This board has convinced me that race is not an issue

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Why does it seem like so many supporters of individual freedom have gone silent or flipped sides when Big Brother isn't after them?

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Have you been reading these threads at all?

Figured it gravitate toward race instead of the real issues. It always does.

Oh shut the fck up!

Libertarians believe that the mission of law is not to oppress persons and plunder them of their property, but rather to protect property. There is absolutely a compelling reason for force to be used against these looters, for they are violating the god-given right of property ownership on the part of the store owners.

In fact, the state stepping in to stop looters is one of its FEW legitimate actions.

Sorry to have disappointed you?


I feel like the media has spun this out of control into a race issue when that really shouldn't have been the case at all. This should have been a discussion about the militarisation of our police forces and the failed war on drugs and how it disproportionately affects black Americans. Instead, CNN, MSNBC, and the other race baiters (Sharpton, et al) have turned it into a circus.

The "victim" in this case makes it hard to drum up a bunch of sympathy. While I do feel sorry that all of this happened, if you charge an armed police officer after robbing a convenience store, well......

Holy crap...did you not pay any attention to the discussion last week? A lot of people don't like it.

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inelishaitrust

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You're not paying enough attention then.

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You're not paying enough attention then.

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Goes to show you that many people see what they choose to see.

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Instead, I feel like the general tone of the board is that Michael Brown was a criminal that deserved to be shot and that the protestors are in fact violent looters who deserve to be put under martial law.

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I'll play your game.

Right now, in a Libertarian society, the rest of the populace would go shoot the violent protesters and that would be that. Don't think that's an option, so working within the confines of existing law, our current system demands the State do what it has to do to maintain order.

I don't agree with it personally, I'd much rather the animals get shot by citizens defending their property. I'm glad you agree with me too.

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I came here expecting many on the board to be complaining and criticizing the big-government overreach and police-state tactics on full display in Ferguson. I expected this "libertarian" board to be disgusted by displays of excessive force and intimidation as well as restriction of the press. I thought that maybe I'd find common ground with folks I usually argued with. Instead, I feel like the general tone of the board is that Michael Brown was a criminal that deserved to be shot and that the protestors are in fact violent looters who deserve to be put under martial law. Why does it seem like so many supporters of individual freedom have gone silent or flipped sides when Big Brother isn't after them?

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I've avoided these threads because I find them maddening, and I hate how the media covers court cases in general, because it's all about ratings and legal porn (see Casey Anthony).

People are presumed innocent until proven guilty and we haven't even gotten to an investigation or a potential charge. That should be our attitude, and to the extent civil rights activists are involved, I think it should be to call for a complete and thorough investigation to be conducted. That's completely fair. Instead we get things like Jesse Jackson calling this a "state-sanctioned murder."

On police militarization, I don't think this is an either-or issue. I can see how a police department needs planes and choppers and even "military-style" firearms. I don't see how they need tanks and grenade launchers. If you literally have a situation like 9/11 where there's chaos in the streets, then call in the National Guard, it's what they're there for.