Misplaced respect

Statists really can't comprehend when someone doesn't fawn along with them over some harmful part of government- such as the police or the military.

It's completely beyond them why anyone would oppose those things. (Some feel the same about the spyware.)

It doesn't matter how clearly you explain. Some say they supposedly "hate government", too.

They have a deep-seated desire to "respect" those who are the greatest danger to their liberty. A much greater threat than anyone in any other country.

In TV and movies, there are good cops and good military pawns. That's called fiction. Many people fall for the propaganda because they can't distinguish between reality and fiction.

I blame govschooling and the media.

Yes, I realize some of those government personnel were fooled into joining. Some were pressured and couldn't resist. Some didn't see another path. Some needed the money. Some thought it would make them respected. They were innocent victims... at first.

Some wanted to do good. They failed. 

Some craved the power they saw coming from such a position- either immediately or down the line. Those are the truly evil ones.

The harsh reality is that they are all hurting, not helping. They are empowering the state by remaining on the "job". That's not an ethical thing to do. It doesn't earn my respect or my thanks. Please quit!

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Learn from modern parables: lessons in fake "news" stories

You can get mad about the tsunami of fake stories, or you can use them as modern parables to illustrate truths.

The (probably fake) story of the 9-year-old girl who shot an intruder in the leg would have a happier ending if not for government.

We can pretend for a moment it's a real event. If not, there's still a lesson in it.

Someone took to the comments to complain about a 9-year-old being left home alone with access to a gun. But if not for the gun, she'd be a tragic statistic, unless the story also included magic. 

I was left home alone (with easy access to guns) every day as a young teen onward, with my younger sisters. I was lucky that I never needed to protect myself or my sisters from criminals, but if I had needed to, I could have had a fighting chance. 

As unfortunate as it may be, it is sometimes necessary to leave kids home alone. Largely, thanks to government destroying the economy and inflating away the money, but that's another lesson.

As I've said in the past, don't "childproof" your guns; train your kids. That's the best way to prevent tragedies, such as bad guys getting in and victimizing your family.

This parable shows the differences in how people think. Those who believe the solution lies in government ("get better judges", "lock up bad guys", "keep kids away from guns", "don't let parents leave kids home alone", etc.), and those who know personal responsibility is always a better path because government has no obligation to save you, and has no real interest in doing so anyway.

This is just one example. Nearly every fake story I've run across has lessons to teach and exposes how different people think. They are educational and illuminating.

Whether the story is real or not doesn't change the value of the lessons that can be learned from it. Change how you think of the fake stories. You might as well learn from whatever source is available, especially since they aren't likely to go away. Right?

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Does society need to be pushed out of its capitalist mindset?

I saw a video where a guy was talking about the need for post-apocalyptic fiction. He was explaining that it is needed to help push people out of their "capitalist" mindset.

Hmmm. 

I’m thinking he didn’t think this through very well. For one thing, he’s probably confusing corporatism for capitalism- a common error that people with a penchant for socialism make.

Post-apocalypse, you should be even freer to sell your merchandise or take jobs in exchange for pay than you are now. Because we don't have capitalism, but corporatism. Government prevents capitalism.

You’re either doing capitalism, or you’re someone’s slave. You either assert that you own your labor or you're accepting someone else's (imaginary) higher claim to it. TEOTWAWKI won't change that. 

Capitalism is more natural for normal humans than any form of socialism or slavery- although the bad guys have worked very hard, for millennia, to change that.  They've put a lot of effort into building systems to destroy capitalism and replace it with something lesser. A system where they end up being the warlords. They've also spent a lot of time trying to convince people that corporatism is capitalism, and the flaws with corporatism are strikes against capitalism. That's a lie.

Still, slaves always know something isn't right, and they'll yearn to be free- until they are free, in which case some of them will want to be slaves again. As it seems video guy wants.

He's welcome to it. I prefer liberty.

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The rise of the conspiracies

It's been interesting to see all the conspiracy theories and alternative explanations start building since the murder of Charlie Kirk.

I've seen people make entire videos debunking things that are the opposite of what the "official narrative" says, in a strange attempt to debunk the "official narrative". Talk about a waste of effort! I'm guessing these people misunderstood something they had heard and ran with it before double-checking. Or, someone is behind this who wants to make the "official story" look more plausible by comparison.

I get it. I don't trust government or "official sources", and certainly not the Feral Baby Incinerators. They lie as easily as they breathe. But that's no reason to go completely off the rails.

