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I don’t think it is necessarily “anti-cop” to be concerned about The Militarizing of Local Police. The fellows at Forbes Magazine are not against police. forbes.com/sites/bradlockwood/2011/11/30/the-militarizing-of-local-police/
However, there are indeed a series of “Libertarian” narratives that make many “Libertarian” types (including anarchists, minarchist, voluntaryists, ZAPs, NAPs, etc.) rather “anti-cop.”
Some of these “anti-cop” myths (and a brief debunk) are addressed, as follows:
• Police are a recent invention. Sorry guys, “The Voluntary City” meme is wrong historically. Police have existed as long as civilization (the City-State) has. See /wiki/Police#Ancient_world
• Government is Evil. As anthropologists have well documented, government—hate it or love it—is a direct consequence of agriculture, circa 10,000 years ago. “Agriculture creates government.”~Richard Manning (2005) Against the Grain: How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization, p. 73 There has never been an Agricultural Civilization without government. State-level politics is a primary characteristic, i.e., in every single observed example, of civilization. The only anarchist faction that holds a scientific-evidence-based, non-contradictory view of “government is evil” are the anarcho-primitivists, who would like to see government/agriculture/City-States/civilization/industry all completely disappear tomorrow. Oh sure, it would be barrels of fun to trash the iPods and don a buckskin loincloth, but it’s about as likely that rainbow ponies will start crapping out Skittles to hunt and gather this weekend. On the other hand, the glorious Techno-Salvationist Libertarian fantasies are even less likely than primitivist rainbow ponies. William R. Catton Jr., in his book “Overshoot” (University of Illinois Press, 1980) knocks down these Libertarian Techno-Salvationist dreams in his section on Space Age Cargo Cults, pages 187 to 195.
• Privatize police with monetary magic! For worshiping money and viewing society only through the lens of economics, it’s amazing how little Libertarians know about how money actually works in human society. Pick up “Debt: The First 5,000 Years” (Melville House, 2012) by David Graeber. He does a nice job of deconstructing Libertarian folk legends about money. And as Kirkpatrick Sale points out in his “After Eden: The Evolution of Human Domination” (Duke University Press, 2006) where he jabs directly at Ayn Rand, the first example of long-distance “free trade” was the “free market” in human slavery. Lest you’re troubled by the term “free market slavery,” even Libertarian economists, notably Walter Block of the “anarcho-capitalist” Mises Institute, advocate for sexually abusing (with “whips”!!!) their fully-owned “voluntary slaves.” Human society is more than tricky-dick fine-print contracts and the Almighty God Money, guys.
This isn’t to say Libertarians don’t have many good ideas. I’m all for more localized and smaller government, local funding (instead of federal), like many Libertarians advocate. I’m sure we can find much to agree upon, including being vigilant about too much sociopolitical power being concentrated into police/government.
But like former Reagan administration official Paul Craig Roberts [paulcraigroberts.org] recently (Feb 14, 2013) wrote, and Libertarians are blind to, “The right is correct that government power is the problem, and the left is correct that private power is the problem.”
That problem precludes any simplistic Left/Right/Libertarian solutions. And perhaps there is no solution at all. Anthropologist Marvin Harris writes in his text Cannibals and Kings: Origins of Cultures about agricultural civilizations getting caught in a “trap.” Sometimes completely “solving” problems is a fantasy, there is only mitigating the worst effects of being trapped. Well, that takes everybody respecting each other and working together. Should happen tomorrow, right? LOL! 😉
In summary: Even if there are chronic problems with policing, our civilization absolutely requires cops to operate. It’s an ever-dynamic juggling act to make things work for the best.
Good work Brian. Ain’t synthesizing history grand?
Libertarians often fall into the same trap as progressives do in thinking that a “utopia” will ever exist here on Earth. Most Libertarians I know aren’t anarchists and do believe in Government Lite in order to keep all the wheels greased. In order to have a strong economy, we must have a degree of security to protect our capital and our investments, and to punish any “cheaters.” Not everything is effective when privatized, and I would certainly not want to see a world where military and police are simply the strong arms of the wealthy. Anarchy would reduce us to Locke’s state of nature, a kill or be killed kind of world. Trust me, not as cool as it sounds. A state of anarchy can never persist for long anyways, as individuals soon learn that it is more advantageous to team with other individuals to ensure mutual security and prosperity, and voila, you have the makings of new government.
