Yes, we have no gone bananas


Posted On: Friday - May 14th 2021 11:13PM MST
In Topics: 
  Liberty/Libertarianism  Kung Flu Stupidity

Not the subject of the anecdote here. This girl is too young to be so stupid.



Our State has lightened up on the face masking business. Of course, I like to rub it in. I've not been wearing my Personal Protective Equipment in the grocery since sometime in the fall anyway, which was the case when I went to buy some bananas the other day. "Hey, we have a new mandate - no more face diapers.", I told the check-out girl. She proceeded to explain to me private vs. public spaces.

Now, nobody out-Libertarians me, I tells ya'! It's also that the young lady didn't have any understanding of what's been happening either.. "See, we're private so we can make people wear the masks in the store." she told me, as I stood there with no face mask getting the bananas scanned and rung up. "Oh, I get that. What about last summer? If I'd had a restaurant and wanted to allow people to not wear the face diapers, could I have done that, on my private property?"

Not crickets exactly, as there were the normal beeps in the story from the scanners and people trying to talk to each other through face masks. Still, there was nothing to say between us. It's not like we haven't lived through these mandates for a year, yet I was supposed to hear a half-assed Murray Rothbard lecture from a young lady who can't even see the other side of the coin?

I got the same story from another young lady at the coffee shop later in the day. Hmmm, they were so big on mandates and "emergency orders" over the whole last year, and now I'm hearing about private property rights. Yes, people have gone bananas.

Comments:
Rex Little
Tuesday - May 18th 2021 6:06AM MST
PS In the absence of government mandates requiring (or forbidding) masks, business owners/managers do indeed have the right to set their own policies. (It should have been left that way from the start.)

Myself, I consider wearing a mask around strangers indoors to be simple courtesy. If by some mischance I'm harboring the germs for Covid or anything else, the mask prevents my exhale from carrying them in a jetstream across the room.
Moderator
Monday - May 17th 2021 9:50AM MST
PS: Mr. Smith, firstly, thank you for your explanation of what you meant. Almost every single one of the examples you gave are ones that I am familiar with and/or have participated in. As a the business, I have been involved on that end, but I still hesitate to point out the specifics - statutes of limitations, anyone?

One was rental income - funny thing is I wanted to go all legit early on, but I looked at the tax forms that I'd gathered up one day, then I looked at the weather outside, then I looked back at the tax forms ... "fuck this, I'm going outside. No way am I spending this nice day inside working on behalf of the IRS!". After that ... a number of years went by ...

That's all good advice on how to handle things. As much as I can, when commenters on unz are bemoaning the state of things - the confiscation of our money to pay for others' families, that is if any unz commenters even get that - I chime in with the gist of what your wrote here. Work outside the system. Private business as you describe is a system of its own that works pretty well for everyone ... uh, except those who can go screw themselves.
Adam Smith
Monday - May 17th 2021 7:35AM MST
PS: Hello Robert,

I hope this comment finds you well...

When I said “There are not many “private businesses” in America anymore as most companies are incorporated.” that is a little misleading. I think there is a lot of private business conducted, and it differs quite a bit from the type of business conducted by a privately held corporation like Publix.

I think a “private business” is any business conducted that does not involve license(s), incorporation, taxation or tax id numbers and is not open to the general public. There once was a gentleman who ran a law school as a private business and he seemed to think that another essential condition for a business to be considered private involved getting paid in gold or silver coin or some other sort of property. In some sense this probably matters, though in real life there is plenty of “private business” conducted everyday all across the land.

Some examples would be the neighborhood kid who mows lawns or washes and waxes cars, a teenage girl who baby sits for her neighbors, a lady who cleans houses and offices in her community or a farmer who keeps bees and sells honey from his road side stand. These people generally get paid in cash, don't report this as income, are not licensed or insured and are not really open to the general public.

I haven't seen a private drinking club in a while, but I'd imagine they're still out there. The idea was that by being a private club, open to members only, these establishments did not need alcohol or liquor licenses and were not subject to health department inspections. When I used to deliver liquor oh so many years ago there were a few of these places on my route.

As you mention freedom of association is something that most incorporated and licensed businesses do not fully enjoy. Sure, there are usually ways to get rid of customers who you don't want to do business with, but a case like Colorado baker Jack Phillips has shown us that some people with an agenda will make your life difficult if your business “discriminates” against sodomites or queers.

In a situation where you are renting rooms or houses to people I think there are ways to keep it private, but you also have to be careful not to run into problems with local renter laws. If you keep your renter happy, and you have a good renter, you should have no problems. I know someone who leases some agricultural land to a guy who grows wheat and runs cattle on this leased land. The renter pays by check once a year, there is no written contract (just a handshake) and their business relationship has lasted for years. If it were not a good deal for both parties involved one of them would have ended the arrangement by now or at least tried to alter it. I would guess the best way to keep your rental business private is to be very careful who you select as your renter(s). I'm sure it can be done though it's probably harder to do in some places and easier in others. ( e.g. Urban Rural divide.)

