Response to, “Sit Down and Shut Up”.
Submitted to the Keene Sentinel:
There is so much misinformation in Michael Schuman’s recent opinion piece, “Will the Free Staters please sit down?”, I felt the record should be set straight. First, let’s actually define what a “Free Stater” is:
The Free State Project (FSP) is an organization that promotes the idea that liberty-minded people move to New Hampshire and get active. A “Free Stater” is nothing more than a liberty activist, and could even be from NH. Schuman, incidentally, is from Connecticut.
Schuman claims the NH Free Press is a “media outlet” of the FSP. The NH Free Press is a newspaper run by two liberty activists, but the FSP has no control over what activists do when they get here. No one ordered me to respond to Schuman’s ill-informed piece; I didn’t ask permission from, and nor do I speak for the FSP. Russell and Kat Kanning, the publishers of the NH Free Press, may consider themselves “9/11 truthers” but I don’t know many liberty activists in the Keene area who feel the same way. We are individuals with divergent beliefs but with the common thread of loving freedom so much that we’re willing to take action for it.
As for his suggestion that liberty activists are akin to the rude person who stood in front of him at a concert once, I certainly haven’t met them all, but those I know are friendly, respectful, and are good neighbors. They also range from small government minarchists to those who are voluntaryists and absolutely oppose the initiation of force against peaceful people.
Schuman writes that libertarians say, “me first, second and third and the hell with everyone else.”
I understand why Michael feels that way. The libertarian movement on a national scale has been infiltrated and taken over by conservatives, and that’s likely why he’s gotten that impression. That’s one reason why I quit the Libertarian Party last year and no longer label myself a “libertarian”. I’d invite you, reader, to acquaint yourself with voluntaryism. Most people already act on a consensual basis and don’t initiate force on their peaceful neighbors. Voluntaryists say that it’s time all people act peacefully toward one another, specifically those who call themselves the government.
As to Schuman’s assertion that smoking in a restaurant is a crime with a victim, I’d like to remind him that restaurants are private property. If he chose to enter their premises, he consented to inhaling that smoke. About guns, he is correct that shooting spree killers appeared law-abiding until they started killing people, but ignores the fact that it is so-called “gun-free zones”, where these killing sprees tend to happen. When people are free to defend themselves, violence is less likely. That’s a big reason we are so safe here in NH compared to MA and other areas with gun restrictions.
Schuman finally suggests that Sam Miller, the man locked in county jail since 4/13 for recording video in the district court lobby and then using his supposed right to remain silent, is wasting taxpayers’ money! To clarify, Sam is not stealing or spending taxpayers’ money, the government people are doing that! As I write this, activist Andrew Carroll is going to jail for nine days for displaying a bud of cannabis in public. That will cost taxpayers hundreds of dollars. Sam and Andrew would have preferred to have not been arrested, and just allowed to remain being free, peaceful people. It was the government people who aggressed against them, just as they will aggress against you if you refuse to pay for their violence.
I will not sit quietly as injustice abounds. I will stand for peace. I will stand for liberty. So will the other activists, more of whom are coming to NH each month. I invite you to visit FreeKeene.com or better yet, come out and actually meet some local liberty activists on Sunday afternoons at 4pm at Vendetta on Central Sq., and you’ll find out who we really are, rather than having to speculate or listen to hearsay. Just last week we had a food drive and collected well over a hundred food items to donate to the Community Kitchen, because, like Schuman says, we only think about ourselves.
Ian Freeman
Blogger, FreeKeene.com
39 Central Sq. #313
Keene
Comments
31 Comments on Response to, “Sit Down and Shut Up”.
Very well put Ian.
I really hope that makes it in the paper.
Many people are just so ignorant of what the FSP and the participants are like and stand for.
I agree with you 100% and only wish I could say it as well! Kudos from a jazz guitarist, Texan Voluntaryist.
Great response Ian, thanks for writing it up!
His “column” was disappointing as it was such a vague smear job, but it did reveal how incredibly little he knows when it comes to understanding freedom.
But his was the standard line – Censorship. He doesn’t want to debate, rather he just wants others who disagree with him, to just shut up and sit down (for he doeesn’t know why these ideas make him feel uncomfortable, but they do). I imagine if he was in charge he would like to choose to arrest and cage all those who disagree.
Too bad he can’t take the easy way and just open his mind and see how things really are but at this point, it looks like his government education destroyed his ability to think honestly.
Great! I hope you’ll let us know if it makes the paper.
Excellent work, Ian. I, too, refuse to use the term libertarian any longer when describing my political perspective.
