I problem is why we let so many in favor of civil, or personal liberty. so what? What’s he ever done apz vegetables receive useless care This is “personal liberty”? from that? The fact that he calls for so long.” The problem, opines The excuses of these killers himselfa scholar and philosopher Schwartz, is that our health insur- is that far more important than should cut no ice with anyone. ance systems, private as well as prolonging life is the “quality of There are real problems in public, are “too mindlessly gener- life.” But what if a key part of the world that cry out for libertarian ous.” Schwartz concludes: “The preserving and enhancing that analysis and action. One key time to end this idiocy is now.” quality is getting rid of this crew of problem was the late Gulf War, that (USA Today, May 30). murdering liberals, people whom madevirtually every American “feel Our final specimen is Derek Isabel Paterson, with wonderful good about himself” and about the Humphry, head of the Hemlock perception and prophetic insight; American State, ;and apparently Society, the most venerable of the termed ‘?he humanitarian with the accomplished nothing else - right to suicide groups, and careful guillotine”? What then? So where except the slaughter of about upto nowtostressconsent.Where do we sign up to assist their 200,000 Iraqis. One would think does hestandon the case of Helga death? 0 that libertarian:; would be Wanglie? Humphry begins by passionatelyinteres’ted in this issue. saying that patients“shou1dalways Rockwell vs. Were they? HdI no. Most have the right of choice to live or libertarianscouldn’t care less about die,” and if they are in a persistent Rodney and the whole issue. Half of the LP vegetative state, their families members supported the war. And should decide. OK, so what about the Libertarian Bradford? As usual, he hemmed Helga Wanglie? Here is Humphry’s World and hawed on both sides of the new and contradictory position: “If issue, getting indignant only at a by M.N.R. overwhelming medical opinion few readers who thought he had Anyone who knows Lew says treatment is pointless, courts opposed the Gulf War. Rockwell knows that he can take should arbitrate disputes be- In a laid-back movement of :are of himself, that he doesn’t tween doctors and families.” Now this sort, one that cares little about need me or anyone else to leap to just a minute: where do courtsget such vital problem:; as war and the right to decide life or death? his defense. In fact, Lew enjoys it mass murder, you would think it Does government have more of a when libertarians go bananas would take some truly cataclysmic right to commit murder than about him, because it confirms his issue to elicit widespread anath- already low opinion of the Modal doctors, or what? And on what emas and excommunication. But Libertarian. But getting sick of principles are the courts supposed I’m you would be wrong. When Lew 1. I’m getting sick of cretins and to decide that “arbitration”? Rockwell came to the defense of half-illiterates, of bozos who can No, the mask is off, and the LAPD’s beating of one, read hardly parse a sentence, who have Doctor Assisted Death and Mr. one, criminal, Rodney King, one achieved nothing at all in their Liberal Death With Dignity, and all would have thought that the earth miserable lives, displaying the un- the rest of the crew turn out to be had opened and Armageddon had mitigated gall, the flagrant chutz- simply Doctor and Mister Murder. been launched at last. Such agony, 3ah, te presume to sit down and Watch out Mr. and Ms. America: such hatred, such geschrei, had not .cad Lew out of libertarianism. A liberal humanists, lay and medi- been seen in the \ibertarian move- typical letter received: “Dear Mr. cal, are not only out to regulate ment since Ayn Rand kicked Rockwell: Ididn’t read your article, your lives, and to fleece your Nathaniel Branden out of Paradise 3ut I read Bill Bradford in Liberty, wallets and pocketbooks. They’re in 1968. and I agree that you’re a fascist, out to kill you! Libertarians, as From the hysteria and lou’re a libertarian at all, and embodied in the sainted “Nolan not disproportionality, it is obvious that (ou sh:iuld be read out of the hu- Chart,” have always assumed that much more is going on here than is nan race.” Bradford is a business conservatives are in favor of eco- apparent on the surface, that as in van who decided to buy himself a nomic liberty, whereas liberals are many other cases, the Modals are ibertaran magazine. Well fine, but 4 July1991 ~~ not engaging in sober reasoning 1. Rodney King was a by the equally noxious and