The only culture that can really persist without a police presence is an honor-based society. Though the Germanic tribes of northern Europe were considered barbaric by the Romans, there was also a romantic admiration of these barbarians for being “noble savages,” living largely free of vice and treachery in comparison to the Romans. And, going along with your statement, these honor bound tribes did not have an extensive agricultural system and were still “primitive” in terms of societal structure.
The USA, unfortunately, couldn’t be further removed from an honor-based society and therefore we will have need for the police.
This does not, however, indicate a need for the militarization of police. A militarized police force will inevitably lead to domestic conflict.
Way to dangle it right out the window, jackass.
It is obviously, OBVIOUSLY, the fault of George Bush. Let us blame him, because it has worked for our Dear Leader for the last 6 years.
This is the opening shot in the 2014 Congressional Campaign. The Democrats are betting farm that gun control will help them retake Congress in tthe next election. I believe that Obama’s campaign organization will get the vote out in 2014 based on this issue. It will probably help the Democrats keep control of the Senate. However, because blue voters are highly concentrated in a minority of districts the House is out of reach. Until the Democrats decide to spread out their votes at the price of eliminating safe minority districts the House will remain in Republican hands. The gun control Stalemate will continue.
“It will probably help the Democrats keep control of the Senate.”
I doubt it. They poked the beast, I think it will swing the other way and R will pick up some seats. Bloomberg is losing, every ad he puts up is so easy to ridicule. The wild card is any SCOTUS decision that takes the whole thing off the table.
I’m just trying to ignore the featured image of this post and not comment snarkily about it…
I own four marlin levers. I bought the last one three months ago and it will be my last marlin. What a piece of (@#$^%$@%^&) good bye marlin, hello Ruger.
“if you want to learn how to shoot semi-automatics, join the US military”… the man is so unbelievably dumb. does he not realize that this type of action is used in huge numbers by the hunters he claims to care about?
TRUST THE COMPUTER! THE COMPUTER IS YOUR FRIEND!
I always suspected that Mr Leghorn was a High Programmer!
A small village in Delaware has reported their Idiot is missing.
Is Cuomo a frigging idiot? “…ban rifles that have such a capacity that they have no real use in hunting or for sportsmen…” I may have read a different Constitution and Bill of Rights than his copy, but I don’t remember the Second Amendment wording being “Hunting, being necessary to the feeding of a free nation, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” WTF is he talking about? He is an idiot if he thinks the right to bear arms is just for hunting or just for “sportsmen”. All these “innocent, defenseless people” that were killed (and he is making these laws because of), SHOULD HAVE BEEN ARMED. That one factor alone would have severely reduced the number of deaths. “… being necessary to the security of a free State” means just that – guns are necessary for security, not the LACK of guns.
I am a Christian. Not just in background, but in belief.
I wasn’t offended by Nick’s article, and I think that people who were need to get over it. If you’re upset about the reference, maybe take it up with the people who present Jesus that way?
I find this an interesting take on the whole Exodus story, and one that is well thought out. We do indeed need to do whatever we can to help ourselves before we can expect God to come through for us in miracles. That is my philosophy and belief on the matter: God helps those who help themselves. If you’re just sitting there waiting for God’s deliverance, when you have something you can do about it right now, you’re going to be waiting a long time.
I thought I was… had become…. always have been… persona non grata.
I can’t say that I have a problem with the blue helmet with bullet holes though.
Sorry guys, but there is no “eTrace data destruction provision”. Once a gun is traced (for any reason), the trace data stays in ATF’s Tracing System forever. It’s the FBI background check data that supposedly is destroyed. However, the FBI runs the background check through the ATF system, but there’s no requirement for ATF to delete the data…. You figure it out.
One of the major flaws in ATF’s Tracing System is that a gun can be traced for ANY reason…. From then on, ATF refers to that gun as a “Crime” gun. The faulty logic used by ATF is that any traced gun “might” have been used in a crime or “might” be used in a crime in the future!
If your CCW is observed or held by police for any reason (traffic stop or ?), then the police can run a trace through ATF. Your CC firearm (by serial number) will be reported as a “crime gun” and your dealer will have another “crime gun trace” on his record. Lovely….
