How I perceive statists

Reading my previous post, one might assume that I actively spit on statists.  After all, racists are villified and despised, what would that make statists in my eyes?  One problem with the spitting approach is that I'd quickly die of dehydration due to the vast numbers of statist, the second problem is that I'm more tolerant than that.  I know, I know, liberals have already claimed tolerance as an exclusive trait they possess, but I'm afraid that's not true.  In fact, their "tolerance" isn't really tolerance at all, it's tolerance for the actions they already approve of.  Want to smoke dope and let a dude marry a dude?  No problem.  Want to keep the money you earn and give it to the charities and businesses you want?  Intolerable!!  Liberalism... true liberalism, the exercise of freedom, is true tolerance.  It's belief in social AND economic freedom.

So how do I perceive statists and how do I interact with them?  Well, very similarly to the way I interact with racists.  Racism and statism usually only make up a tiny portion of a person's character.  Many of hem are generous and kind, they raise families and hold jobs, they are great sources of knowledge and can teach me a lot.  However, they cannot be my moral authority.

To an anarchist, an adherent to the non-aggression axiom, any ethical philosophy espoused by a statist is contradictory or wrong.  For instance, it's hard to take the racist seriously when he tells you, "love your wife, give to the poor, and never talk to a nigger lovin' jew [yes that's a real and oft-used term]".  I might be able to take something away from that message, but it's only because I subscribe to a superior ethical authority with which I can filter.

When an ethical philosophy does not address statism, or if its logical conclusion is not statelessness, then it fails to be an ethical philosophy, and its institutions and followers fail to be ethical authorities.  This is why the church has stopped being a moral authority (more on this in a later post, and yes I'm using ethics and morality synonymously).  It can probably teach me a thing or two, but since its purpose is to be a moral authority, take that away and it's hard to see the purpose in joining (okay, really, I'll stop with the church stuff, more in a later post).

Most statists are great people, that do many great things.  I despise their wickedness, but love working with them and having peaceful, voluntary interaction.  I hope more come to realize that statism is an ideology, it is not a philosophy: