Saturday, August 25, 2007

McIlheran Says "Flee." Williams Says "Vigilante Them!"

There's a kerfuffle going between Mike Mathias, Rick Esenberg, and P-Mac.



All because P-Mac suggested that "fleeing" the City of Milwaukee is an option for those who don't like the level of violence accompanied by the level of taxation. (Two highs make--what--a low?)



P-Mac is a gentle soul compared to Walter Williams.



The high victimization rate experienced by the overwhelmingly law-abiding black community is mostly the result of predators not having to pay a heavy enough price for their behavior. They benefit from all kinds of asinine excuses, such as poverty, racial discrimination and few employment opportunities.



...So here's the question: Should black people accept government's dereliction of its first basic function, that of providing protection? My answer is no. One of our basic rights is the right to defend oneself against predators. If the government can't or won't protect people, people have a right to protect themselves.


You say, "Hey, Williams, you're not talking about vigilantism, are you?" Yes, I am. Webster's Dictionary defines vigilantism as: a volunteer committee organized to suppress and punish crime summarily as when the processes of law are viewed as inadequate.




Example: A number of years ago, Black Muslims began to patrol Mayfair, a drug-infested, gang-ridden Washington, D.C., housing project. The gangs and drug lords left, probably because the Black Muslims didn't feel obliged to issue Miranda warnings. Black men should set up neighborhood patrols, armed if necessary, and if politicians and police don't like it, they should do their jobs. No one should have to live in daily fear for their lives and safety.


P-Mac's "flee" is not without a few caveats:

If you don't buy the premises - the taxes are well spent, proximity yields harmony, the do-gooders know what they're doing - then another course would make sense: Flee

This is why reducing crime comes first. All the other disputes hinge on it. It is the first public good, necessarily done in common

People do not leave an area merely for tax reasons, otherwise Wisconsin's population would have decreased significantly over the last 10+ years. But people WILL leave an area which offers both high personal or family risk of violence AND high taxes.

When both less crime AND less taxes are packaged neatly into one offering, it's not difficult to make the move.


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