Many, if not most, traces are totally INNOCENT! Yet, all of them will show up on the dealer’s record. Let’s say your guns are stolen during a break-in and later recovered. Those guns will be run through the ATF Tracing System! And will be reported as “crime guns”.
ATF’s tracing data is absolute CRAP! Remember the old saying, “Figures don’t lie, but liars do figure”? That’s the ATF Tracing System….
Hey, I can still post my silliness! Your comment system must still be broken.
Right on up to election time joe, after that? , like DRE said, there won’t be nothin after that, Randy
I kind of like it without the guns… gives it “I’m such a bad guy I don’t need guns” vibe
It is obvious which of the commenters have Disney in their stock portfolios.
Wow reading that application compared to PA’s laws almost makes me want to commit myself just for reading how stupid and lengthy all the dumb hoops they jump you NY’ers through
And here I thought it a babylon 5 quote 🙁 Sad.
“The claim is that he was using explosives and getting paid for it via YouTube,” Coes said.
The FCC tried to go after mommieblogs and other blogs that did reviews on this angle.
Samples=compensation.
They will do anything to achieve their goals
I know it’s fun to pin crap on the ATF (and nobody is saying they don’t deserve it 10 times over), but this wasn’t the feds coming down on some rural state. This was initiated by GBI (that’s Georgia BTW):
“The GBI has declined to comment on a possible motive. Soon after the investigation began, the GBI asked for the assistance of the ATF and the FBI. ”
GBI is dicking around with FPS. FBI/ATF are just along for the show.
I predict that a similar form will soon read:
State of New York
Voter Registration Card Application
One of the disqualifying questions will be:
Have you ever voted for a Republican, Libertarian or independent candidate?
Don’t roll your eyes like that. The voting and gun forms are equally constitutional.
I can honestly say that I played BF3’s multiplayer more than any other FPS since Operation: Flashpoint. FPS games tend to suffer from similar multiplayer styles and I find myself purchasing them mostly for the single-player campaign (or Zombies, in the COD:BO series), but BF3 was truly different. In many ways, it reminded me of the epic integrated-battlefield feel that Flashpoint had.
I’m really looking forward to BF4.
Our Nation is being Fundementaly Transformed into a facist state
Read:
The Road We Are Traveling by Stewart Chase (pages 95 and 96)
and
The Manergial Revolution- James Burnam- the instalation of unelected Technocrats, as in europe today
Amazing graphics, but yeah… think of the PC you’d have to put together to run that in all of its hi-res, multi-monitor glory.
My favorite Battlefield of all time was Battlefield 2142. Nothing like the sheer thrill of guns blazing on your 3-story high mech as you help your squad assault a fortified flag.
The current generation of games, from BF3 to CoD:BO2 are best enjoyed with friends, and in short doses. I can’t take playing online by myself without a party… too many whiny, foul-mouth kids. Gah.
Hilarious that they send so many people to investigate one guy. 40 people. But no, we couldn’t possibly put armed security in every school, we don’t have enough money or people for that. Ridiculous raids though, no problem we’ve got it covered.
I feel like Americans increasingly believe feelings and emotional decision making are more important than using facts and reasoning in deciding upon the best course of action to take.
I bought the db9 on a whim..liked the compact size and did not have great expectations. I expected no more from it than a close, fire in the general direction and hope for the outcome. Well, with some range time and a mix of cheap ammo, it has performed without flaw. Not as smooth as my Glock 26 or 19, but a lot nicer trigger than my Ruger LCp. Yes, it kicks; yes, it seems loud. Sure fits easily in a pocket, though. I like it better than my Seecamp .32 and the db kicks no worse than my Berreta .32. Actually, for walk around carry my wife and I have shifted to a Taurus pt22 for me and a Taurus .380 for her. The 9mms, 38 special and others have become bed stand and vehicle options. The .22s get lead on the target, are extremely compact and have proved first shot reliable. we shoot them all, but have come to like the user friendly carry of the compact small stuff with decent triggers. Present day ammo has evolved to allow smaller firearms to serve better in self defense scenarios. We like the big stuff, but are both small folks for whom larger frames and calibers negate our concealed carry options. Bottom line; the db9 has proved a nice niche gun and we see it as a keeper.
“So you’re tryin ta tell me kids in the future won’t be allowed to pack a pistol at school? Get outta here!”