Postscript on Legalism
Donald Trump and his administration employ the laws and courts wherever it suits them. Wherever laws and courts pose an obstacle to their program, they disregard those right up to the limit imposed by the current balance of power within the state. It is clear for all to see that for them, the law is simply one of many weapons—it has no power to bind them. Yet many of Trump’s opponents continue hamstring resistance by focusing on questions of legality and other niceties, failing to grasp the reality of the situation.
A cheerful anti-fascist organizer from Prague used to tell a joke that went something like this:
After the Second World War, a Czech anti-fascist and a Yugoslavian partisan met at a beach on the Adriatic.
Eventually, the inevitable question came up. “What did you do in the war?” the Czech anti-fascist asked the partisan.
“Oh, the usual stuff,” answered the partisan. “We formed underground networks, ran background checks on potential recruits, set up safe houses and clandestine print shops. Then we started sabotaging railways and telephone lines. Eventually, we worked our way up to carrying out raids to seize weapons. With those, we started retaking villages and then whole regions until finally, we ran the Nazis right out of the country.”
“All of that sounds like a great time,” answered the Czech anti-fascist. “Unfortunately, where we were, all of those things were illegal!”
Further Reading
- Become an Anarchist or Forever Hold Your Peace
- Why the Democrats Are Responsible for Donald Trump’s Return to Power
- Take Your Pick: Law or Freedom
- From Democracy to Freedom
- The Centrists
- The Centrist Paradox
Printing and distributing clandestine newspapers to rally support for liberating France, sabotaging telecommunication networks, providing intelligence to Allied forces, creating false papers that helped Jews escape, rescuing Allied soldiers, and destroying key infrastructure by bombing bridges vital for transport were all vital operations undertaken by the Resistance. More controversial were the guerrilla tactics used, and the assassinations of German soldiers…”
