I choose not to punch people in the face, always.
1 Like
I don’t think that could ever be a right in any normal use of the term. Not, at least, until we can shed ourselves of hierarchies within populations. The sort of things considered ‘rights’ within a given society are things like the right to a fair trial, the right to free speech, the right not to be executed etc. As such, the existing agency/patient relationships are very much asymmetrical. The fair trial is provided by a higher organisational entity (parish - state - planet, whatever) and not by another individual. Similarly the right to free speech. So I shall need to be even more precise in my intention:
Had I the right to not get punched in the face by [an agent of] the state then I’d not expect to have to take on any responsibilities to ‘pay’ for it. It would just be there. The question of my punching the state in the face doesn’t even arise. Of course I could do analogous damage to the state, but that would ordinarily very likely be a crime in any case and so would be covered elsehow.
I suppose it all comes down to what you mean by a right. It’s not a simple word, but I think I know one when I see one, and most of them are negotiable when your society has reached a certain level of sophistication. I’d expect an advanced civilisation to confer more rights to its members. I’d also expect those rights, to us, now, to appear completely daft, unreasonable, and unrealisable. But that’s advanced civilisations for ya!
The United States is one of the very few countries that allows its citizens to renounce their citizenship even if they are not a citizen of any other nation. Doing so, however, will render you stateless—and still subject to the laws of any nation while in their territory.
This seems to be the part that the ‘sovereign citizen’ people miss. The reason for the phrase ‘law of the land’ is that any person, regardless of their association with another nation, must abide by the law of wherever they are. Even if you were a nation of one and recognized as a nation by the UN, this would still be true.
8 Likes
OK, that’s true, you make a very good point!
4 Likes
Perfect analogy!
I guess I’m gun-shy about flagging these days, but y’all are right: that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it when there’s no question it’s warranted.
6 Likes
So, even if you are THE LAW, you must abide by the law of the land in which you inhabit, dig?
P.S. WE ARE THE LAW!
P.P.S. Apologies, channeling Judge Dredd…
3 Likes
These people want to be above the law. The irony here is that sovereignty itself is a legal concept.
Idiots. Just f—king idiots.
7 Likes
Welcome to the bell curve.
1 Like
Well, it’ll be a new experience for him.
17 Likes
That was simply brilliant. Well done sir.
3 Likes
eco-theivery? they could be stealing gas guzzlers…
it’s a tough life peddling black market bikes!
1 Like
Maybe they needed the bike more than we did? Maybe we should give that person a bike before they steal yours?
Very interested to see how it turns out! I love that they tried to claim they weren’t really trying to keep employees from doing their jobs. Because if I heard there were a bunch of armed strangers hanging out in my office I know I’d be perfectly okeydokey with coming to work, yes sir.
7 Likes
I think you’re just playing it safe, imo.
Armed citizens angry everyday for weeks, itchin’ for a fight?
I’m with you, eff that. Are the benefits that good?
Can i backpedal on my previous comment/joke or shift my position? 
I have no love for bike thievery…
Not sure if your point was Intentional or not, but you are correct…these types of crimes often have socio-economic roots. People typically don’t resort to petty thievery unless they don’t have many options. It has been shown that providing better opportunities and a higher quality of life goes a long way towards reducing this type of crime. sure their will always be few no matter what you do, but this type of crime is typically an indicator of bigger social or economic issues.
5 Likes
Roger. So, let’s wilco…
What, did you see some Sovereign HTML? It has all the rights of compliant HTML, but doesn’t actually have to comply.
14 Likes
There are plenty of black sovereign citizens. Interestingly, it seems to be a common thread found among both black separatists and white separatists.
