Legalistic Kabbalism

[Brandybuck]

Kabbalism is a system of magic whereupon old bearded men rearrange letters in sacred texts in order to discover the secret code that will immanentize the eschaton. Or something like that. Isn't that what tax deniers and their cohorts are doing? They're trying to discover mystical legal phrases that when uttered will bind judges to their will. They attribute a quasi-mystical quality to legal texts and procedures, will pick isolated phrases out of irrelevant rulings, accord meaning to the meaningless, etc.

Is there a term for this kind of thinking? "Legalistic Kabbalism" is too clumsy to use in everyday conservation.

[Doktor Avalanche]

Kabbalism is a system of magic whereupon old bearded men rearrange letters in sacred texts in order to discover the secret code that will immanentize the eschaton. Or something like that. Isn't that what tax deniers and their cohorts are doing? They're trying to discover mystical legal phrases that when uttered will bind judges to their will. They attribute a quasi-mystical quality to legal texts and procedures, will pick isolated phrases out of irrelevant rulings, accord meaning to the meaningless, etc.

Is there a term for this kind of thinking? "Legalistic Kabbalism" is too clumsy to use in everyday conservation.

I believe the clinical term for it is "batsh*t crazy" - your mileage may vary.

[LPC]

Others have commented on the "magic words" pathology. In commenting on the crackhead attempts to file things with the Supreme Court, someone else pointed out that they really don't understand how courts work. I think that the two ideas are related.

Most tax protesters really don't understand what goes on in courts, or court opinions. They don't understand "due process" or "jurisdiction" or "burden of proof." To them, what goes on in court is just moving words around. It's incomprehensible and nonsensical to them, which makes it the same as magic.

Their response is to try to rearrange the words to find the right incantation, the right spell, to allow them to win. What they write is meaningless gibberish to us because what we write is meaningless gibberish to them. They respond in an imitative but nonsensical way because superficial manipulations of words is all that they can understand.

And when I say they can't understand, I'm not necessarily commenting on their intelligence, because it's really a combination of ignorance and emotional blockage. They don't really want to understand anything that means they're wrong, so they don't really try to understand.

[Pottapaug1938]

I see the problem as stemming partly from the fact that most TPers seem unable to distinguish between the holding in an appellate case and the "dicta", or explanatory notes. They will locate one dictum in an opinion, and then proclaim that, since the Supreme Court said thus-and-so in the case of Winklepicker vs. Hackmatack, this means that we don't have to pay income tax.

Of course, the Supreme Court may have held exactly the opposite in the Winklepicker case; Winklepicker may have been on another subject entirely; or the decision may have become obsolete because of a new law, constitutional amendment or judicial decision; but the TPers found some language in a Supreme Court case which supports their fallacies, so they pry the dictum out of context and gleefully use it as "proof" that they are right and the gummint is wrong.

[Duke2Earl]

Actually, they just have a much more advanced case of a common human fault that many people have...they hear only what they want to hear. Everything else simply does not exist or is just background noise.

[ErsatzAnatchist]

I think Dan has really hit the nail on the head. Some courts, in an effort to be more pro se friendly, have attempted to do away with the jargon and simplify procedural rules. I suspect these changes only have minimal positive effects, as the underlying concepts of our legal system (see e.g. the thread with the postings about "precedent" and "Stare Decisis").

[Pottapaug1938]

I think Dan has really hit the nail on the head. Some courts, in an effort to be more pro se friendly, have attempted to do away with the jargon and simplify procedural rules. I suspect these changes only have minimal positive effects, as the underlying concepts of our legal system (see e.g. the thread with the postings about "precedent" and "Stare Decisis").

I see TPers going in the other direction. They love to use old Latin phrases which practiving attorneys have long since abandoned because, as Dan points out, they not only constitute "magic words" to these people, but also carry a bit of mystery by being in Latin.

