Stories From The Comments: Freedom, "Rights", & Rape

Often, much of what I write and share is inspired or taken from discourse I have in comment sections on sites such as Facebook. So, perhaps this will be another 'segment' I will occasionally use. Stories of conversations that I feel truly have helped me flesh out my thoughts and messages.

In another Steemit post I made that was derived from a comment I made on a FB post, I asserted that we have no 'rights'. I was forced to elaborate on this and, to that, I am thankful to the person that pushed me to clarify my thoughts:

The core of my point about rights was contained in the following which is taken from that comment thread:
"You are free to seek out water.
You are free to seek out food.
You are free to seek out shelter.
You are free to seek out property.
You are free to seek out comfort.
You are free to seek out security.
On and on.
There are no guarantees that you will acquire what you seek and no one is entitled to give it to you or agree with you."

They responded to my assertion on FB with this:

"How does rape fit into that? I get so tired of this heavy handed "no rights" bullshit. The world over, people teach their children, don't hit, don't steal, hands to yourself, etc. ... Help me understand what qualifies you to say [In a civilized society] there are no rights? Or do you think we should start acting like we live in a jungle and need to "negotiate" with assholes who think they can just cross other people's boundaries and take whatever they want."

And thus was my answer:

"How does rape work in the current 'civilized society'?
The rapist is free, laws or not, 'rights' or not, to attempt to rape. But in a free society, the victims, the witnesses, the loved ones, they are free to seek justice.

You know what really scares criminals? It isn't a courtroom or police or a cage. It's armed victims. It's armed victims with no reason NOT to use lethal force. It's armed victims who aren't really victims at all.

Tell me, from whence do our rights come? Where do we get them from? Where is the example of rights in the world? They are simply a concept. Same as value. Same as fairness. Same as the 'state'. Concepts.

We've developed the most powerful brains on the planet and, as a matter of consequence, we have developed the greatest weakness on the planet: getting ensnared and deluded into thinking that concepts are reality.
They aren't.

And it's not a scary thought when you really consider what that means.

Think about it.
You have no right to be safe. But you are free to seek security in any way you choose and to any extent you choose.

A criminal has no right to harm you. Sure, he is free to try. But you are just as free to resist.

And when you look at the world, really look at it, you realize that people, individuals, are incredibly good more often than not. Even criminals stand up for other people that are being harmed when they perceive the harm to be 'too much'.

It's only when we believe that these concepts are somehow real and can somehow affect us and the world that we have problems. When we rely on government to protect us. When we rely on words on paper to give us power. When we try to apply what we believe to be fair to others that disagree. When we try to apply morality to others lives.

These things have no basis in reality. There is no particle or behavioral indicator in the real world to show that any of these concepts are real.

Bad things will happen even if we embrace the truth that these concepts are not real. But bad things already are happening and being in denial of the reality that these things are fictional does nothing but let us be in denial of how much worse belief in these concepts make things.

**Anarchy is no guarantee that bad things won't happen. Faith in concepts is a GUARANTEE that they will. **

**We have no rights when we have full freedom because we have no need of rights when we stop pretending we need to be ruled. **

*Historically, rights are simply caveats to the rulers power over their citizens. Take away the rulers, and you no longer need to limit the powers of the rulers. Just to provide a little historical context and 'evidence' that supports the idea that 'rights' are the product of concept, not reality."

When you've spent your whole life being told that these things called 'rights' somehow protect you, it can be frightening to consider that they are not real. They do not protect you. But once you realize that this very fact that they are impotent to serve you, you become empowered. YOU can protect you. YOU can serve you. YOU are FREE to pursue your wants and needs.
And yes, so are the 'bad' people. But what is to stop you from meeting them head on? Criminals fear armed victims that have no fetters to hold them back from defending themselves. When a man sheds his dependence on his 'right' to be safe, he then becomes safe because he sees to it himself. He no longer deludes himself that bad people will somehow respect his 'right' to be safe from them. But they will fear his determination to protect himself by his own will and act.

'Rights' are a social/psychological placebo.
If you believe in a sugar pill enough, you won't feel sick anymore. But the illness is still there. 'Freedom' is the cure. The real medicine. With freedom, you can defeat the illness in your life. But you have to be willing to take it upon yourself to swallow it, side effects and all.

"Freedom"
For treatment of oppression, tyranny, systematic control, abuse and harm.
Side effects may include: failure, responsibility, bearing the consequence of your actions.

Between you and me, unlike most pharmaceuticals, this pill is worth the fucking side effects.