by Eric Peters

February 2, 2024 - The late great Libertarian author William Grigg used to say there’s no situation so bad that involving cops won’t make it worse.

Why did he say that?

Well, let’s begin with this business of being forced to pay for cops - even if you don’t want their “services,” as they’re styled; most of which entail making you (and others) pay for other things you (and they) may not want, either - such as what are styled  “fines” (i.e., enforceable demands that you pay money) for not wearing a seatbelt or a helmet if you ride a motorcycle; and so many other things you’d probably for which you would rather not be forced to pay; much less be forced to pay the salaries of the people who force you to pay for these things.

These people also have power - more precisely, the power of the State - which they can and will wield against you for all kinds of reasons. For any reason. They have the power, after all; and you do not.

Invite them into your life at your peril.

Which brings up a problem I once dealt with that some people might have tried to deal with by calling the cops - which is what many people have been trained to do; probably in order to train them to be unable to deal with problems themselves. This benefits the State in the same way that it is a boon to the owner of a dog that the animal is dependent upon its owner.

I once had a neighbor - more precisely, the neighbor had a teenaged child who would leave on the stereo he had in his garage, loud country music emanating from there, all night long. You’d be surprised how far country music carries - in the country. At first, I assumed it was just a late-nighter, and while it was annoying to hear it inside my house - which was across the road and at least 500 yards distant - I tried to ignore it, figuring it was a one-time thing. Maybe he forgot to turn off the stereo.

But it stayed on for several days straight.

Now I’d had interaction with these people before - over one of their dogs coming onto my property and killing several of my chickens. I went over there to discuss the matter - to tell them this was not acceptable; that they need to keep their dog off my property. Instead of an acknowledgement and an apology, I got “he’s a nice dog” and “he doesn’t mean any harm”. I explained that I’m sure he is a nice dog - and doesn’t mean any harm - but that he nevertheless did cause harm; and that if it happens again, I’ll deal with it.

Maybe that’s why they began to play the country music at top volume all night long.

I let it go for a couple of nights - until I couldn’t let it go any longer. I now know why they barrage the inmates of Gitmo with loud, annoying music for days on end.

However, I didn’t call the cops. Instead, I went out to my barn and fired up my very loud diesel tractor and drove it to the edge of my land, its brights pointed directly at the source of the noise - their house.  I turned up the throttle to produce some noise of my own.

Within five minutes of this, the country music ceased, so I turned off the lights and shut off the tractor.

Peace - without the cops.

I haven’t had any issues with those people since.

Maybe, in part, because I didn’t sic the cops on them. I don’t know, of course. But it seems not unlikely. They may have appreciated a more neighborly approach. No armed strangers with the power of the State radiating from their badges and guns. No reports or fines. Just their neighbor helping them understand that no one likes having his peace affronted.

Let’s just have a discussion - and figure out the answers ourselves. That’s how people used to handle things, before they got conditioned to passively await government agents to handle things for them.

It doesn’t always work out, of course. But then, neither does calling the cops.