Video: Ridley vs Confused Cop

Other than the bit about audio recording, which was pretty silly, the cop seemed nice enough.

I mean, while perhaps unnecessary, he was acting as a peace officer — just making sure that traffic wasn't impeded, and everyone stayed safe.

You're right Paul, for the most part of course. They knew pretty much from the beginning that there was no spray paint being used, but needed to "inform" some of us of how to cross the street and not impede traffic. I would go so far as to say I wonder why he didn't ask this of any pedestrian in the area.

I allowed him time to feel important enough to remind me of how to cross the street without being hit, since that is not one of my goals. I then told him that I "hope he has a nice day" to which he replied in the same fashion.

I'm not sure if it's a personal thing, but the officer had a very hard time looking me in the eye. After all I was not threatening him. I'm not sure why. I just found it interesting.

Shut up Patrick, Dave Ridley is like, famous or something. Besides, what was so smarmy about it anyway? These cops engage in professional silliness every day, expect us all to eat it up like it's the most serious shit ever because THEY happened to utter it, and you're uptight because somebody made fun of the guy?

LOL

patric,

so

the cop says you cant record legally

and the activist says you can record legally

This "record or not to record"

seems to be a weird gray area

The cop should,to my mind,know absolutely whether one can record or not..

So if the activist is right about recording then the cop is being dishonest and authoritarian. or the cop does not know the law in either case it is bad.

and if the cop is being dishonest and authoritarian than

It is right to take issue with him on that point

Patric do you think the cop was being authoritarian in that area?

one thing "ridley" did that im not sure was quite necessary

was referring to the cop as "crazy"

a couple times ………

Maybe that was unnecessarily inflammatory

He said it's crazy to say people can't record in public, and I agree with him on that.

I just also noticed that the cop didn't demand they cross only at the crosswalk, despite a crosswalk existing, but just wanted them to behave safely. Big kudos to him for that.

I think the cop was pretty good and that is why more freedom lovers need to move to Concord NH to appreciate what is here!

I think as the federal government becomes more abusive and more bankrupt the motivation to secede will grow.

Honestly, can you think of one thing the federal government does that's actually useful? Local governments do provide real services. I can't think of anything the federal government does that's useful at all … besides maybe the interstate system … yet they suck up more wealth than all other governments.

It's a bunch of giant wasteful corrupt bureacracies,handouts to corrupt corporate buddies, and a colossal military industrial complex that has far more to do with enforcing hegemony and running everyone else's business (while making money), than defense.

I suggest Julia, that your opposition to "for-profit" institutions is misplaced. It makes sense for people to trade with each other, and money is just a means to facilitate trade. It's when we get these giant corrupt corporations, shielded from accountability and in bed with government, that we have a problem.

NASA's ridiculously wasteful, and as you say, less and less about space. Private folks are already doing some of the same things as nasa for a tiny, tiny fraction of the cost.

The military hasn't been involved in a defensive war in over 60 years, and is now has 700 bases in 130 different countries. It causes far more problems than it solves, and also is ridiculously wasteful.

The interstates are useful, but they could be easily handled by the states.

Again, I don’t see NH secession as a real solution to the lack of autonomy.

You can't seriously think the federal government is a net benefit.

Regardless of what kind of government the Free State Project wants to prop up

I just want people to interact with each other on a voluntary basis, and stop using aggressive violence.

Replacing all government-run institutions with for-profit ones (such as closing all the state-run schools and replacing them with private schools that cost money

The state-run schools cost money – far, far more money than private schools do. The difference is, people are forced to pay for it, at the point of a gun. They are prevented forcefully from choosing an alternative. Do you think that's a moral arrangement?

Every time people have tried to reform the system they live in they only end up replacing their old oppressors with new ones.

Yes, because they continue to try to rule over their fellow man with aggressive violence.

Yes the FSP wants to do away with all the government control, but in the kind of society they want to shape NH into we’d still have illegitimate authorities such as bosses, landlords/proprietors, and the like

Those are not illegitimate authorities.

If a man puts his labor and time into building a house, do you think you have a right to steal it from him? Doesn't he have a right to sell or rent it to whomever he chooses?

