There are three important characteristics of a properly-functioning state:
| 1. | It holds a monopoly on violence within its borders; that is, it protects its citizens from both external invasion and internal criminal violence. | |
| 2. | It administers justice fairly and effectively among all citizens, enforcing the Common Law without favoritism or dereliction. | |
| 3. | Its justice must be seen to be done. |
The third characteristic is crucial. Writers on political economy have long recognized that if a state is to retain its legitimacy, justice must be seen to be done.
We live in a time when laws have proliferated extensively, so that virtually every citizen breaks at least one law every day, mostly without realizing it. Under these circumstances, it is important to remember the distinction between what is legal and what is just.
When a man coasts through a stop sign at an empty intersection, where he can see clearly that there is no traffic for a mile in all directions, and receives a traffic ticket as a result, this is legal but it is not just.
When a householder in Britain is fined £200 for improper use of a wheelie bin, this is legal but it is not just.
When Tommy Robinson is imprisoned in solitary confinement for several months for using someone else’s passport to enter the United States, this is legal but it is not just.
When an immigrant to Denmark who rapes a child and attempts to rape two others is sentenced to only six years in a comfortable Danish prison (of which he will serve three), and will not be deported after serving his sentence, this is legal but it is not just.
I will focus on this last example, because this particular crime is so monstrous and the outcome so egregiously unjust. The rape of a small child is an abomination, and until a century or so ago would generally have been punished with execution throughout the West. This is because death was widely viewed as a just reprisal for the crime: the child’s life, even if he or she survives the rape, has been in many ways functionally destroyed, as has that of the parents. When the rapist is executed, justice is seen to be done.
In the case of the Gullestrup child rape, let’s imagine a different outcome. Suppose the perpetrator, instead of being apprehended and arrested, had been caught in the act by a posse of local Danish men, including the father of the little girl. Let’s further imagine that after being roughly handled by the crowd, he was summarily judged by the father and a group of local notables, and then immediately hanged from the nearest tree tall and strong enough to bear his weight at the end of a rope.
This would have been grossly illegal, but in the eyes of the local community, justice would be seen to have been done.
In contrast, take a look at what actually happened. Peaceful, law-abiding Danes allowed the police to do their job. The man was arrested without being hurt. He was kept safe from harm under humane conditions, provided legal counsel (presumably at taxpayers’ expense), granted a trial with all the protections and legal procedures designed to ensure that his rights were not violated, and found guilty. The penalty prescribed by law was imposed upon him, and he was sentenced to six years in prison, of which he will likely serve three, and be deported upon release. After his lawyer appealed the sentence to a higher court, the deportation order was overturned.
In three years this young monster will be free to walk the streets of Denmark, including the village of Gullestrup. While on the sidewalk there he may pass his victim — who will not even have attained her majority at that point — and leer at her without fear of judicial reprisal.
This is all legal, but it is not just. And justice is not seen to have been done.
I would wager that more than 90% of the Danish populace — the remainder being socialist politicians, progressive theologians, academics, and media people — are outraged by this situation, and do not consider that justice has been done.
If repeated often enough, cases such as this one are poisonous to the polity at large. The state loses all legitimacy in the eyes of the people. Eventually, after they experience one too many instances of Law without Justice, some sort of civil insurrection against the established order is all but inevitable.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The situation described above is not confined to Denmark. It is, for example, far worse in Britain, where Muslim gangs that keep captive white girls — children — as sex slaves have operated with impunity for more than a decade. Rapists are often let off without a prison sentence by British courts. You don’t need The Daily Mail to tell you that justice is not seen to be done.
This process can continue for only so much longer. It’s like a large open room that is gradually filling up with invisible hydrogen gas. Everything looks normal, and activities continue as usual, until at some point a match is lit or a spark struck from a scrap of metal. Then, in the blink of an eye, everything changes.
It’s hard to say what the match or the spark will be in Denmark, Britain, or any other Western state. It could begin with a bout of mob violence after a particularly abominable crime goes unpunished. It could occur when the currency inflates, after which the power of the repressive state to coerce the conformity of its citizens will be severely reduced. Or it could be some other incident that can hardly be imagined now.
