August 13, 2012

Police Shoot and Kill Man Near Times Square
(nbcnewyork.com)
Officials said the man, who police observed smoking marijuana on 44th Street and 7th Avenue, became agitated when officers approached him. He then pulled out an 11-inch knife and raised it over his head. Officers ordered him to drop the weapon, but he refused, police said.

Just imagine what might have happened if the police had minded their own business and left this man alone.

Probably nothing at all. Non news... we'd never have heard of him since he wasn't harming anyone and was simply standing there smoking. We can deal with the idea of what he was smoking another time, but it is obvious that it presented no danger to anyone either.

But! But - he had a KNIFE!! I can hear the screaming from here. Calm down.

Just for the sake of comparison, yesterday I walked down the main street of my little town. I don't smoke anything, but I did spend some time looking into store windows and "hanging around" waiting for a client who wanted to look at an empty shop I show for the owners. That might have been considered "suspicious behavior" in a lot of places.

Oh... and I openly carry a large, black semi-automatic pistol on my belt.

The sheriff's deputy who drove by waved and smiled. Hmmmm... do you suppose he didn't see the gun? Not at all. He's seen it many times and nobody here feels the least threatened by it, especially him. 

So, what could possibly have been the difference here? Can you say "New York City?"

I knew you could.

New York, and so many other places where nobody seems capable of minding their own business. Places where an inch or so of lawn or the color of one's exterior paint is a major social concern of entire neighborhoods and occasionally the subject of a SWAT team. Where people are routinely attacked and murdered in their own homes by those same SWAT teams, hell bent on finding a few ounces of weed or anything else they've decided prohibition of which is worth any kind of assault and murder.

How many people died because of overdue library books there? I seem to remember at least one.

Why is that, I wonder? Does this sound like a rational way to ensure peace and safety?

Now this man obviously knew that drawing the attention of these cops in that place was a bad idea - and it is obviously a bad idea to pull a knife on a New York cop...

But none of it would have happened if the cops had simply left him alone to enjoy his smoke, everyone minding his own business and harming nobody.

I wonder why it is also obvious that we can mind our own business, live in peace and not kill each other out here in Newcastle, Wyoming... but merely standing in Time's Square smoking can get you killed by those who profess to be protectors.

No human being has the right -- under any circumstances -- to initiate force against another human being, nor to threaten or delegate its initiation. The Zero Aggression Principle

Maybe that's all the difference.