If we do not have police, then who are the cops?
You are. Or at least enough live wires out there so malefactors have no idea from which quarter objection conscientious will emerge to their malefaction. Today a malefactor knows the cops are at least 22.5 minutes away. He can produce plenty of mayhem in that time. In a free society, he has no idea who will cold-cock him mid-crime.
Since I do not think police is a legitimate function of government, I make my own arrests when I see malefactors in action. I've made over a half dozen that I can remember.
Now to arrest is to simply stop someone from doing something. I arrested a rapist, a second story man, a dine and dasher pair(only because they were so boorish), a vandal, one half a home invasion team (although I think something else was going on there, so I let the perp go..) a car thief (friend of a friend, so I had to let that one go too..), a peeping tom. Then there are the ones I merely waded in on.
I was having Chinese food with a half dozen yudansha in Ballard when an apparent kidnapping was in progress outside in front of us. There was a woman in her 20s being pulled in 4 directions, by a cabbie, and older couple and an younger man... she wanted nothing to do with any of them. I waded right in. No one seemed particularly violent, so I said, "folks, the cops will be here in a few minutes, why don't you all just stop and wait for them to sort it out?" And that is exactly what we all did, a funny frozen scrum as people maintained their grips on each other.
When the cops did show up it was quickly determined that the girl had joined a cult, her parents hired a deprogrammer to kidnap her away from the cult and the girl had escaped the kidnapper by taxi and they had followed her and when they pounced again the cabbie came to the damsel's defense and I had come out too. During all this I noticed my compatriots not taking the slightest interest in my welfare. The food was good there, not that I would get to experience it. As far as they were concerned if I wanted to play don Quixote, that was my problem.
Usually someone else has called the police, so under threat of violence I have to give up my prisoner to the police. That sucks because then you get a summons to court and all that nonsense that only results in the state protecting the perp while unnerving the victims, what a waste of time...
Municipal police is a recent innovation. Before that civility was enforced by the community. It is only when violence is monopolized by the state that incivility reigns, give that the state protects perpetrators from the retribution of the community.
Happily "citizens arrest" is still legal, like private attorneys general, bounty hunting, stand your ground, pro se, conscientious objection, private law enforcement and so many other rights we had before the state arrogated a monopoly on violence. Sadly we lost the right to resist illegal arrest, and of course the right to kill police officers who are using lethal force to make an illegal arrest. That is an ancient right, well established in common law, with many cases to support it. But it is gone now, and don't think cops don't know it.
If we did not have cops, the other yudansha would have sauntered out and joined me. And then I might have had a chance at some of that tomato beef chow mein 30 years ago. I'm not bitter. Much.
Feel Free To Email This To Three Friends.
You are. Or at least enough live wires out there so malefactors have no idea from which quarter objection conscientious will emerge to their malefaction. Today a malefactor knows the cops are at least 22.5 minutes away. He can produce plenty of mayhem in that time. In a free society, he has no idea who will cold-cock him mid-crime.
Since I do not think police is a legitimate function of government, I make my own arrests when I see malefactors in action. I've made over a half dozen that I can remember.
Now to arrest is to simply stop someone from doing something. I arrested a rapist, a second story man, a dine and dasher pair(only because they were so boorish), a vandal, one half a home invasion team (although I think something else was going on there, so I let the perp go..) a car thief (friend of a friend, so I had to let that one go too..), a peeping tom. Then there are the ones I merely waded in on.
I was having Chinese food with a half dozen yudansha in Ballard when an apparent kidnapping was in progress outside in front of us. There was a woman in her 20s being pulled in 4 directions, by a cabbie, and older couple and an younger man... she wanted nothing to do with any of them. I waded right in. No one seemed particularly violent, so I said, "folks, the cops will be here in a few minutes, why don't you all just stop and wait for them to sort it out?" And that is exactly what we all did, a funny frozen scrum as people maintained their grips on each other.
When the cops did show up it was quickly determined that the girl had joined a cult, her parents hired a deprogrammer to kidnap her away from the cult and the girl had escaped the kidnapper by taxi and they had followed her and when they pounced again the cabbie came to the damsel's defense and I had come out too. During all this I noticed my compatriots not taking the slightest interest in my welfare. The food was good there, not that I would get to experience it. As far as they were concerned if I wanted to play don Quixote, that was my problem.
Usually someone else has called the police, so under threat of violence I have to give up my prisoner to the police. That sucks because then you get a summons to court and all that nonsense that only results in the state protecting the perp while unnerving the victims, what a waste of time...
Municipal police is a recent innovation. Before that civility was enforced by the community. It is only when violence is monopolized by the state that incivility reigns, give that the state protects perpetrators from the retribution of the community.
Happily "citizens arrest" is still legal, like private attorneys general, bounty hunting, stand your ground, pro se, conscientious objection, private law enforcement and so many other rights we had before the state arrogated a monopoly on violence. Sadly we lost the right to resist illegal arrest, and of course the right to kill police officers who are using lethal force to make an illegal arrest. That is an ancient right, well established in common law, with many cases to support it. But it is gone now, and don't think cops don't know it.
If we did not have cops, the other yudansha would have sauntered out and joined me. And then I might have had a chance at some of that tomato beef chow mein 30 years ago. I'm not bitter. Much.
Feel Free To Email This To Three Friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment