Posse Incitatus

Civilization

The Belmont Club offers its usual insight in regards to the anarchy in London and makes a key point:  what keeps public order is not force, but legitimacy: 

Since no police force has the numbers to be everywhere at once, it maintains order through the force of its name, the power of the uniform. This was once known as ‘prestige’; today it is better known as ‘legitimacy’.  Although as insubstantial as air it is as vital as oxygen. Without it things become very dificult. Once the authorities begin lose their prestige they must rely ever more heavily on force, of which there is never, ever enough.

In one sense legitimacy is the fiction on which society is based. It is to government what confidence is to a bank.  As long as everyone believes that the bank will pay the depositor no one will demand all his money back. As long as most believe that the King’s justice is effectively invincible, no one will challenge it. But when a government behaves in a supine manner for an extended period — or a bank refuses to pay out without a good reason — then doubts begin to grow. Both legitimacy and confidence are more severely tested and once it is known that there isn’t enough money in the bank to pay everyone nor enough cops in the station house to arrest everyone then the fiction is bust.

A deadly cycle begins to set in. Both the government — or the bank — have to make payouts in force or money more frequently than they otherwise would. There is a “run” on this key resource and their are bankrupted. Financially in the bank’s case and politically in the case of government.  When confidence finally dwindles to its last remaining levels the declining institution must either risk everything on the last throw to restore it or face collapse.

This is one of the reasons the Posse has pointed out that looting in response to a natural disaster or civil disorder is the absolute worst thing one can do.  It is also the reason we take a dim view of “survivalists” who think that hoarding bullets and canned food out in the country will make them immune from a society-wide catastrophe.  In fact it will not and the isolation of a farmstead will make it easy pickings when roving bands – who will likely be well-armed as well if law-enforcement has been overwhelmed – decide to take what they have.

The key to preserving order is to support it from outside – to add a shot of adrenaline to the faltering system.  In the bank run example, it is putting in a large deposit to help cover the bank’s needs – and also send a signal of confidence.

In the case of the police, it is to organize one’s neighbors and support the police by bringing them supplies (a bottle of cool water on a hot day goes quite far) – and if necessary additional manpower.  This gives them renewed confidence and also additional resources.  If they know your neighborhood is secure, they can concentrate themselves elsewhere.

It is a simple concept: If one person’s property is in danger, everyone’s is at risk.  This is exactly how the mob thinks – if it can rob one store, it can rob them all, and so it will do as it pleases.

This was seen most clearly during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  While the New Orleans Police Dept. was shooting civilians and looting Wal-Mart, armed citizens came together and looked after one another.  As one resident of the French Quarter put it:  “Some people became animals, we became more civilized.”

The ultimate measure of the society’s strength is the willingness of its members to defend it.  When citizens become passive onlookers to the destruction of their wealth, the society they have known cannot survive.  

Yet Europe and UK takes the exact opposite view – with predictable results.

I am an optimist and I believe that the residual tradition of self-reliance is what will get the United States through the perils to come.  Time and again, Americans have showed amazing resiliency and a remarkable capacity for self-help.  When seconds count, we expect the government to get there late and bring a check book.

Civilization requires someone to defend it.  Europeans have decided to leave that job to the "experts" and let events take their course.  Here in the US - in the jurisdictions that still function - we are letting the people handle it themselves.

Aaron Sorkin hates Native Americans

One of the things I like about Sarah Palin is the fact that she is totally self-aware:  she knows that just about everything she does pisses off liberals, so she doesn’t try to mitigate it in any way.

In this respect she is very similar to Rush Limbaugh, who has never taken prisoners in his struggle against the left.

I have watched a few episodes of her new reality show, and while I have not seen the hunting episode, I look forward to watching it.

Not so eager, however, was Aaron Sorkin, who penned a nasty little screed over at the Puffington Host (of course I learned about it through the Hated Instapundit).

Other blogs have already taken the easy shots (so to speak) of noting that Sorkin has a cocaine problem.  What surprises us is that they ignored a much more important point:  Aaron Sorkin hates Native Americans.

When he analogizes hunting to dog fighting and denounces hunters as being cruel, he’s (unwittingly, of course) condemning tribal communities all across this continent for whom the hunt is not just about pleasure, but a sacred ritual and essential tradition.

Are they all sick?  Should they all be imprisoned?  I’d be fascinated to hear Sorkin explaining his thoughts on how (like all good Hollywood liberals) he believes in multiculturalism and toleration while denouncing one of the most critical aspects of Native American culture.

Of course hunting crosses all cultural boundaries in America, which is one of the great things about it.  What Sorkin fails to understand is that hunting is perhaps the most natural thing in the world – far more natural than writing scripts for a medium that didn’t even exist 80 years ago.

