Statist Thugs And The Rocks They Crawl Out From Under
November 20, 2012 by Brandon Smith
A mass exodus from ignorance and organized opposition to tyranny is the dream of every freedom-loving person within the liberty movement today. We would like nothing better than to put an end to the expanding establishment police state in the most peaceful manner possible. We dream of a day when a transition back to the Constitutional values that once made America brilliantly unique in the world is possible, and when it can be accomplished without incredible pain or terrible bloodshed. We long for that once-in-a-century uprising, that great march, that spontaneous eruption of the citizenry demanding a more truthful government. At the same time, though, we realize that such events are rare and that few, if any, great changes in the history of man are made without sacrifice and without direct confrontation.
The reason why peaceful and popular activism almost never occurs successfully, the reason why good people are made to stand and suffer, falls not only to the establishment elites who seek out and abuse power; others share in the blame. Regardless of the age, the culture or the social conditions, there is always a percentage of the general populace that embraces the totalitarian dynamic. There is always someone in our neighborhood, workplace and within our family who finds vindication or advantage in supporting the state, even if the state has turned viciously criminal. They are not only useful idiots; they are conscious participants in the process of pacification and enslavement of their own society. They understand their role perfectly, and they enjoy what they do.
In his examination of the rise of violent fascism in Germany as well as the collectivist surveillance state in communist Russia, psychologist Carl Jung theorized that there is in fact a certain percentage of people in any given epoch that carry within them a latent ability to abandon conscience. That is to say, there is always hidden within a portion of the multitude an inborn potential for sociopathic and psychopathic tendencies. These tendencies remain dormant for many people under most circumstances. But, every once in a while, a society falters to the point where such diseases of the soul are encouraged, and the monsters are allowed to come out and play.
Is it possible that some men are more apt toward truth and freedom while others take more naturally to dominance and deceit? Perhaps. I find that under certain circumstances even the best human beings can make catastrophic errors in judgment. However, there is a difference between those who misstep in life and those who savor destruction. For these people I reserve the label of the “statist thug,” a ghoul in common man’s drag just waiting for the opportunity to scrape out a spoonful of petty authority and assert his will over others. These folks are the day’s damned. And, what’s worse, though they may have been born with a predisposition towards despotism, they still had a choice and they chose villainy. They deserve no special treatment from us.
As America faces down wave after wave of fiscal difficulties, a government gone rogue with false left/right politics and policies that disregard civil liberties for the sake of centralized authority, I believe the statist thugs of our time will soon flow out of the dark recesses and rotten sputtering gutters of our society like a river of septic putrescence. We all know them when we see them, but do we really understand what makes them tick? Here are some common psychological attributes of the overzealous statist, the failings and inadequacies that make him what he is.
Statist Thugs Thrive During Immoral Times
The worst statists are utter screw-ups and failures in normal or semi-normal environments. They barely have the ability to function without constant surrounding chaos and desperation, which they use to camouflage their spastic and childish characters. They are often seen as the dregs of a culture during peaceful years and climb to prominence only when crisis overtakes the nation. When a social environment turns tenuous or explosive, the statist excels. Corrupt governments require the aid of questionable individuals in order to tighten control at the local level, so anyone willing to set aside morality and principle automatically becomes a highly valued commodity. Statists will flock to government employment during national “emergencies” or unjust wars and use the inbred system to their advantage.
Statist Thugs Want Respect, Even If They Don’t Deserve It
Statists demand respect, and they will pursue authoritative positions just so they can remind people of the respect they are supposedly owed. Some of them realize that legitimate respect is earned through valuable works, knowledge, experience and generous creativity. They know it cannot be bought and that it cannot be conned through clever talk, boastful discussion and theatrical chest-beating. So instead of attempting real achievement or taking the risk of falsely playing a part and being exposed, they look for a title and a uniform to fill the void. They eventually attain respect derived by force through institutions within the system. This title will likely be a miniscule part of the overall government conglomerate, but the statist will act as if he is the emperor of Earth once you wander into his narrow jurisdiction. The slightest hint of defiance will send him into fits of rage.
Statist Thugs Understand Only Violence
Keep in mind that not every person in a uniform is a statist; identifying a statist is more a matter of examining behavior than outward appearance. There is no such thing as reason, logic or even law in the realm of the statist thug. You cannot discuss a matter of conflict with him. You cannot point out that the legal structure he claims to represent does not support his views. You cannot calm him using words and solid philosophy. The only thing he understands is power, and the only thing that he regards is strength. When faced with overwhelming reason, the statist will attack rather than think. This attack, unfortunately, will be silenced only by an equal or greater display of force.
Statist Thugs Savor Weakness In Others
Show any signs of fear or weakness, and you have given the statist exactly what he has always wanted. He does not desire an equal fight. In truth, he avoids situations in which his opponents are fairly matched. This is because, deep down, all statists and powermongers are cowards. Anyone who is so desperate to control every aspect of his environment even to the point of hurting and enslaving others is obviously afraid of a great many things. Attempting to be quietly diplomatic or grasping for mercy only encourages them to take their maliciousness to the next level. Statists seek easy prey to satiate their thirst for dominance. They will abuse women, children, the elderly and the disabled, anyone who cannot defend himself. As soon as the goon encounters a person willing and able to fight back, however, his smug façade disappears and the hidden coward emerges.
Statist Thugs Love Law For The Law’s Sake
Statists revel in bureaucracy and red tape. They love laws and regulations regardless of application. They feel safe within a highly structured and contained system because most of them are followers, not leaders. The idea that they may one day have to blaze their own path without the aid of a vast government machine cradling them like lost infants is terrifying to them. Statists are not able to survive without someone telling them what to do and when to do it. On the other side of the coin, they also enjoy the manner in which the modern legal framework can be twisted to fit whatever disturbed logic happens to strike them. The more a society is cluttered with overt legalities, the easier it is to misinterpret and exploit the distraction and confusion they create.
Anyone Can Be A Statist
Many people (myself included) have never found much solace in the establishment and its parade of self-importance. For me, most methodologies of government have always been a sick kind of joke. Elaborate buildings and ceremonies, nice suits and uniforms, the money and the celebrity, the news shows and talking heads: It’s all costume. It’s a parade of drunken clowns and carneys dipped in glamour, glitter and pomp.
The very concept of government is in itself an abstraction. It is an artificial social edifice that seems to give weaker men a sense of security (or false security), even when it is at bottom a threat to them. The assumption is that the establishment (meaning the power elite) must exist at all costs. The statist cannot imagine otherwise. He is at once a fan of the totalitarian game and an avid bouncing, giggling cheerleader. His greatest dream is to be a part of the beast, to share in the “glory” of the empire and live vicariously through its conquests.
A statist thug can be anyone, from the overweight and overzealous Transportation Security Administration agent at the airport to the brutally nosy and vicious old woman next door. Some participate in tyranny directly by wearing the uniform and wielding the baton, while others participate behind closed doors and curtains by informing on their neighbors. Regardless of their demeanor, each statist has one thing in common: an obsession with the continuance of the system to the point of madness. There is absolutely nothing the state can do to make them second guess their love affair — no crime too shocking, no attack too unjust. During the blackest moments of mankind, they are the willing tools of oppression. They make revolution — physical revolution — necessary. With them, oligarchs take root. Without them, oligarchs take shelter or disappear altogether.
–Brandon Smith
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