Thank You For Oppressing Us

Yesterday Mr. Roosevelt, having finished up his tour of the Arizona Territory, addressed a crowd of people regarding the prospect of Arizona Statehood. Mr. Roosevelt asserted that no one should have the right to dictate to someone else what type of government they shall have. Simply because the people of the Arizona Territory desire a form of government is all that is required to make it legitimate and appropriate to govern said people. The constitution of Arizona could and should reflect our desires, not those of any other locality. While Mr. Roosevelt may disagree personally, he was quite willing to admit that Arizona should have been granted statehood; despite all this, however, he seemed to miss the larger point.

Mr. Roosevelt spoke many times of "Rights" and of choice coming from the people, but the implication of his speech is that it only applies to the majority. What of the minority? Are their rights forfeit because they do not have the numbers necessary to impose their will on others? Furthermore, what of this idea of "Rights"? He spoke of "Rights" as if coming down on high, as if they were some magnanimous gift given to the people of Arizona by an almighty deity of light and awe. But this is not the case! Rights can only be "granted" by an oppressor. If no one gave it to you, it wouldn't be called a right, it would be called fact. Just because we are given a scrap of food from the table of those who have real power does not mean we need to thank them!

We should be remembering how they got power in the first place: through lies, through deceit, through the point of the sword. They took the world from us, and expect us to thank them for this petty trifle. No, comrades, we must not accept this bribe. The only path to true freedom available to us is to reject the entire apparatus the statists and capitalists have set up. Remove it, and replace it with an anarchist system of organization. That is the only way we will truly be free. No gods, No masters!

Roosevelt Condemns Recall As Unwise And Regrets That Arizona Has Seen Fit to Favor It [The Bisbee Daily Review]