Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Cops, Drug Dealers, Baseball

I had an interesting conversation last night with this guy at the bus stop. He told me about when he played baseball in college. Now, as always goes in these sort of stories, he was exceptionally good. I made the leap and believed him. But any embellishment aside, he told me when he was growing up the local drug dealers wouldn't let anyone mess with him. That they would tell him to go away when he came around. He said this was because any young black kids that were good at sports were supported by the community, including the drug dealers. He said the dealers saved a lot of lives by keeping these kids away from them.

"Get out of here," they'd say, "you know what we do."

For the record, I don't give a shit if people want to buy, sell, and/or do drugs. However, the drug trade as it is now is largely part of the red market (violent and degenerate) due to state prohibition. Many of these street dealers are violent, coercive thugs, despite the fact that they often help and protect people in their community.

Police can be described in much the same way. Their organization is not a product of the free market, but IS a product of state mandate (violent and coercive means). As an organization, they are often brutal, and violent, despite the fact that many cops help and protect people in their community. They are also part of the red market.

However, when a street dealer is shot, there are no road blocks, man hunts, or any other kind of massive state mobilization. When these folks are killed on the job it is written off as their own fault. They chose that life. They chose to behave in immoral fashions and had it coming to them. If you break the law, you face the consequences.

Two kinds of workers, both red market, both capable of charity, and both built on a foundation of violence and coercion. Yet, somehow, this culture deems one moral and virtuous, and the other, not.

And that, dear readers, is stupid.

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