Anarchy in your Head Web Comics

[Russell Kanning]

Be careful Dale you are now the official lightning rod for the frustrated get out the vote juggernaut. 

Man I am again shocked how rabid folks get with politics. When the good Dr. doesn't win the nomination it will be the fault of a handful of non-voters. 

It does get crazy. I guess I have not been around this crazy primary thing.
It feels good to be on vacation in a place with no Hillary signs.

[Tom Sawyer]

Man I am again shocked how rabid folks get with politics. When the good Dr. doesn't win the nomination it will be the fault of a handful of non-voters. 

This need to organize into gangs is very divisive.

I'm just having a fucking migraine trying to understand what avowed allies of Liberty lovers are doing not voting in the primary for Ron Paul.

Just because people are my friends doesn't mean that I can't get upset about their decisions, especially when they can affect me in a significant way.

Well don't worry I can't vote for your guy anyway. So I have no say in the outcome.

I've never voted, so it seems that my efforts aren't needed or appreciated by the folks that put so much credence into politics. As soon as many of the political players learn that I'm not going to join their gang I become worthless or worse in their eyes. This after spending considerable money and time to promote issues and the effort to attract more activists.

I worked on many national, state, local level political ads and promotional videos in DC. Want to talk about a bunch of scum bag whores... like the Republican producer at the height of the zero tolerance drug war disappearing every 15 minutes to go do lines in the bathroom.

I wish ya'll luck with your effort...
Just don't make the mistake of assuming that there are only two camps here... I know CD folks with giant Ron Paul signs in there yards. And I will probably end up creating several votes for him through personal influence. There is a whole spectrum of beliefs and actions that individuals will take.

Of course we could all just attack each other and destroy our common goals. 

[J’raxis 270145]

Just don't make the mistake of assuming that there are only two camps here... I know CD folks with giant Ron Paul signs in there yards. And I will probably end up creating several votes for him through personal influence. There is a whole spectrum of beliefs and actions that individuals will take.

Of course we could all just attack each other and destroy our common goals. 

This.

[srqrebel]

Politics suck.  I want to move to the point where we can urge people to abolish the systems of coercion entirely, but there's still too many people asleep, brainwashed, bribed, blackmailed, and with vested interests in the existing system. 

Getting Ron Paul the Republican nomination puts him on National TV, on the lips of everyone in America, in the newspapers, on the radio, and in the oppositions face - asking hard questions and demanding harder answers.

...and perpetuates the illusion that the solution lies within the current system (if we can only get the right guy elected, everything will be fine).  It is that very illusion that keeps the political system in place -- and it is the system that is the problem.

If Ron Paul does become the next US president (notice I did not say our next president), there is a serious danger that many, even most liberty lovers would slip back into their comfort zones, as the growth of big gov't slows or even temporarily reverses in some areas.  This would effectively prolong the existence of the flawed and evil system of politics.

The message that desperately needs to get out there, is that the system itself is inherently evil.  This cannot be accomplished through participation in the system, any more than one could make a compelling argument against imbibing -- over drinks.

Focusing on asserting one's rights by just saying "NO" to those who wish to enslave us, sends a powerful message about individual rights and the inherent evil of the collectivist system of coercion.  However unfortunate it may be, it is a fact that the more tyrannical the elected officials, the more effectively that message will get across, and vice versa.

[srqrebel]

For the record, while I can understand the immorality of voting and otherwise participating in the system, my concern is not so much with morality, but practicality.  My attitude tends to be, "Let's get the job done, whatever it takes!"  We are currently stuck in an anti-civilization, subject to the inherently flawed, evil political system, whether we like it or not.  The sooner we can end it, the better.  If I thought we could vote our way out of it, I would support that approach, morality be damned.

The way I see it, voting or in any way participating in this system, while it may serve to alleviate the symptoms in the short run, only prolongs our suffering in the end.  That is why I refuse to participate.

[J’raxis 270145]

If Ron Paul does become the next US president (notice I did not say our next president), there is a serious danger that many, even most liberty lovers would slip back into their comfort zones, as the growth of big gov't slows or even temporarily reverses in some areas.  This would effectively prolong the existence of the flawed and evil system of politics.

People who have woken up to the Ron Paul message are much more amenable to the message that the system is evil than people who haven't. In this way the campaign is useful for anarchists.

If Ron Paul wins, an awful lot of liberty lovers may fall back into apathy, but an awful lot may not, and I believe such a win would embolden many people to push further. If Ron Paul doesn't win, all these liberty lovers who've been woken up, who've devoted so much energy to this effort, are going to need somewhere else to go. Either way, we have an improvement over the status quo, and something to work with going forward.

The message that desperately needs to get out there, is that the system itself is inherently evil.  This cannot be accomplished through participation in the system, any more than one could make a compelling argument against imbibing -- over drinks.