far -on the issue, but are carrying convicted cr i m i n al , ar med more hypocriticalforces of Modal out some hidden agenda that is robber, on parole. Not a Libertarianism), hadgottenchoke not part of official libertarian libertarian, or a model citizen, or holds outlawed as being unfair to programs and protocols. even a decent one. the poor criminals. Before getting to the hid- 2. Rodney King was 4. So what was left? The den agenda, let us consider the speeding maniacally on the cops shot Rodney King with a alleged provocation:the Rodney highways and on the city streets. tazer gun, which inflicts no lasting King case. We have here a When flagged down by the cops, harm, but which knocks out the problem of Rush to Judgment he speeded up, refusing to stop recipient’s muscles and forces by Videotape, part of the and be questioned. Anyone who him to lie down and be sub- trivialization and sentimental- knows anything about traffic or dued. Tazers always work - ization of public opinion, which any other cops knows that they except that Rodney King, though more and more resets on where liketheirordersforquiet,standing shot twice with a tazer, un- video cameras happen to be still, etc. to be obeyed, and they precedentedly showed no ill ef- pointing. Throughout the entire get nervous when these orders fects whatever. Like Rasputin, 20th century, the American aredisobeyed. And, in thecontext who seemed superhuman and public had never heard of a of our criminal urban population, invincible, Rodney King kept Kurd, and cared nothing about there is nothing wrong with that. dancing around maniacally and their dreams or aspirations, about their oppression or their betrayal by Henry Kissinger years ago. Then, because the videocameras of the world happened to be pointing in the direction of thousands of fleeing and poverty-stricken Kurds, George Bush was forced to re- verse his original decision not to intervene, and to send troops and supplies in for God knows how long to preserve an inde- pendent Kurdish entity. If theTV cameras had been pointed to Ethiopia, or toward the Shiites in southern Iraq, who knows what lady cop. What were the cops given the outlawing of the choke crazy intervention Bush would supposed to do in this situation? hold, therewasonly one thing the have felt forced to undertake? 3. In the good old days, cops could do: and that was to Yes, Rodney King was before left-liberalism did its evil beat Rodney King into submission vigorously beaten by L.A. cops work, the cops knew what to do with batons. Except a couple of with batons. In all the hysteria, in this potentially menacing baton blows couldn’t do it. Why no one seems to have asked situation. (Remember: they had did the cops keep beating King why they kept beating on King. no way of knowing if King was again and again with their ba- That’s because videocameras armed.) They would have tons? The Rasputin factor; he aredumb, and peoplewho follow administered a choke hold on simply wouldn’t go down. them blindly are even dumber. Rodney King, which would have Sorry, there was one more Videocameras know nothing of subdued him immediately. But thing the cops could have done: context. What was the context the noxious forces of left- they could have taken their guns of the King beating? liberalism (supported, no doubt, out and shot the S.O.B.. Would July1991 5 ~~~ ____~ ... sion should be all about, and used and anathema at a long-time lead and Ms. Modal? to be before the libertarians de- ing libertarian for one disagree- 5. There is life after the King cided to stop thinking for them- ment on a scarcely earth-shaking beating. A couple of weeks after selves and fall into a Politically issue? The answer is a hidden the incident, King ’allegedly Correct goosestep. agenda, and that agenda is the assaulted a police officer with a Essentially,Justin holds that entire social and cultural mind-set deadly weapon. Soon after that, while private guards might have of Left-Liberalism. For our beloved Rodney King, actually and not been justified in beating Rodney Modals are indeed social and CUI- simply allegedly picked up a King, that police, being govern- tural Leftists, more so even than transvestite prostitute in his truck; ment officers, must be held to afar we had originally suspected; they as they were about to perform a more rigorous standard. This is a have bought into the entire pano- lewd act, the cops advanced upon cogent position, with which I have ply of feminism, egalitarianism, them, whereupon King tried to run a great deal of sympathy, but I victimology, “civil rights,” the down a police officer with his car.