I got an email from someone who is concerned about roving gangs from the inner cities moving out into the rest of the country after they have taken and destroyed everything in their own little sphere, and who is concerned about "illegal immigrants" preying on rural America. He thinks this is inevitable after "law enforcement" (and the state) completely breaks down. He points out that it is a different world today, compared to during the last depression, and that people are not as helpful or "moral" as they once were. I think his concerns are pretty common.
I thought I would share my slightly edited response.
The problem is that "law enforcement" and "criminals" simply play different
positions on the same team, and both are against you and I. I hold no
illusions that "law enforcement officers" (what I call "Liberty Eradication
Operatives") protect me in any way.
I don't fear gangs of inner city thugs if the state collapses, because as I
see it, the "law" is the only thing that prevents effective self defense against
them now. Remove that layer of "legal protection" and they'd be history in
no time. If even a small percentage of the population refuses to be
intimidated, these thugs will vanish through attrition pretty quickly. A
stack of bodies at your property line will do more to convince thugs to go
elsewhere than fear of some cop eventually catching up to them and arresting
them. Interviews of inmates have shown time after time that they fear
armed "victims" much more than cops or prison.
You've got to remember that the reason inner cities are so bad is that only
the "criminals" have guns, and that conditions are so intensely crowded.
If these gangs spread out after destroying "their" cities, they will be too
diffuse and outnumbered to do anything, it will be like dropping a sugar cube in
a swimming pool... as long as "law enforcement" doesn't continue to protect them
by enforcing disarmament and requiring their victims to die quietly instead of
putting up a hard fight. Even if they travel in big packs they will have
no chance against people protecting their own turf. If it comes down to
it, I will shoot first and deal with any "law" later. And I think a lot of
people probably feel the same. Have you ever visited the "Sipsey Street
Irregulars" blog?
I don't worry about anyone who forgoes "official permission" for anything,
whether it is moving across imaginary lines on a map or driving their own
vehicle- and I realize this is a very "minority opinion". What I do put my
foot down against is theft and coercion. I don't care where a person was
born or what language they speak, I still insist upon being left alone and
keeping my own property. Immigrants have never stolen anything from me;
government does nothing BUT steal and try to assert ownership over my
life. I consider that an act of war.
I agree that it is a totally different world today, but I don't think all
those changes are bad. I have been welcomed into peoples' homes when they
didn't know me. I have been fed; I have been offered a place to stay...
and I don't look "normal". Technology has also changed the dynamics of
personal relationships. How would I have even been able to "meet" and
"talk to" you without technology? I now have a network of people across
the country that have actually helped me out in past crises. I think there
is still a lot of humanity out there. Don't focus too much on the pockets
of evil. We outnumber them, even when you add in their enablers in
government.
I actually don't want to "go back" to some idyllic past (though it almost
hurts to say that). I would prefer to keep (or return to) the good things
about the past, combine them with the good things in the present, and add the
good things I can imagine for the future.
I sense a lot of fear of "them" from people I know. Depending on the person, and whether they are "liberal" or "conservative", "them" can be other races, "illegal immigrants", Muslims, atheists, Christians, gun owners, southerners, northerners, rural folk, urban people...... the list goes on and on. Libertarians should be able to see through the nonsense, and leave the fear in the dust. We must hang together or we shall surely hang (or be shot, or drugged, "tased", and kidnapped) separately. I will try to address this "fear of THEM" in a later column.
