Carla Gericke
As the events in Ferguson, MO unfolded, I couldn't help but wonder where the libertarians were. Oh, sure, Rand Paul penned a late-to-the-party piece for TIME magazine, but he didn't exactly hustle off to Ferguson to put his toupee on the line to defend black folks.
And what of Cop Block, the anti-cop organization? It turns out they have one guy on the ground there. Is anyone there from New Hampshire - the place where Cop Block was founded?
Nope.
Last year Free Keener Garret Ean made some big noise about going on the Cop Block Police Accountability Tour. One might think that the situation in Ferguson merited another road trip, but one would be wrong.
Why? Why in a situation where there is escalated police violence are our friends from the Free State Project ignoring the opportunity to document what's going on? Free Staters are the biggest media attention whores around - so why are they passing on the chance to get their names and faces up in lights by bravely risking tear gas and bullets in Ferguson?
Perhaps Carla Gericke can provide us with some enlightenment.
From the President of the Free State Project:
Ferguson, MO, is a stark reminder of the importance of the Free State Project’s mission: to concentrate enough liberty lovers together to make a real difference in our own lives.
Come stand with the community that has been fighting against police militarization for years. Come stand with the community that believes in government accountability and that affirmed the right to record police officers in public.
The subtext? Come make your stand in nice, safe, white NH.
If this were happening in a white community, Cop Block and the FSP would be all over it. (That this wouldn't happen in a white community is moot.) They'll use Ferguson as a way to ramp up anticop/antigubmint fear and as a tool for their own fundraising, without ever risking their own asses. And without ever questioning the racism inherent in the libertarian movement.
Of course, if you point out that the FSP is comprised mostly of white men, you'll be accused of racism:
http://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2013/08/free-staters-and-that-pesky-first.html
Why Blacks Aren't Libertarians:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/11/why-blacks-aren-t-libertarians.html
Cop Block history:
http://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2014/06/cop-killers-love-copblock-founded-by-fsp.html
http://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2014/06/copblock-backpedaling-furiously.html
http://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2014/06/big-turd-lands-in-free-state-project.html
