"A Long Wait for Redemption", or "You Had me at DRO"

[Jamie]

I'm not entirely sure what triggered it; maybe it was the cop we had on campus at my high school or the the fact that I couldn't leave campus at lunch even though nothing worthwhile was going on, I don't know. Shoot, it may have even been brought on by the news ( or; more likely; a combination of Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, Ann Frank and some other book about a distopian future who's name I only wish I could remember; all still part of the manditory English curricullum at the time) . One way or another, I came to the realization that government... any government... was evil. I turned this over again and agin, wriggled it around in my head with all the "facts" about society I thought I knew. I fought for a way to implement a world free of government in my head, a way to live free of evil, but I had consumed the propaganda they wanted me to eat. All I had left was a sense of hoplessness. as Much as my heart yearned for Anarchy, I came to the conclusion that government was a "necessary evil.

Life went on, though without any depth. Depth hurt to much, it was full of anger, sandess and above all else, fear. How else are you to feel when you have concluded that existance is evil and your greatest desire, distructive? Over the years I picked at it's serfice like a scab, I couldn't leave those feelings alone, so I started consuming "the truth." I watched vidio after vidio, about things like 9-11, the Federal Reserve, the implamentation of "The War on Drugs" and drone strikes on inocent people in Iraq. Eventualy this led my to Stef's YouTube chanal. I'm not sure what my first vidio was, but it "clicked" enough that I listend to more of his videos, which didn't take my that long to get to one about DRO's. I think I ended up crying as I listened. I hadn't been crazy to want freedom, and it very well could work. There realy was hope, I just hadn't been able to see it through all the lies they fed me. Needless to say, that is what hooked me and I have been listening ever sense.

       (sorry for any serious spelling issues; this computer seems to be lacking Spell Check and spelling has always been dificult for me)

[Loonie]

Jamie, thank you for showing up!  Your story reminds me of the frustration I felt, as well, until I came upon these ideas.  It's nice to know that we have one more person who is contributing to the critical mass required to push the world over to peace.  Stay with us!

[VforVoluntary49]

Any time we can hear stories like this it lets us all know we aren't alone-unfortunately while going through it we almost never realize that and I wonder sometimes how many people have made half-excursions down this path but were beaten back by the propoganda or the peer-pressure or simply the loneliness that comes with having these ideas picking away at your mind. If you don't mind my asking, about how long was your conversion process, months, a year, years? I'm curious if it tends to be more drawn out for some people or more like it was for me, more of an accelerating rollercoaster that started slowly but then inertia and gravity took over.  Either way, congratualions and hopefully you are finding many of the answers here that you were looking for.

[Jamie]

First, I wan't to thank both of you for the warm welcome. I'd have been here sooner, but it took me a while to decide I had anything individual to offer. LOL

As for your question V, As soon as I heared Stefs arguments for how an Anarcho-capitalist society could function I was converted, but I was already yerning for a way to make Anarchy work. I was already sharing information on the injustices brought about by the U.S. government and was telling anyone who would listen how drug prohabion actualy started and the reasions behind it. I was extreamly angry at government because I recognized it was illegitimate but could see no way to get on without it.

I can ohnestly say that the foundations for Anarchy were laid down early in my life, as well as my cynicism about humanity, so I basicaly just needed the right information and ideas to push me past my doubts.

 

[Hsien Seong Cheong]

Such a lovely story! Thank you for sharing.

I'm glad that you know you're not alone anymore

Confirmation bias is a tricky thing to avoid, but damn it's lonely if you feel like you're the only person in the world who can see a particular truth. Well done on being such a strong willed individual in your pursuit of truth and virtue.

[Lloyd]

I can empathize with your revelation, Jamie. Hearing eleventy billion explanations from the great flapping forehead as to how the DRO model could work was the argument from effect which allowed me to let go of minarchism.