Where *AM* I?

I wrote the following in "comments" to a post at Sipsey Street.

Do yourself a favor - GO READ THAT POST!!

As I am wont to do, I got carried away with my comment and it was even too long to split into *2* comments - so a blog-post is born.

As I said, please go read the post so you know what I'm referring to...

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Gave me chills again as usual.

I'm glad you pointed out that we're to blame for where we are, too.

I'm in my early 40's. One of my favorite memories from high school is this situation, Ca. ~1982:

III friends and I went to a movie, then to a pizza place and were now walking the ~1.5 miles home. We weren't drinking or smoking the good stuff, werent' being loud, weren't... This actually may have been the one time in our rowdy little lives that we actually were doing NOTHING wrong - a fact which never really occurred to me until I was actually typing this...

We saw literally a second or 2 of flashing colored lights, high-beams and spotlights headed straight for us with the sound of a roaring engine. Startled as hell, we ran to get out of the way of this lunatic...

It would appear he'd been parked on the opposite side of the road - meaning he'd watched us for a good 3/8 of a mile or so - then started the car, hit all the lights and gunned it right at us. I NOW know he was probably bored and figured he'd have some fun...

He screeched into the space we'd just been occupying then dove out of his car like the hounds of hell were after him. We'd stopped running as soon as we were clear and had already turned around before he got out.

First thing he did was unsnap his holster, hand on his pistol. He then proceeded to bully us, wanting to know where we'd been, where we were going...

I stonewalled him - "with all due respect sir, I don't think that's any of your business."

My friends were terrified, but I told them to shut up and asked him if we were under arrest - "that depends on whether you answer my questions or not."

No-sir. This isn't Russia, we don't have to show our papers to walk down the street - THIS IS AMERICA!"

He then told me I could answer his questions here or downtown - I asked again if we were under arrest - and got the same answer.

I then told him if we weren't under arrest, then we'd be going on home now - he answered by demanding ID.

Again, by this time my friends were crapping bricks. I hadn't cursed, hadn't been rude - I had in a careful, calm tone simply refused to cooperate.

I repeated my "...this ain't Russia, this is AMERICA!" comment, repeated my "we'll be going now" statement, and started to leave - he got REAL loud then, repeating his "downtown" threat.

Now the boys were REALLY freaked - pulling out their wallets - I decided to go for broke...

"You can haul me in, but you better have a damn good reason because my Daddy's gonna be mad as hell!"

(FTR, My Daddy was ~100 miles away - Mom had custody of me for a year or 2 and was herself closer to 150 miles away - some 80-year-old lady was playing "nanny" to me so I did pretty much what I pleased at that point... NOBODY was coming, and if Dad DID show up he'd have beat me with a belt right there in the cop-shop, but I figured "WTF"...)

He actually looked scared for a minute, then wanted to know who my Daddy was - I again respectfully told him that was none of his business either, and told him we'd be going home, and this time turned and walked away - the boys just followed.

He stood there yelling after us for a bit before getting in his car, burning rubber through a u-turn, and drove away.

I felt GOOD.

This was the first time in my life that I'd actually CLAIMED my G*d-given rights to freedom of travel and assembly, and to be left unmolested when doing nothing wrong.

It may have been the first time such was even POSSIBLE due to the last qualifier there - but still... ;o )

Try doing that today.

That fat cop we all saw on video from one of the town-halls was right:

This *AIN'T* America no more - but it damn sure is NOT "OK."

I can't tell you how many times we got "busted" drinking or smoking weed in the car, usually in the park. Every single time they made us pour it all out on the ground and told us to go home.

As noted earlier this week - those were PEACE OFFICERS - not the "LEOs" we're cursed with today.

I only know a couple of people who would do what I did today - or ever, really. I'm ashamed to admit I learned to fear them too - for far too long.

A lot of it was simple "driving while young & long-haired" crap, especially when I was in Marin County CA driving a flat-black '69 Nova with roll bars and glass-packs - I might as well have put a flashing neon "please f*** with ME!" sign on top of the car.