But the spark will someday be struck. And the building will go up.
That will be followed by a period of violence, horror, and lawlessness of indefinite duration. Afterwards the remnants of European civilization — and by that I mean white people of European descent, Jews, and the descendants of those from other cultures who have assimilated fully to their country and totally share its values — will gradually reform into proper, functioning states that protect their citizens and administer justice in the traditional way.
How will such a society treat the equivalent of the Gullestrup child-rapist?
I picture a process that would run something like this:
After suffering a black eye and a broken nose at the hands of the enraged citizens who apprehend him, the local constable intervenes and locks the rapist up out of harm’s way. The following morning he is arraigned before a magistrate, assigned legal counsel, and charged with the crime. If this occurs within the remnants of the Anglosphere, a jury is rapidly empanelled. The following day the trial is held. Witnesses give evidence, and the accused is allowed to plead his side of the case and call his own witnesses. Before the end of the day the guilty verdict is handed down by the judge (or jury), and the accused is sentenced to be hanged by the neck until he is dead. The morning after that (if it is not Sunday), he is led, blindfolded and sedated, to the platform, where he receives last rites from a minister of his faith. Then the trapdoor drops from under him as the assembled community watches.
Those observing this event see that justice has been done. The little girl whose life has been ruined will in future gain what little solace she may from knowing that the monster who did such horrible things to her has received his just reward. The parents of the little girl will continue in outrage and sorrow, but they are able to see that justice has been promptly served. The community at large will affirm that justice is seen to be done.
The above description probably offends most modern Westerners, who would view it as a barbaric atavism, a reversion to cultural practices that we are supposed to have evolved beyond.
Yet many people will agree that this is true justice. It’s hard to determine how many, because we are all aware of what we are supposed to feel and think about such matters, and we all know the potential consequences for expressing an incorrect opinion. In my part of the world, at least, I would expect the vast majority of citizens would agree in such circumstances that justice had been done.
This is because justice in this form was the norm throughout the West until four or five generations ago, and had been for centuries, since the rule of law was first established in the nations of Europe. Yes, it’s true that in those days vigilante justice, official malfeasance, corruption, and other flaws marred the smooth flow of justice. But what I described above was the rough norm in the European diaspora up until the beginning of the 20th century.
That’s when everything changed. The science of penology was invented, prisons were transformed into penitentiaries and reformatories, and rehabilitation became the order of the day. The rights of accused criminals were extended and elaborated by judicial fiat, penalties were reduced, and many acknowledged criminals escaped scot-free, quite legally.
And justice was not seen to be done.
This is an anomalous situation. It is aberrant and abhorrent to the vast majority of citizens. Therefore it cannot sustain itself much longer.
As the sage Lao Tzu said two and half millennia ago:
This is not the way of Tao.
Whatever is contrary to Tao will not last long.
Justice must be seen to be done.
Unfortunately I suspect that the ruling elites WANT a violent response, this will then give them due cause to TAKE absolute control and declare tyranny.
There are just too many provocative things going on at once for this to be accidental or coincidental
MC —
What you say may be true, but if so, I think they have made a serious strategic error.
When the change comes, it will be massive and rapid, and the magnitude of it cannot easily be guessed.
Nor can the nature and timing of it be predicted in any meaningful way — the situation is historically unprecedented.
He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you. …
> When the change comes, it will be massive and rapid
That change inevitably will come is just an optimistic assumption. If played well, which means letting every provocation fade away before the next one comes and never having so many at once to reach a critical boiling point, a state of tyranny can last forever.
Just remember North Korea as an example of how far you can actually go and how much you can abuse millions of people without any chance that they will revolt:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSWN6Qj98Iw
You absolutely can break down a once proud people, and eradicate any remaining spirit of defiance.
There is no reason to assume that Europeans somehow inherently can not be gradually transformed into North Koreans if the transformation steps are small and time-delayed enough.
I don’t agree that my assumption is “optimistic”.
