7 ms·

That can is rendered entirely meaningless by the conditions in that statement. In the same sense you can also declare yourself king of the USA.

• a96 25d ago
  I see what you mean, but declaring yourself a king doesn't actually cause anything physical. It'll be make believe with no real consequences. Becoming a slave can essentially physically make you a real slave and both parties of the contract can live the rest of their lives as a slave and a slave owner. It's only the ephemeral concept of law that doesn't happen. They're essentially completely opposite scenarios.
  • 9dev 25d ago
    Fair point, I hadn’t considered that angle. That said, I still think you can construct many scenarios where your consent to prosecution as a victim are meaningless from a legal perspective. For a closer example to the original consideration, assume a person that is abused by their spouse: There is a good reason why the abuse will be prosecuted regardless of that person's wishes if authorities are made aware of the abuse.
    • a96 24d ago
      Legal perspective, yes. I'm mostly of the mind that law and reality are almost entirely disconnected with a very small contact patch. And that funnily enough contracts and contract breaches are on the side of reality until someone decides to take an argument to court.