[thaumasiotes]

> He had been talking about harming himself and that's all we needed to have him involuntarily committed for 72 hours.

Frankly, I find it kind of disturbing that you can have anyone you know committed for several days just by lying to the police.

[LordKano]

People can and have been sentenced to death because of lies told to the police.

[thaumasiotes]

Sure, but let's not start pushing for that to happen more. The comment I responded to sounds very approving of this.

[LordKano]

The comment to which you replied was mine.

Yes, I approve of it. Without the ability to compel him to receive medical attention, my friend would have died.

[thaumasiotes]

You value your friend more than you do the people who were killed because someone else lied to the police.

But I don't.

[LordKano]

Ah, I get it now. You're just looking to argue. Feel free to carry on without me.

[robotresearcher]

> He had made some self-destructive statements... > ... he made some more self-destructive statements

It wasn't a lie.

[thaumasiotes]

How is that relevant at all? It could have been a lie. The police would never know.

http://dilbert.com/strip/2013-03-07

[LordKano]

It could have been a lie but it wasn't.

We can play that game all day.

Even if the cops had heard him, the doctors who treated him wouldn't know if the cops were lying.

The judge, who had the final say about extending his observation beyond three days couldn't have known if I, the other friend, the cops, the paramedics and the doctors were lying.

There is often more nuance to real-life situations than "I contend that I didn't say that. He can't prove that I did say it."

Namely, my friend needed help. It was obvious to everyone, except him.