I periodically fret that individualism is dying in the United States and that Americans are morphing into handout-loving Europeans.
Well, the spirit of 1776 is not completely dead. There are still some Americans who stand up against the greedy, grasping, and oppressive state. I heartily applaud the guy in this video (and not just for personal reasons) for doing what I have thought about many times.
Sonny Bunch, writing for the Washington Free-Beacon, applauds pro-liberty vandalism.
Obviously we shouldn’t cheer all those who destroy the state’s property or all those who circumvent efforts to enforce the law. But some laws are unjust. Some of the state’s property serves to oppress.
Sometimes you need a hero. …some laws are good and just. Prohibitions against rape and murder, for instance. We need them. Without laws we are savages. But speed cameras are not included in the “good and just” category. They are revenue-producing monstrosities designed to suck people of their money in order to fill the coffers of bureaucrats… If the corruptocrats in D.C. try to imprison this hero, I promise to lead the resistance in an effort to spirit him southward. We shall protect you, brother. You are one of us now.
I fully concur.
Moreover, this apparently wasn’t a one-off gesture. Washingtonian reports that numerous cameras were knocked out of action.
An unidentified man suspected of smashing 11 of the District’s traffic cameras that produce tickets for drivers who speed or run red lights is
being celebrated by some as a hero after DC Police released footage of one camera’s violent demise. Police say that the cameras, located mostly around Northeast DC, were reported to be malfunctioning last Tuesday. When officers checked out the locations, they found the cameras damaged as a result of vandalism.
By the way, I have no objection to cameras that nail jerks who blow through an intersection 3 seconds after a light has turned red. Those are people who risk innocent lives.
But the cameras I’ve noticed are set in spots where the speed limit is set absurdly low. In other words, they are the modern-day version of the speed traps that used to characterize corrupt small towns.
Some people object to speed cameras but think red-light cameras are okay. As already noted, I agree with their safety concerns, but that’s not how government operates.
They’ve turned red-light cameras into a scam, as explained in this Reason video. Greedy politicians actually do dangerous things like shortening the yellow light simply because they want to produce more cash. No wonder they actually cause accidents!
Moreover, Holman Jenkins of the Wall Street Journal explained several years ago how cameras are first and foremost set up to generate money, not to promote safety.
And here’s something else that irritates me. I’m guessing that the cops will put a lot of time and energy into tracking down the guy who knocked the cameras out of commission. 
Why? Because this is an issue that generates revenue for politicians.
Which raises the bigger issue of whether law enforcement resources are wisely allocated. We saw in Florida that local cops ignored dozens of calls and warnings about the nutjob loser who killed the students in Parkland, Florida (the FBI also dropped the ball as well since they were tipped off). I wonder how often those same cops were busy operating speed traps, engaging in asset forfeiture, and otherwise shaking down residents for cash?
The good news is that the heroic vandal who has gone after D.C.’s cameras is just the tip of the iceberg. Arizona residents basically killed a revenue-camera scam with civil disobedience. And Houston voters voted to shut down the shakedown being operated by their city government.
This spirit of resistance should be nationwide.
Here are three closing observations.
- Let’s hope this guy doesn’t get caught.
- Let’s also hope that other motorists follow his example and destroy other speed-trap cameras.
- Finally, let’s hope that a jury will engage in nullification if the guy is caught.
P.S. There’s also a group of people in England who are acting to thwart greedy, grasping government, albeit in a less revolutionary way.
