No Foraging in the King’s Forest Because It Hurts The Peasants
Let’s Talk About ‘Public’ Land
Eric Blair
Activist Post.com
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Conveniently hidden in the noise of the Bundy Ranch standoff is the heart of the issue: property rights and use of government-owned land. With the federal government going on a land-grab spree of late, it’s time we have a frank discussion about “public” land.
What is it? Who owns it? What’s it used for? What rights do citizens have to use it?
Back in feudal times peasants weren’t allowed to forage in the king’s forest. Those caught poaching to feed their families were put to death. It was considered stealing private property from the king himself, not the kingdom as a whole, no matter how big his forest grew. No one claimed it hurt other peasants to take from the king. Yet, today, we are to believe that foraging on government land somehow hurts the kingdom.
Some citizens call rancher Bundy a tax cheat, saying he’s stealing from taxpayers because he hasn’t paid grazing fees on public land. Does this group view public property as profit centers? Do they know they’re advocating for the same thing as big oil companies, frackers, Harry Reid’s Chinese solar power plant and a host of other cronies who don’t give a damn about land preservation? Because these entities dutifully pay their fees for their “right” to use public lands.
I’m not here to stick up for Cliven Bundy. His family claims they’ve had foraging rights to government land in Utah since 1877. Ironically, that’s right around the time that the government violently stole the land from native Americans. So, ancestor Bundy used the government cavalry to do to them exactly what the BLM is doing to him at the behest of Harry Reid’s corporate endeavors. I’m just keeping it real.
The Rest…HERE
