I look forward to participating in what will be the second annual Keenevention this weekend. The forum taking place at the Best Western Plus Sovereign Hotel on Winchester Street will feature panels and speeches by New Hampshire’s activist community. In addition to a panel focusing on Direct Action that I will be hosting on Sunday, I was also asked to speak on Saturday’s media panel by organizer Mark Edge. When I agreed, I was not informed who else would be on the panel, though I expected that organizers would only select participants of honorable reputation when showcasing the most effective activists that New Hampshire offers.
While there is certainly a need for diversity of perspective within the activist community, there are standards that a reasonable person would expect individuals would hold each other to if we wish to make any sort of collective impact. As a peace activist, anyone who directly advocated or applauds the use of violence can be objectively classified as having beliefs counter to my own. For myself, I am wasting my most valuable asset, my time, if I support those working against my interests, those who are promoting ideas that are the opposite of my own.
It was once consensus within the libertarian and anarchist community of greater Keene that embracing peace was equally imperative to embracing ideas of social liberty. For whatever reason over the past year or so, that sentiment has changed as some formerly positive spirits have darkened amidst of heightened wave of reactionary opposition. (more…)
Surviving Pumpkinfest 2014: a tale of redemption • Smart people listen to Radiohead • That rooster has got to go, Holmes • “get a job, hooligan!” • Pink water bottle catastrophe • Vin Diesel is Not gay • Jay and Shaunna join • show notes at: BlackSheepRising.org
Jared Goodell is a Keene native and local independent journalist. Yesterday he was the host for EIGHT hours during Pumpkin Fest 2014 on Cheshire TV, the local public access channel. Jared also put thousands of dollars of his own money into producing the all-day event coverage. For this amazing effort to cover the yearly festival (it would not have been covered on CTV without him), he is rewarded with an evening visit by Pumpkin Fest organizer Ruth Sterling who behaves in a ridiculous manner:
Sterling attempts to grab his microphone multiple times, as well as block the camera’s view of Jared, accuses him of frightening the guests of the festival and demands he stop talking about the riots happening just a few blocks away in the college neighborhood.
Since Jared is a newsman at heart, he feels obligated to report on what is happening in-town, and tangentially related to Pumpkin Fest. He defends his right to be the media and she responds by telling him she’ll “pull the plug” (which she has no control over) and that he should behave because she gave him the physical location for the CTV remote studio. As though she somehow was doing him a favor – he’s the one who spent over $5,000 of his own money to make the coverage of her event happen!
At one point in the beginning of the video, Sterling accuses Jared of being a “Free Stater”, this is the new pejorative to describe anyone who stands up for their rights. It’s not Jared’s first time causing controversy for reporting the news. Earlier this year he stirred it up for reporting from the scene of this Summer’s suicide and on the resignation of a despised school principal. Jared is not afraid to break the official city narrative of Keene being a perfect, blemish-free New England town, and is willing to take the heat. Keep up the good work, Jared – we’re all Free Staters now!
Robin Hood goes to Washington..err..Concord • James hassled over his retired police cruiser – Show me the law • Infamous FL speed trap town dissolves corrupt police department • Running and losing in the primaries • The chicken coop roof is on fire • James and Garret • Show notes at: BlackSheepRising.org
The important thing to takeaway from this, is that Dick at no point cites the varied, supposedly offensive activism done in Keene over the years. All of his objections to the FSP are purely political. This goes to the point that I’ve been making to the critics within the libertarian community for years:
Any activism that jeopardizes the status quo will result in hatred of those activists, by those who support the status quo. (Usually the government agents, their family, friends, and sycophants.)
For many years, libertarian critics in and outside of New Hampshire have wrung their hands about “Keene activism”, claiming we’re ruining the movement, poisoning the well, and other blame-placing. We’ve been told we’re doing it wrong and that we should do more political action, because that’s somehow not going to be as upsetting to people. (Of course, this ignores that many in Keene have done and continue to do political action.)
The reality is that political action takes longer to foment change and it’s not as visible or newsworthy as say, civil disobedience. However, this hate letter and the constant attacks on political activist and FSPer Aaron Day are just two more recent examples that those on the political scene will also find themselves under fire from the haters. In fact, as Free State Project participants win more seats and begin repealing bad laws, you can expect the attacks to increase in frequency and vitriol. Already the Aaron Day opponents have spent untold thousands on their full-color hitpiece mailers.
The people in power know that the Free State Project is a threat (peaceful) to their control over others, and they hate us for it. While much of Keene activism is a threat to the ideas that back the status quo, the political activism by FSP participants is an actual threat to the structure of power. It’s therefore arguable that eventually the political activists will bear the majority of the brunt of the haters’ anger.
Despite keyboard libertarian warriors’ beliefs, there is no way to foment change to a more free society without creating enemies. Most people outside NH in the larger libertarian movement don’t understand this, because the libertarian movement has virtually never been a threat to the status quo anywhere outside of New Hampshire, with the exception of Ron Paul. If you care about liberty, move to New Hampshire if you want to win. But prepare yourself for the anger and derision that will come with the success.
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” – Gandhi
Free State Project participant Aaron Day of Bedford is again under attack. Unlike earlier this year, he’s not actually running for office, but that has not stopped the haters from spending big money to drag his name through the mud. Here’s a new attack flyer that was recently mailed to many households that likens him with NH senator Andy Sanborn (who is not a Free State Project participant). The flyer makes several claims and shows a pair of sad, dirty children, as if to suggest that Aaron, who has kids, hates children.
In case you need any more evidence that the Free State Project is making an impact like no other libertarian movement in the world, here it is:
As it’s said, you don’t take flak unless you’re over the target!
