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Cheap Seats 2020Tantrums - 06/24 
By Rich Trzupek
The essential, insolvable problem with anarchy is that it creates a void in the structure of society that must be filled. History tells us that doing so is rarely pretty and most often tragic.
The children who built their play fort in the middle of Seattle demand – DEMAND! – that the Seattle police be disbanded and refuse to let any law enforcement inside the play fort. The mayor of Seattle, a moron in office if there ever was one (perhaps we should refer to such creatures as “mayrons” from now on?) – refused to break up the party out of fear that the children will throw another hissy fit.
As every parent knows, when you give in to a screaming child, the only thing you’ve done is to invite more and louder screaming the next time the kid doesn’t get his or her way. Had Mayron Jenny Durkan allowed the police to move quickly and decisively when the children started acting up the tantrum would be long over. At this point, that’s water over the dam though one hopes her inaction will serve as an object lesson to other municipal leaders of what not to do.
At this point, there is – in this writer’s humble opinion – only one viable solution to deal with the children in their play fort: ignore them. Going back to Parenting 101, there’s no better way to deal with a temper tantrum than to pay no attention to the child throwing it.
In today’s America, any attempt to clear the play fort by force, using the National Guard, state police or Seattle cops would be a disaster. Try as they might to avoid it the soldiers and cops taking part in the operation would be sure to at least injure some of the children and one cannot rule out the possibility of someone getting themselves killed. We can safely assume few of the children would “come quietly,” so casualties would be inevitable. And with casualties comes a whole new round of teeth-gnashing and temper tantrums.
Law enforcement is one of the foundations of a civilized society. Without law enforcement there is no restraint on the worst among us. Mankind returns to a state of nature, and the result of that is horrific. This is not because people are generally bad. They’re not. Most people are good at heart. But there are enough bad people in the world that, absent the protection of law enforcement, even the best of us gets swept up in cycles of violence, at least as a means of self-defense. Mayron Durkan might want to pick up a copy of “Lord of the Flies” to learn more about this subject.
By rejecting the concept of law enforcement, the children in Fort Seattle have rejected civilized society as we know it. So, why should they be given any of the other gifts of civilized America in the 21st century? When I say ignore them, I mean cut the children in their play fort off from any municipal, state or federal services. You don’t get to pick and choose which part of duly enacted system of laws you are subject to and not subject to. If you choose to withdraw from some of civilized society, then the rest of its benefits should not be available to you either.
Cut off all public utilities inside the tree fort as a start. No running water, no electricity, no gas, no sewer maintenance. Stop any municipal collection of refuse. Don’t fix streets or sidewalks. No fire protection or EMS services should be allowed inside the tree fort either. All of these benefits accrue to those citizens who have committed to a social contract with their government. If the children want to play at being grown-ups, let them go all the way.
Email: richtrzupek@gmail.com
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