Good job,
Perhaps this is a minutia, but I like how you use the term “government people” rather than just “government”. This drives home the main point — that we are each responsible for our own actions, and cannot justify immoral behavior by passing responsibility off to some amorphous organization.
“Government” is just a few people who unfortunately choose to use agressive force against their neighbors.
Ian, thanks for opening my eyes to real freedom. Been listening to you and Marks’ podcast for the past 4 years. Started listening when my ex-wife and some ‘government’ people conspired to keep me from my children. You two and Stephan M. have helped me see the gun in the room. Whenever I get into a debate over government, ‘the gun in the room’ logic ends it very quickly. Thanks again!
This is similar to what I left on my comment. Maybe I should have written a response instead of a comment.
michael Garcia wrote on Jun 1, 2009 11:37 AM:
” Just a clarification for everyone. I currently live in Kentucky. I’m a member of the free state project. When I move to New hampshire I will leave the title of free state project member in Kentucky. The free state project is the bus to concentrate liberty activists. There is no free state project leadership that directs people in their activism.
People come here and do whatever is most effective for them. Some of the activism that FSP members engage in include protesting REAL ID, same sex marriage, medical marijuana, spending caps, and the localized activism occurring in town councils. The activism that is happening in Keene is just one brand, although a more in your face form. But is does bring out the violence in the system so it does have the potential to attract more attention.
I felt that if Michael is going to continue with the title of journalist then I might as well assist him so he doesn’t completely come off as an ill informed hack. It makes me wonder how many inconsistencies that creep up in his work if he cannot even get the basic facts of the FSP.
@FSers go home
You don’t really get it. We are making our plans to move to NH because it is one of the freest states in the US. NH is our home. It’s where liberty lovers are having the most effect against the ever encroaching power of the state. We’re not going anywhere and we don’t want to fight. We want to live in a world that respects the individual. If you want to aggress against your neighbors then we will defend ourselves. But I assure you, a principled liberty lover will not initiate violence against you.
Michael Garcia. FSP member “
wow. amazing Ian.
One of the reasons I stopped listening to FTL is Ian’s LP bashing . . . While I agree the conservatarians have infiltrated, there’s still a decent fight to be had by the right candidates in the right races. Spare me the waste of time and liberty in our time retorts.
So as not to be redundant, I’ll just say, “Well played sir.”
Its amazing how ill informed people who lobby against the Free State Project are. If more people actually understood the method, and met the people, this would not happen. Hopefully many people will see your retort Ian.
The article was perfect, The free Staters will slowly lose. I have no problem with people/groups expressing their thought or opinions, but the way this group has done it, is wrong, starting with the Sam (I am in Jail and belong there) Free Stater. FYI, I was born raised in Keene.
Why is it “wrong”?
What was perfect about the article, Keene Native? Do the existence of numerous factual errors not detract from your definition of perfection? If you didn’t understand the errors in the original article that Ian corrected in the post above, please check out Sam’s own response (http://freekeene.com/2009/06/03/sams-response-to-“sit-down-and-shut-up”/). He makes it very clear how many facts Mr. Schuman got incorrect, and even explains his opinion about how Mr. Schuman’s perspective isn’t very just.
Vince,
Like I said I was born/raised in Keene, a few years ago I received a speeding ticket on Court St. as the police officer was handing me the ticket I (very politely) started to ask him the reason(s) why I was pulled over (yes, I was speeding but the road was very busy I found it hard to see how he got me when I was following traffic)he responded to my questions with this response “If you want to discuss the ticket (yes he was very professional) check not guilty and we can speak in district court” He had a very valid point, court is the place to challenge the charge. Trying to debate the ticket on Court street, was not going to prevent the ticket or getting more agrressive w/the officer would only lead to more problems, and I would still have the ticket. I understand you and the FS’s do not agree with the court system, that is fine. Let me ask you a question, they day Sam and the others were arrested (please keep out the “piece of paper on the wall was not signed”) had he stopped the camera, maybe asked a couple of questions why he was being forced to stop, just to get a reason (if any). Then challenged it in court. You would not be in district court, and depending on how well the case was made may be able to get it moved out of Cheshire county. (yes I know how you feel about court) allowing your-self to be arrested then going on a hunger strike does not work, this leaves a bad taste in the citizens mouth, and only creates negative publicity (in my opinion). I read all the effort Ivy (or what-ever her real name is) did in Sams case, had this been put to a case against the “no video cameras rule” or what-ever it was called and it was done w/out any arrests you would have attracted more of a positive reaction, even if you had lost this would only help your cause. An example, lets say a person is reading the paper and he/she has no idea what FS is or what they do, they come across what could be either headline “Free Staters make a strong case to allow video cameras in court” or “Free staters arrested and on a hunger strike over video cameras in court” the majority of the people reading the 2nd headline will assume you were wrong and deserved to be arrested, where as the majority reading the 1st article may agree with your position, if they do not, at least you created positive attention.
