Bob Murphy once wrote a mini-series of columns comparing the State to an abusive boyfriend.  He was upset because he had thought of the idea all by himself, and then saw it used in one of Harry Browne’s campaign commercials.  Initially, I was upset too, because I had independently come up with the same analogy.  Great minds think alike, eh? 

Except, instead of going on to comparing the State to an abusive man, (that’s been done) I’m going to compare it to an abusive wife.  They exist, you know.  There are women that beat their husbands.  Not only that, the husbands take the beatings, stay in the marriage, and keep getting hit.  

Obviously, this relationship story isn’t as popular as the abusive boyfriend story.  No man wants to admit he’s the victim of his woman.  He doesn’t want to go to a support group and cry on other battered husbands’ shoulders.  (This isn’t the testicular cancer group from Fight Club.  Besides, remember what happened to Bob, the really weepy guy on too much estrogen?)  He’s not going to call his mother (or worse, his best friend) at one a.m. after a fight and say, “I’m coming over, and bringing the kids.  Marianne hit me for the last time.”  Sure as hell he’s not going to call the police.  “911?  My wife gave me a black eye!”  He’s so utterly humiliated by the situation, and frustrated with himself, that he doesn’t do anything to end or alter the relationship. 

This column isn’t just a mockery of battered men, er, victims of marital violence.  This is a serious social problem!  I have a point, and here it is:  the State is like an abusive wife and the general population is like that poor husband. 

Many Americans seem to be afflicted with what I’ll call “beat husband mentality,” henceforth referred to as BHM.  They suffer from similar cognitive distortions.   What possible be the mental justifications could an abused husband have?  “She takes care of the kids, I have to work.”  What, you leave your kids with this man-beating maniac?  (Statistical side note:  Physical abuse from a female most often begins after the introduction of a child into the relationship.  The obvious suggested causes are the drastic hormonal and lifestyle changes.  There is also a Freudian suggestion I am not even going to qualify by inclusion.) A possible justification of an American with BHM?  “My kids gotta get an education.”  What!  You trust your children to a school that gives explicit instruction on how to have orgasmic sex (that one’s to shock all the proper, moral people), and teaches a tainted, twisted history of the world, freely omitting and spinning facts to encourage perpetuation of the State (and this one’s to shock the rational beings seeking truth)?  

Arguments like that (e.g., What about schools?  What about the post office?  [In my personal opinion those two are the most dipshit questions, as private schools and FedEx, UPS, etc, already successfully exist.]  What about police?  What about roads?) demonstrate the full control of BHM.  The person can’t even imagine life without government services.  The notion that these services could be provided privately, never mind adequately or superbly, doesn’t even come to mind.  

There’s also the pride issue. The abused husband is too proud to acknowledge, much less admit a problem in the relationship.  The American with BHM is the same way.  Ever notice when libertarian (much less anarchist) views are blatantly presented to a Democrat, Republican, or government-loving Independent, they freak out?  No one wants to admit his or her actions are at the root of a continuing problem.  All of them complain (I have yet to meet someone completely content with the status quo), yet go about “solving” the problem by making more laws, spending more money, etc.  The lovely American people continue to vote (and not only that, 96.25% of voters cast ballots for Al Gore and George W. Bush) and dutifully send in millions of dollars in tax money.  (By the way, if you were excited to receive your refund check, email me.  I’m starting a pyramid scheme, and I’ll give you an address where you can send money.) 

You may say, “Rachael, obviously some men talk about their experiences as an abused husband, else you wouldn’t know about it, much less be able to quote statistics.”  Good line of reasoning.  It continues the analogy to my final point.  Fortunately, not everyone suffers from BHM, as evidenced by this site, among others.  Personally, I won’t stand for abuse.  No man, woman or Leviathan beats and brainwashes me.  (No, I’m not in an abusive relationship, unless you count being a US citizen.  And don’t tell me to move to Somalia if I’m so unhappy.  That’s terrible reasoning!  I don’t want to have to write an email that will make you feel bad.) 

If you or someone you love exhibits symptoms of BHM, please, enlighten them.  It’s urgent!  Our very freedom depends on it.