"They’re jealous. They feel bad because they haven’t got the huevos to live free. They wish they could. That makes them fearful of people who do. The fear manifests itself in a dislike of themselves for their weakness, and that self-doubt then becomes dislike of those who have the strength to do what they can’t. So, in order to maintain their whimpering dignity, they ‘show us’ by passing laws that enable their guardians to harass us."

— Bob Bitchin (publisher, Biker Lifestyle, Oct. ‘86)

The warrior tradition is not a lost one, although its practitioners have often faced ridicule, persecution, incarceration, and execution by those who feared them in other times and other places. The Shaolin Temple, the Knights Templar, the Assassins, the Chinese Fighting Societies, and the Warrior Societies of the Native Americans all faced genocide at the hands of tyrants. In these enlightened times, people are seldom attacked solely on the basis of their abilities, yet if you choose to stockpile food, own a gun, carry a knife, or practice any form of martial art, propagandist elements of the media will use emotionally charged buzzwords to question your mental stability. The vast majority of those on the warrior path cannot simply be categorized as "violent paranoid whackos." They have no compulsion or desire to threaten or harm others. Most people explore the path at one time or another to learn how better to protect themselves and their families from unlawful attack. Those who walk the path for some time often choose to become soldiers, policemen, or martial artists. Those who remain on the path see it as a means to achieve self-mastery and enlightenment. Skill-at-arms cannot be uniformly condemned as a "negative" pastime.

People who seek to harm others seldom have the discipline required to walk the path. As a rule, they tend to be immature, selfish, impulsive creatures. Most of these creatures have poor social skills, and many have proclivities (such as sloth, cruelty, and lechery) which others find reprehensible. People who seek to harm others, whether they be bullies, sadists, or freaks, tend to be insecure cowards who will only attack people incapable of properly defending themselves (whether due to frailty or passivity). You need no special skills or attributes to torment those who are weaker than yourself.

Those walking the warrior path require an inordinate amount of discipline in order to achieve excellence. Discipline connotes self-control, so the warrior need not fear accidentally harming someone under inappropriate circumstances. He trains hard, so as to be victorious against significantly larger or multiple opponents (although his greatest opponent is within himself). Once a high level of proficiency is attained, the warrior has proven to himself that he can handle most situations he might encounter. The serenity resulting from such knowledge is comforting.

Any monkey can step on a gas pedal, flex a trigger finger, hit someone with a rock, pick berries off a bush, or lick his wounds. These simple functions, however, do not make one a wheelman, sharpshooter, martial artist, woodsman, or medic (respectively). It takes months of training and study to gain basic proficiency in these fields, and many years of practice to attain mastery. Driving, shooting, fighting, surviving, and healing are all complex subjects, and few people in today’s civilized world know much about them aside from hearsay, speculation, and what they see on television. Those on the warrior path keep these skills alive, preventing them from becoming lost arts.

Although the true warrior has a great deal of self-control and usually lives by a strict moral code, some people see only his lethal potential and are intimidated by it. Irregardless of the fact that the warrior may never have actually physically threatened anyone (indeed, most warriors will take great pains to avoid violence), he still is perceived to be a "threat" by others, and the fact that he is lawfully permitted to own firearms (and perhaps even carry one) strikes fear into their hearts. These fearful weaklings are usually the first to call for "more laws" to restrict one’s ownership of weapons; and if they feel that a warrior might be angry with them, they are prone to overreaction (like calling the police for no reason, or answering a knock at the door with gunfire).

Even if the weak ones know that the warrior would never attack them, they may still despise him. They are unafraid of the warrior, and hold him in contempt. "Who does this person think he is, strutting around like he owns all that he surveys? Does he think that he’s better than me?" This combination of jealousy and resentment will result in a great deal of tension. The jealous weakling may speak out against the warrior to others, or he may even attack the warrior verbally, hoping to provoke some sort of altercation so he can claim to have been "victimized." Such a person may actually spend weeks plotting revenge against a warrior he is angry with.

Both the fearful and the resentful weak ones, unfortunately, make up a large percentage of our population . . . and they vote. Not only do they vote, but they also tend to be quite active in their communities. As a result, politicians tend to take their snivels rather seriously, and will propose laws which meet these people’s approval. If a law is passed, regardless as to whether it is wrong-minded, unfair, or dangerously vague, the police shall be obliged to enforce it, and violators will be punished.