Mathmematically speaking, the Western welfare states must collapse within a generation, possibly much sooner. The EU requires money to keep people in line. It cannot impose its tyranny with jackboots — it does not have the manpower. It can only rely on the power of the purse to use as coercion. That will soon evaporate from its hands.
At that point it will have a choice:
1. Form an oppressive quasi-military state force a la the KGB to suppress the populace. It lacks the youthful manpower to manage this, and will have to rely on young Muslim immigrants to fill the ranks of the new secret police. Will the natives submit meekly to such abuse? We shall see.
2. It can allow the situation to slide into anarchy and violence, with warring local gangs and ethnic groups. History shows that this is not a reliable way for a state to maintain control — it is a prescription for pushing the most violent insurrectionists into power as a new (repressive) government. These will be either the Muslims or the ultra-nationalists, depending on who has the superior numbers.
In either case, the EU superstate’s days are numbered. I can’t see it unfolding otherwise.
Quote:
You absolutely can break down a once proud people, and eradicate any remaining spirit of defiance.
end
The history of the West indicates otherwise.
People don’t need to be proud to persist.
All they need is the wisdom to see their interests and the courage to pursue them.
I doubt if this backlash will actually happen. A more likely scenario is gradual dumbing down of
positive and natural thinking as in the article. In other words, we are on our way to oblivion, without a whimper.
You forget one very important thing, there will be many that will not go quietly into the night and will fight back with a vengeance.
I don’t believe the ruling elites want a violent response. All they want is for the white, western civilization to die as quickly and as quietly as possible. If violence occurs during the process, so be it.
As for needing the violence as an excuse to take absolute control, I’d argue that their already doing quite a splendid job of taking unprecedented control of formerly free western societies without any significant uprising from the indigenous people. They’re probably laughing themselves to sleep each night thinking “We never thought it would be this easy.”
One would expect a serious violent response would eventually come from the natives but given how much the natives have already surrendered without a street fight I’m wondering if they really do have a breaking point.
“I don’t believe the ruling elites want a violent response. All they want is for the white, western civilization to die as quickly and as quietly as possible.” But can they really want this? How do they imagine the world to be without the West and how do they think they can survive in such a world?
In the vast majority of cases members of the establishment are in it for themselves and are merely hitching a ride on the world view of the moment because it provided them with the best living. When that world view changes, when the paradigm shift occurs, when the camel’s back is broken, then they will shift their opinion.
This is the one thing I cannot understand. Allegedly they want the white race gone as they think ruling over a world of brown people will be a doddle, presumably looking at comparative iq levels and the pesky Europeans’ love of freedom and democracy, left free of mass immigration they would never have gone along with this one world government nonsense. However, have they thought what the world would have looked like if Europeans had never existed? China, Japan and India and the Middle East would have been in the equivalent of the European Middle Ages and most of the rest would have been living in the stone age. And how do they think the world will be without Europeans to invent things and advance mankind? Even the Japanese admit they can only copy and improve, the same the Chinese and the Indians have invented nothing; literally they were responsible for the concept of zero, as useful as that has been.
They have succeeded in Europe because Europeans have been leaderless. Any leaders who tried to reverse the trend were labelled far right Nazis shaming Europeans into withholding their votes and making them feel sort of dirty and illiberal. This is especially true of Britain.
We need to keep our hope up until the moment of transition arises, and to do that we need to become aware of the subtle signs of transition as they arise.
If I may stretch your hydrogen simile to the snapping point, spaces in the edifice of society are filling with a metaphorical hydrogen, odorless, colorless, and potentially explosive. But hydrogen gas is lighter than air, and tends to accumulate in the most poorly ventilated upper reaches of whatever spaces it is leaking into. Hydrogen at atmospheric pressure has a higher speed of sound than air, which will make the sounds issuing from those contaminated spaces shriller than sounds coming from the underlying air. (Breathe in from a balloon, and say something silly—enough hydrogen or helium gas in a man’s lungs will turn his voice soprano.) This acoustic effect is certainly too subtle for the untrained ear, but there are other physical signs to watch for, e.g., gas leaks necessarily involve expansion into the space being contaminated, and expansion causes cooling (Charles’ Law). Perhaps there is enough expansion to cause water vapour to condense around the leak, or perhaps the expansion will be swift enough to make a soft, shrill whistle.