I think just about any business could be a “private business” if you are a bit careful about how you manage your affairs. Perhaps you do data recovery so the little old ladies in your community can have the photos of their grandkids rescued off their computers when windoze crashes. Maybe you're a mechanic who has access to a shop and a lift and you have customers who are willing to work with you and pay cash. Maybe you install car stereos and specialize in auto electric for classic cars. You could be a landscaper, or a roofer, or a pressure washer/deck stainer, or you can cut hair out of your house. Perhaps you have a tractor with a bush hog, or a bob cat you use to do dirt work. Maybe you grow flowers and sell arrangements to a local hotel or funeral home or grow Japanese maple trees and sell them when they get a bit larger. There really is a whole lot of “private business” going on and there could be more if people managed their affairs a little differently.

Could you have employees? While I think “employee” is possibly a loaded legal term that differs from “worker” I don't see why you couldn't. I know a guy who does pressure washing and deck staining who hires Mexicans to do most of the work. He pays them in cash, and he does not report these transactions to the IRS. I think it's safe to say many contractors and builders do some amount of business this way. If your employees are happy with the arrangement, and you pay them well enough, I don't foresee any problems.

By keeping your affairs private you can regain much of your privacy and your right to free association.

I hope you have a great day Robert.


Moderator
Saturday - May 15th 2021 5:23PM MST
PS: Bill, I think that's why when I don't wear a face mask in some stores, others take them partially off too. They don't want to appear stupid to me, because I'm having none of it anymore.

I've heard about even more deaths from one of the vaccines from my wife. I guess, if at all, it'll come to holding us between the knees and by the back of the neck and sticking a needle in us as at the vet. I had a Tom cat before, and his skin was so thick and tough that the needle would bend when the vet stuck it in his cheek.
Moderator
Saturday - May 15th 2021 5:18PM MST
PS: Alarmist, that one hits too close to home for the Kung Flu. After, all, even if you don't agree with the natural progression explanation of the COVID-19, that bat shit has got some nasty stuff in there. The Chinese lady researcher that the Nicholas Wade article of 2 posts ago featured had gone to those caves in Yunnan province (just north of Vietnam) to gather samples from bat shit.

Yes, people are literally going bat shit crazy out there.
Robert
Saturday - May 15th 2021 4:42PM MST
PS: Mr.Smith, I ask the below question, because about twenty years ago I was doing some property management.

I was told that if one were renting an apartment and wanted to sublet a bedroom, one could discriminate on almost any basis --- but one could not run an ad that said "No blacks" or "No fags", because the ad itself would be discriminatory.

Similarly, if one owned a building with two units, and were living in one of them, one could discriminate against a pair of fags on religious grounds, but only if one would also reject an unmarried normal couple. One could not reject a black person.

However, if the building had three or more units, no discrimination allowed.

Those all sound like (potentially) private businesses, but what do I know? Perhaps fair housing laws take precedence?

Here at least, I lean strongly libertarian.
Robert
Saturday - May 15th 2021 10:56AM MST
PS: Mr. Smith, Would you please give a couple of examples of a private business? Could you have one, and also have employees? Thanks.
Adam Smith
Saturday - May 15th 2021 8:01AM MST
PS: Good morning everyone...

Privately held companies like Publix, Chik-Fil-A, Mars Inc., Dell and State Farm are not “private businesses” either. A “private business” does not have to share their books with anyone, report “income” or pay taxes to some superior lord or master and they can not be compelled to do business with anyone they don't care to do business with. If Chik-Fil-A or Publix were to hang a sign on the door that said no mulattos or jews allowed, how well do you think that would work for them.

There are not many “private businesses” in America anymore as most companies are incorporated. All corporations are creatures of the state. It's all about contract. Blah Bla bla... You get the idea, so I'll spare you guys the rest of my half-assed Rothbard rant.

I also agree with Bill. Many people want other people to do the same stupid thing, because if a lot of people also do it, it makes them feel less stupid. We're all in this together and everyone else did it. I think this is definitely part of the dynamic.

I also think being vaxxed is a powerful, symbolic (dare I say occult) ritual or ceremony. Vaccination is a conferred seal, a sign of moral righteousness. It’s a mark on the arm, signifying tribal inclusion. No tribe member is left out. Inclusion by vaccination protects against invisible spirits (viruses).

And what about those heretics who do not participate in the protective ritual? Are they evil? Are they possessed? Should they be shunned? Banished to the wilderness? Forced to wear face diapers forever as punishment for disobeying the Medicine Man?

It's wild to see this superstition manifest here in 3 space.

Adam Smith
Saturday - May 15th 2021 7:25AM MST
PS: I agree with Mr. Alarmist.
Guano loca en la cabeza.

It's weird how many people do not know that corporations, especially publicly traded ones, are not private businesses.
(I doubt you were buying bananas from a “private business”, though I could be wrong.)

https://www.google.com/search?q=albertsons+stock

As you say, there was nothing more to be said between the two of you.

Bill H
Saturday - May 15th 2021 7:01AM MST
PS Why, why, why, why are all of these vaccinated people telling us to get vaccinated, when they are still wearing masks because they secretly know that the vaccine doesn't work?

There actually is an answer to that. Anytime someone does something stupid, they want other people to do the same stupid thing, because if a lot of people also do it, it makes them feel less stupid. "Everybody did it."
The Alarmist
Saturday - May 15th 2021 5:46AM MST
PS

Bananas is going too soft on them ... Too many people have gone bat-shit crazy.

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