Reply #108: Do you feel having a police force is authoritarian in and of itself?

[fascisthunter]

Should we all just take matters into our own hands like some did in the wild west? Is this what you see as a freedom? To be judge and jury... "oops, shot the guy out of fear, thought he was a robber...oh well, I still have my freedoms, too bad it costs a life or the potential to take away life." Not sure you realize this, but it's hollywood bull crap that you will know how to use your weapon at any split-second. This is why we have a police force, trained to deal with those split seconds. Let the police deal with it if you can, it's ok, that won't make you a lemming, or helpless dweeb, etc. If you fear a robber may rob you in the middle of the night, fine, own a gun... that doesn't bother me. What does bother me is this twisted notion that civilized means authoritarian just because we tax payers pay taxes to fund trained professionals. Maybe we shouldn't have an army, navy, air force, etc. You and every citizen theoretically depends on them to fight against enemies of the state. So maybe the concept of having a military is also authoritarian. If only we lived in a black and white world.

Your ability to own a gun is not sacrosanct no matter how many times you claim it is. In the Constitution it states "well regulated militia".... regulated(authoritarian I suppose by your definition). Oh and militias locked their guns up for safety reasons and to deter guns from getting into the wrong hands. Why do you suppose they would do such a thing. Because we all have a responsibility to each other that goes beyond your freedom to own a gun. I prefer a balance... LIFE is sacrosanct, not a gun which takes it away from someone else.

If you want to talk about freedom, why not just leave your gun where you want? If someone prevented you from doing that, would you consider that authoritarian too? It is technically an infringement on your rights to do as you please. Why not buy a tank...? I promise no one will ever rob you. Where does it end, how far will you go in your argument against authoritarianism and why isn't your freedoms held in check in order to keep others safe from your own actions or MISTAKES? Maybe we should all be allowed to do as we please... no regulations on anything, a libertarian's utopian dream. No laws, no regulations, no law enforcement, no rules. Every man and women for him or herself. NOW THAT is FREEDOM!

Maybe you should read history and see what it was like to live in a world where you really had to protect yourself because there was no other protection around... that's history.