In the video below I explain my motives for not going along quietly with a simple citation and paying the fine. Statism is a religion that I simply do not have faith in and those of us who feel that way need to come out of the closet and stop pretending that we do in order to fit in and avoid conflict.
I’d just like to clarify something. As activists were leaving after gathering in front of Eli Rivera’s home as part of a candlelight vigil for the man Rivera attacked, Kurt Hoffman, other Keene police officers showed up and engaged us in conversation. During said conversation, one of them, Matt Griffin suggested that I was the “leader” of the activists.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
There are no designated leaders. I understand Matt’s confusion – after all, his organization is structured from the top down with very distinct roles of who’s-in-charge. It’s only natural for him to presume we are structured similarly, however we are not. This is a decentralized movement. No one is in charge. Each activist decides what interests him or her and does it. Other activists that agree will join in.
Is my voice a little more prominent because I have a radio program? Sure, but I’ve never told anyone what to do. They don’t follow my orders, and I wouldn’t give orders in the first place. It wasn’t I who put together the cannabis celebrations and candlelight vigils in front of Rivera’s and Burke’s homes. Those were other people. I merely supported these events.
Hope that makes it clear. Each activist is his or her own leader, and none is in charge of another.
I was recently accused of hiding behind my principles. The implication was that I was making a poor decision pragmatically speaking in order to adhere to some lofty and impractical principle. But principles are pragmatic. At least they ought to be. Otherwise what good are they? If your goals are noble, what better way to determine principles than based on whether they help you achieve your goals?
We often confuse expediency with pragmatism. You can make a choice that provides immediate return and seems the pragmatic choice only to pay a higher price later. A person who commits a crime is getting some immediate reward but has an ever-increasing risk of being caught each time. He’s gambling. He’s also shitting where he eats by destroying the sense of trust in his community. Lying is similar. When you get caught in a lie, which is likely just a matter of time depending on how often you attempt it, you seriously undermine your reputation. Worse yet, if you lie now expecting some immediate gain from it, even if you correct yourself in the future, anything you say thereafter will be circumspect. Even when you get away with it, every lie you tell for some immediate benefit undermines your veracity because you know you’re a liar. Conversely, knowing in your heart that you are consistently honest and sincere shows through in the power of your convictions. It’s a rare talent to be able to lie convincingly.
An open letter to activists espousing violence as a form of activism against statism.
A shepherd had a nice flock of sheep but he was endlessly frustrated because his neighbor had more sheep than him. One day he had just birthed a new lamb only to discover that his neighbor had birthed two and was even further ahead of him. He’d had it. That night and every night thereafter, he began to complain about it in his prayers.
“Lord, Manuel now has five more sheep than me. I work just as hard as him and take good care of my sheep and it’s just not fair!”
After many nights of prayers full of whining and complaining about what he perceived as a terrible injustice, he heard a clear voice in his head.
“Alright! Alright! Just stop complaining and I will help you, but only this once. Then you are on your own. I don’t want to hear another word about it!” answered the Lord.
“Oh, thank you Lord! You are truly just! So… you are going to kill five of Manuel’s sheep?”
I believe the story was meant as an analogy about far left politics and what seems like a desire to drag everyone down to an equal level of misery. It may not seem to relate to retribution, but it does address a flaw in our thinking that fuels what I see as a pointless desire for retribution.
I was torn between calling this post The Pacifism Straw Man and The Purism Straw Man because the two seem to go hand in hand. The audio below is typical of some of the tired old arguments I hear. I am among a group of motivated individuals who constantly repeat the mantra of peaceful activism in place of violence. Watch the video below and try not to get too distracted by disagreements you may have with his view of certain environmental problems. Try to focus on the core of the message in which he tries to sell people on the idea of using violence as a tool for social change. That’s what I intend to address.
I co-host Free Talk Live every Thursday night from 7pm to 10pm, a nationally syndicated talk radio show. Last Thursday, an anarchist called in to talk about how he attended a meeting about a local smoking ban to speak out against it. There was some discussion about whether such an act is part of working within their system and I’m known for not being a big fan of that game, to put it lightly. Mark is equating this act with voting based on the notion that you’re just voting by proxy, i.e. trying to persuade council members to vote a certain way. I’ve given some more thought to this and wanted to expound.
I wouldn’t go in there telling them to vote a certain way. I would simply use the platform of the meeting to talk about why they have no right to control the behavior or property of others. I wouldn’t give any moral support to the idea of the vote. I realize they are going to vote on it, but that’s their game. What it comes down to is I’m not going to go through the motions and essentially act out what is to me a big lie. It’s the same reason I don’t rise for a judge. They are hoping I’ll go through the motions and act publicly in accordance with their lies, reinforcing them, and in complete contradiction to my deeply held beliefs. It’s disgusting and offensive to me. On the other hand, simply taking the opportunity of the meeting and telling them they have no right to control others is as honest as I could be.
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You’ve been explaining for years what went wrong with government! If people would just have the sense to put you in charge, you’d show them how to fix it. The #1 reason was suggested by former minarchist Travis Eden who gives some credit for his conversion to Anarchy In Your Head. Thanx for the inspiration, Travis, and congratulations on your recent enlightenment!
Isn’t reason #1 a big part of the problem with statism in general? Everyone has their idea of the perfect government but we’re all different. But there are certain things that we can all agree on, right? And you feel confidently enough about it that you’re okay with threatening violence against innocent people to impose it on them. The founding fathers juuuuuust missed it, but if we give your ideas a chance, you’ll tidy up the loose strings because you’ve got it all figured out.
Or maybe this comic doesn’t describe you at all. There have been a lot of comments along this series by people complaining about exactly that. A couple of thoughts. First, it’s a top ten list. Every item isn’t supposed to describe everyone. You’d be one screwed up statist if every single item described you! It’s not an exhaustive list either. It’s a top ten. Maybe you’re 11 or 37. Secondly, it’s a COMIC STRIP!! It’s supposed to be funny. It’s not a science. Hopefully some of them will inspire a few people to think about things in a new light, and hopefully some people will get a few laughs, but I’m not doing my graduate thesis on the psychological origins of irrational belief systems. I’m doodling in my spare time. Geez. Don’t get your panties in a wad over this series.
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America! Fuck, yeah!
Inspired by Josh, a.k.a. Angry Josh. Of course I also have to give a hat tip to Trey Parker and Matt Stone for coining the phrase in Team America.
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Because it’s obviously impossible to build and maintain roads without violence.
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You want to date statist chicks.
This is late on Free Keene. I didn’t realize I hadn’t posted it yet. I apologize.
Today’s comic was inspired by Anton Lee.
If anyone analyzes and dissects this one, I’m going to thump an innocent bunny rabbit on the head. I promise I will.
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