FYI.. I checked guilty and paid the ticket, because the officer was correct I was speeding. The KPD and NH state police do a very good job, you may not always agree with them, but I have read on several posts on this Forum that Keene is a great place to live, they are a big reason why along with the court system.
I’m also a Keene native, and I appreciate what Sam is doing. There is a strong tradition of civil disobedience to immoral laws in this country, which I 100% support.
KN, what if the courts themselves are unjust, and are enforcing as a matter of course many immoral laws and rules — and are not even following their own laws and rules?
Should Rosa Parks have just moved to the back of the bus, and then taken her case up with the local court? Do you think she would have gotten anywhere?
The government does not define morality. Good men do what is right, if necessary, instead of what is legal, and they have through history — the white rose society, Gandhi, the underground railroad, the civil rights movement, the woman’s rights movement, etc.
When the court behaves immorally, it should be opposed, and civil disobedience is absolutely a legitimate and effective way to bring change. It is not necessary to beg permission from the very people committing the immorality in the first place.
I was speeding tonight too, KN. 10 over. I should be spanked. Of course, I was the slowest car on the road…
Keene Native,
I find it unfortunate you look forward to us losing. I’m perplexed as to how you think that will be good for you, your friends and your family members. You seem to have a bit better grasp on what we stand for than Mr. Schuman does so you must realize that if we lose here, it becomes inevitable that NH will eventually become more like California, Illinois, New York or Massachusetts and they in turn will become more like Soviet Russia in its heyday. NH will no longer be the “Live Free or Die” State, it’ll be the “Getting More Unfree Every Day” State just like the other 49.
Often, we are told by those indoctrinated by government that the way to solving the problems of government is to work through that very same broken and corrupt system. When was the last time that worked for anyone? And how many decades did it take for them to win? When was the last time Americans voted and things actually got better (not just different)? The chips are stacked against us and so we must become more innovative in our methods for achieving more freedom.
I can understand your dislike for certain tactics used by Free Staters but keep in mind, this is a decentralized movement which has both good and bad consequences. In accordance with our principles regarding individual sovereignty, no one commands us as to what we should or shouldn’t do to try and turn the tide of growing tyranny in this country. Suggestions are made and each of us picks the method they think is best. Some choose the political route, some choose civil disobedience and others choose outreach and education.
Of course, the downside of decentralization is that some people will do things others disagree with, things that can negatively impact the perceptions of those unfamiliar with the liberty movement. This ignorance and unfamiliarity with the movement is often used by the enemies of liberty (see: Stockholm Syndrome) to demonize us and spread lies and misinformation. That’s typical when people fear change more than they fear being enslaved or when they want to wield the power of government to achieve their own aggressive aims.
I have disagreed with certain things other Free Staters have done in the past but I’m not their keepers nor are they mine. We each have to choose our own paths. Sometimes we choose the same path. Sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we choose a positive path, sometimes we choose a fruitless path or a negative one.
But as Ian often says, “If you know how to do it better, feel free to show us how it’s done.”
Zeus,
What I mean by losing (I know it was not explained in my 1st post)is that maybe it will change the way the FS’s are approaching their cause. For example, take an athletic team (or any team, debate, chess) and the team is always losing, then the coach decides to make changes, and they start to win, same players but now positive results. From what I read (again my opinion) all your publicity is based on negative actions (being arrested),not positive. I understand all the print your are receiving is not 100% correct.
I understand you have peaceful protests, this is fine I have no issues with theses, most people will treat these with respect, but is it true that some FS’s carry guns (pistols on their waist) during these protests? (FYI, I am 100% for the Second Amendment, I hunt and belong to the NRA) If so what kind of message does this send to the people that want to stop by or ask what FS is all about? This will generate negative publicity, they will ask “why the hell do you need to carry guns for a peaceful protest?”
