On pulling down statues

[struggle4progress]

3. Law does matter

Sometime during the Nixon era, I thought about the material and political conflicts that might define my life

And I concluded that I was likely to be murdered by right-wing mobs in later life

Perhaps it is a species of paranoia -- but I have never gotten over the idea that this outcome was a real possibility

I have always been sympathetic to Proudhon's dictum: Laws: We know what they are, and what they are worth! They are spider webs for the rich and mighty, steel chains for the poor and weak, fishing nets in the hands of government!

But a dialog in Man for All Seasons also has something worthwhile to say:

William Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!

Sir Thomas More: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?

William Roper: Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!

Sir Thomas More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!