I don't especially like them, mind you. If I had to choose between going to a fireworks display, shooting off my own fireworks, or lying on a sofa reading a SF novel, yeah, it's the last every time.
But here's the thing: for the past two years or longer we've been hearing from Rightwing pontificators that all of these are just fine:
- police beating the hell out of people for being out past curfew
- police killing someone for selling loose cigarettes
- police killing someone for maybe being on drugs
- seventeen year olds shooting people for being in a protest
- drivers running down those who are marching on the road
- and so on
because, after all, "those people" broke the law. And if you break the law, you deserve what you get.
Now these same people are arguing that it's fine for them to break the law -- shooting off fireworks in most cities is against the law -- because freedom.
"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."
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