I moved to New Hampshire a year ago today. I hated Louisiana and I wanted to be around anarchists. I can’t and I won’t tell you to move to New Hampshire, because ‘I don’t know you; I don’t know your life.’ But I will tell you that moving to New Hampshire is the best decision I ever made, and that it has done the following things for me:
There are anarchists everywhere.
By no means is a majority of the population anarchist, and people who come here (or anywhere for that matter) expecting an anarchist utopia are very silly. Before I visited New Hampshire I had met two anarchists, and both of them were only there for school. The overwhelming majority of people I had ever met were either socialist or completely fascist. After awhile, hanging out with people who want to kill, rob, and cage you gets intolerable, and only having human contact online just isn’t the same. As far as I’ve been able to tell, New Hampshire has the highest number of anarchists anywhere on earth. Anytime I want to I can be around anarchists because there are people here who do not want to kill, rob, or cage me.
ANOTHER New Hampshire restaurant now takes bitcoin! STREET, a trendy restaurant on the hipster West End of Portsmouth became the latest business in the Live Free Or Die state to trade goods and services for the new money. I stopped by with my partner Steven to have Sunday Brunch. He had biscuits and gravy with an avocado omelette. I had bacon and avocado in Scrambled eggs with a Hash brown. When we were done, we paid in bitcoin! Thanks STREET!
As promised in a press release earlier this week, Keene liberty activists followed through on a promised Beer Pong event in Railroad Square. Held Saturday at noon, the event was intended to call attention to the oppressive open container ordinance here in Keene. Event organizer Bob Call was interviewed by reporters from the Keene Sentinel and Union Leader and explained how the ordinance targets college students and poor people and doesn’t do anything to actually keep drunk people off the streets.
The open container ban does however transfer a lot of wealth to the state from the victims of the police’s aggression. Enforcing open container means big money for the government, and as event co-organizer Chris Waid points out, it also protects restaurants and bars, giving them the exclusive ability to allow someone to enjoy alcohol on the sidewalk. That means the law is discriminatory in that if you can’t afford to pay for a drink at restaurant/bar prices, you can’t enjoy a drink outside in downtown Keene.
Yesterday’s protest went well and no one was arrested despite the police threatening everyone playing beer pong with arrest. They cited a city ordinance that arguably does not even apply to Railroad Square, claiming playing games involving throwing a ball are prohibited in the area! Either they were bluffing or they didn’t actually read the ordinance, which specifically states that throwing games are banned from Central Square and “on the streets and sidewalks of the downtown area”. I supposed someone could argue that Railroad Square is a street or sidewalk, but there’s a strong argument it’s neither.
Officers Colin Zamore and Andrew Lippincott deliver threats to the beer pong activists.
Plus, the ordinance is clearly intended to address games that could cause interference in the normal traffic of business in the downtown area: “For the safety and protection of participants, pedestrians, passersby, motorists, and property, no person shall, unless authorized by permit, play games involving running, jumping, throwing, catching, or similar physical activity, including but not limited to games of ball”. Even if it could be argued that Railroad Square is a street or sidewalk, it’s pretty clear that no one’s safety is in jeopardy from a ping-pong ball. The ordinance was obviously crafted to stop frisbee and football players’ projectiles from flying into traffic around Central Square, as it specifically prohibits such activities from that area.
Perhaps that’s why Keene police officers Colin Zamore and Andrew Lippincott never returned after threatening the group with arrest if they continued playing after fifteen minutes had gone by. The activists continued to play for about thirty more minutes and then declared victory and went home. (more…)
I could technically still be in jail today for the “crimes” from the movie.
Derrick J’s Victimless Crime Spree, a full-length feature documentary about my five arrests in Keene, New Hampshire, unleashed itself to the world in Keene Cinemas four years ago today. It’s been viewed on YouTube over 175,000 times.
The world has changed since then. Recording law enforcers is now commonplace. Enforcers in a dozen more states now leave peaceful pot smokers alone. The top series on Netflix is a show about prison overpopulation. Everyone knows that the people calling themselves “the government” spy on their computers, emails, phone calls, and texts, but digital privacy is now possible for all thanks to new apps and devices with built-in encryption. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are now beginning to come into wide use.
There’s a lot of reason to be hopeful. Now more than ever, the world is ready for you to question your obedience. Dozens have told me the movie inspired them to move to New Hampshire. That’s the most rewarding part of the experience. In the end, I was facing 9 years if convicted of all charges (none involving a victim). I was sentenced to 540 days in jail, and I ended up serving 60 for my “crime spree.”
Friends made it possible: Ian Freeman (producer), Beau Davis (editor), and the people of the Shire Society who inspire action. I hope Victimless Crime Spree inspires you to achieve more freedom, peace, happiness, and the object of your dreams.
I had the pleasure this week of seeing Jim of Flex Your Rights give a presentation to a couple dozen students at Keene State College. He covered various aspects of how to handle encounters with police and encouraged not taking a plea deal and going to trial rather than just paying fines.
I found it really rewarding to see Jim’s presentation. It was informative and relevant to the students watching it and I’m glad I had the night off to be able to record it so others who couldn’t attend can benefit. When Jim started college in Keene, he wasn’t an activist. Now he’s working with one of the most prominent know-your-rights groups in the world, Flex Your Rights. His path to where he is would not have been possible without his time in Keene and the liberty activism here that had a positive, inspirational impact on his life. What an honor to have had a role in that.
Some people don’t understand why I do the activism that I do. Why take risks by standing up for your rights? Why speak out in favor of peace and liberty? Why do activism that could and does offend? Because as an activist and communicator of the ideas of liberty, you never know whose life you’ll touch. When you stay true to yourself, put your message out there, and stand up for yours and others’ rights, the right people will see it and pay attention. When the student is ready, the master appears. Your actions just might be the spark that ignites the next superactivist.
I keep one in my car and one on my keychain. In an emergency, like being pulled over or witnessing an arrest, I press it and dozens of first responders are alerted. They instantly know my emergency and location.
This is 21st-Century security. With beauty and simplicity that seems inspired by Apple, the Cell 411 Panic Button might be better-named “the Relax Button.” Finally I can relax knowing that in an emergency, I don’t need ten types of hand-eye coordination to alert first responders. One press of a button is all it takes.
My friend Link posted about it to Facebook:
“One of the coolest features is that it’s drop sensitive. Do you know how many thousands of people pay for subscriptions to emergency button services so someone will come help them up when they fall down? And now they can have that functionality for free in a way that calls people they know and trust who won’t automatically take them to the ER and drive up medical costs just to cover their asses!”
The Cell 411 Panic Button connects to your Cell 411 application running on Android or iOS smartphone wirelessly over Bluetooth, providing users with a quick and easy way to alert your friends, neighbors, caregivers and loved ones in the event of an emergency. It can be carried in your pocket or bag or worn on the wrist or around the neck with the available accessories.
After pressing the Cell 411 panic button, an emergency alert will be sent out to the chosen cell or group of friends you configured. Your GPS location will be sent to your Cell 411 friends in real time, so they can come and assist you with turn by turn direction.