One example of such a grossly unfair law directed at the warrior class is the "Sullivan Act" of New York (which was originally passed long ago with the stated intent of "fighting organized crime." Excuses for passing similar laws today include: the "War on Drugs," the "Fight against Terrorism," and the "School Safety Crisis" — all of which initially appear to be worthwhile goals, until one reads the fine print and realizes how many freedoms we’ll be expected to give up in exchange for some politician’s assurance that "nothing bad will ever happen again"). Under this Act, anything which could possibly be used as a weapon (including walking sticks, tools, athletic equipment, and even heavy boots) becomes a prohibited "dangerous instrument." If a policeman feels that said instrument is possessed "with intent to use it unlawfully against another," the instrument will be confiscated and the individual formally charged with "Criminal Possession of a Weapon." Furthermore, if a loaded handgun is found in one’s possession (even if packed in one’s luggage and locked in the trunk), and the individual in question does not have a valid New York Pistol Permit (as most persons from out of state would not), the individual would be arrested and charged with a felony — even if he had no criminal record, consented to a search, and no criminal intent existed! Ignorance of the law is no excuse (even though the specifics of the Sullivan Act are widely unknown), and no differentiation is made between a silenced machinepistol bought on the black market and the antique revolver you inherited from a relative!

Even though this "crime" is a felony only in New York, one would instantly become a "violent felony offender" in all 50 states (as well as in other countries, thanks to Interpol). As a convicted felon (and if you are proven to have possessed the weapon, you will be convicted — don’t fool yourself by thinking otherwise), not only do you forfeit your right to own a firearm for the rest of your life, but you will be barred from almost all forms of employment except for unskilled labor, food service, and cab driving (and if you don’t lie on your employment application you won’t even get these demeaning and low-paying jobs!).

Other laws are even more insidious. For example, if one were simply to switch the awkward "thumbhole stock" found on "post-ban" autoloading rifles with a more comfortable pistol-grip-style stock, one would have committed a felony under federal law. For another example, in certain states which have chosen to ban "military-style" autoloading rifles, there was no "grandfather clause," which meant that a large segment of the law-abiding population would have suddenly become felons overnight if they chose to keep their rifles, rather than ship them out of state (but not through the mail, which would be illegal) or turn them over to authorities for disposal. Similarly, a recent federal law retroactively penalized tens of thousands of citizens who had previously been convicted of a misdemeanor assault charge (even if it had occurred decades ago), effectively barring them from possessing a firearm for the rest of their lives (with no possibility of an appeal, and no exceptions being made for military or law enforcement personnel).

What is truly bizarre is that most of these Draconian legislations are not common knowledge. They are not taught in the schools or spoken of on television, and only on very rare occasions (usually just on the day they are officially signed into law) are they referred to in the newspapers. This practice of deliberate concealment is similar to what the mad emperor Caligula did in ancient Rome. According to Roman law, all new legislation had to be posted on a particular set of columns for all the citizens to see. In order to circumvent this just and reasonable practice, Caligula decreed that from henceforth all new laws (violation of which often resulted in execution) would be affixed to the tops of the columns, where they could not be read. Due to the fact that Caligula had clearly shown himself to be completely unreasonable, citizens were afraid to question the new practice (or climb the columns) out of fear that they would be breaking the law by doing so!

The warrior segment of society will always feel compelled to protect themselves and their families. Often, this may entail purchasing a firearm, carrying a knife, or slapping some dipshit upside the head. Invariably, society will devise ways to criminalize these acts in order to maintain the status quo. The typical warrior, through his cavalier and iconoclastic attitude, poses a danger to the existing order and must somehow be brought under control. By far, the easiest way to accomplish this is to transform the valiant warrior into a despicable criminal with the stroke of a pen. Criminalizing the warrior will effectively emasculate him by prohibiting him from owning weapons (or even raising his hands to defend himself), barring him from positions of responsibility, and placing him under the direct supervision of the State (which will then be free to monitor his activities, search his residence, and test his urine). Warriors who fail to conform to the State’s expectations will be eliminated from society by incarcerating them until they are too feeble and backwards to pose a threat to anyone (just think what ten years of sitting in a damp cell eating institutional food will do for your health).

If you choose to walk the warrior path, but are not officially empowered by the State to do so (usually through active duty in the armed forces, or employment in law enforcement), be aware that others will be watching you very closely. If you fail to abide by what others feel constitutes "proper behavior," you may be penalized for it. And if you inadvertently fall astray of one of the hundreds of "secret laws" currently on the books, you may very well find yourself relegated to a life of poverty and powerlessness.