I think I can safely say that, where Mr Boatang and I have challenged the libertarian hard right in Britain on private property rights, there is an recent, topical example where all libertarians (moderate and hard line) can agree.
The case of Myleene Klass, the singer and musician, who was warned by the police for warding off potential thieves from her property by waving a knife at them from behind the window of her own house.
There is no conceivable justification for this outrageous, intrusive and despicable action from the authorities. I find it terrifying that an innocent, law abiding householder can be admonished and reprimanded for trying to ward off trespassers and possible criminals from her own land, by displaying a defensive weapon in her own house.
We don't know if the trespassers would have done something very bad. But seeing as they shouldn't have been there, and Klass felt scared for the safety of her and her child, I think her actions are entirely reasonable.
She didn't throw the knife out of the window at the intruders, although I think that if she did offer a warning and this was unheeded, she should be in her rights to try and repel them. She was in her house, and picked up a kitchen implement.
If the law seriously doesn't allow householders to pick up a knife in their own home, because it is an 'offensive weapon', we have problems. Big, big problems.
This is definitely (I know some fellow libertarians may diverge here) a left - right issue. Law and order is in the hands of a left wing judiciary and now left wing senior cabal of police. Not only do they want the law to protect the state, but more so they refuse to define between the law abiding and decent and the law disrespecting low life. This is a socialist and left wing position, whether they concede to know it or not. It is precisely the attitude expressed in the politics of my teachers and other peers when I was growing up in the '90s.
Some things never change.
But I agree with all libertarians on this matter, in that Klass should not have been warned and she acted well within her rights as a property holder. She should have been congratulated for her calm and her clever defensive measures.
Imagine what message the police are sending out here to the bad guys? They will be emboldened, as if they aren't emboldened enough by free lawyers, legal aid, ECHR and PACE 1984.
The law is on the side of the liberty-crushers, and the state seems disinterested. This is not a coincidence.
Sunday, 10 January 2010
A case to unite all libertarians on private property rights
Posted by John Demetriou at 17:50
Labels: law, law and order, liberal left on crime and punishment, libertarianism, offensive weapons, private property rights, self defence
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10 comments:
I've pointed out on some other blogs that Plod were utterly wrong in law here- possession of an offensive weapon contrary to s1 Prevention Of Crime Act 1953 can only be committed in a public place- Klass's kitchen isn't a public place, even if it has been in "Hello" or some such bollocks. Neither is the knife "offensive per se"- a kitchen knife in a kitchen is, er, a kitchen knife and not a weapon. None of this seems to have dissuaded the knobhead copper from indulging in the usual Dibble arse-brained attempt to blame the victim, not the offender.
I'm not sure it's an issue confined to libertarianism- it's just that we've got a fucking pathetic, politicised police "service" which employs dickheads whose sole aim in life when dealing with the general public is to turn fucking common sense on its head.
In my opinion, Myleene Klass totally over-reacted and was bang out out order.
I only asked for a flash of her tits, for fuck sake.
I see I have been ejected from your blog roll....
"I only asked for a flash of her tits, for fuck sake."
That was worth reading, not the drivel B&D pointing out what MOST people think, not just Libertarians.
I would have shot them and then buried in Burgess Park. Fuck the Police, they're not here to help us, they're here to ensure we stay in place.
Just think if she had injured those 'degenerates', those poor plod would have less crime to occupy themselves. They wouldn't want that with all those targets that need chasing.
Jack
Rab: I defer all enquiries about blog management related topics to our Technical Director, Mr K. Boatang.
'Jack', apparently from the BNP 'thelunaticarms' blog:
I never said this was a libertarian issue. Recently, we have been engaged in argument with fellow libertarians about private property rights. My article had a private property rights-esque theme to it. Try reading it again, you might detect it.
Of course it's not only a libertarian issue. It is a wider issue that could engage and animate anyone, political or non political.
I am personally interested in writing about it from a libertarian perspective. Hence why we are a libertarian blog. Sorry about that.
I see your logic doesn't apply to your own blog, where you choose to write about all manner of issues, whilst somehow bringing race and ethnicity into it. You strike me as a disillusioned, embittered racial obsessive, whose intelligence has been dwarfed by his slowly growing hatred of his fellow man, not to mention anyone with dark skin.
Just goes to confirm my belief that the police force in 2010 is no longer "my" police force. It's there for an entirely different purpose.
It will take much political will and many years to return it to being the force that is there to defend the public and catch and detain criminals and not the other way round.
A fair point JD, I'm a little confused how the whole thing is in the media, or the police station, to begin with.
It does nothing for the cause of trying to explain to various people that you can protect yourself in your own home. I bet his Inspector was banging his head against his desk.
We're having a blog roll review/tidy and it has currently been hacked to pieces to be re-expanded or removed, depending on how we feel, in the near future. I wouldn't worry yourself about it Rab, it will be hunkydory in a wee tick
From an A-Cap point of view, she is entitled to protect both herself (obviously) and her child as it is, ahem, the fruit of her labour.
Thank you very much, I'll be here all week, please try the beef!
it strikes me the enemy class have handed us a serious gem here. This is an important issue, it highlights our politics AND it involves a celebrity, one that's been on one of those celebrity reality shows and everything. And to top it off, she was protecting a cheeeeldren!!!
we should keep banging on And on about this, and I don't mean just here, amongst ourselves in the blogs, I mean in the canteens, in the pubs, in the fucking queue at the post office... this is a political ice-breaker we can't afford to miss.
Oh- and to echo the thoughts I've seem on a few other right-wing nutter's blogs, what this teaches us is that if our houses get broken into, your best bet is to defend yourself, don't call the police, and definitely DON'T leave a witness. Burglars hopefully don't have itineries.
It has become very weird though, the boys in blue have stated that at no poiint was any comment passed to Klassy about anything to do with a knife. I.e., they never said it.
Her agent hasn't replied.
As much as I see the argument, I can also see a great piece of PR for the young mum tv presenter.
Fact is, you can do pretty much what you want within your own home to protect yourself provided you don't use an illegal shotgun to blast a canyon in a kids back or chase the bloke down the street and cave his skull in with a cricket bat and your brother-in-law's 9-iron.
Still, it gives Klass a new career as a champion of mum's rights doesn't it.
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