To answer the question, No I do not have a better way to do it. All I am giving you is a view from a third party, as I have said I was born and raised (yes went to the public schools)in Keene,I no longer live there, but still reside in NH. My family and in-laws are all in the area, so I do return for visits, when I ask people about the FS’s, I only receive negative responses (yes this is a small amount of people) Their is an old saying, I am sure you have heard it, but it is true. “Tell one person something good, they will tell one person, tell them something bad they will tell ten” All I am suggesting (and I could be very wrong) is try to get positive feedback to the citizens of Keene, along with the general public outside of the area.
Being arrested is not a negative action, KN. ARRESTING is a negative action.
People have a right to self defense, expressed by our Founders as the ‘right to keep and bear arms’. If freedom activists carrying guns is disturbing you, go home and strap on your own gun.
For example, take an athletic team (or any team, debate, chess) and the team is always losing, then the coach decides to make changes, and they start to win, same players but now positive results. From what I read (again my opinion) all your publicity is based on negative actions (being arrested),not positive.
I see what you’re saying, Native, but again this is a decentralized movement. There is no coach and no actual team, just ever-changing groups of people (united primarily by their mutual desire for more freedom) engaging in different activist events on a project-by-project basis.
As far as I am aware, most of the publicity comes from various Free Staters attempting to exercise the rights most Americans have either forgotten they have or fear to use in light of possible repercussions.
is it true that some FS’s carry guns (pistols on their waist) during these protests? (FYI, I am 100% for the Second Amendment, I hunt and belong to the NRA) If so what kind of message does this send to the people that want to stop by or ask what FS is all about? This will generate negative publicity, they will ask “why the hell do you need to carry guns for a peaceful protest?”
Many Free Staters wear guns to exercise their 2nd Amendment right and/or to get people used to seeing them again. Firearms were a much more common sight even in the early 20th century before the vast increase in government oppression and indoctrination. Back then, people didn’t run around wildly and scream bloody murder at the very sight of a firearm. These days, people seem to think that anyone who possesses a firearm will suddenly go insane and start shooting up the joint (with the exception of police officers whose badges somehow make them immune to this sudden bloodthirsty madness). Reality bears out that this is a ludicrous and irrational fear.
Free Staters are some of the most honorable, tried and true, peaceful people you will ever meet. Their principles of justice and morality are purposely ingrained in every fiber of their being (a fresh breath of air in this day and age). Instead of fearing them, one should embrace them as a deterrent to real crime. There are few safer places than a crowd of armed Free Staters.
Unfortunately, various political factions from the right and the left have created this modern meme that peaceful civilization requires everyone to be unarmed except for a handful of men and women allegedly charged with defending us all and paid by our stolen tax dollars. In reality, they can’t be there for everyone, don’t have a legal obligation to defend you and, more often than not, end up abusing their power.
It’s never a good idea to place your safety in the hands of someone else, especially when you have no say on what rules they enforce.
And I understand where you’re coming from. Most of the criticism I’ve heard often comes from a handful of older folks who’ve been indoctrinated for so long it’s too late to get them to think critically anymore. Certainly by the time you’re in your 60′s, 70′s or 80′s, you’re more likely to be totally addicted to the state and believe everything they tell you even though you look around at the mess they’ve caused and become wistful for the golden age of your youth “when things were better”.
Zeus,
I respect your opinion an appreciate how you reply to post(s) we will never agree on many topics, but that is fine,this a free country correct? I do not think any FS would shoot a person, I understand why they carry, just giving you what the public thinks, you wrote it perfecty ” These days, people seem to think that anyone who possesses a firearm will suddenly go insane and start shooting up the joint (with the exception of police officers)” This is a big issue you will need to solve that will help your cause.
LPViper – Your comments are a big problem, you should learn from Zeus, respect an opinion, counter it, not fight it. I do not need to “strap on my gun” as you ask me to do, if FS are peaceful, they will not shoot me anyways, will they? How would the every day citizen take your remarks, compared to Zeus.
I basically hold the same opinion as Zeus, but have less patience for all this pussy footing and tiptoeing around everybody over everything.
People have basic rights to self defense. This includes the ‘right to keep and bear arms’. If I am seen in public with a weapon and asked why I possess it, this is the answer I will give. The weak stomachs or nervousness of others is not my concern. I should not be expected to attenuate my rights or my self protection in order to ‘protect’ the ignorant. And if you don’t think walking around in public with a sidearm is a good idea, then you are ignorant. Ignorant of the concepts that this country was founded on, and ignorant of your own obligations to yourself and your loved ones.
I don’t know what else to say to you KN, reality IS.
Also, please don’t take this as an admonishment against those who choose not to arm themselves. I understand that those people have the right not to be armed. But I also understand that those people have no right to criticize my choice, simply because they have made a different one for themselves.
