I still remember as a kid, when I was taught by my father “don’t start anything with someone, but if they start it with you, then defend yourself.” I’ve always remembered this and followed it my entire life. It’s served me quite well. But for some reason we have gotten away from this, where the individual has been taught to cower, or call the police for anything and everything. Why, you ask? Because we’ve passed so many laws that make almost everything illegal, people are unwilling or scared to stand up for themselves and actually fight back, even when justified in doing so. Often even when in the right, people defending themselves go to jail. I would know. We need to go back to the Wild West.
Back in 2001, I was working a surveillance case as a private investigator. I was assaulted by 6 people while on my case, all armed with baseball bats. These were people who were relatives or friends of the person I had been investigating. I had been caught in the worst case scenario of working undercover; getting caught. What was I to do? Well, they met the working end of my Glock. Although I never had to fire because they ran like cowards, there was no way dialing 911 in the seconds that I had to react was going to do any good. But guess what, I was the one who ended up in jail. That’s right, misdemeanor gun pointing is what I was charged with. Why? Because I didn’t live in that county, and the sheriff himself, who came out to the scene after I had called to report the incident when it was over, because there was damage done to my truck, decided that it would earn political points with his constituents who I had aimed my gun at in self-defense. I think it’s fair to point out here, that all of his deputies that were on scene were verbally objecting to having me arrested, even though I ultimately was.
We have created a system where just by following the law, specifically the law of self-defense, you still end up in jail. How in the world have we come to this nonsense? I would have been perfectly fine if I was issued a citation and asked to explain myself to a judge at a later date (which of course I did end up in front of a judge, argued my case without an attorney, and my charge was dismissed), but why did I have to go to jail, post a thousand dollars in bond, give up my gun to the cops as “evidence” when no shots were fired at all, and pay hundreds to get my truck out of the impound? We have created a legal environment where exercising our most basic God-given rights have become criminalized, and you have to jump through numerous legal hurdles and costs to protect yourself and to get your own property back. It’s ridiculous.
Now some people will say “well, they had ‘probable cause’ to arrest you,” which brings me to my next point. “Probable cause” has become nothing but a joke. The 4th Amendment is clear:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
First, let me point out the clause in this amendment that describes who’s rights are being protected: “The right of the people.” Second, the purpose of the Amendment is to protect the people, and from what? “Unreasonable searches and seizures.” What is “unreasonable” about defending yourself against an attack? Nothing at all. I would, and I think most reasonable people would understand, if I had fled, or attempted to avoid law enforcement intervention altogether, then that creates another issue. But I called 911. I did, no one else, but me called the cops. In hindsight, and with how they now operate nowadays, maybe I shouldn’t have.
Had this been the “Wild West,” people would have been shot, left on the side of the road to die, and I would have walked away scot-free. And quite frankly, that’s what should have happened, but I didn’t want to take another person’s life if I didn’t absolutely have to. That was my personal choice, even though legally I could have blasted them all. But you know what? People like these idiots would think more than twice about assaulting someone in a society where everyone is armed everywhere, and acts of self-defense are not criminalized. What is so wrong with that? Nothing actually.
We have police departments all over this country, and it has been shown that they are just as susceptible to being a criminal as any other human being, simply because we are all human. Yet we “rely” on them for protection, when in fact, statistics have shown their level of perceived protection is nothing more than a fallacy.
I don’t believe in calling 911 because some asshole grabs my girlfriend’s ass in a bar, nope. I’m going handle that myself and he’s going get what he deserves. I don’t believe in calling 911 if someone immediately assaults me. No, again, I’m going handle that myself. No time to wait on the cops to come out when you’re actively in a fight. Literally the only times we should ever have to call for government intervention is after the fact to write a police report and investigate, or to pick up and carry away the dead body of the person we just defended ourselves against. What is wrong with that? Nothing. Funny coincidence, I was born and raised in the same city as the infamous Doc Holliday.
How about we go back to a time where men where men, handled our own differences, and only asked the government to arbitrate things that we couldn’t handle ourselves because of property rights arguments? Otherwise, let’s be men, and duke it out or in some cases, shoot it out, ourselves.
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Clown shoes….
You are supposed to call the cops when your friend has been murdered or raped, the perp is no where around, and you weren’t there to defend. You call the cops when your home has been robbed and you weren’t there to defend it. You call the cops if there’s a robbery in progress and you left your Glock at home. In short, the cops are a substitute for self-defense, to whom are delegated your self-defense rights. But, if you have successfully engaged in self-defense, it’s usually best to call it “problem solved,” and move on.
That may be a sad state of affairs, but calling the cops always means turning over decision-making to someone other than yourself.
You say the sheriff “decided that it would earn political points with his constituents who I had aimed my gun at in self-defense.” More likely, the sheriff just botched the call and made a mistake. Even major league umpires make a wrong call some of the time. Still, that’s not a reason to abandon the idea of using umpires as part of the game.
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