International Liberty 
[…] it’s why we should cheer this anonymous heroas […]
[…] it’s why we should cheer this anonymous hero as […]
[…] P.P.S. Heck, I’ll add a fourth big-picture assumption, which is that governments should not use law enforcement as a means of generating extra revenue. That approach leads to terrible outcomes(and understandable reactions). […]
[…] P.P.S. Heck, I’ll add a fourth big-picture assumption, which is that governments should not use law enforcement as a means of generating extra revenue. That approach leads to terrible outcomes (and understandable reactions). […]
[…] P.P.S. Civil asset forfeiture is an example of predatory government (and I cheer people who find novel ways of fighting back). […]
[…] Many Americans try to avoid jury duty. If I knew I could be a juror on a case like this, I would relish the opportunity to practice jury nullification, which is a judicial version of […]
[…] as a tool for generating tax revenue (which is why I’ve applauded civil disobedience in Washington, DC, and […]
[…] good example is the guy who knocked over a D.C. revenue camera. Or the entire state of Arizona for ignoring notices […]
[…] If that person wants my praise, go after speed-trap cameras like this hero. […]
I really liked the story about all of the cameras in Rome going AWOL in three days.
I would agree except that the oppression does not stop there. There are also laws designed to preempt support for these types of freedom movements. Consequently support for these actions could trigger accusations of “inciting vandalism” or even “support for a terrorist group”, the same accusations leveled by the crown against the forefathers of the American Nation.
PS. Why do red light cameras cause more accidents? Because they often force you into extreme breaking. At a stop light turning yellow right as you approach (any stoplight, with camera or not) one is never sure if he will make it past the light before it turns red. It depends on the length of the yellow and one’s ability to estimate speed and time within a fraction of a second. But a reasonable safe driver estimates that missing the red light by half a second or less is extremely unlikely to have negative consequences, such as an accident (there is also typically a half second dead time where all lights are red). But when you see a red light camera the consequences of slight miscalculation rise a lot. You don’t know how long the yellow is and when does the camera trigger with respect to the light switching. Unable to do this even more complicated calculation in a fraction of a second you slam on the brakes and hope nobody else rear ends you. The person behind you may have made the opposite decision calculating that speeding up a bit will help him avoid the camera trigger — with disastrous consequences. I have never pushed red lights, have been rear ended twice, but otherwise felt no anxiety going through traffic lights. But these days going through an intersection with a red light camera I’m much more aggressive with the brakes, and even though I always look in the rear view mirror for close followers I still have had proportionately many more close calls being rear ended at the handful of intersections with a red light camera. For whatever it’s worth, I think that a much better approach is to have cameras that document who is at fault if there’s an accident, or even a near accident. But that does not generate revenue — and as we all know, citizens always owe more money than they already contribute to the state. Citizens are getting off lightly so a few extra sources of revenue bring things just a little closer to the point where citizens pay their fair share.
P.P.S. I’m always a safe driver, have probably driven a million miles, have never been in an accident where airbags deployed, and the two only accidents I’ve been involved in were fender benders where I was rear ended (at a stoplight!). However most of my interactions with government are so unpleasant that I’ve also taken care of — and managed ! — to never having been issued a ticket. My only violation involving a car is a single parking ticket for having exceeded time on a park meter.
P.P.P.S. America’s main issue is not only that its citizens are morphing into handout loving Europeans. More importantly it is that they are becoming enamored with a flatter effort-reward society and thus a slow growth society. They’re essentially becoming enamored with decline! It is a basic but vital and existential arithmetic of compounding that still escapes most voter-lemmings.
A friend of mine in Arizona who owned a lot of fast cars used to say that the local cops should just admit that they really work for the IRS. Since all they really do is generate revenue. Sometimes with odd rules that you never even knew existed…and sometimes in places where no other cars are even present. Honestly, how much damage can a car possibly do on an abandoned road in the middle of nowhere? Like topping a rise near Odessa Texas in the middle of the night…(personal experience).
Then, they let you off cheaper if you take a “driver safety course” (lame excuse for one) and pay them the fees to keep it off your record for insurance purposes. Everybody in that chain of money flow is happy- even you.
Great analysis and article. Down with the politicians and robbers!
How will ignoring the tickets fare when the ‘Fix NICS’ bill allows your 2nd amendment rights to be violated because you ignored their ticket and a warrant is generated. Even if the car involved in the incident was not being driven by you, but by a friend or relative who borrowed it to run to the grocery store etc.