the dollar vigilante blog

Barbed Wire Is Beautiful

I love barbed wire.  I love electric fences.  I love gates and security systems, guard dogs and guns.  As I strolled with my chihuahuas through my beautiful Acapulco neighborhood recently I realized this.  An American friend who had come down to Acapulco to live pointed it out.  “Wow, electric fence,” he stated, pointing at one of many nice villas in my neighborhood that have that type of fencing.  I had never really thought about it, but his comment gave me reason to do so.

It also reminded me of a travel review I had read recently when I was in a beautiful part of Asuncion, Paraguay.  I had gone for a walk in a nice suburb and many houses had large gates and barbed wire, broken glass or electric fences at the top of the wall.  Again, I hadn’t given it much thought but the travel review, from an American – always the last to recognize freedom – stated, “Asuncion must be a terribly dangerous town, almost every house has large gates and barbed wire or razor wire fencing.”

I laughed, knowing that the area where I was, in Asuncion, was incredibly safe… much safer than most US cities.  But it wasn’t until this week that I thought more on barbed wire that I realized why most people get it wrong… barbed wire doesn’t necessarily mean it is a dangerous area.  In fact, it is more likely to be an incredibly safe area… certainly, hardly break and enters (B&E’s) happen!

B&E’s are so commonplace in countries like the US and Canada that they have their own acronym.  In fact, rarely a week goes by that I see one of my friends in Canada complain that their car or house got broken into.  They don’t even see the stupidity of NOT having some sort of private protection device.  That’s because they believe that the socialized police force is there to protect them from crime!
But, they somehow don’t see the irony of stealing money from citizens who do not want a socialized police service to theoretically, but rarely in practice, protect them from theft.  

BARBED WIRE IS ETHICAL

That’s what makes barbed wire beautiful.  It is not funded through theft.  The owner of that property uses the most economical thing he can find to deter people from aggressing against his property.  And, because he does that, he actually prevents theft from occurring – and in effect he stops two forms of theft.  Meanwhile, in the US or Canada, two thefts occur for every theft… the initial tax theft to pay for the socialized policing and then the theft that happens because socialized policing rarely protects life or property.  Sure, every now and then they do stop someone and are positioned as heroes for doing what is suppoed to be their job.  But, more often than not, a call to 911 results in someone showing up an hour later – usually a bit too late to stop a rape or murder – and writing down what happened.  Just ask Flava Flav!

I know some Americans right now are thinking, “But I think barbed wire is ugly.”  Sure, on a purely esthetic level, it isn’t exactly art.  But on a moral level it is as beautiful as a glorious sunset.  Barbed wire means self-dependence.  It means independence.  It means non-aggression and self-defense.  It also means that I don’t have to hear my Facebook friends whine that their house got broken into again.  Put up some barbed wire!  And an electric fence on top of it!  But that would take away from the esthetics of the home, they say?  When I see an unprotected home, that is what I find ugly.  It means that you expect me to involuntarily pay for what you should be doing for yourself and loved ones: protecting yourself.

NO KNOCK RAIDS

But, even more important, for those who live in the US, you need to get some barbed wire and electric fences just to keep the cops out!  No knock raids – often mistakenly on the wrong home – as stormtroopers swarm in, knock down your door, and scare your wife and children to death, if not killing them “by accident”, as they look for dried flowers, is now one of your biggest threats.
That socialized police force that was supposed to protect you is now the ones you need to keep out of your home.  Surprise, surprise!

That’s what happens when you turn over your own security to a group of people who have no accountability and who you have granted the right to take most of your money every year to protect you.

Some barbed wire and an electric fence should at least slow those fascists down.

BAD AREA

Many people might think that if you “need” to have barbed wire or gates or walls you must just live in a “bad area”.  But, that is rarely the case.

A drive around Beverly Hills shows most rich people who live in fairly safe areas all have large gated areas and their own security.  Most rich people in the world will always have a well-protected home.  Buckingham Palace is a fortress now protected by surface to air missiles!  Is that because the Queen lives in a “bad area”?

No, it is because only the rich can afford to build these large gates and compounds… the middle class get most of their earnings sucked away to “pay” for their non-existent protection.  And then, to make matters worse, the poor, which are mostly made poor by the state, need to steal in order to stay alive… the state is a self-licking ice cream cone.  It creates poverty which causes crime by which they say they need to steal from everyone in order to protect people.

FORTRESS

In my case, if you get passed the gate and barbed wire, in Mexico, you’ll then have to deal with my professional boxer bodyguard, two chihuahuas and Remy, the german shepherd/husky mix and a host of armaments and a family all trained in kung fu and boxing.  Is it because we need it?  Highly unlikely.  But there is nothing like the confidence of knowing you can take on almost all comers.

If you've never had a handgun in your pocket or purse or at least are trained in a fighting art (and it is never too late to learn) you've never known the feeling of true freedom.  When you cannot protect your own body then you feel weak and are susceptible to feeling the need for others to protect you.

DO IT TODAY

Get out of the collectivist/statist game.  Get some barbed wire, build a large wall around your house in your suburb in middle America.  Put some broken glass on top of the wall and an electric fence on top of that.  All of it is almost assuredly against the zoning laws in your area and your neighbors will create a massive ruckus.  They’ll come after you with the full force of “the law” and try to take it down.  How dare you take your own protection of your life and property into your own hands?

