Wednesday, October 12, 2005

"Independence" Day

In response to "A Victim of WHAT?", Aaron Krowne, Head of Digital Library Research,Emory University General Libraries, and Director of PlanetMath.org, shares his own experiences with overzealous law enforcement.

I guess it's easier and less dangerous than going after criminals.

This illustrates how everyone in our society is affected by the assault on liberty--and the more people caught in the net, the more they will become radicalized to resist. We could all stand a reminder that personal liberty comes in different forms, and it's only appropriately defined by the individual who wants to exercise it.

In the meantime, squeeze, baby, squeeze.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

He's a fool if he thinks moving will help. I have spent most of my life, somewhere other than home. The situation he describes isn't even remarkable, it is so ordinary. I have so far emerged unscathed because I made the officers involved understand that it wouldn't be over just because they extorted money from me and made me thankful it was over. I made them understand without giving them anything to hang a threat charge on that it would be over when I (I, I, I,) was satisfied, that once they pushed it past what was right the rules were off and I would and could play their rules. I told one, one night to pull his gun and shoot me. I gave him my solemn word that he would have a better chance at a nice life to shoot me in front of all those witnesses than he would ever have if he tried to arrest for what he knew damn well didn't happen. He believed me.

That is just one incident. I have been fortunate in my life that when they were about to do something I couldn't abide, I was able to make them believe I couldn't and wouldn't. I haven't had to kill any of them and a few wanted to kill me but didn't know for sure whether they held the unbeatable edge. That kind always needs that edge.

No, I am not involved in crime nor have I been. But I have been the stranger in town from when I first went to work at age 7 until disability took me at 58. A thug looking to fulfill a quota or have some bullyboy fun much prefers someone without a local support group or family to complicate his life later. As I stated earlier, this is unremarkable it is so commonplace. Many of the people I worked with suffered the same bastards. Some took it. I would not.

Anonymous said...

And some killed over it, and should have. At least that's what I hear the big guys say.