Tax Day Rall(e)ys

Tomorrow is Tax Day, and people are organizing "Tea Parties" to protest unrestrained government spending. These rallies are taking place from sea to shining sea, and the scope of this protest is relatively new. This has led some sheep-minded liberals to assert that this is conservative astroturfing specifically organized to foment opposition to Obama's fiscal policies. However, as a former Ron Paul supporter, I recall similar protests endorsed by Dr. Paul in 2008 and 2007 (original site is 404'ed). My initial reaction to this was, overall, positive. As an anarchist, I deny theft by the state in any form, taxes being the most common. However, I will not participate in these protests for two reasons.

First, the people organizing and participating in these protests are statists, and are okay with being considered government property, they just want fewer and lower rates of state theft.

Second, I will not associate with any of these people.

And, just for fun, here's a picture promoting the tea party in Peoria, IL before...

and after some grammatical revision...

Maybe they burned the dictionaries with the rest of the books? Or maybe they pay so much in taxes that they can't afford a program with spell-check? Or maybe they're just a bunch of anti-intellectual morons who don't like black presidents. Considering what the video showed, I'd tend toward the latter.

However, I will be attending the rall(e)y tomorrow to tape the antics I hope to witness.

I can totally understand why they're mad as hell

about the state of their country. However what they fail to recognize is that the measures the wish implemented don't put liberty first, they just negotiate with fascism.

NOTE: As I'm writing this, my grandfather is watching a FOX News report about how the Department of Homeland Security just released a report about these protests, intimating that they are "right-wing radicals". Here's the report: WARNING PDF. Where was the outrage at FOX when PBR's (People Besides Republicans) protested terrible statist policies?

Jesus fucking Christ, they arrested a FUCKING JOURNALIST!!!!!!

They must have been covering the real news instead.

Depression

I'm depressed. Not the "I hate/dislike/am disappointed with my life", the "I'm angry/fearful of the world I'm handing my children" type of depression. As an individual am doing all I can to isolate myself and my loved ones from the corrupt economic and political systems that enslave and deceive us. However, I feel I should be doing more. For instance, I should actively participate in my Food Not Bombs Chapter; I should work harder and save my money so I have options should things turn for the worse; I just should be doing more.

But what else can I do? The aforementioned actions I could take are compromises at best. There is a foundational flaw in my life somehow, and I think I found it. America is built on a flawed system of property and representation. Flawed from my perspective, anyway. I believe the supreme goal that all systems of production, society, and economy should be human happiness. The American system of capitalism is perfect for creating wealth and concentrating it within the clutches of a few individuals (in modern times, read "corporations"). A normal person has no other option than to sell his/her labor for a wage while a capitalist gleans profit due to his/her name being on the deed to the property and other invested capital. This sad truth is disheartening. It feels like I'm swimming upstream both financially and ideologically. The system of representation in These United States is limited to choosing between two equally terrible candidates every two, four, and six years. I cannot bring my grievances to anyone with any glimmer of hope that I might be either listened to or offered a real solution. My choices are limited to either compromising my morals on a daily basis, or starve, or fight back and be either imprisoned or killed by the state. As you can see, I don't like the options I'm presented with.

That's why I've been contemplating a fourth solution: Just leave. Leave the country. Why should I limit myself to life within the confines of any certain state? Just because I was born in a certain arbitrarily defined geographical area doesn't mean that I must pledge loyalty to the most powerful entity (the government) within that area. Indeed, the only thing that keeps most people from pursuing what makes them happy is the threat of overwhelming coercion on the part of the state, be it through captivity, theft, pain, or murder.

But then I run into another problem: Where would I go?

I've been tossing a couple of places...

• 
  Exarchia, Greece: Not a state or city, but an anarchist neighborhood within Athens that is largely left alone by the Greek government. Considering the turmoil in which Greece is embroiled right now, this may change. Either the insurrection is successful, which is unlikely at this time, or the state instills enough fear in the population to stem the onslaught of rocks and molotovs.

• 
  Southern Chiapas, Mexico: The EZLN ceased violent insurrectionary tactics and abided by the peace treaty they signed with the Mexican Government in '96. Since then it has focused on media and international support. I'm okay with living under a Council of Good Government. I am concerned about how they might receive a foreigner from the States. I may be viewed with suspicion, and thus be unable, at least at first, to live a productive and fulfilling life.

These are the top two so far, but I'm looking for others. If you have any suggestions, leave a comment.