Some of the local critics seem to think that the “free staters” in NH are organized from the top down, with Free State Project founder Jason Sorens at the top, issuing commands as our dear leader. It doesn’t work like that. The FSP is just an organization designed to bring liberty-lovers to NH. What they do when they arrive is up-to-them. Perhaps to Sorens’ chagrin, he is definitely not in charge. No one is. Sorens has always been openly critical of the Keene brand of outside-the-system activism and recently posted a link to the recent anonymous Sentinel editorial attacking Free Keene on the FSP forum with the subject, “Keene residents tiring of Free Keeners”. While that may be a true statement, it ignores the people in Keene who appreciate the liberty activists, of which there are many. The newspaper’s editorial and echo chamber comments section is not necessarily representative of how things really are. Now, why would that be?
Perhaps it’s because once they move to NH, liberty activists and get involved in their community in whatever way they think is best. Many volunteered for Project Graduation this weekend. Lots of activists helped repaint a local church when it was vandalized by a supposed anarchist. Some have volunteered for organizations like the Community Kitchen and Hundred Nights shelter, while others have contributed financially to those organizations and the United Way. There have been many food drives for the Kitchen as well as a book drive for the new jail. Certainly there are many charitable things that activists have done on their own that I am not aware of.
Activists also get to work. They are young, single, and don’t have a lot of free time or money to spend, so they are working more-than-full time, building wealth, and becoming integral parts of their workplaces, continually building relationships and in many cases, taking managerial roles.
Families are beginning to arrive. The Monadnock Families for Liberty has been formed and has recently had an awesome get-together involving nearly two dozen adults and six kids.
Fact is though, we’re still only talking about a few dozen movers here. This is still the ground floor, and yet there has been so much attention given to the activism here. All of the local news coverage (not to mention national and international coverage by Cannabis Culture, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, Boston newspapers, the AP, and others) is just evidence of the effectiveness of this movement.
Of course, as it should be expected, the local newspaper keeps getting it wrong. They really misreported the School Sucks Project outreach, among other things. Is anyone really shocked that the mainstream press is attacking us? It’s because the activism here has been effective. “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” I’ll let you decide what stage the Keeniacs are in.
For each of the haters there are others who love us. What are the ratios? No one knows. The negative experiences happen almost exclusively online and specifically at the Sentinel comments section. From the stories I hear, liberty activists are widely appreciated by their non-activist associates. If they have heard nasty rumors, they are quickly wiped away by the renown of the liberty activist they know. We’re winning hearts and minds, but it’s tough to get through to the black-hearted statists that read the Sentinel. You can’t please everyone and shouldn’t bother trying.
The same people that complain (in this case the Sentinel editors) would have been upset no matter what we did. Liberty activists are here to change the status quo to a peaceful, consensual society, and the supporters of the coercive status quo will be upset, period. Rumors will fly and the best way to eliminate the rumors is to touch people’s lives personally and positively so they no longer believe what they are hearing around town and in the Sentinel. All is well.