Enough—I’m starting to torture the poor simile. My point is simply that the very subtle signs that a potentially explosive mixture is forming are observable, and the first to observe gets to decide what happens next. Let’s hope that observer assesses the situation correctly and then does the right thing, whether it be open up vents, or run to cover and toss in a lit mat of firecrackers, in the hopes a small deflagration now will prove better than a massive conflagration later.
Consider the Philippines and then the DDR. No matter how stringently the powers-that-were controlled their media, once enough of the people they misruled became disgusted, they fell, and with a suddenness that surprised most foreign onlookers.
Ludwig —
No matter how stringently the powers-that-were controlled their media, once enough of the people they misruled became disgusted, they fell, and with a suddenness that surprised most foreign onlookers.
Absolutely true.
And, to change metaphors whilst remaining on-topic:
Of course I am not a conspiracist but I had reason to have a fresh look at the 11 principles of the Frankfurt School the other day. I was suprised to see how relevant they are to developments in the Western World since the War. With particular reference to this item, I read that one was to create an unreliable legal system with a bias against the victim. This has been the case in the UK for the last 40 years at least with judges weeping into their morning tea on hearing the sob stories told by slimey barristers about their clients.
I hope you will not castigate me for continuing slightly off topic but still in line with the Marxist one world agenda. I wonder whether bloggers outside the United Kingdom are aware of the change to the oath to be sworn by our girl guides. I don’t know whether this just affects the UK or is to be world-wide. When I was a boy scout we used to swear to serve God and the Queen. The girl guides already were not bound to swear to serve the Queen presumably for fear of offending staunch republicans. The Queen had been replaced by my country.
The oath they will have to swear from now on effectly removes the existence of the nation state and replaces it by a collection of communities already in accordance with the one world agenda. It is all very much Marxist international. They now have to promise to serve their community, be it Pakistani muslim, Indian Sikh, Indian Hindu, Afro-Carribean, African, Chinese, Polish and the dwindling number of indigenous white British. We now have a communities secretary. Presumably, there is no longer any requirement that those who have settled here since the War need to promise to serve the country they have colonised. This will of course be joy to the ears of anti-British muslims. I have no doubt that the same thing is on the cards for the US, indeed I wonder whether Obama is already planning to remove the oath of allegiance to the flag on the basis that it is too nationalistic.
But the second part is worse. Serving God has been replaced by staying true to one’s beliefs. Hence if any girl is a member of the Red Brigade or a potential islamic suicide bomber then that is fine because she will be staying true to her beliefs. My methodist minister made an interesting point, all totalitarian systems; and he should have said all socialist totalitarian systems remove God so that they can replace him with their totalitarian ideology; He was replaced by Napoleon, even the Lord Protector, Uncle Joe, The Fuehrer, Il duce, Chairman Mao and the Dear Leader. I am anticipating that over time the oath with be to the Dear Leader or World President and One World Government. I am not surprised that this has begun with the guides as the female psyche is dominated by the family, the home and the immediate community, world peace and gun control more than the man’s whose role is to protect a larger area and be more circumspect about those beyond our borders and the need to use weapons for protection. A female blogger may now take me to task for saying so.
Well, there’s an interesting twist to this case. Initially and instantly after the verdict – the one that canceled the prior expulsion order – many Danish MSM had to close down their comments sections. The outrage among Danes was astronomical. Some people called for lynching of the judges, some promised that Mr. Ahmed Mohammed wouldn’t survive, no matter what. And then realism set in: why execute a pious Muslim who did nothing ‘out of the ordinary’? – After all he just followed the prescription of Islam, he just raped a 10 years old girl (and tried to repeat it on another, this one 9 years old), both girls white and older than the 6-year threshold of Mohammed himself. So, what Danes are talking about right now is high treason. Our politicians, journalist and assorted Muslim-importers have been presented with photos of a very special and humble shed, i.e. the one we used for executing traitors after WW2.
Exactly. The judges, government officials, media etc are guilty of treason and attempted genocide.