If you fight them off long enough they’ll eventually come in with tanks like in Waco.  That’s how far the state and the collectivists who support the state will go to ensure you cannot protect yourself.  That’s why barb wire is beautiful and the state is ugly.

Comments (11)

James Nelson's picture

Here in Tennesee barb wire, or any such deterrent is illegal ( after having a bicycle and lawnmower stolen from my backyard, I could care less). I've noticed that such protection in quite common in the U.K. and places. Needless to say I've gone that route, and they'll just have to tell me to take it down. We keep talking about the freedoms we have here in the U.S. but it seems like when it comes to the really important stuff we're not as free as many would like to think.

Bevin Chu's picture

Traditional residential architecture in many parts of the world was based on the classic inward looking courtyard house featuring a central "atrium" or "sky well" open to the sky above. The best known examples are the Roman atrium and Chinese siheyuan. One house abuts the next, but is separately from its neighbor by high, thick privacy walls. Not a bad thing at all. It conserves precious urban footage, and as the saying goes, "good fences make good neighbors." For the government to forbid Americans from adopting the most space efficient, most secure solution to residential design, is sheer arrogance.

Loki's picture

In much of suburban USA your barbed wire strategy is illegal, but not all. Many once agricultural but now suburban towns maintained a token (or sometimes substantial) "rural/agricutural", or "residential/agricultural" or similar zoning district. This zoning permits "farming" full or part time, sometimes on even tiny lots. Most states do not restrict the type of fences "farmers" can have, especially if those fences restrain dangerous livestock. Few do it now, but in these towns it is "legal" to barbwire the front yard and keep a bull, a pen of hogs or a paddock with a high strung stallion as long as the animals have adequate care. In fact dangerous livestock might justify double fences! Maybe your post and the increase in rural crime will encourage more folks to try these strategies to defend their homes.

Jos's picture

Barbed wired? Broken glass? Reinforced doors? You like to live in a prison amigo, for which you have the keys? Good for you!I hope you have bullet proof glass in your windows, otherwise, snipers might get you! Better raise those walls high enough!I don't know why would anyone like to live in a neighborhood were everyone distrusts it's neighbors...

el chacal's picture

nice article. i have lived the past few years in colombia and the broken glass bits on top of the concrete walls (fences) are pretty common here as well. although i have never seen barbed wire per se, i have seen electric fencing on some of the concrete walls surrounding some of the higher priced homes ($500k+). it is great not to have to worry about the cops beating the shit out of you, tasing you or just giving you a hard time with an extra dose of attitude. the cops down here act like everybody else and do not "power trip" like their north american counterparts. you can even cut them off in traffic and 99 out of 100 times, you will not get pulled over. driving in two lanes? not a problem. as a matter of fact, i can count on one hand the number of times i have seen cops giving tickets, although they did just install their first phase of cameras around town (foto multas).

molson cdn's picture

along with the barbed wire, everyone should have a huge sign in front of the house stating "never mind the dogs, beware of owner". this always lets me know the owner is not playing with a full deck of cards.great article!!the different types of barbed wire. has come a long way. i especially like the Israeli fence--it has the 2 inch super blades with heavy twisted wire--check it out.

mava's picture

This is a great article, Jeff! I too, loved how you expose the barbed wire in the light that most statists will never ever able to see.I had been told that in So.Cal., I can not have any of this stuff on my property, forget the broken glass. More than that, the best devices ever invented to support justice, - boobie traps are illegal in "the land of the free". I would much prefer traps, as they do not advertise their presence, and yet, they uphold justice with deadly efficiency. The commies around here always run with this argument against traps: "What if a dumb child or a swat team decides to enter your house and steal your property or murder you?" To this, I always answer that I would agree that anyone utilizing self defense could be required to clearly mark his property as private, to gave a fair warning, but nothing more than that should be required.The view of "authorities" that any property must be made to be easily and safely occupied by their enforcers, the swat, just underscores that there is no private property in US, just an illusion of such. Yet, millions upon millions of Americans do believe that what they have is a private property.Anyway, I liked your view on the barbed wire. It reminds me of difference between useless surface beauty, and the real beauty of the substance.

Clik's picture

Some areas of USA now have laws against fortification. It was because they were having difficulty breaking down the doors of motorcycle clubs. My home county borders Washington, DC and has zoning laws that do not allow barbed wire or guard dogs. A guard dog includes the family pet if it is known that it would bite a human even if only defending its owners.

Amos's picture

Great post Jeff. Thanks for a different perspective on things. Keep up the good work. Cheers

Menno Troyer's picture

Wow, powerful rebuttal of one of the primary "justifications" for the state - the illusion that it provides security and makes an orderly society possible. I would say this is one of your best articles yet, for sure. Thank you!

Vince's picture

Jeff,"Barbed wire is beautiful" is one I haven't heard. The photo you show of your neighborhood depicts a public realm (commonly owned area) that doesn't seem particularly hospitable or friendly to anyone not in an automobile. Is it a free-range children environment? Put another way, would you feel comfortable allowing a child of eight years or older to have free run of the neighborhood unattended by an adult? Vince

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