We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.

Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]

Samizdata quote of the day

I tried to get people to care about the pointless “security” provided by the TSA, which I see, in part, as obedience training for the American public to be docile in the face of having their rights yanked from them.

Surprise, surprise, scanners are toddling off from the airport to other areas of American life. Recently, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced a plan to begin deploying full-body scanners in the LA subway system.

Amy Alkon, The Trajectory Of The Restriction Of Privacy And Freedom

11 comments to Samizdata quote of the day

  • -XC

    OTOH, many courthouses in TX have a special “lane” for CCW holders so you don’t have to go through a metal detector.

    -XC

  • Mr Black

    Well if America wants to call “terrorism” the enemy and suspect everyone instead of just muslims, then this is what that looks like I guess.

  • the other rob

    @ -XC. Not courthouses – carrying is still prohibited in those. The state capitol, however, does have a fast track arrangement for those of us who take responsibility for the safety of us and ours.

    Amy is, of course, correct as was the late Dr Pournelle, before her. He described the TSA as a mechanism for training Americans to believe that they are subjects rather than citizens.

  • Andrew Duffin

    “…the late Dr. Pournelle…”

    How sad that we have to write that: a great man, sadly missed.

    R.I.P.

  • He described the TSA as a mechanism for training Americans to believe that they are subjects rather than citizens

    I have always thought ‘subject’ is a far more honest term than ‘citizen’, doubly so if a state exerts its laws & pecuniary interests in your affairs even beyond its own borders as a couple nations do (i.e. neo-Stalinist Eritrea & the USA) 😆

  • Mary Contrary

    XC/the other rob:

    I rather like that idea. Those that want to be sheep, be sheep. Those that volunteer to take responsibility for defending the safety of themselves and their fellows, take the fast track.

  • bobby b

    ” . . . if a state exerts its laws & pecuniary interests in your affairs even beyond its own borders as a couple nations do . . . .”

    You’re looking at the concept of “border” in an outmoded fashion. As a nation’s power and influence expand, its true borders – i.e., the areas in which it holds some or all authority – likewise expand, beyond the lines arbitrarily drawn on old maps.

    The old maps set out mutually exclusive areas in which one and only one authority rules. The new system of the world is more akin to a Venn diagram, with overlaps which show areas in which authority is wielded by more than one hand. On this map, the “border” of the USA now encompasses much of the “free” world.

    Or so say our taxing authorities. 😕

  • bobby b

    “Those that want to be sheep, be sheep. Those that volunteer to take responsibility for defending the safety of themselves and their fellows, take the fast track.”

    I’m sure that Antifa members consider themselves to be defending their own, and their fellows’, safety when they fight to “transform” society. So, somewhere in all of this, the whole sheep/sheepdog/wolf analogy breaks down.

    Thus, I doubt that weaponization can be defended by altruistic motivations. I don’t carry a G26 in order to keep society’s sheep safer – I do it to keep me safer. It really has to come down to something personal and libertarian-based. Gadsden’s flag says “don’t tread on me”, not “don’t tread on us.”

  • the other rob

    @ bobby b – Did you really intend to be so narrow? The “mine” in “me and mine” encompasses a number of specific individuals with whom I am in voluntary relationships and for whose well-being I take a certain amount of responsibility.

    By way of a trivial example, SWMBO wears ear plugs to bed. I do not, because it’s my job to hear noises and respond to any threat that they might represent.

    There’s nothing collectivist or anti-libertarian about that. Indeed, I suspect that it’s the approach that you take, as, I think, do most of us.

  • bobby b

    “Did you really intend to be so narrow?”

    On rereading my comment, no, I didn’t. Let me explain.

    Your concept of “me and mine” is exactly my concept. Your apparent philosophy concerning weapons matches mine.

    I reacted to the word “sheep.” Gunners have been writing about this sheep/sheepdog/wolf trinity in a manner with which I strongly disagree.

    They seem to envision that the bulk of the people – the sheep – are too scared or too misled to properly understand that it is their duty as a citizen to be capable of putting down evil, but that the gunner – the sheepdog – is going to work to protect all of these sheep even though they fail to appreciate his sacrifice. It’s the Jack Nicholson “you NEED me on that wall!” mentality.

    They place themselves, in their own mind, in the role of protector of society. It’s all a huge dose of self-love – of “here’s why I’m so noble.” To me, that’s what makes it vigilantism instead of simply being capable of protecting your own.

    I don’t carry as a benefit to “sheep.” The “sheep” ought to hope that someone in their close circle also carries, so that they can have the same protection that “mine” receive. But, when all is said and done, I, like you, carry to protect me and mine. I hope the “sheep” get smarter, but I claim no duty to them.

    So, I just over-reacted to “sheep.”

  • Paul Marks

    Of course – once the PRINCIPLE of liberty is conceded, the noose gets tighter and tighter.

    What starts off as government being allowed abuse people in one area – leads to the government being allowed to abuse people all over the place.

    As for real terrorists – I doubt the TSA would give them much trouble. Stopping terrorists is not what it is for – as Amy Alkin says, the purpose of the TSA is to get ordinary people used to being controlled.