There are always questions. People act in odd ways when they don't think about the cameras recording them. The world is stranger than we can imagine. Bullets do strange things.

But...  
Lee Harvey Oswald wasn't the whole story.
The "last word" on the Roswell UFO crash has changed several times over the years, to the point where the "official story" now involves things that couldn't have happened until years after 1947.
Operation Mockingbird.
Gulf of Tonkin.
The origins of NASA.
Grusome and cruel "medical" experiments conducted on trusting Americans- without informed consent- by the US government.

Most old "conspiracy theories" have ended up being at least partly true- or worse than was suspected.

Do you expect anything better from the government goons this time?

Here's the unpleasant truth:
You and I will never know the whole story. At best, we'll be fed a mix of truth and lies told to protect certain people or groups. Not only concerning the details of this murder, but concerning anything that can be used to manipulate and increase their power by the political criminals with power and the media they control. You knowing the truth isn't good for them, even if they didn't pull the trigger.

As has been pointed out, "conspiracy theorists" are sometimes just people who are a little ahead of the curve in figuring out how evil government employees can be. The rest of the world will eventually catch up.

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Children's fairy tales

Someone posted this- and with the way the world is, I'm not sure if they were being serious or sarcastic:

"Believe it or not there used to be a time when the government worked for the people, and helped the people with their needs and they ran programs to keep society functional."

I said, "I don't believe that fairy tale. That's what statists told their children, but it was never true."

What about you? Do you believe that? Am I wrong? Or, is it indeed a fairy tale told to gullible children to disarm their critical thinking and observational skills?

Update: Unfortunately the guy was serious. He is sure an ethical system of government is possible.

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Doing the right thing isn't pain-free

I'm seeing an increasing number of posts from people who have lost government "jobs"; "jobs" they seem to believe they are entitled to. Their posts also seem to indicate that they believe I'll be upset over their plight". They believe I'll take their side.

What do they say about people being unable to "read the room"?

I want ALL federal employees to be unemployed-- unless they can find a helpful, productive job in the market rather than a harmful, destructive "job" like the one they've previously held. If they are (or were) a federal employee, I'm going to assume they don't have any useful skills-- it's up to them to prove me wrong. I hope they are able to add to society once they are freed from living off politics. That would benefit us all!

Then, I want all state and local government employees to find themselves in the same situation.

I don't care if it's DOGE or someone else eliminating those "jobs". Just delete them and find more to delete. Keep it going. Bring the chainsaw!

Yes, this will cause problems for the economy. I don't care. I never asked for those "jobs" to be created and filled. Just the opposite. Tolerating government "jobs" was inevitably going to cause problems (beyond those useless and damaging "jobs" being performed) eventually. We might as well deal with it now instead of five years from now.

Doing the right thing is not always pain-free. If you haven't figured this out, you haven't done the right thing enough times yet.

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The Fifth of November... again

 

I'll be watching V For Vendetta again like I always do on the Fifth of November. 

It gives me hope for the future to see a fictional account of people getting fed up with the State and doing something substantive about it. Even if it's a flawed response. At least it's something more useful than v*ting.

Seriously, prepare for unrest. I think it will not happen in any widespread way. It may not even happen in the few spots it's nearly guaranteed for days or weeks- depending on how long it takes the corporate media to declare a "winner". 

It never hurts to be ready for something that never happens, but it can be deadly to not prepare for something that does happen. Making a show of not preparing, which some people like to do, isn't being smart.

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Toxic twins

Imagine twins who have been hurting each other since they were in the womb. Neither one wants to stop, and each points to all the times in the past when his twin has hurt him as justification for each new attack. As adults, the twins have formed mafias to commit their acts on each other and the family members of the other. Somehow they believe this mafia makes their behavior more legitimate.

Each twin has his own supporters and haters. Egging him on to hurt the other again. Their behavior threatens everyone in the whole world.

I have zero sympathy for either twin.

This, to me, is the story of the Middle East.

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Dystopia + government = same old thing

I often enjoy dystopian fiction. Books like the Hunger Games series, television series, and movies.

However, almost all of it introduces some factor that I don't like, which interferes with the whole premise-- usually because it doesn't seem like it really fits the story. Something that tries to make it into something other than what it was.

After establishing how you'll adapt to survive this world, suddenly, "Oh, look: there's a whole society you never knew about living just over the hill...or under it. This changes everything." And usually not in a good way. It's like the common fiction arc: "Let's discover this wondrous new place or thing, and destroy it so the world can return to how it was before."

