Subject: Outgunning the Nasties -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Dear Subscriber, Why do we need "government"? Most people respond with something like, "To protect us from bad people." To that end, we need (supposedly) to have "authorities" who have MORE power than the rest of us. In other words, we want the good guys to outgun the bad guys. (I know I want that, but I don't see "government" as the way to make it happen.) Here's the authoritarian plan in a nutshell: we get a bunch of good guys together, and put LOTS of power in their hands (more power than the rest of us have), so they can protect us. Trouble is, those who become police officers are only PEOPLE, some of whom are nasty bullies, and some of whom--at least to begin with--are "good guys." What happens when those people with extra powers turn out to BE the bad guys we need protecting from? Well, here's one thing that can happen: http://tinyurl.com/38o5xp (In short, a cop went on a killing spree.) Now, in that case, wouldn't it have been convenient if the cop WASN'T more heavily armed than his victims? Wouldn't it have been better if some average Joe had been carrying a gun, and stopped the murderer? (One thing about the story I found ironic is that it said the guy killed several people "before authorities fatally shot him." Didn't they mean "before OTHER authorities" shot him? The murderer was, after all, a representative of "authority." He is one of the protectors that, in theory, has the job of PROTECTING us from the nasties of the world.) People who are determined to make the myth of "government" work keep trying to come up with new ways to make "authority" be the good guys. We have elections, and constitutions, and courts, and appeals, and so on. But no matter what we do, cops are still only PEOPLE. Add to that the fact that their supposed "authority" grants them societal PERMISSION to do things the rest of us aren't allowed to do, and it's no wonder "government" ends up being a perpetrator more often than a protector. (Compare, for example, the amount of theft COMMITTED by "law enforcement" under the guise of "taxation," to the amount of theft PREVENTED by it. It's not even close.) Good people don't delight in the idea of killing anyone, even when it's necessary. Nonetheless, here's the unfortunate truth of the matter: if you're a good person, and you want to do something to make the good guys outgun the bad guys, by far the best thing you could possibly do is GET A GUN and LEARN HOW TO USE IT. Lots of people don't want to do that. They don't want the responsibility and they don't want the trouble--they want it to be someone ELSE'S job to use necessary violence. Meanwhile, the street criminals are EAGER to be armed, as are control freaks who gravitate towards positions of "authority." Suppose one day you're unfortunate enough to actually be there when a situation like the one described above happens. Which of the following would be better?: 1) To watch others die--and maybe die yourself--while thinking "I hope somebody stops him"; or 2) to BE one of the "good guys" who is able and willing to stop the "bad guys"? If you want the good guys to outgun the bad guys, stop voting and whining for "legislation," and start visiting a shooting range. Sincerely, Larken Rose http://www.larkenrose.com -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Note: This signature can be verified at https://www.hushtools.com/verify Charset: UTF8 Version: Hush 2.5 wpwEAQECAAYFAkcJYVMACgkQGmVFo/iGj32KMwP+OV0d2ZaXCvUOdVVChZSyZ6Xqdv7a 3W7KlracjDlY1lVpNIDwCkDzZ1/OcLqXLe9+Oprp8e/pmGQZ3OuOehIGgEKZYInt0xAf TBuq+hR5/ym/9RW/AVhwgRAk2diFP/EhQJHzQD5AWpZ9R3W6ty3v2wIBtk0nLFVlhNu+ a5AF4mw= =PNag -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- Click to learn how to become a world famous writer or poet. http://tagline.hushmail.com/fc/Ioyw6h4d5YXJqFxw3lwMak0JyRljlCnGuipBwywJXXTN0UrENyFkC4/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe, send a blank message to tmds-on@mail-list.com To contact the list owner, send your message to tmds-list-owner@mail-list.com