What would your main arguments be for a debate if your topic was...?

Question

If your topic was "People who light bushfires should have mandatory imprisonment" i'm on the negative side and it would be good to find out what other people think the mains points should be...

Answer 1

Well first up you have to get them to define their model. That's where you'll score the most points here. How do you define bushfire? Under what circumstances? If they don't stress deliberately, you can attack that. If they don't exclude legitimate burning as the aborigines do then you can attack that. Then all people? Children included? Mentally ill people? I'd spend a fair bit of time attacking their model, which they have to have. If they don't then you attack its absence and create a fictitious interpretation (not too bizarre) of the model.

Lines like "We hear nothing from the affirmative about how this would work? No restictions, no definition? What if it's an accident? What if it's a well intentioned mistake? What if the person is mentally ill? Nothing? Just lock 'em up! What a great model?"

I'd focus most in arguments on the dangers of mandatory anything. It gives no scope for the wise judge to decide this case really doesn't warrant jail. Terms like right-wing and absolutism come into play here.

What about accidental lighting - stupid but no harm done just an acre of grass burnt? What about someone who tried to back-burn to attack a fire but it goes wrong?

I assume you're Australian by the term you use. One argument you could use is that we have adopted an outrageous regime of stopping all fires and this is what builds up the fuel load to the point where we have disasters. Reflect this onto the aboriginal land management practices.

Tough topic though. If they close off their model well, its hard to argue against!

Answer 2

The main points in support of mandatory jail time for arson would be:

1) arsonists recklessly and carelessly endanger the lives of others, with no regard for the consequences of their actions, sometimes causing the deaths of others, often causing unneccesary pain, injury and suffering,
2) arsonists cause damage in the hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars,
3) an example needs to be made of a convicted arsonist to dissuade other would-be arsonists from similar behaviour, thus lowering the number of incidences of arson in society.

Good luck.

Answer 3

You fail to give INTENT for doing so. Some forest rangers are paid to do so. If that's the case no punishment.
If it was truly and accident then mandatory community volunteer fire fighting. If intent was for Arson not only mandatory community service in hospital burn victims unit and community fire fighting but prison sentence.