catapult magazine

Have any of you been following the death fast by Gene Chapman, in TX, where he has posed the question, “Where is my tax liabilty in the law?” to the IRS as the seat of his fast. Very interesting and inspiring.

http://www.genechapman.blogspot.com/

I don’t find it noble that this guy stops eating because he doesn’t want to pay taxes. I could give him some suggestions for things worth fasting about.

boy, i’m just not sure where to start with this . . .

did gene chapman try other methods of non-violent civil disobedience or working through the systems already in place to find an answer to his question before he decided that a death fast would be the most appropriate way to deal with this issue?

i just don’t think that the question (“Where is MY tax liability in the law? What makes ME liable?”) has enough gravity to suggest losing a life. while i could make a case for how these questions could lead to larger questions in a representative government, it doesn’t appear as though he’s getting at the larger questions. it’s almost a matter of semantics for him. he wants someone to show him where it says that he has to pay taxes. so, techinically, if the government were to add a clear, concise law to the books tomorrow, his argument would be moot. he almost seems to be creating a conflict so that he can use (the most extreme) non-violent resistance to overcome it.

i also don’t really appreciate his allusion to ghandi. ghandi did all of the things above (trying to work with the british raj, other non-violent protests—the salt march, etc.) before resorting to death fasts in very extreme situations. ghandi was a world figure by the time he used a death fast as a tool to bend the british will, which was primarily effective because the british didn’t want to be responsible for causing the death of such a loved and respected individual (he also had many personal relationships with government officials who respected him). ghandi was fighting against an oppressive regime that wasn’t afraid to massacre hundreds or thousands of indian people to remain in power. so the situation is completely different.

maybe i’m missing something, though.

did i just kill this discussion or what?

Yes, man….it’s all your fault.

I actually think it is kind of cool to pay taxes. My money helps build bridges, clothe and feed the homeless and fund research (I’m not so happy about everything my government does, but I am cool with most of it. Is there anybody else out there who doesn’t gripe about taxes?

Me! I am an American by birth (soon to finally be Canadian: June 18) and have live in Canada for along time. The social saftey net, health care and all the benefits available here have always impressed me even if a larger chunk of our paycheques go to the government. When I hear people complain about them I always wonder if they think about what taxes actually do? And when people want tax cuts, why do they complain about service cuts! BUT having said that, we do have to be involved in the process and keep the governments (all levels) accountable. That’s the thing with democracy – we all have to be involved. It has just taken me along time to actually be able to participate!