If a man puts his labor and time into building a business, do you think you have a right to steal it from him? Doesn't he have a right to offer to trade goods for services, with his neighbors? If you don't want to make such a trade, don't do it.

Bosses and landlords steal more from us in a month than the government does in a year through taxation.

Landlords aren't stealing anything. They've put the fruit of their labor into creating a home, and you're paying them for the privilege of using it. If you don't think it's a good deal, don't make the trade.

Bosses aren't stealing anything. They've offered to trade you goods for your services. If you don't think it's a good deal, don't make the trade.

And let’s be honest here: authoritarian economic systems lead to authoritarian states

Free people being able to trade goods and services with each other voluntarily is not an "authoritarian" economic system — quite the opposite.

The very fact that the FSP wants a society based on private property (look at most of their reasons for moving to NH; control of their property is always on top of their lists) makes me certain that the kind of system NH would be morphed into would be just as oppressive as the one it currently has, if not more.

The fact that you're not allowed to steal what someone else has produced does not constitute "oppression".

Because private property itself entails coercion.

If you mean that people will defend what they have produced from people trying to steal it, yes, they will, as they should.

Again, the fact that you can't steal from your neighbor does not mean you were "coerced". Your theft is the initiation of force. They're acting in defense.

I have to ask, what’s the difference between the Concord police telling Ridley to stop recording them by threat of arrest and some capitalist boss’s hired thug telling a wage laborer that he cannot have control over the workplace he works in?

What's the difference between the cops telling ridley he can't record in public, on the sidewalk he's been forced to pay for, and an owner who used his time and money to create a business telling his employees they can't steal his stuff? Gee, just can't think of any difference there. :rollseyes:

If the goal of the FSP is to eliminate coercion, why don’t they take the same stand against capitalist bosses and capitalist property owners that they do against the government?

Stealing is coercion. You have no right to take your neighbor's stuff by force.

The only kind of system that could truly give people their autonomy is one based on 1) socialized means of production

What does this mean, precisely? A person spends years of time and labor working to build a business, and then a mob comes and steals it from him the minute he tries to hire someone else?

2) gift economy (meaning no market and no money)

If I work hard as a farmer to grow corn, and you work hard as a cobbler to make shoes, why should we not trade corn and shoes? More importantly, what if my neighbor and I decide to make such a trade? What will you do? Come along with a gun and stop us?

I definitely support giving as well, but there's nothing wrong with trading.

3) no exploitative or private property (meaning the only property you’re entitled to is stuff for your active personal use, like a house, a computer, a bed, a toothbrush, and so on)

So again, I'm good at building houses, and I enjoy it. My friend wants to move out of his parent's place, but doesn't have enough goods to be able to trade for a house right away. I agree to build the house, and he can stay there, in exchange for a monthy rent. This arrangement is agreeable to both of us.

Then what? Julia comes in with a gun and steals the house from us? Julia advocates that my friend renig on our agreement, and simply steal the house outright without compensating me for my labor?

What if I build computers, or toothbrushes? Should I not be able to create extra ones, for my neighbors to use, and trade them for the things my neighbors produce, like shoes or corn?

4) workers’ councils (meaning no state)

You're going to have to unpack that more, but I smell more theft and aggression against persons and property.

5) democratically-run institutions that allow people to make decisions to the proportion in which they are affected by those decisions.

Feel free to get together with others and voluntarily create such institutions if you want. Just don't force me to be a part of them.

Regardless, NH secession is not going to happen. For every "free stater" moving to NH there's probably twice as many left-wing "statists" from Vermont, New York, and greater Boston. If you're set on accomplishing this secession through top-down means (i.e. free staters being elected into public office and passing more "liberty legislation") all you will be faced with is more resistance from the rest of the NH population. If you want to build participatory institutions and accomplish your movement through bottom-up means, then you will see a much better result, trust me.

if you don't like the activism, come and do what you think is right. Then you can have your own peanut gallery and you can say to them: "if you don't like the activism, come and do what you think is right."

Then they can come.

Whoever's posting bad songs under other people's names needs to grow up.

Lol, yep.

I think when you've started posting britney spears songs under your political opponents' names, you've officially run out of ideas.