He was where he had a right to be, doing what he had a right to do. He was armed, as was his natural human right. He was being pursued by people who were a credible threat to his life. He did just enough to end that threat-- he didn't keep firing into the aggressors once the threat was ended (which would have been understandable under the circumstances, with stress and all).
Do I agree with his opinions? Nope. He's a copsucker and apparently a Trump fan. I probably wouldn't like him in person. It doesn't matter. Do I think it's smart to go to a riot, even in defense of strangers' property? Probably not, but I would hope strangers would help me if it were my property in danger, so I'm not too set on that. Either way, it was still self-defense each time he pulled the trigger.
If I were on the jury I would refuse to find him guilty of anything, no matter how trivial. Just because they were arrogant enough to put him on trial. And I wouldn't budge. This is a line in the sand.
Protesting "vaccine" tantrums doesn't make one an "anti-vaxxer" and pretending it does is stupid. I saw two posts online where people who were protesting specific government Covid policies were called anti-vaxxers, and one thumbnail on YouTube where one fake news outlet said another fake news outlet's hosts were hypocrites for opposing "vaccine mandates" while being, personally, "vaccinated". The Branch Covidians are just stupid... or lying.
Later, I tried screwing it together and still had no luck, so I (belatedly) decided to actually look at it. To observe, as I constantly remind myself to do.
Looking closely, I noticed it had reverse threads-- "Lefty, tighty". After making that observation, it went back together easily. I can't see any rational reason for the threading to be backwards, but it is. Why did it take me so long to pause and observe?
How many other times have I blundered through life, working off of wrong assumptions, not pausing to make a necessary observation, and wondering why it's not working? Plenty!
I think a lot of the world's problems are caused by this exact thing. It's why people see corruption in political systems which are working exactly as designed. It's why their great idea to control and coerce people-- ignoring human nature-- backfires. They didn't bother to observe, they just assumed. And it is working just as you'd expect.
A cheesecake is, to me, obviously not a cake, but a pie.
And no matter what you call it, punishment looks to me like revenge, not justice. A lot of people-- even libertarians-- are very fond of punishment. They'll do anything to not let go of it.
I completely understand the primal desire for punishment. I've felt it myself. I get all the justifications for punishment. I just think they are wrong.
Whether they are migrants from California who turn Colorado into a mirror of what they fled, or people from Middle East theocracies who want to impose the same failed brutal systems they felt the need to escape onto their new neighbors, it happens time after time.
I doubt they realize what they are doing. I'd bet they are just craving the familiar.
If the backward superstitions of democracy and political "authority" didn't already enslave the population, there wouldn't be a danger. It probably wouldn't be possible to accomplish. Even those who hate democracy (but still believe in politics) see how useful democracy can be to achieve the dystopia they crave. If all you have to do is out-v*te someone else, you can enslave them however you want.
If you try to remake your new home into a version of the old place you had to escape, you're a moron. If you work to impose it on others, you're committing evil.
I'd go even further. Any mandate or policy or legislation is a tantrum. A bully's tantrum. "You do what I want or I'll make you suffer!" I've encountered enough bullies to recognize them by their behavior.
Bullies are stunted in their maturation process. Who would let nasty, demanding children-- spoiled toddlers with guns-- run their lives? Often, "children" who've never done anything productive and are now old and wrinkled, physically and spiritually. Bullying is all they know.
I hate bullies-- they are all political whether they are governmental or freelance. And I hate their tantrums. I have no intention of changing my behavior based on their tantrums.
I firmly believe that if someone doesn't want to be shot in the act of attacking someone, the responsibility to not be an attacker is theirs. Regardless of the beliefs of the person forced into the position of defending himself. Only a corrupt, broken system deserving of abolition would ever prosecute the defender. In case you misunderstand, I'm not only speaking of one case that's currently in the public eye, either.
There's one person in my life who is this way, and no matter how I work to make it so that this person doesn't get into these situations, my efforts are pointless.
Not only that, when something along these lines happens, it's somehow my fault. "You know I..." ...do this thing I've told them over and over again is a bad idea. But they do it anyway and get angry if I warn against doing it, and get mad at me when the thing I've warned against happens-- as it always does. And Heaven help me if I mention this after it happens!
I know part of it is that this person likes to disrupt the lives of others. It makes them the center of attention. It may not even be a conscious thing. They are also the least self-aware person I've ever met.
They are simply a garden-variety statist-- the standard statist irresponsibility and all that.
It's just a frustrating thing.
I must remind myself "Be like water. Flow around the obstacles."
I still respect their other opinions-- their opinions on prepping-- because they don't try to force those weird political opinions on anyone else. Thus, those warped opinions are irrelevant. Their other opinions are still worthwhile.
There are others I generally respect who can't let go of some really dumb beliefs that make me occasionally pause and reconsider their beliefs on other topics. But, yeah, they can be super smart in some ways while having blind spots in other places.
That's how it is with those in my personal sphere who have political opinions but don't try to impose them on anyone. They may believe bizarre nonsense, but it doesn't matter if they don't use those beliefs against others.
No matter how toxic someone's opinions may be, as long as they keep them personal and don't try to force others to live according to them, I can ignore them (but not forget they exist-- that would be dangerous).
I was relieved to find out no one was killed, because I figured someone died at the scene (the other wrecked pickup was a little farther down the road and was pretty much destroyed).
In reality, there's nothing worthwhile to gain by adding more to that full cup.
What if you aren't even the one choosing what will be poured into your full cup? Can you trust the one adding something to your cup? If what is poured in is not what you want in your cup, there's still a way to lose but no way to gain.
If having caught and survived Covid filled your bodily "cup" with antibodies-- natural immunity-- does a "vaccine" add anything helpful? Is "more" better? Not if you are already filled to the brim.
Plus, you've added the risk of something you might not want ending up in you since you have no control of what's being added.
You do what you want, but that's just something to think about.
Any mystique is gone. It's just a figurehead; a placeholder. A face for the bureaucratic tyranny and for the "authority" worshipers to focus on. Any face would do; alive or not. For that matter, a teapot would probably do.
