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"The Freedom Outlaw's Handbook: 179 things to Do 'Til the
Revolution," by Claire Wolfe Loompanics Unlimited, 2004, 86 pages.
Hellraising for Dummies
by Andy von Sonn
Our Declaration of Independence declares that it is
self-evident that we are born free, but nearly everyone, especially those who
suffer through our public educational institutions, seems blissfully unaware. No
one is born with more rights than anyone else: this is the premise underlying all
of our government's "legitimacy." The Declaration says that if government fails
to provide conditions for people to pursue happiness in their own ways, the
people have a right "to alter or abolish it."
| | Andy von
Sonn, a former linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams, is an attorney in Hawaii.
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Claire Wolfe uses the label "outlaw" to describe those who take the
Declaration as gospel and try to live by it. An outlaw is someone who disobeys an
unjust or invasive edict, someone whose personal morality and belief in his
sacred right to be free supersedes the rule of government.
The American people, rather than being infused with an understanding of what
individual freedom means, are indoctrinated from childhood to the grave to pledge
allegiance to a flag — the ultimate golden calf, the false idol.
Considering all the brainwashing people are subjected to, the fact that so
many of us make personal freedom our priority speaks well of our maker (God or
evolution or however you figure we got here).
If you want your freedom, but you're stuck living in the enormous, garish maze
of contemporary collectivist culture — if you are an outlaw — what can
you do?
One thing you can do is read Wolfe's "Freedom Outlaw Handbook: 179 Things to
Do 'Til the Revolution." This is a manual for surviving and thriving in our
topsy-turvy times. It is the Boy Scout Handbook for anyone thirsting for a guide
through our present dilemma. It's got philosophy and practical information.
What Wolfe is talking about is living freedom. Talking about liberty —
doing this or that project — is important, but unless you are living free,
you are missing out.
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| It's too late to work
within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards.
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Wolfe begins with an idea that's both fun and practical. People are always
talking about conspiracies led by groups like the Council on Foreign Relations or
the Trilateral Commis-sion to control the destiny of the planet. So why not have
our own conspiracy of freedom-loving outlaws? "So here's the plan. . . . There is
no plan. . . . Our strength is in not being centralized, organized,
comprehensible, etc.," she says. "Being disorganized and disorderly and thereby
giving every individual a myriad of choices is what freedom does best. So let's
do it."
Wolfe describes three types of individuals participating in this conspiracy:
the Agitator, who "confronts, demonstrates, challenges, risks arrest"; the Ghost,
who "haunts the system, quietly defying, disobeying, planting doubt,
monkey-wrenching, and otherwise non-cooperating"; and the Mole, who "works within
the conventional structures of society, either doing damage from within or giving
support to those who fight for freedom on the outside." These types, she
acknowledges, are not mutually exclusive.
The book is filled with fun quotations. My favorite is from the television
show "The Prisoner," where the individualistic, freedom-seeking hero would often
be chased down by a giant white ball as he was attempting his escape. "I am not a
number," he would remind us. "I am a free man!" That idea is important. People
don't realize how many of their freedoms they lose merely by cooperating with the
government's demands, or how, bit by bit, they're being turned into drones. As
Wolfe writes, "It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot
the bastards." She divides her plan for the time in between into six chapters.
She continues with "Better Yet: Active Non-cooperation With Tyrants." Offering
the time-tested axiom that "attitude is everything," Wolfe outlines positive
steps beyond simple noncooperation to reclaim independence and privacy. She
provides the groundwork for understanding how government prohibitions on our
behavior are categorized. Actions like murder, assault, and robbery are malum in
se — obvious, serious invasions of someone else's space. We don't need
positive laws to tell us that these acts are inherently immoral. Then there are
malum prohibitum, a whole different kind of action. These are actions that are
prohibited only because a statute declares them to be illegal. They are not
inherently immoral. Prostitution and smoking marijuana are examples.
In "The Ground You Stand On: Self-reliance," Wolfe writes about forming
like-minded communities and voluntary exchange systems as means to survival. This
is difficult for Americans, because all U.S. taxes must be paid with federal
reserve notes, making it very difficult to live outside the federal system. The
personal income tax keeps everyone locked into the system. Allowing the taxman to
step in between an individual's means of survival and his dinner table and the
roof over his head is clearly not what the Declaration of Independence had in
mind.
| People don't realize how
many of their freedoms they lose merely by cooperating with the government's
demands, or how, bit by bit, they're being turned into drones.
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In "Way Better Than Voting: Agitation for Outlaws," she offers advice "for
those who want to publicly stir things up." She urges people to bring down the
tyrants, either working alone or in "loose, ephemeral, leaderless alliances." She
makes a strong case that gun rights are worth fighting for and that it is
essential to support those who refuse to abandon those rights. She provides
interesting information on a wide range of government activities including its
interest in placing tracking chips in everything from retail products to people.
She goes on to the subject of "Wrenching" — sabotage, or tossing a monkey
wrench into the machine. There is information on how to fry those nasty little
tracking chips, and lots more fun and mischief, such as fake IDs, fake social
security cards, and freeway blogging (redoing billboards or hanging banners on
freeway overpasses).
In "If It Comes Down to That: Someday," Wolfe asks what we will do if the
system becomes intolerably oppressive. She identifies several options, ranging
from guerrilla resistance to leaving the country altogether. She hopes the
political situation won't end in violence, but believes it necessary to be
prepared if it does, with caches of food, weapons, and, if possible, a means of
exchange like gold tucked away.
Throughout the book, Wolfe tells us what we can do and how to do it, with
resource sites on the how-to. She provides websites on almost every aspect of how
to take back your life.
It seems so weird, in a way, to review a book about this stuff, but this isn't
just some science fiction fantasy starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Or is it?
Where's Fellini when we need him?
I share Wolfe's hope that it won't ever come to violent confrontations. I
can't see myself shooting anyone. In any event, whatever life brings, Wolfe urges
us to create community in a 21st century kind of way. We need somehow to link up
with one another, to help each other through this life, regardless of the
circumstances, regardless of what's going on in the main tent.
I believe it is possible to resolve the problem of government encroachment on
our liberties in a peaceful manner. But I share the author's belief in the
importance of building communities, no matter what happens.
"179 Things to Do 'Til the Revolution": obviously, I didn't touch on all of
them. Wolfe covers a lot of territory. This is fun reading, and extremely
practical as well. For now, I'll keep a copy of "The Freedom Outlaw's Handbook"
next to my Boy Scout Handbook and hope the revolution never has to come.
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