I'm just getting my head around this nonviolence thing.
Well, it's not a matter of nonviolence to me, it's a matter of self preservation. If you get violent with people who are violent for a living and outnumber you tens of thousands to one, you will lose.
Not only will you lose, but you poison the well for other people who think like you do. When you retaliate against the state with violence, you end up dead and all the other freedom people get a nice fat dose of screw tightening.
While you have no obligation to protect your fellow freedom lovers, or even care about the consequences that will be visited upon them, it's something to consider if your goal is for people to see what you are doing and support your actions. They won't. They will recoil in horror and get pissed because now things will be all the harder for them.
When some dude finally goes off his nut and shoots up an IRS office or something, my first reaction is not "Score one point for freedom lolol!", it's "Jesus
FUCK, this is gonna suck for the rest of us."
I am not alone in this.
Also, not all of us are "Nonviolent". Non-initiation leaves a hell of a lot of room for retaliation, and even some tasty, honey roasted
vengeance. Some of us just know the odds. You don't go up against the state, unless you want to die. The concept of dying for what I believe in is a contradiction because I believe in
living. Fuck dying for a cause. If' I'm dead, there's no more ME. I like me and I'd prefer to delay the whole death thing as long as possible.
Some random asshole tries to kill me? Well, if I can help it he's got a rapid temperature change due to the installation of a new ventilation system in store. The gooberment cracks down? I run far and fast. Run and hide, baby, run and hide. Better yet, don't be seen doing anything that makes 'em mad.
As for the whole "I really hate interacting with the state, so what I'm going to do is constantly put myself into situations where I am in direct conflict with them and getting myself arrested." thing, well, I've never been into whips and chains. Not what I get off on. If Ole Sammy Boy gets his rocks that way, more power to him. I dunno if it helps anyone else, though.
Just trolls on the BBS my ass.
Many trolls have come and gone, but it's not "Just" trolls here. There are many good people here. Hell, there are even a couple of good trolls. People who say that are just butthurt because they ran afoul of one. Or made an ass of themselves and were torn to shreds. Almost no limitations on expression + cynical people = some pretty brutal social Darwinism. Ya wanna talk conspiracy theories? Get slammed down. Wanna talk Jesus? Probably get slammed down. Wanna talk "Economic Rent"? Get slammed like a motherfucker. Bring up minarchism vs. anarchism? All holy hell will fall from the sky like a rain of turds on a hot day.
Some people (Thin skinned ones) may, in fact, interpret that as trolling. Not so much. Flamewars <> Trolling.
Anyway, if you ain't a fed come hang out and chill. If you are, well, come hang out and chill anyway, just don't kill anybody.