I learned the lesson they were trying to teach - "CONFORM. Or ELSE!" - perhaps a bit TOO well - but about a decade ago I realized I'd crossed the line into "respectable" and once again had nothing to fear.



I am 100% deferential and respectful to any officer truly just doing his job - if I'm speeding I'll even thank him for the ticket - but he'd better not mess with me without cause.

A few years back I had a minor accident and was using a rental-car with plates from a couple of states away. The divided-highway near my house is a known drug-trafficking route, and the idiots use rental cars to get around forfeiture laws.

I was heading to work at 3:30 AM - in the direction of the state on the tags - driven the couple of miles to the highway and maybe 1/2 mile on said highway - just over the hill.

I had the cruise set just under 60 because I wasn't fully awake and there are a lot of deer out that time of year - so I wasn't speeding.

Just over the hill I passed him sitting on the shoulder facing the wrong way, and he instantly came after me - I pulled over. The usual "lic., Reg. & Insurance" ritual, then "May I ask where you've been this evening?"

I'd snapped awake from the adrenaline of the lights and all, and now I was PISSED.
"Sure - you can ask anything you want!" - then I shut up and stared.

"Oh - *SMART GUY.*...

FINE. WHERE. HAVE. YOU. BEEN. TONIGHT?"

"You know... It's funny. When I went to sleep I thought I was in 'The Land of The FREE' but I wake up and it seems I'm in Communist Russia or someplace."

"WHAT? What's THAT supposed to mean?"

"Well... Here I am - a law-abiding, tax-paying citizen, going about my lawful business, and suddenly I'm being detained by an armed, uniformed Government Agent who demands to see my identification and my traveling-papers before starting to interrogate me. I went through 19 years of Education being taught that sort of thing didn't HAPPEN here in the U.S."

Obviously, he wasn't too happy.

He snapped "Stay where you are, keep your hands on the wheel until I tell you to move them" - then he started heading to his car.

He only got a few steps, then he turned on his heel and came back.

You know, it would have been a hell of a lot easier if you'd just told me you only lived a half-mile from here."

"Well Sir, you had my 'PAPERS' -- and I Honestly didn't think it was any of your business!"

He threw them in my face.

"Get the f*** out of here." and started walking to his car.

I couldn't resist - "Does this mean I have your permission to take my hands off the wheel, Sir?

I have friends that are cops - they all agreed I was "lucky he didn't taser" me.

Larry the Cable Guy - before he got famous - used to do "radio commentaries" that were MUCH funnier than his "big-time" crap.

They all started with the same question: "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS, RUSH-IE?(Russia in redneck-ese)"
I find myself - DAILY now - asking a very similar question:
"WHAT F***ING COUNTRY **IS** THIS??!!

It sure as hell isn't the Founders' Republic, it isn't even what it was in 1983. Every day it seems to come closer to 1984 ala Orwell.

Honestly, this place and others like it - forums full of Patriots - are about the only thing keeping me sane.

I started listing all the things that are just-plain-WRONG, and realized it would be a thick book and I STILL wouldn't have them all.

Bottom line is that we don't really need a "return to the Constitution" - we REALLY just need a revival of the 10th Amendment and special attention to Article 1 Section 8.

If THAT came to pass, it would solve 99.9% of the other problems!

One last thing - The Constitution MOSTLY limits Congress and the Federal .gov - other than the Bill of Rights and some other plainly-stated items I can't recall at the moment, States can pretty much do anything their Constitutions allow - and this is HOW IT SHOULD BE.

I'm not going to get into WHY in this already too-long post, but if you study the DoI/Constitution/minutes of the Convention/Federalist Papers/etc -- IOW the PATRIOT'S CANON -- you should already know.

I'm finding myself more and more of late almost WISHING for a collapse or that these Marxists would just get busy and "bring it on" -- the sooner we get the ugly over with, the sooner we could all again live in a Free Country -- **THE** Free Country.

That would be good - because I don't recognize THIS one any more...

DD

PS: WV="Chest" -- what I just got a lot off of... ;o )