It is a universal experience, and it is no accident that hunters are more in tune with nature (and contribute more to preserving it) than suburb-dwelling liberals.  To walk the woods in pursuit of game is to understand the pulse of nature, to re-enter the circle of life.  That phrase is more than just a throwaway Tim Rice lyric, it is an essential truth that liberals simply don’t get.

Hunters know that if their game drinks polluted water, they too will be polluted.  They also understand that building massive Al Gore/John Edwards hideaways destroys habitat and forces animals into closer proximity with humans – with dire consequences for both.

Moreover, hunters know that nature is not kind, that the truth about life in the wild is that it is violent and harsh.  A century ago Jack London documented this for increasingly urbanized audiences in Call of the Wild and other stories which showed nature as it was - “red in tooth and claw.”

 That is a timeless truth.  Despite our increasing seperation from nature, and our attempts to convince ourselves that we can live a post-industrial, electronic lifestyle without harming Gaia or injuring other living things, there will always be a food chain and if we want to live, we had better be on top of it.

Some may say that Sorkin's real objection is that Palin takes pleasure in the kill, but all hunters do.  The kill is the culmination of the hunt and the closing of the circle.  It represents the completion of the task - no different from the fisherman bringing in his catch or the farmer gathering his harvest.  All are essential for our survival.

Once again, Palin has helped rip aside the mask of liberal tolerance and shows an increasingly informed electorate that the biggest bigots today are on the left, and in Hollywood.

Just when I thought it was safe to buy ammo again...

I’ve been remiss in gun blogging of late, but I was about to note that the bullet bubble seems to have subsided.  All the major stores in the area are fully-stocked and some calibers are even on sale.  Of course, even the “sale” prices are higher than the “normal” prices a few years ago, but still, things were looking up.

And then I saw this.

Seriously? 

I guess I’d better buy a few boxes before the shelves are cleared.

I like to think that someone in the White House’s political office is reading this and shouting “Are you *@#!ing kidding?!  Do you want us to lose every election this fall?!” 

The last thing the Democrats in Congress need is EPA to attempt a de facto gun ban and demonstrate that this administration is totally clueless.  The NRA had been pretty quiet of late.

Well, not any more.

EXIT QUESTION:  Will the EPA chief be given the Sherrod treatment before this is over?  Just asking.

The darkening scene

The international news gets darker and darker.  Like anyone with a decent knowledge of history, I can’t decide what year of the 1930s we’re emulating – or who is playing what role.  Is North Korea Nazi Germany or does that part fall to Iran?  Are the Israelis the Czechs or the Poles?

Are we in 1930?  1931?  1937?   How close to the conflagration are we?

The Abyss beckons.

North Korea has torpedoed a South Korea warship.  What price will they pay for this act of war?  The administration would prefer to ignore it, but in Asia, the concept of honor – “face” – still has meaning.  South Korea cannot afford to let this affront stand.

The Euro is disintegrating and the entire economy of Europe trembles.  The statesmen in London, Paris and Berlin are powerless as political instability makes their own hold on power tenuous at best.  Who can rise to leadership in these circumstances?  England has an awkward coalition, Germany’s leader is now reviled by her own party and France is…France.

Despite having held the spigot wide open for more than a year, despite billions of dollars pumped into the economy, deflation is beginning to rear its ugly head here in the U.S.

Last week the thought entered my head – buy gold, guns and seed crops.  Then I saw this link on Instapundit.

Meanwhile, Miss America is a Muslim from Dearborn.  I didn’t watch the pageant (I never do) so I don’t care much for the commentary one way or the other.  Donald Trump clearly wants people to pay attention and if this is what it takes to boost ratings, good for him.

Last night Sithkitten proposed the Question of the Day:  If she’s murdered for insulting Islam, will anyone care?

I’d say no, not really.  The usual suspects will note that she was awfully provocative, and anyway beauty pageants are awful and should be banned outright.  I expect NOW will make some sort of “Of course we deplore violence against women BUT…” statement, thus completing the final act of feminism’s self-betrayal.

Those whose eyes are already open, on the other hand, will simply nod in grim acknowledgement and buy more bullets.  They are out there – I even heard an advertisement for them on WJR in Detroit.

Still, it’s a dispiriting way to start the week.

I try to be an optimist, but the administration is making it harder every day…

Zombies overrun National Review

Over at The Corner, Jonah Goldberg is displaying his usual willingness to go where his colleagues won't - in this case, discussing the lurking zombie peril.

The Posse of course has been way out in front of this issue and our post on shooting zombies still gets new comments now and again.

I've read the Zombie Survival Guide, and to be honest, it sucks.  The first few pages are funny and well-written, but most of the advice is pretty lousy.