Getting this message out there isn't necessarily the goal of everyone who is participating in the system—a person who agrees with this message may decide to work within the system to subvert and weaken it from within. (They may still be working to get this message out there, but through other means, of course.)

It's politics as strategy, not politics as purpose.

[I think this is one of the fundamental misunderstandings in all of the recent arguing—many people are misunderstanding the goals of the political-action crowd to begin with.]

[dysurian]

Man I am again shocked how rabid folks get with politics. When the good Dr. doesn't win the nomination it will be the fault of a handful of non-voters. 

This need to organize into gangs is very divisive.

Indeedy. Every time someone tells me I'm ruining Ron Paul's chances, I really feel like telling them that they could have spent the time they "wasted" arguing with me recruiting one more voter to replace me. For every anarchist out there, there are like a thousand willing voters, and Ron Paul is the only person really worth voting for, if that's your thing.

Also, not to drag this puppy back on topic, but I really like the pop culture references you use in the comics. I never thought I'd see the Stay Puft Ron Paul Man 

[J’raxis 270145]

For the record, while I can understand the immorality of voting and otherwise participating in the system, my concern is not with morality, but practicality.  My attitude is, "Let's get the job done, whatever it takes!"  We are currently stuck in an anti-civilization, subject to the inherently flawed, evil political system, whether we like it or not.  If I thought we could vote our way out of it, I would support that approach, morality be damned.

The way I see it, voting or in any way participating in this system, while it may serve to alleviate the symptoms in the short run, only prolongs our suffering in the end.  That is why I refuse to participate.

This is exactly how I see it. I'll worry about absolute morality and religiously adhering to the ZAP once we have a ZAP-based society. For now, I'm interested in leveling off or lessening the aggression inherent in the system, meaning I'll support people and actions that may maintain parts of the violent status quo while reducing others. Thus, A-rated state reps. Thus, Ron Paul.

That said, I think voting—and other participation in the system—can be effective, if wielded properly. The goal is to weaken and subvert the system from within, as I said in the previous comment. If we elect people who are only going to alleviate some of the system's oppression with their pro-liberty actions, we probably will only accomplish lulling everyone back into apathy, and prolonging the existence of the system. But some pro-liberty actions that elected officials can take can also weaken the system in the process—for example, cutting taxes and stripping the system of funds by which it operates, repealing laws that make the system as efficient as it is, and even passing some laws (e.g. privacy laws, or laws protecting religious freedom) that ultimately hobble the system's ability to enforce other oppressive laws.

[srqrebel]

It's politics as strategy, not politics as purpose.

[I think this is one of the fundamental misunderstandings in all of the recent arguing—many people are misunderstanding the goals of the political-action crowd to begin with.]

I understand that position, as that is exactly where I was coming from until rather recently.  The thing is, in my experience the political-action crowd consists mostly of minarchists, not anarchists or free-marketeers.  To those, politics is purpose.

The strength of "our" government lies in its veil of legitimacy.  That strength is inversely proportionate to the burden it places on individuals.  Reduce the burden, and you increase that veil of legitimacy.  Its sort of like pushing against a spring -- the more you push against it, the harder it is to push it further, it always pushes back, and you can never actually overcome it altogether that way.

The sooner we recognize that, and simply disengage from the "spring", and inspire a growing number of others to do so, the sooner the "spring" will cease to be a part of everyone's existence.

[J’raxis 270145]

It's politics as strategy, not politics as purpose.

[I think this is one of the fundamental misunderstandings in all of the recent arguing—many people are misunderstanding the goals of the political-action crowd to begin with.]

I understand that position, as that is exactly where I was coming from until rather recently.  The thing is, in my experience the political-action crowd consists mostly of minarchists, not anarchists or free-marketeers.  To those, politics is purpose.

I don't really have a problem working with minarchists, either: They make good allies for the time being since so many of the anarchist criticisms of the system are shared by minarchists. And hopefully, years from now when we've pared down the system enough to start actually conflicting with the goals of minarchism, by then we'll have brought them over to our side.

Ever seen the "I used to be a minarchist but I ran out of excuses" bumper sticker? We've got a long time ahead of us in which we can poke holes in their excuses.

[Ron Helwig]

Just to throw in my .02 troy ounces of silver...

True anarchists come in two molds: total "leave me alone" types (NAP) and those who want to see society accept non-aggression (ZAP).

NAPers can just move up north and become hermits. They are at least not causing any harm.

ZAPers should be trying to build the non-governmental replacements for those societal needs being provided by governments. They should be trying to make the non-governmental solutions more attractive to those who don't care about ZAP. [This is similar to how environmentalists should be trying to make "green" alternatives more cost efficient than the standard methods/products.]

[Bald Eagle]

The strength of "our" government lies in its veil of legitimacy.  That strength is inversely proportionate to the burden it places on individuals.  Reduce the burden, and you increase that veil of legitimacy. 