OK they have the right to critcize me but their criticisms are invalid lol I really should proofread this stuff. 5 times
Native,
I appreciate your opinion as well as the respectful way you have delivered it. Few outsiders who visit this site are as calm and reasoned as you have been.
And yes, we can disagree on the issues so long as your choices don’t violate my natural rights and vice versa. This is still one of the freest countries in the world but that freedom is disappearing at an ever quickening pace.
When you’ve accepted the logic and reasoning of the Non-Aggression Principle and the natural rights of the Sovereign Individual and rejected the concepts of collectivism, socialism, communism and nationalism, it is exceptionally difficult to remain calm in the face of tyranny. Many of the Free Staters I know do not “pussyfoot” (as LPViper calls it) because they no longer remember what it was like to see things before the veil was lifted; before they paid attention to (let alone saw) the daily injustices that are rapidly decreasing our freedoms and destroying the concepts that founded this country.
I myself can no longer enjoy a simple episode of COPS because, for the most part, the majority of them are indeed “bad boys” who make you wonder “what ya gonna do when they come for you?”. Instead, I settle for RENO 911 because they’re safe, peaceful and amusing without the negative connotations associated with unthinking, badge-heavy stormtroopers.
Unlike many of our detractors, particularly the older ones, most of us are heavy computer users who access information daily. I post many mainstream stories revealing the excesses and abuses of the state on a daily basis at another site. For many of us, it’s like seeing the Wizard of Oz revealed for what he is. Once you know the truth about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny it’s impossible to ever go back to pretending you don’t know what you know.
In the wider world, many people try to delude themselves otherwise. They know that X is wrong but they make excuses for it. It’s Party Y’s fault or “it’s just a few bad eggs ruining it for everyone”. But when you see stories about police beating unconscious suspects, ramming the wrong suspect into wall and putting him in a coma, shooting a 92-yr old woman or arresting an 81-yr old man for fixing a pothole, etc., these are just the least of what’s happening to this country each and every day and it’s frustrating that the average person doesn’t have this information. What they have instead is FOX News which is anything but “fair and balanced”. What they have is mainstream media outlets that buy into the system lock, stock and barrel despite knowing how broken it is.
So yes, many Free Staters don’t have the patience or the time to transmit everything they’ve seen or know to those who haven’t a clue as to what’s happening. I get hot under the collar myself from time to time but I still remember what it’s like to not know what I know now, despite having had a nagging issue with perceived “authority” my entire life. I have always questioned authority and sought the answer to “Why?”. That’s what critical thinking is all about.
Those who want to enslave always start small. The proverbial frog in the pot of water. When we allow one abuse to go unfettered, we open the door to more and more.
And, of course, I don’t expect you to agree with everything we espouse. I’d rather you listen, as you have been, and explore the ideas we speak of for yourself. Look at the evidence we present and choose for yourself what’s right or not right for you. Put on what fits, leave what doesn’t in the closet. When our individual paths reach a crossroads, there is room for mutual understanding.
I would prefer not to treat my fellow man like a child who doesn’t know any better. I want to express my opinion of goings on without pandering to someone who might not like what he is about to hear. I feel that people should be approached in a logical fashion, and that free and peaceful men would respond is a rational manner. When they do not, I try not to be too mean, because sometimes I also do not respond rationally.
The spouting of statist group-speak by ‘liberals’ and ‘conservatives’ is enough to…
And news channels, I had to quit those….
So no, KN, I do not always ‘respect an opinion, counter it, not fight it.’ If the opinion presented is tyrannical or simply incorrect, I respect my fellow man by explaining it to him. If he doesn’t like it then so be it. He still heard it.
Schuman dont listen to these evil “free staters!”
Instead join the Free Lunch Project. Check us out at Freelunchproject.com.
At the FLP we think about everyone unlike those free staters who choose themselves over everyone else! You will never have to think about liberty or liberty activists again.
Hi all,
Great posts. KN please stay engaged I’m a long time N.H. resident. I moved here from taxachusetts for a reduction in tyranny (and taxes). I am so pleased with the FSP for the renewed focus on liberty. I have been reinvigorated by the activism they are bringing. As a taxpayer you may want to get that all the FSPers are interested in lowering that tax bill for you and your family. They are just trying to call attention to the many ways government people are not only wasting your money but actually harming peaceful people with those resources.
Ian,
The only omission I noticed in the printed letter was the mention of Kat and Russel as the publishers of KFP and the mention of 9/11 truth. Certainly not a ton of text. What other reasons could that be the only omission?
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