Okay, that title should be obvious, but hear me out. I thought about this when I was waking up this morning.
When we were kids playing at the pool we would “dunk” each other. Some bigger kid would sneak up on you and push your head underwater. Then they’d let you up. Very funny, simulated attempted murder. The smaller kid couldn’t really fight back because the bigger one would just escalate it until they got kicked out, then they’d blame the smaller one. This behavior continues well in to adulthood. Anyway, part of the “game” was the big kid would say, “don’t struggle, then I’ll stop”. It’s good advice because struggling wastes oxygen. Of course, you are being tortured, so struggling is kind of natural. That’s part of the game.
Gun rights people do the same thing. They say they will lock up their guns, they won’t shoot children, they won’t get angry and use them, they won’t use them while they are drunk, they say they will be responsible. They know they can restrict themselves and how they use their guns, THEREFORE, they should be free to do whatever they want. But if you try to restrict that freedom, then they have the right to start a war against the very government that protects those freedoms. Never mind that there are irresponsible people in the world who will abuse their freedoms. We shouldn’t make laws to identify those people or help them or limit their freedoms due to their inability to be responsible, instead, we should give more individual freedoms and let individuals decide who should be shot or not.
Okay, that title should be obvious, but hear me out. I thought about this when I was waking up this morning. When we were kids playing at the pool we would "dunk" each other. Some bigger kid would sneak up on you and push your head underwater. Then they'd let you up. Very funny, simulated attempted murder. The smaller kid couldn't really fight back because the bigger one would just escalate it until they got kicked out, then they'd blame the smaller one. This behavior continues well in to adulthood. Anyway, part of the "game" was the big kid would say, "don't struggle, then I'll stop". It's good advice because struggling wastes oxygen. Of course, you are being tortured, so struggling is kind of natural. That's part of the game. Gun rights people do the same thing. They say they will lock up their guns, they won't shoot children, they won't get angry and use them, they won't use them while they are drunk, they say they will be responsible. They know they can restrict themselves and how they use their guns, THEREFORE, they should be free to do whatever they want. But if you try to restrict that freedom, then they have the right to start a war against the very government that protects those freedoms. Never mind that there are irresponsible people in the world who will abuse their freedoms. We shouldn't make laws to identify those people or help them or limit their freedoms due to their inability to be responsible, instead, we should give more individual freedoms and let individuals decide who should be shot or not.Well said. Have you noticed this developing story:
Depth Of Russian Politician's Cultivation Of NRA Ties Revealed https://www.npr.org/2018/03/01/590076949/depth-of-russian-politicians-cultivation-of-nra-ties-revealed March 1, 2018 A prominent Kremlin-linked Russian politician has methodically cultivated ties with leaders of the National Rifle Association and documented efforts in real time over six years to leverage those connections and gain deeper access into American politics, NPR has learned. Russian politician Alexander Torshin said his ties to the NRA provided him access to Donald Trump — and the opportunity to serve as a foreign election observer in the United States during the 2012 election. Torshin is a prolific Twitter user, logging nearly 150,000 tweets, mostly in Russian, since his account was created in 2011. Previously obscured by language and sheer volume of tweets, Torshin has written numerous times about his connections with the NRA, of which he is a known paid lifetime member. NPR has translated a selection of those posts that document Torshin's relationship to the group. ...That one, I did not see coming. So the NRA like trump can be considered Russian Obligates.
¶
Although since this thread is titled “Libertarians are bullies” I’ve got a local story to share.
You see right now La Plata County Colorado is enduring an attack of incivility and bullying since American for (Koch) Prosperity, LaPlata Liberty Coalition, and the hysterically titled recall champs “SaveLaPlataCounty” - all we need saving from is malicious lies, deliberate misrepresentation and hostility mongering.
An open letter to the La Plata County Commissioners]
February 28, 2018Hello County Commissioners, I live in rural La Plata County and yesterday I was called by a neighbor about an unsettling anonymous letter received in their mail. The letter isn't threatening per se but it does intimidate, <span style="color:red">'we know who you are, where you live, and we don't like what you say in public!'</span> sort of thing. Besides the intimidation, its content is vague, inaccurate and directed at the wrong people. An angry myopic venting that deserves a response. It’s not worth calling the sheriff, but on the other hand it is certainly worth reporting and making a big deal about since I believe it's another example of outside forces bringing high-powered ruthless political practices into our community. It's pure poison. Stoking hostility and misunderstanding and yes intimidation is not the American way to go, that’s the stuff of totalitarianism and hopeless conflict. Our current land code planning controversies can only be resolved by recognizing that time does change our reality. Our population has been exploding and population densities do matter a great deal, no matter how much our nostalgia wants to wish it away. Dreaming about the freedom of a bygone wild era, when the nearest neighbor was a mile or many miles away, are not going to help us deal with today’s down to Earth problems and moving into the future. That past is gone. Our County Commissioners owe it to La Plata County citizens, and to our democratic process to redouble their efforts and vocally reach out to the community, only through directly confronting the paranoid thinking being propagated by outside forces, can we hope to achieve a level playing field where rationality can once again prevail. Appeal for calm and reasoned discussion about land code issues. Perhaps remind everyone about how the process works - the way all three of you witnessed it happening at the Breen Grange community meeting. Rather than dumping our grievances on neighbors, people ought to be reminded to first learn about the facts regarding their concerns, then write out their grievances clearly, succinctly, then take them to the LaPlata Board of County Commissioners or planning committees*. That’s how the American democratic process has worked for all these generations, protect our birthright. A telling irony is that the recipient of this cowardly letter belongs to a generations old local ranching/farming family. Thank you for your time and hopefully interest and some sort of engagement with the irrationality bouncing around our county. Best wishes, * Breen Land Use Code Community Meeting - This Is What Democracy Looks Like ! <strong>https://americansforkochsprosperity.blogspot.com/2018/02/breen-landusecode-community-meeting.html</strong> <blockquote>... Then another outfit calling itself “SaveLaPlataCounty.com" pops up. Followed by yet another, this one calling itself the LaPlata Liberty Coalition which set up a blog and Facebook page boasting the wonderfully vague libertarian mission statement:<strong>“A Coalition of ‘We The People’ Working to Protect and Preserve the Historical and Constitutional Rights of the Citizens of La Plata County." <span style="color:red">What’s that even mean? Historically we had the Right to cruise local roads drinking beer and it wouldn’t bother anyone, but decades sneak by, landscapes that used to be wild and free, are full of homes and septic tanks and traffic and kids and all that jazz. ...</span></strong></blockquote></blockquote>
Guess the point I’m trying to make is that people need to start standing up to the bullying
and expose “Libertarianism” for the silly self-delusional nostalgia trip it is. Actually what it is, is a front for oligarch who want to destroy our government as we know it. People who believe god put them one this Earth and that everything on this Earth is to be consumed by them.
