Monthly Archives: November 2006

Final Thoughts (for now) on Morality & Paramilitary Raids

November 29, 2006
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There is no way to eliminate uncertainty, but the undue loss of innocent lives (cops, homeowners, and even alleged criminals) can be severely mitigated – we need only hold people, and governments, responsible for the injustices they bring about..

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Rights & Paramilitary Raids, Part 2

November 27, 2006
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Over at A Stich in Haste, Kip responds to my earlier post (on Rights & Paramilitary Raids), and says not to get angry at the cops in these SWAT-gone-wrong situations. Specifically he says, the agents of the government are “just doing their job.” In a nutshell, this defense didn’t work in Nüremburg, and it shouldn’t fly here, either. Moving on though, I don’t think it’s fair to suppose that the state’s agents are absolved...

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Rights & Paramilitary Raids

November 26, 2006
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I’m not a fan of the paramilitary-style police raids that are increasingly being used against non-violent offenders and their mistaken neighbors. It creates hostility, panic, fear, and irrationality in a situation that could otherwise be diffused rather quietly. These tactics present ripe opportunities for criminals to mimic police tactics and terrorize law-abiding citizens. But mostly, I think that using violence to suppress non-violence is morally indefensible. I’ve been somewhat-following the Kathryn Johnson incident via...

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