The phenomenon of sovereign citizens persistently trying to win court cases with their principles, despite a lack of success, is indeed puzzling. On YouTube alone, there are around 5,000 videos showing sovereign citizens facing defeat in the courtroom. These individuals often make claims that have yet to prove successful and frequently end up incarcerated.

Why do people continue to adopt this seemingly futile approach? It’s akin to watching 5,000 parachutists attempt a failed jump from the Eiffel Tower, only for newcomers to keep trying despite knowing, or perhaps ignoring, the inevitable outcome. Despite the growing pile of mangled bodies at the base of the tower, every day people decide to climb up and try for themselves.

The dedication of these individuals is noteworthy; they invest a great deal of time mastering the intricacies of their “sovereign” defense. Yet, it seems that they dedicate little time to researching previous legal outcomes or understanding why their arguments haven’t held up in court historically.

What drives this persistence? Is it a deep-seated belief system that overrides rational analysis, or is there another factor at play that encourages them to keep going despite overwhelming evidence of failure?

  • LordGimp@lemm.ee
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    21 hours ago

    They REALLY don’t. They have very situational allowances that have become defacto “special powers” thanks to a combination of decades of copaganda and huckster “warrior programs” that teach wannabe bullies that they are the most important of gods special snowflakes whose only responsibility is saving their own ass.

    Check out the guy that got stabbed in the face repeatedly on an NY subway while cops watched from 10 feet away, behind a safety door meant to protect the train conductor. Took them to court because their motto was literally “protect and serve” and got a real live judge to say out loud that it wasn’t literal and cops have no duty to actually protect or serve anyone, legally.

    • FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.au
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      21 hours ago

      They REALLY do. What you call “situational allowances” are what we’re talking about. You can’t turn on some flashing lights and speed through red lights to get to a crime legally. They can.

      Police have special powers that the rest of us don’t have. If they didn’t then police wouldn’t even exist.

      • LordGimp@lemm.ee
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        19 hours ago

        The problem I’m talking about is when they speed through red lights because they think they have these “special powers” when they law is EXCRUCIATINGLY explicit on exactly when and why cops can sometimes disregard certain legal requirements. That does not mean they can do what they want when they want. That’s exactly the kind of people OP is talking about, and that’s cops. To a fuckin T. Nobody else goes to court, cries ignorance as an excuse, and expects to get away with it.

        My real problem is that it works for them. Qualified immunity is a disgrace to law, as is the absolute immunity enjoyed by judges and magistrates. You want to fix law, fix that first.

        • FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.au
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          18 hours ago

          Ok so your issue is that police abuse their powers, powers that regular citizens do not have. I agree that’s a huge problem and it should be addressed regularly.

          That has nothing to do with the discussion at hand though. Sovereign citizens live in la-la-land. There are no special hidden laws about “travelling vs driving” where you don’t need a drivers license to drive on public roads. There are laws that allow police to speed and go through red lights.