And, of course, most dystopian fiction has to become a sermon promoting the Religion of Statism in some way. "See how brutal and short your life would be without us robbing and controlling you for your own good?" They do this, for example, with aggressive neo-governmental gangs calling themselves a militia and pretending they are different from any other political government. They aren't. And it kind of ruins the storytelling in a lazy way.

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Halloween fiction: The mutants are coming!

I'm hiding in the corner of an old dusty barn. Trying to be as quiet as possible while breathing hard from running. I wipe some blood out of my eyes; don't worry, it's not mine. My heart is pounding in my ears, and I need to calm it if I am to hear anything coming.

Feeling around to see how much ammo I still have with me; wondering if it will be enough. I couldn't possibly carry as much ammunition as I'd like, to use against what I'll face when I do make a run for it.

I've got my AR-15 with a full magazine; two more full magazines and a "partial" in my bag. I just counted what was left-- nineteen in that partial magazine. I swapped it out for a full magazine after the last encounter a couple of hours ago, just in case. Could I have fired fewer shots than I did last time? Did I waste ammo? It's a nagging question I'll never know the answer to.

I also have my 9mm handgun, with a full 10-round magazine in it and two 15-round magazines in the bag, besides the 12-rounder clipped inside my waistband. I haven't fired this gun since I ran-- fortunately, I've kept all encounters to a distance.

And that's all I've got as far as guns go... unless you count the .22 LR mini-revolver I always have as a last resort, which I don't.

Are the guns pointless, though?

I'm not even sure where to run. 

The towns and cities are obviously not safe, but neither is the wilderness. Not the mountains, the plains, the deserts, or the oceans. Sure, the places farther from concentrations of people-- or where concentrations of people used to live when this hit-- are slightly less dangerous. But any difference is small and shrinking fast. They are spreading faster than seems possible.

How did the world get into this mess?

A few years ago most people all over the world got a new vaccine. A different sort of vaccine against a disease that in hindsight was a picnic compared to... well, what the vaccine has wrought.

It didn't seem that dangerous at the time, but I didn't really see the need so I didn't bother getting vaccinated.

As it turns out, not getting the vaccine made no difference to my safety. It only bought me a little time. But for what?

Even months later there weren't that many serious side effects. Anyone who had decided against the vaccine was ridiculed and often shunned because it was "obviously safe". That was then. 

Later everyone stopped caring either way, and it was too late.

Before everything shut down it had become apparent that this vaccine, by getting into the recipient's DNA, made it possible for the genes of unrelated mammals to merge if they mated, resulting in hybrid offspring. No matter that they had different numbers of chromosomes or previously had immune responses to each other to prevent crossbreeding. I don't know the exact explanation of how it did what it did, and I guess explanations are pointless now. Who would I explain it to even if I knew?

If this had been the whole story, it wouldn't have been a huge issue outside some backward communities. 

Unfortunately, it also turned out that in a small, but still too large, percentage of the population-- both human and non-human-- this change coincided with the total elimination of any reluctance to mate with anything of any species. Worse, the offspring aren't sterile and can-- and will, with enthusiasm-- breed with each other, passing along the worst traits of the line. Now it's hard to guess what the parentage of the... thing.. about to rape or eat you (not even sure which fate is worse) might have been.

These things have higher intelligence than the animal part of them would have had (the ones which have some human in them, anyway), more stamina, and higher aggression than any normal lifeform. And most of them have shorter gestation periods and mature in only a year or so. Some mature in weeks-- thanks, mouse DNA. Plus, they all have the survival skills and abilities of the wildlife genes they contain. And their appearance. I promise-- you don't want to see them. They are like walking cancer made up of the worst sick taxidermy you can imagine, multiplied by infinity.

It's like some perfect nightmare. I wonder if my horror-fan friends are enjoying this-- if they are still alive.

Now I feel like it's time to run again. I'm as rested as I'm going to get. I need to find somewhere to sleep for a little while, but there's no bank safe handy to lock myself in to feel protected enough to sleep. 

Some food would be nice, too, but honestly, I'm scared to eat one of those things. Would cooking really destroy the DNA enough to make me safe? And what about handling the raw meat and blood while butchering the things? I do have a few nitrile gloves I shoved in my bag as I fled my house just as something with giant curled horns blasted through my back door, but would I trust them? I don't know. 

But I'm getting hungry enough that I'm caring less. I mean, yes, a few hours ago I did make the mistake of shooting that hairy winged thing as it swooped toward me, and a little blood sprayed down on me as it fell to the ground. Just a little splatter. And I feel fine. Great, in fact. Stronger than ever. But hungry.

