Rant | Free Keene

The Pacifism Straw Man

by Dale Everett | Aug 22, 2009 | 0 comments

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.

(Read On…)

Listen To Your Heart

by Dale Everett | Aug 8, 2009 | 5 comments

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.

(Read On…)

Top 10 Causes of Minarchism #1

by Dale Everett | Jul 23, 2009 | 3 comments

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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.