The strength of "our" government lies in the fact that some people have been brainwashed into thinking the govt is legitimate, are too stupid to see that it's not legitimate, have a vested interest in the govt and don't care if it's legitimate or not, or have for whatever reason made the choice that govt is legitimate and simply can't bear to lose face by admitting that it isn't. 

The sooner we recognize that, and simply disengage from the "spring", and inspire a growing number of others to do so, the sooner the "spring" will cease to be a part of everyone's existence.

The problem is that everything in America has been stolen and built into a giant clock that is operated by the spring.  Move outside the clock, move outside of the influence of the spring, and you have very little resources to draw from.  Just think about how many outside-the-system people are supported by people who make their money by going along with the system - for now.  Cut off the the people funneling money & resources into the underground, and there won't be any.  Even principled people like Kat & Russel admitted to being bullied into paying taxes extortion on their old house.  Are they funding force and fraud and beatings and theft and torture and war?  Maybe a little, but they do a LOT MORE by doing what they do, which requires them to be out of jail.  ... Until they figure out a way to live full activist lives without paying anything at all.  Until.
Kat & Russell aren't evil - they just need to strike a practical, workable balance.  And I want to help them push that balance as far in their favor as possible.

We need to move as much as possible outside of the influence of government and get free-market solutions established as a fait-accompli.  Then when we throw wrenches into the gears and yank out the spring, there is a whole infrastructure of workable free-market solutions in place to absorb and cushion those caught unaware so that they don't rebel against Liberty out of ignorance and fear.

I need and appreciate BOTH/ALL methods that people are utilizing in the fight for freedom.  We need people completely outside the system to build a world without government, but we need people inside the system to start pulling its fangs so that we don't have all the outside-the-system people raided, rounded up, beaten, raped, thrown into secret prisons, and executed without trial in death camps before we even get started.

The freedom movement is about planting the seeds of Liberty.  You can't just expect to walk out into the middle of a state highway where government controls everything and start planting seeds in the asphalt under 2 feet of snow and expect to get anywhere.  The state would stop you, and the seeds would die.  If we're going to clean up the political superfund site that America has become, we need to do something to stop the factories from belching out toxins at an ever increasing rate, otherwise you're just shoveling shit against the tide. 

Fine, maybe "voting is evil" in some indirect, philosophical way.  But less evil is still LESS evil.  If the practical result of not voting, and letting the government-solution-for-everything people make all the decisions, is MORE evil, then how is enabling more evil ... good?  How is making sure that the government can steal more money and hire more people to arrest you, and brainwash everyone else in society to believe that you are dangerous fringe domestic terrorists who ought to be arrested and executed beneficial to your aim of getting rid of the government? 

Everything that people are doing is necessary, needed, and appreciated, but there aren't enough people yet with enough resources to combat an enemy that's been preparing itself for decades/centuries.  Voting for Ron Paul is like voting to fill a Tienemin Square tank's fuel tank with water instead of fuel.  I think more people are likely to join the guy standing in front of the tank if they don't think it's hopeless and therefore pointless. 

Push AND pull.  You guys push - you're doing a great job!  But wouldn't it be easier if RP was pulling back on the reign of govt while recruiting a NATION of people to help you push back?

Arrrgggghhhhh.  I'm going to destroy all the furniture in my apartment by beating my head into it.

[MaineShark]

Just to throw in my .02 troy ounces of silver...

True anarchists come in two molds: total "leave me alone" types (NAP) and those who want to see society accept non-aggression (ZAP).

NAPers can just move up north and become hermits. They are at least not causing any harm.

ZAPers should be trying to build the non-governmental replacements for those societal needs being provided by governments. They should be trying to make the non-governmental solutions more attractive to those who don't care about ZAP. [This is similar to how environmentalists should be trying to make "green" alternatives more cost efficient than the standard methods/products.]

True anarchists have no problem with using the political process against itself.  Anyone claiming that "voting is immoral" is absolutely, unequivocally, not an anarchist.  No ifs, ands, or buts about it.  Voting has no special powers in the real world.  It is only meaningful within the system.  Someone living within the system is not an anarchist.

Anarchists might debate whether it is useful to get involved with the political process, but we never claim that it is immoral.  We know better, because we don't live within their system, so we don't look at it through statist eyes.  Politics/voting has no special moral significance to an anarchist.  I'll use it to defend myself as I see fit.

Joe

[Russell Kanning]

Arrrgggghhhhh.  I'm going to destroy all the furniture in my apartment by beating my head into it.

oh no .... see what happens when you have anarchy in your head? Dale is responsible.

[Bald Eagle]

LOL, I was gonna edit the post to slip in something about releasing the anarchy when my head split open...

So, Smithers, tell me more about this ... "Dale."