I'm starting to feel like I don't even need the guns. 

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Happy Halloween!

Joss could have learned from his better characters

I don't know if the allegations against Joss Whedon are true, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were.

I've loved Firefly since before I was able to watch it, but I was always somewhat less impressed by Whedon as a person.

For all his great characters, dialog, and guns he has expressed the views of a "Left-statist" with anti-gun bigotry. I've never seen an anti-gun bigot who was truly a great person. There's a reason someone doesn't want others able to defend themselves from violators, and I don't buy the canned excuses they use.

He may be completely innocent, and if so, I hope the truth comes out. I hope the truth comes out either way. I'm not going to stop being a Browncoat no matter what happens with Joss. Many of the characters he created may well be better people than he is. (But that's probably the case with all fiction writers.)

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Amazing Stories and Fantastical Tales

Sometimes it's good to just listen to people's stories without interrupting, even when you know the stories are nonsense.

My 2nd wife used to tell of a ghost that lived in her house when she was a kid. It was an interesting story even though I didn't believe it. I learned quickly that her family was very prone to believe anything as long as it fit with their magical worldview.

Other people tell me stories about beneficial things political government can do. These stories are no more true-- in the sense of being objective reality-- than ghost stories, but they can still be informative if you want to know which particular superstitions a person is living under.

Interrupt and you'll never hear the whole tale. Listen and you might be entertained by some fantastical tales of magical realms. Just don't bet your life on them being true.

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Be like Sherlock Holmes-- in the good ways

Those who know me know I really like the fictional character, Sherlock Holmes. The A. Conan Doyle original, specifically. The degree to which I like other versions depends on how faithful they are to the original. The original Sherlock Holmes was surprisingly libertarian for the time and place where he was created.

Of the most recent versions, I like the Benedryl Cabbagepatch Sherlock adaptation (ignoring the 4th season shark-jump) from England a lot more than I like the "woke" Left-Statist version from America called Elementary.

I've been watching Elementary on a streaming service for a couple of months now. But there are times its deficiencies are painful to me-- to the point that I sometimes realize I haven't been paying attention for several minutes. That version of Holmes just doesn't measure up very well. He is not abnormally intelligent or good at deduction/induction/abduction, and he is irrationally anti-gun and pro-police (as is the mood of the whole show). He's just not that impressive or exceptionally gifted. That's anti-Holmesian.

I'm not at all a fan of the movies starring Robert Downey Jr. and I couldn't even bring myself to watch the Will Ferrell version after seeing the previews.

Some of the old TV versions of decades past are pretty good.

I also notice whether the various versions actually use Holmes' methods, or if they are written by someone who doesn't understand what makes Sherlock Holmes what he is and flounders in vain trying to write something they don't understand. Or worse, if they don't like what Sherlock Holmes is so they try to make him something they like better (which feels like Elementary's problem).

I'm not generally a fan of "re-imagining" stuff that works, anyway, unless it is done carefully.

This is a roundabout way to get to a point.

In my most delusional moments of imagined grandeur I like to imagine myself as the Sherlock Holmes of liberty. I want to be able to think dispassionately about liberty and just go where the data leads me regardless of my feelings. I want to emulate the good characteristics of Holmes as they might apply to my own interests. I accept that I have flaws, as does the character-- although Holmes' addiction* to substances isn't one of my flaws.

To the extent this delusion helps make me a better person, it's useful. If it knocks me off-course, then it isn't.

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*As pointed out in the comment by R R Schoettke below, Doyle's Holmes was an occasional drug user, but not an addict. A critically important distinction.

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"Just people"

I was treated to a movie Friday night. We saw "Star Wars-- The Rise of Skywalker".

There's a minor spoiler ahead, so if you don't want to read it, run away now.

The quotes are paraphrased since I wasn't actually taking notes during the movie, but it goes something like this:

During the climactic battle, the Rebels are outnumbered and it's clear they are going to lose. They are losing. Suddenly the sky fills with an uncountable number of ships, with more dropping out of hyperspace every second. Yes, much like the Reavers in that scene in "Serenity".

The commander of the State troops looks a bit panicked and asks whose navy this is, and his underling says it's no navy, it's "just people".

My thought at that moment was that this State was probably regretting "allowing" the people to keep and bear arms.

This is a good fictional illustration of why the natural human (or other sapient being) right to own and to carry weapons is one that must never be trivialized or allowed to atrophy.

Thank you to my sister and her wife for the nice night out.

