WINNER: TOP 25 LIBERTARIAN DOCUMENTARIES
Libertarian activist Derrick J. Freeman chronicles his arrest and incarceration for five “crimes” — videoing police, dancing in a public place, smoking cannabis, wearing a hat in court, and riding a bike — in a civil disobedience spree that demonstrates just how petty and dangerous is our ever-expanding body of law. [ Derrick J’s Victimless Crime Spree credits: Dir: Derrick J. Freeman/ 88 min/ Documentary/ Anti-Regulation, Government Enforced Morality, Law & the Individual, Libertarianism 101]
Note: the full documentary may be viewed online here.
“In the course of committing his civil disobedience ‘crimes,’ Freeman is threatened, pepper-sprayed, tackled to the ground, and imprisoned — but survives. And in the end he leaves with some wisdom worth hearing.”
“I realized that the problem wasn’t those on high, it was people like me down low. The problem wasn’t the chain of command, but the chain of obedience.”
Those are the words of Derrick J. Freeman, whose victimless crime spree is chronicled in Derrick J’s Victimless Crime Spree. A former Greenpeace and ACLU activist, Freeman discovered the Free State Project and was immediately smitten by the idea of creating a community where personal freedom is popular, respected…and, if necessary, demanded through acts of civil disobedience.
The telling of his story follows the classic heroic structure. It begins with his arrival in a strange new world, in this case Keene, New Hampshire, the epicenter of the Free State Project. There, he (and we) meet some of the libertarian activists driving the movement, faithful allies who bear considerable risk in filming Freeman’s various encounters with the gorgons of the State. In the course of committing his civil disobedience “crimes,” Freeman is threatened, pepper-sprayed, tackled to the ground, and imprisoned — but survives. And in the end he leaves this new world with some wisdom worth hearing.
And what is this wisdom? It’s that government is force, and increasingly disproportionate force. Freeman’s “crimes” are hilariously innocent — and yet in each instance that Freeman breaks some minor law or regulation, we see the sharp teeth of the State menacingly bared at him, through threats, lies and actual violence. That is part of what makes this film so effective. He is essentially calling the State’s bluff and taping it for all of us to see. This is tremendously important because the reason perfectly nice people so often think in terms of passing a law to solve a problem is that they forget what law is, they forget that their good intentions are ultimately backed by tasers, pepper-spray, nightsticks…and guns.
Keene is clearly where the libertarian cool crowd is hanging out, and this film is, intentionally or not, a terrific advertisement for the Free State Project. Who wouldn’t want to join the Shire Choir and sing songs of liberty in front of the courthouse (and to the great annoyance of all inside)? Keene seems to have already hit that critical mass where an idea becomes a palpable movement; it must be fun to take part.
Although not a major studio production, Derrick J’s Victimless Crime Spree is perfectly professional and you will enjoy meeting Derrick J. Freeman, the film’s charming and gutsy young star, who demonstrates unequivocally the ultimately brutal nature of law…and who sacrificed months of his young life in prison to bring that point to film. As I said, the film follows a heroic structure, and rightfully so.
Somewhere, Henry David Thoreau is smiling.
External Reviews
“Derrick J’s Victimless Crime Spree is both a record of the activism that goes on in Keene, New Hampshire including cameos by many other activists, and a personal narrative of Derrick J and his growth as an activist. It’s philosophy in action.”
–Silver Circle Underground
“You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll be outraged at the people who made a “criminal” out of one of the most peaceful people you would ever meet.”
–Free Press Publications
How to See It
Note: the full documentary may be viewed online here.
Amazon (DVD)
Amazon (Instant Video)
YouTube Video Search
Online Video Search
Links
Official homepage
IMDB
Columbia Law Review: Ham Sandwich Nation: Due Process When Everything is a Crime
Book: Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent
Book: The Tyranny of Good Intentions: How Prosecutors and Law Enforcement Are Trampling the Constitution in the Name of Justice
Book: One Nation Under Arrest: How Crazy Laws, Rogue Prosecutors Threaten Your Liberty
Book: Government Bullies: How Everyday Americans Are Being Abused and Imprisoned by the Feds