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A Tumblr post by user "cock-holliday":
I think people need to be more comfortable with illegalism and I’m not kidding. Of course the more legal something is, the safer and easier it is to do, but the more people who disregard the law, the harder it is to enforce. There are plenty of laws on the books that people just ignore and are never or rarely policed.
Becoming more comfortable with little illegal activities makes you more comfortable with bigger more important illegal activities. Additionally, it is crucial to build a wall of silence. Nobody talks everybody walks.
People who give out food without a permit, hold a march without a permit, grow a garden without a permit, are more likely to be people you could turn to to work with on preventing an eviction, or keeping people out of cop hands, or helping your friend Jane get crucial healthcare when it’s not legal in your state.
Communities comfortable with these acts won’t call the cops, and then nobody knows that it’s happening.
People have got to shift from both the idea that lawful = good/ illegal = bad, and that the illegality of something means that’s the end of it, and the only fight left is to make it legal again.
I'm often taken aback by young people's views on the law. They seem terrified of stepping out of line. I suppose that's down to the way they got schooled, which is horrifying by my GenX standards.
When I was young, rebels were heroes. We delighted in fucking around and not getting caught.
Considering how often the police shoot first and ask questions later with zero consequences, I don't blame them for being terrified.
I'm talking about even slightest offenses. Some of my young friends were over and I suggested we do a thing. I forget what, but it was utterly harmless and with no repercussions.
"Isn't that against the law?"
"Well, yeah, but how the hell would anyone even know?"
They looked at each other like they had never considered such a thing. They were just going bad illegal = bad.