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Don't be fooled by a "Deepfake" me

I'm not going to pretend I'm important enough to ever be targeted for a "Deepfake" character assassination.

But, by now you ought to know who I am, and if you ever saw me saying something that was in opposition to everything I've said before, don't believe it.

It might be evidence of a brain tumor or a stroke, or (less likely) a "Deepfake". But it wouldn't be me; not the real me. You know where I stand, and I stand for liberty.

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The Little Engine that could, but chose not to

There once was a Little Engine.
It wasn't the biggest or the strongest engine, but it was a good little engine. It loved being useful and it loved helping when it could. This didn't pay well, and the Little Engine often ran short of fuel.
The Little Engine was told about a job for which a train was needed. A job that paid well. A job that was said to be helpful; hauling government troops and their equipment over a steep mountain to their next destination.
It wouldn't be an easy job but would push the Little Engine to its limits.
All its friends encouraged the Little Engine to do what they knew it was capable of. They knew it could get that job hauling troops over the mountain, even though the mountain was very steep, and usually only much more powerful engines did the job. They knew the Little Engine had heart, and a reserve of strength. The engine's friends kept saying "We know you can do it! It's a respectable job; supporting the troops! It pays well! You can do it! You can do it!"
But the little engine knew that the troops were armed government employees, used to impose the opinions of political bullies on others, by breaking things and killing people in places they have no right to be. The little engine knew that the troops were paid by a type of theft called "taxation", and that the pay for hauling the troops over the mountain would be obtained the same way.
The Little Engine had ethics and principles.
The Little Engine knew it could, but knew it shouldn't.
The Little Engine refused the job and was shut down by the federal government for being a suspected terrorist sympathizer.

The End.

Paraphrased from Jurrasic Park's Dr. Ian Malcolm:
"Humans were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."

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Malcolm and Harry

A while back I was struck by the similarity of these two characters' poses. Both seem to mean business. Both are properly armed for the task at hand. And both are confronting archators in the proper way to confront them- most of the time.

Both could be considered heroic.

Both characters have their fans; there's probably even a lot of overlap. But I still like one of these a lot more than the other.

If I had to choose, I'd prefer to be friends with Malcolm Reynolds. Dirty Harry chose to be a tax junkie, and an enforcer of "laws". Not a good guy in my eyes, even if the thugs he went up against were worse.

I might even like the actor Clint Eastwood more than actor Nathan Fillion, but as for the characters portrayed above, it's no contest.

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Believable crime solvers

My awareness of what's on TV is kind of low. I have Netflix, but nothing else, so I don't even get exposed to what's currently on the air. But, through other people, I notice a lot of shows revolving around the solving of crimes. It's an old theme, but still a popular one.

Unfortunately, they all seem to solve crimes as government employees, or in league with government employees. That's silly. Government is the biggest crime of all.

Even Sherlock, with his contempt for the stupidity of cops and his willingness to ignore "laws", still acts as though the government can be good guys, and he generally solves the case then hands the criminals over to the State.

What I would like to see is a good series based on a freelance crime solver, individual or group, who recognizes that government is just another facet of the criminal element. Who realizes that the only real crimes involve archation, thus have an individual victim.

Even if the bad guys who commit the particular crime of the week aren't government, the cops, "laws", and courts are portrayed honestly, as obstacles to justice; not on the same side as our heroes.

Obviously, I'd like to see the government employees shown to be the bad guys "even" when they are doing nothing but passing or enforcing average, every day "laws". Let's watch the heroes find out which cop was responsible for calling for a no-knock raid, and bring him to justice! Along with the rest of his gang who went along with him!

And, of course, justice on the show involves returning the victim to as near his or her "pre-violation" condition as possible- never revenge, "punishment", or a cage. Although, I could see some bad guys on the show being killed in self defense. That would still be satisfying.

Now, that's a crime show I could really enjoy!

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Nip it in the bud, or look where it leads

I've been watching the show "Hell on Wheels" on Netflix. It's pretty violent, but mostly enjoyable- although there are several nasty characters I want to see die horribly.

Anyway, an episode I watched recently really got my hackles up. In it a very small group of "government" shows up and kills (hangs) a guy for shooting a card cheat.

This government is outnumbered, no one present (other than them) believes the guy deserves what they are doing to him, but everyone just stands by and lets them get away with it. The "execution" could have been stopped if even one person had the courage or principles to stop it.

Sure, it's fiction, but it illustrates the problem pretty accurately: The Tiny Dot ruling everyone else.

I just think that if every time some bullies moved in and said "We are government- you are now going to obey us" they had been shot (speared, knifed, clubbed, eaten, pushed over a cliff, etc.) for their act of aggression (make no mistake, attempting to establish a government IS an act of aggression), this cancer now eating away at civilization would never have gotten a toehold.

It's now too late to nip it in the bud, and that's going to cause a lot of trouble in the future.

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The Loving State

Once upon a time...

John had grown tired of being scared. He was told there were terrorists and criminals all around him. And scary gun owners who wanted to shoot him.

And there were all these Big Businesses wanting to add poison to all the food they sold to kill him. And conspire together to make him pay too much. And, obviously, they enslaved all their employees and made them work for minimum wage in dangerous conditions. They even wanted to hire children and force them to work in sweatshops instead of learning how to read, write, and obey bells while being fed nice warm meals of government-approved "food"!

But, some of his friends kept reminding him this wasn't the way it had to be; peace and fairness were possible. All it took was accepting the Lord and Savior: The State. Giving all control of himself over to The State's representatives. Obeying each and every command without question and with perfect willingness. Never questioning- that was too hard anyway. Stop living for yourself as the selfish do, but live to lift up and praise The State and all its gifts.

In return The State would protect him with its Commandments called Laws. To pay for all this goodness only cost 88% of the production of the entire economy; an acceptable tithe. The occasional blood sacrifices would probably never happen to anyone he knew personally. As long as they obeyed the Commandments. And, even if falsely accused, he was promised, just do what the cops tell you to do, and if you survive, there won't be any problem. Even if you are horribly violated, it's your own fault, and you can sort it all out in court later. Or your survivors can. It's all good. No need to lift a finger against your protectors.

So, John gave himself- body and soul- to The State. He waved its flag and said its pledge. He supported its troops, both the foreign and domestic branches, whole-heartedly. He angrily defended it from any questions. He finally felt safe.

Enjoying his new-found serenity, he took a stroll in a government park. He knew cops were walking around, looking for trouble on his behalf. He was relieved to see cameras focused on every square inch of the park. As long as he stayed in plain view of the cameras, help would probably be only minutes away if something bad happened. He was so happy not to have to worry about defending himself anymore. It would have been too stressful- or so his friends had assured him. Not that he had ever tried, of course. That was distasteful business.

He remembered he had a pack of cigarettes in his pocket and sneakily picked up a stray bit of trash (the wind must have blown it here since he didn't see any blood to testify to an arrest) to hide his act of putting the pack in the trash can. He got away with it! Praise the cameras! The cameras would help him stop his filthy habit, and the chances the pack would be found and fingerprinted was pretty low. Still he felt a little guilty he hadn't turned himself in. He could probably afford the fine for possessing an open pack- his daughter would understand if they had to skip a meal or two. They had made sacrifices for the glory of The State before. In six months or so, his wife would be out of jail, having then served her time for taking that text message while parked in front of that store. She should have known better! But he wouldn't do anything wrong, like she did. Maybe she should have looked into one of those "parked texting" permits. Or, maybe she should have become a cop, since they can text or use their computers while they drive- not only while parked. This solution to a common problem made him smile. He felt good for having thought of it, and would be sure to scold his wife for not thinking clearer before doing something illegal.

As he strolled contentedly along, he noticed as a cop tried to arrest a guy who had committed the heinous crime of reaching into a pocket and then reacting with fear as he noticed the presence of a cop. The criminal didn't drop to his knees fast enough to satisfy the cop, who kicked his legs out from under him and started tazing and kicking him. He should have complied faster. What is he doing? Using sign language? Well, deaf people should always get on their knees in the presence of a cop so misunderstandings like this wouldn't happen. Again, if only people would comply! That deaf criminal sure could scream loud, though. John hoped the cop took note to add that to the list of offenses. He's probably an illegal immigrant too- because he looked a little different.

John turned away to avoid seeing anything the cop didn't want seen. You've got to support those fine people and their sacrifices, and supporting them is best served by looking the other way. His friends had told him that plenty of times. It's why the cameras automatically shut off any time a cop was in frame- for the safety of the officer.

John found a nice bench under a tree. He only jumped a little when he heard the gunshot that ended the screaming of the criminal. Ahh. Peace and quiet again.

Just another necessary sacrifice to make John, and those he loved, feel safe,

The clouds rolled by. A bird was starting to sing again. As John sat in the shade of the tree, a tear came to his eye as he reflected that none of this would be possible without the loving State's hand holding itself over him.

.