All they want is their fair share. ALL OF IT !
We The People what are we going to do about it? :blank:
Libertarianism is like Nostalgia, dreaming of something that never was and never could have been. But a hell of a lot more destructive.This is what democracy looks likes:
February 18, 2018 ¶ SaveLaPlataCounty's "Facts" Tainted by Koch's DarkMoney Tentacles Examining the fundamental deception being foisted on us by “SaveLaPlataCounty" and the Koch DarkMoney funded web they are a part of. To begin with, isn’t their summary title a bit hysterical? La Plata County doesn’t need saving. Look around at our country, we are amongst the luckiest people in America, in the world. What La Plata needs saving from is a ruthless, contrived campaign intent on injecting misunderstanding and divisiveness into local politics. Second, they repeat idealistic sounding phrases, but show little concern for accurately representing facts, their own, or their opponent’s actual position. Their narrative breaths contempt for environmental problems and safety regulations that benefit all of us, along with all who are concerned with those issues. Third, there’s nothing homespun or grassroots about SaveLaPlataCounty.com or their recall effort. It is part of a national strategy to make end runs around “liberal" bastions of our country, and eject us from what they feel entitled to. “All of it!" Please consider the four references "SaveLaPlataCounty.com/the-recall-effort/" provides for supporting evidence of their claims. Look at them. None contain specific evidence or charges. Instead they are agenda driven ‘news’ articles of carefully crafted word-salad. Full of insinuations, attitude, but nothing solid except for links to Koch’s DarkMoney octopus and a distain for environmental safety standards.
Okay, that title should be obvious, but hear me out. I thought about this when I was waking up this morning. When we were kids playing at the pool we would "dunk" each other. Some bigger kid would sneak up on you and push your head underwater. Then they'd let you up. Very funny, simulated attempted murder. The smaller kid couldn't really fight back because the bigger one would just escalate it until they got kicked out, then they'd blame the smaller one. This behavior continues well in to adulthood. Anyway, part of the "game" was the big kid would say, "don't struggle, then I'll stop". It's good advice because struggling wastes oxygen. Of course, you are being tortured, so struggling is kind of natural. That's part of the game. Gun rights people do the same thing. They say they will lock up their guns, they won't shoot children, they won't get angry and use them, they won't use them while they are drunk, they say they will be responsible. They know they can restrict themselves and how they use their guns, THEREFORE, they should be free to do whatever they want. But if you try to restrict that freedom, then they have the right to start a war against the very government that protects those freedoms. Never mind that there are irresponsible people in the world who will abuse their freedoms. We shouldn't make laws to identify those people or help them or limit their freedoms due to their inability to be responsible, instead, we should give more individual freedoms and let individuals decide who should be shot or not.There is little difference between libertarianism and anarchism, which is why having the kind of libertarian gun policies in America as imposed by the very powerful gun industry using the NRA as a shield results in greater and greater anarchy in America. Of course they don't want effective laws and gun control that will lower the level of gun violence and anarchy in America, then they will only be able to sell a small fraction of the guns they do a year. The myth is the US is run on laws as codified in the Constitution. The reality is that America is run by the businesses with the most money who buy all three branches of government and enact policy that guarantees corporations have all the control. CEOs run America and research indicates that there is a far higher incidence of psychopaths at that position than in the general population. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/13/1-in-5-ceos-are-psychopaths-australian-study-finds/
An Australian study has found that about one in five corporate executives are psychopaths – roughly the same rate as among prisoners. The study of 261 senior professionals in the United States found that 21 per cent had clinically significant levels of psychopathic traits. The rate of psychopathy in the general population is about one in a hundred. Nathan Brooks, a forensic psychologist who conducted the study, said the findings suggested that businesses should improve their recruitment screening.About 1 in a 100 people are psychopaths in the general population, about 1 in 5 CEOs are psychopaths. This is why official policy seems more and more psychopathic because it is. As money from massive corporations starts to dominate who is elected to office, their policies reflect the wishes of psychopaths, not normal stable people. And after a couple of psychopaths the Koch brothers funded an attack on any controls of campaign "donations", psychopaths can pay front men as much as they want to take over government policy. It's called disaster capitalism for a reason, psychopaths don't give a shit about human life and see disaster as a way to greater and greater power. They also get e thrill from the suffering of others. Nothing is being done about all the gun deaths in America because they provide entertainment for the psychopaths who are really running the country and at the same time making them more and more wealthy.
Only one in five? Hmmm.