rapidly, slippery slope style!

Privacy breeches and identity theft are another one that's pretty much slipping. Don't know if it qualifies just yet however.

IMHO, electronic voting appears to manifest many of the things the naysayers said would happen. The slippery slope here is trust in electronics that we cannot verify. It's fair to say we've not yet slipped as there are good cases for both it being just a nuisance and it having a significant effect on our democracy.

Another one is photographers being harassed over public pictures. This appears to be increasing globally. The old security trade for liberty bit is real and happening. Photos are just one manifestation of this.

Gas is often sold by the litre in other places! Might be coming to a station near you!

Your point is taken though on the usual things. Nice thread and one I'm going to remember when the noise gets high and I'm tempted to contribute to it.