Man With Assault Rifle Says "Taxation is Theft!" Outside An Obama Event

This story was very interesting. Watch the linked YouTube video, which presumably was made by the protester's friends. I could explain the philosophy of freedom better than the speaker in that video, but he did a decent job. (I wonder if he read my blog? I doubt it.)

Another man brought a gun to an Obama rally. This man was saying "*ALL* taxation is theft!" He seemed to understand "Just because a majority have voted for taxes, doesn't make it morally acceptable!"

I wonder if the national mainstream media will carry the full story? I suspect the answer is "no". As far as I can tell, only one or two small newspaper websites covered this story *AND* included the "Taxation is theft!" aspect.

The story made the front page of Yahoo. Notice that the story does *NOT* mention that the protester was saying "Taxation is theft!" The mainstream media said "Someone was carrying a gun near an Obama speech!" They failed to mention a key point, that the protester was saying "Taxation is theft!" That's an example of catching the mainstream media red-handed censoring the message "Taxation is theft".

CNN also covered the story, but didn't mention "Taxation is theft!"

Here's the AP version of the story.

It's interesting to notice blatant censorship of the "Taxation is theft!" aspect of the story. Notice how none of those 3 mainstream media sources (Yahoo, CNN, and the AP) mentioned "Taxation is theft!" The Internet allowed the person carrying the gun to directly publish his viewpoint and bypass mainstream media censorship.

Is there progress towards promoting really free markets? The mainstream media won't mention "Taxation is theft!", but people are sharing the truth directly on the Internet.

In *MOST* cities it's illegal for non-policemen to openly carry a gun. This was in Arizona, which is one of the few states that allows non-policemen to openly carry guns.

There's another important point. "Bringing a gun to a political rally is wrong, because it's an implied threat of violence against State employees." The State *IS* violence. Every law or tax must be backed by violence. Otherwise, people would merely ignore the tax, law, or regulation. There's a double-standard. The threat/use of aggressive violence by State police is noble and heroic, when used to collect taxes or enforce stupid laws. The threat of self-defense violence by non-policeman is immoral.

I disapprove of his tactics. Bringing a gun to a Statist political speech is a waste of time. The parasites don't care. The police will arrest you or place you on their "People to monitor!" or "People to harass later!" list. So many things are crimes that if a State agent inspects your home or business and rigorously enforces the law, then he will find some crime.

The bad guys say "This guy is a fruitcake. Therefore, all people who believe 'Taxation is theft!' are fruitcakes." Just because one person who believes "Taxation is theft!" does something stupid, doesn't mean that all people who seek freedom are fools. This is The Strawman Fallacy.

I'm not saying I disapprove of his decision to openly carry a gun near a speech by Obama. I'm saying that it's ineffective tactics. It should be legal for anyone to carry a gun anywhere. According to natural law, carrying a gun (holstered with the safety on) is not a crime. If you take it out and threaten people with it, that is a crime.

I liked some of the spin. "This guy is obviously a plant, placed by opposition to Obama's healthcare plan." That doesn't seem likely. The bad guys wouldn't sponsor someone saying "All taxation is theft!" They would sponsor someone with a different message. This guy probably was acting on his own. I agree with "Taxation is theft!", but his tactics were stupid.

If this guy was a deliberately planted spy, then the mainstream media would have eagerly covered the story and included the "Taxation is theft!" point. A guy who shouts "Obama's 'Death Panels' are evil!" is news. A guy who says "Taxation is theft!" is not news.

"Taxation is theft! Who needs a government anyway?" is the #1 story in economics and politics for the next 10-20 years, until the State collapses.

Carrying a gun to a political speech is stupid. The correct solution is to boycott the State completely via agorism. If you're an agorist, stealth should be a priority. Going to a political rally carrying a gun is like wearing a giant bullseye.

Right now, the bad guys have superior numbers and superior resources. A direct violent confrontation would get yourself killed for nothing. Agorism is a better strategy for seeking freedom.

There's nothing immoral with carrying a gun for self-defense. That includes self-defense from ordinary criminals, and self-defense from criminals wearing badges and uniforms. Unfortunately, most people have been pro-State brainwashed to associate "He's carrying a gun!" with "He's going to use that gun to hurt/rob someone!" If you see a policeman carrying a gun, there's nothing wrong with that. If you see a non-policeman carrying a gun, you should *PANIC*! There's nothing immoral with publicly carrying a gun, but I prefer to spend my energy on other things.

In NYC, it's illegal for non-policemen to carry guns. Also, I can't get a gun permit because I was involuntarily hospitalized with a "mental illness". (I wonder what would happen if I applied for a permit and left that question blank, answered dishonestly and was prosecuted for lying, or if I answered honestly but was rejected? I'm not going to bother trying. There's no way for me to prove "The psychiatrists made a mistake!" and reverse the decision they made in the past. I suspect that the bad guys have sufficiently disorganized records that I probably could get away with lying, but it's not worth the hassle of trying.)

It's interesting to see cracks in the Matrix developing. Even though this guy accomplished nothing, it's promising to see that more people are gaining awareness of "Taxation is theft!" Maybe a couple of people will read about this guy and think "Hey! Maybe taxation really is theft!"