Killing cops

Yes, I know that is a "provocative" headline.

I got tagged on a post on facebook, about how some libertarians are soiling the "movement" by not condemning the death of those Las Vegas cops shot while eating pizza.

It quickly devolved into people trying to put words in other people's mouths, so I summarized my thoughts:

I would not ever walk up to a cop who was simply eating a pizza and shoot him in the head. I don't know whether it is his first day on the "job", and if so he might still be innocent of committing enforcement and theft. [added: but he would still be guilty of being a cop- there are many layers here.]

However, I will never be sad over the death of any cop- by any means. Bad guys kill bad guys all the time. It's one of the biggest risks of choosing to be a bad guy. It's not my responsibility to stop the bad guys from killing each other- I also don't grieve when cops kill armed robbers or kidnappers.

But, then, a bizarre tangient developed where some were criticizing the self defense killing of any aggressor, and equating it with vigilantism (which I have always condemned in no uncertain terms), so I stated:

Killing someone- anyone- who is currently aggressing/stealing is not wrong- you may quibble about "proportional response" as long as you aren't the target of the aggressor, but I won't second guess your split second decision after the fact. 

I really don't know what else to say about it. You can put words in my mouth or twist what I have written to make me look evil- that's your choice. 

Don't physically attack me or violate my property and you'll never have anything to worry about as far as I'm concerned.

But, I will say again: there are no "good cops"; any encounter with a cop is potentially deadly. You never know what will trigger a cop to go off on you and result in your death. Lethal defense is often justified- even if not "wise". Currently it is mostly "criminals", who have nothing to lose, who recognize the reality of their situation, but as cops make more people feel they have nothing to lose, that will change. And no one will be to blame but the cops.

If you have the ability, check out the link to the Facebook post. I guarantee you will learn... something.

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