The Infantilization of the United States

The Infantilization of the United States

On Saturday night, I had every intention of finishing up with our CCW class and going home.  I had the night somewhat planned out.  Sandy and I were going to go outside by the fire pit and I was going to nurse a glass of Lagavulin Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky (16 years aged, thank you very much).

Unfortunately, in the middle of our class I received a text from the State Military Department informing me that I was now on two-hour standby for deployment and, pursuant to General Order #1, I could not consume any alcohol.

Sigh.

That evening, I watched news reports of the rioting in Los Angeles, as well as other metropolitan areas.  Sunday at the range, I was treated to a steady stream of “breaking news” on my phone ranging from police cars being torched to shops being looted.  This was punctuated by the occasional text from my unit reminding me that I was still on two-hour notice for deployment, now with more specificity:  I should be prepared to provide RUF (Rules for Use of Force) briefings for our CAARNG units (California Army National Guard).

I have had a number of people call or email me about my thoughts about this whole mess and, candidly, I am still formulating some deeper ideas, but one thing has struck me:  People in these areas… animals who seek to profiteer in the chaos at the expense of others, those who use violence as a form of recreation, are in many ways displaying inevitable behavior. 

We, as a society, expect so little from some of our members that they behave commensurate with those expectations.

They are also pissed…  really pissed.  And many of the “peaceful” protesters, frankly, have every right to be pissed.  They have been relegated for decades as the “product” of the criminal justice system, a system that requires “participants” to not only be relevant, but also to receive funding.  The idea that the sheer volume of criminal laws, laws that do not protect anyone but do allow for the incarceration of thousands, somehow creates a more perfect union, is utter poppycock. 

It is a business… and businesses require funding. 

From the construction of new prisons, to the hiring of new prosecutors, to the expansion of standing armies in our country, mega-sized police forces, the criminal justice industrial complex has gotten out of hand.  For most of our respective lives this has had little effect on the average citizen.  It is fairly easy to stay out of the crosshairs of the State.  Still, every so often one of “us” falls victim to its gaze… Ask General Flynn.

Those who live in the inner city however… well… they have always been fair game.  Who among us is going to pay too much attention to the member of that other tribe, who is arrested, re-arrested, rolled up on a parole violation and arrested again… all for crimes that apparently victimize the State as opposed to other citizens?

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Collectivist states and collectivist cities have crafted a judicial scheme that is both byzantine and contrary to the very ideals of our framers.  Is it little wonder that people who have been told they must be controlled by a standing army because they are animals, act like animals when there is no control?  This is not to suggest that the behavior I have seen over the last few days is anything even remotely meritorious.  Like the Rodney King riots of the 90s, the violence among many of these people has proven to be an exciting distraction, a way of accumulating new toys through looting, an act utterly devoid of any political or philosophical grievance. 

Just as the collectivist government has “played” these people for years, so has their more articulate activists in the media.  The exaggerated protestations of the race baiters… the carpetbaggers who formant a constituency by claiming false grievances against the police, the leaders of the Victimization Industrial Complex have led us, inexorably, to the self-destruction we’ve seen over the last few days.

A tyrant of the State murdered a citizen.  Was he acting of his own accord, or was his behavior indicative of a systemic issue with the Minneapolis Police Department? 

Who knows.

What I do know is that collectivist politicians have used the threat of force to compel behavior of their citizens for decades.  The People have evidently had enough.  Their rage is misguided, however.  They rail against the tool, but not the animating philosophy.  Is there a connection when, in the most heavily regulated sections of our country, we see people attacking the regulators?