Thursday, July 18, 2013

Libertarianism Would Have Saved Trayvon Martin's Life

Putting libertarianism to practice would have prevented the death of Trayvon Martin, as Robert Wenzel notes in an excellent post (he also has a follow-up). Obviously, there was an aggressor in the altercation. Many people are convinced it was Geroge Zimmerman, but such could not be proven. Rather, from my casual observation, just about all the evidence seems to line up with Geroge's story-line. And that means Trayvon Martin was, as best we can tell, the aggressor.

Far to many don't even seem able to acknowledge this a possibility, no doubt because of a strange campaign that portrayed Trayvon as an innocent kid merely trying to walk home with iced tea and a bag of Skittles, only to be killed by a racist wanna-be cop. Yet even if George was the aggressor, unlikely as that is, libertarianism would have prevented needless death and injuries.

Why? Because libertarianism is non-aggression, exactly the principle that someone violated that unfortunate night. That's why I find libertarianism such a meaningful and pressing issue: tragic events like this are happening all the time because people as individuals or groups, including and especially governments, are committing acts of aggression. Humans will never cease all aggression - that is a utopian dream - but I know improvements are possible, particularly in reducing institutionalized aggression (the government).

Let our energies in reaction to this case be channeled towards decreasing aggression, not increasing it, as many are wont to do.

1 comment:

  1. "Often, especially with inner city kids, the message about civility never makes it out of first grade. Inner city public schools breed a gangsta culture. The schools don't educate the kids, the older ones end up dealing drugs and risk long prison sentences, so they shoot their way out of tight spots."

    -- "Robert Wenzel", EconomicPolicyJournal

    "It [carjacking] is the hip-hop things to do among the urban youth who play unsuspecting whites like pianos."

    --Ron Paul Report

    "A mob of black demonstrators, led by the "Rev." Al Sharpton, occupied and closed the Statue of Liberty recently, demanding that New York be renamed Martin Luther King City, 'to reclaim it for our people.'

    Hmmm. I hate to agree with the Rev. Al, but maybe a name change is in order. Welfaria? Zooville? Rapetown? Dirtburg? Lazyopolis?

    But Al, the Statue of Liberty? Next time, hold that demonstration at a food stamp bureau or a crack house."

    -- Ron Paul newsletter

    "Given the inefficiencies of what DC laughingly calls the criminal justice system, I think we can safely assume that 95 percent of the black males in that city are semi-criminal or entirely criminal."

    -- Ron Paul newsletter

    "I miss the closet. Homosexuals, not to speak of the rest of society, were far better off when social pressure forced them to hide their activities."

    -- Ron Paul newsletter.

    Yeah, if only Trayvon had been a libertarian, he'd have been "about live and let live", so George Zimmerman would've let him live.

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