Since I made my own experiences with the criminal judiciary system – and I mean they *are* criminal crooks (so I’m not talking about criminal vs civil justice) -, I have been against capital punishment.
I might change my mind to a certain degree if the judiciary were run by the people, jurists had nothing more than an advisory function, and – most of all – if those indicted were politicians and the like – the higher up the hierarchy the better.
“legal” and “just” The difference between them and their impact on human beings and their lives.
Thank you Baron for discerning such minutiae vital differences. This is real enlightenment in a New Dark Age that came upon us in the 1970s, when Western politicians and Professors started to develop a perverted mind that they can’t distinguish between a prophet and a pedophile.
God help the West what is going to be the outcome of this passionate mind perversity, when they think it is unusual wisdom.
When 15-17 year old “youths” are found guilty of gang-rape in Sweden the “punishment” is typically community service for 35-150 hours (yeah, I’ve seen 35) and a small fine. If they’re below 15 they get nothing (punishment-wise, but they get turned over to the social services, which means… pretty much nothing.)
First etymology: ‘morality’ comes from the latin word ‘mores’ meaning norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance within a particular society (not universal). I have no doubts that this black (so sorry I am not colorblind), Muslim adolescent has some ‘mores’ of his own and they probably are meaningful in Somalia, an adaptive behavior, so to say, in his lower IQ homeland, and yes I am equating IQ to ethic (commandments if you are of religious leanings).
His perception of our liberties though, translates into ‘do whatever you want without any retribution at all’. So let’s add up: untamed youth (liberal education) + Islamic supremacy ideology + lawlessness perception (no recognizable morality) + low IQ (no ethics) = feral behavior.
Anarchists for their part, are delighted for obvious reasons and the leftist 2.0 claim that schooling and subsidies will solve the problem. Elites think for themselves how pathetic the poor are.
What about the girls? The girls raped are just collateral damage and that’s it…for now.
Job for Vlad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1gO5sthjzI
Sure I would prefer my solution ….. at present its going towards “hers”.
Sorry – I found just before there is already a subtitle version in English on the You tube Vid.
I loved this video, but I would love it even more if I thought somebody other than Israel really meant it. Show me! Actions, not words!
I loved that video, but I’d love it even more if I thought somebody besides Israel really meant it!
Actions, not words!
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A quick and easy death is not just punishment for causing a lifetime of torment to 2 innocent children and 1 innocent teenager. No. Much better to send him to the living hell of Somalia. This is justice because it is to visit upon him the form of life he spread to those innocents.
“…it’s true that in those days vigilante justice, official malfeasance, corruption, and other flaws marred the smooth flow of justice. ..”
As if our modern, social democratic world can really boast of doing things better.
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The somali child-rapist (Ahmed Omar Mohamed) also went to a Al-Qaeda or Al-Shabaab training camp i Somalia (by the request of his mother…). Of couse we do not want to deport a rapist, serial sex offender and a potential terrorist… Of course he’ll stay…
In a rcent poll in one of Denmarks largest newspapers 98% voted in favor of his deportation.
The danes are ANGRY!
I can see that my post have been deletet.
I guess it’s because of the name of the child-repist and serial sex offender var made public in it.
According to danish law it is perfectly leagal to make the names of convicted person public. In most cases the court documents are made public also, that is in line with usual principals of justice – and good judicial practices.
Polka Charlie —
Your post was never “deleted”. We have comment moderation, which means that no comment is posted until Dymphna or I approve it.
When we are asleep, there is a delay. It’s the same every night — OUR night, which for you Scandinavians is about 07.00 to 15.00.
> Baron Bodissey
Ok, I’m sorry about that.
Must be the heat wave – the vikings ideal condition is rain and storm… 😉
The West is already dead. Fully dead, because the society that will crush Islam will resemble in nothing the Classical Liberal and Judeo-Christian culture. The faces can be white, they can be male, they can be straight, they may speak Indo-European tongues, but Westerners they will be not.
As an extremely successful trial lawyer explained to me: “It’s not about justice. It’s about winning.” wink, wink; nod, nod.