He's wrong about how AR-15s work, his concept of not using machineguns or grenades defies any sort of logic, and for the life of me I can't understand how, if the shambling undead are too stupid to put up a ladder or ramp, they are going to know enough to climb an anchor chain just 'cause it's there.

Let's face it, zombies are a pretty easy peril to overcome.  One thing we are very good at killing is people.  I stand by my assertion that using a .22 to plink away at this things from the rooftop is probably the most efficient and entertaining method to take them down, but there are alternatives.

Zombies are made of flesh and bone - they are not merely animate skeletons ala Army of Darkness or some such.  That means if you shred muscle and bone, they aren't going to work as well.  If the spine is severed, the legs won't work.  Of course, we all know that the zombie will still come after you, but paraplegic zombies aren't nearly as scary.

This is particularly the case if they are the hyperfast zombies of 28 Days Later.  Tearing their legs off with Claymore mines or the equivalent would go a long way to restoring them to inanimate condition.  Besides, those freaks aren't necessarily zombies, so it should be possible to simply ventilate them like a normal human.

In any event, Goldberg is right on track when he ridicules the "superior planning ability" of gamers.  I've been gaming since elementary school and almost without exception, most post-apocalyptic planning from these folks boils down to looting the local Wal-Mart, which is of course, a stupid idea.

Hurricane Katrina was a full dress rehearsal of what a zombie outbreak would look like.  While much of the press coverage hyped the helplessness and anarchy, a few reporters found that the more intrepid residents found ways to survive - by forming tribes:

“Some people became animals,” Vasilioas Tryphonas said Sunday morning as he sipped a hot beer in Johnny White’s Sports Bar on Bourbon Street. “We became more civilized.”

Exactly.  When barbarians are at the gate and civilization wavers, the brave ones who will save it are the ones who stand fast, not those who head for the hills until things blow over.

The problem with zombies

This week Sithkitten and I saw Zombieland, which was quite amusing.  If you like zombie movies - and all the over-the-top gross stuff that they embody - this is your movie.

But it does highlight one of the genre's big problems - how the damn disease spreads so quickly.

Like other zombie films, the disease is carried by the bite.  All well and good, and it has that nice "best friend/lover/spouse/kid inevitably goes bad after a bit" vibe going on.  You know, "Kill me now, before it takes over."

And they never do, and then you get the horrifying transformation, etc.

But think about it: if the zombie bites a victim once, it will probably bite again and again until the only thing that can animate is a pile of body parts.  Far from spreading easily, the zombie virus should be very hard to spread - the only ones who get are the ones who almost get caught.  Basically the walking wounded.

Some other, better vector is required.

Just saying.

First thing we do, we knock over Wal-Mart

The signs of impending doom are everywhere. Swine Flu in Mexico. ChiComs fleeing dollars and buying gold. And of course, the undead could spring up at any time.

Yet people still are acting as if the proper response to disaster is to loot. How many times has one heard this kind of plan:

“First thing we do, we go to Wal-Mart and rob the place. They have food, camping gear, guns and ammunition.”

Great idea. Like no one else will do the same thing.

As we saw with Hurricane Katrina, even the police joined in the fun. Gee, they have badges and are already well armed. Either they will stop the looting (because it is their job) or they will join in, in which case you still won’t get anything.

And then of course there’s the ammo shortage.

For those that aren’t aware, right now there is an ammunition shortage. If you want 9mm, .38 Special or .45 ACP (to name but a few) and you live in Lansing, you are out of luck. Wal-Mart doesn’t have any. Dunhams is out. Meijer is out. Classic Arms has some (expensive) stuff, but their limit is one box per customer per day. And, given their considerable firepower, I wouldn’t recommend trying to rob them, either.

So even if you are the first looter through the door (and you don’t get shot), you’re not going to get anything for your trouble.

No, the proper thing to do is have some on hand. The ammo shortage is expected to wind down as the hoarders get sated and the ammo producers add extra shifts.

When that happens, buy an extra box or two and set it aside. Do this each time you go shopping and in no time, you will have a healthy reserve.

Which brings us to the larger point about disasters: The worst thing that can happen is for society to come apart. Humans are social animals. We need each other to survive. Civilization is fragile, but also reparable. It can take huge disruptions and recover. In the event of a pandemic or zombie outbreak, the goal should be to keep as much of civilization intact as possible and one of the cornerstones of that order is respect for each other’s property.

Looting and hoarding will only speed the total collapse. Instead of knocking over Wal-Mart, you should be defending it – it and other stores with needed food and supplies. Help such civil authorities as are still functioning to distribute and protect these supplies. If there are no authorities, form one with your neighbors. The communities that did best during Katrina were the ones whose members banded together and offered mutual support.

The time to prepare for a disaster is when things are going well. By the time it crosses your mind that raiding the local big box retailer is a good idea, things have already slipped too far for it to do you much good.