Obama’s probably very troubled by the presence of Karate, Judo and other martial arts schools. These operations train citizens in self-defense, leading them to believe that they and not authorized law-enforcement can take defense matters into their own hands. Most programs have advanced levels that train the citizen with deadly force (e.g. “black belt”, which celebrates death in the symbolism of its color). The programs circumvent legal authority and enable the citizen to determine whether one’s rape or robbery is unjust, without the facts about the root cause of action. Instead of allowing the perpetrator to commit the crime and contemplate his/her actions, or permitting law enforcement to investigate, arrest and present the accused before a system that can fully measure the impact of the accused’s childhood, socio-economic background, race and other sources of oppression, the citizen becomes policeman, judge and jury in a single individual.
I don’t have the actual statistics, but like Obama, I have to believe the frequency of harm to citizens is significant when they fight back. At a minimum, the citizen is placed at risk. More alarming is the threat to the mugger, rapist or other emotionally confused individual. Instead of permitting their offense without resistance, which many Obama supporters would feel is a righteous response to societal oppression and economic disparity, too many assaulting individuals become victims of the citizen’s harmful vigilante response. Lethal force often becomes the unbalanced, inequitable response to a minor rape or robbery. Money can be replaced and sexual integrity restored after a violation, but the lives of confused perpetrators cannot be once lost by an unbalanced defense.
This election year provides us all with an opportunity to disarm the citizenry, providing every criminal with a greater chance for economic redistribution or if caught by a designated law-enforcement representative, retraining, re-education, therapy and regrowth through a law enforcement assistance shelter. Martial arts, handguns and other weapons of intolerance can be ended if we just give Obama the chance to change our society.