[Brandybuck]

It reminds me of physics cranks (those close relatives of the free energy kranks). They think they've discovered the Grand Unified Field theory, or a mistake in the Laws of Thermodynamics, or a Warp Field, or whatever. But they don't understand the first thing about science itself or how it works. What they fail to realize is that if their discoveries were genuine physicists would be beating a path to their door.

[illiterati]

After today's revelations about the materials found on the HDD of that d-bag supremacist murderer, my conviction over my theory that TDs are not really about finding the magic incantation that will make taxation go away, they're about finding the magic incantation that will make it okay to have sex with children, is only growing stronger. The TDism is only a side effect. I know it may seem like I'm just trying to get a reaction, but there's something seriously wrong with these people. They just don't want to obey the law and the tax issues are the issues that they can attack publicly. The other ones they don't attack openly because they know society will not accept it.

[Brandybuck]

After today's revelations about the materials found on the HDD of that d-bag supremacist murderer, my conviction over my theory that TDs are not really about finding the magic incantation that will make taxation go away, they're about finding the magic incantation that will make it okay to have sex with children, is only growing stronger.

There's this TD in my town who almost fits that bill. Creepy old guy who raised his children to be "free of the sexual mores that society imposes on itself". From what I understand, his kids turned out all right, but he managed to get dragged through a noxious court trial by his ex.

[webhick]

After today's revelations about the materials found on the HDD of that d-bag supremacist murderer, my conviction over my theory that TDs are not really about finding the magic incantation that will make taxation go away, they're about finding the magic incantation that will make it okay to have sex with children, is only growing stronger. The TDism is only a side effect.

I strongly disagree. Being a TD does not necessarily mean that you want to have sex with children. Some are greedy, hate blacks, hate Jews, hate the government, think the Illuminati controls everything (I do, BTW), want their women to be subservient, are just whacko, etc. Many are also just regular people who made a mistake and are trying to get their lives back on track (there are several members here who are in that boat).

I will agree with you that the prolific TDs don't just drink one flavor of kool-aid.

[Doktor Avalanche]

I will agree with you that the prolific TDs don't just drink one flavor of kool-aid.

There's something to be said for mixing drinks.

[Famspear]

Others have commented on the "magic words" pathology. In commenting on the crackhead attempts to file things with the Supreme Court, someone else pointed out that they really don't understand how courts work. I think that the two ideas are related.

Most tax protesters really don't understand what goes on in courts, or court opinions. They don't understand "due process" or "jurisdiction" or "burden of proof." To them, what goes on in court is just moving words around. It's incomprehensible and nonsensical to them, which makes it the same as magic.

Their response is to try to rearrange the words to find the right incantation, the right spell, to allow them to win. What they write is meaningless gibberish to us because what we write is meaningless gibberish to them. They respond in an imitative but nonsensical way because superficial manipulations of words is all that they can understand.

And when I say they can't understand, I'm not necessarily commenting on their intelligence, because it's really a combination of ignorance and emotional blockage. They don't really want to understand anything that means they're wrong, so they don't really try to understand.

This precise explanation, in these words, is really very good, in my opinion. I would argue that this language, or language close to this, should be added to, or somehow worked into, Dan's existing discussion of magic words in his Tax Protester FAQ.



EDIT: I should point out that I believe that quoting from Dan's Tax Protester FAQ can have a beneficial effect when trying to explain these things to people. Depending on where you are on the internet, it is sometimes advantageous -- from an authority standpoint -- to be able to say that the quote is specifically, directly from the Tax Protester FAQ.

Hint..... hint....

[ASITStands]

Others have commented on the "magic words" pathology. In commenting on the crackhead attempts to file things with the Supreme Court, someone else pointed out that they really don't understand how courts work. I think that the two ideas are related.

Most tax protesters really don't understand what goes on in courts, or court opinions. They don't understand "due process" or "jurisdiction" or "burden of proof." To them, what goes on in court is just moving words around. It's incomprehensible and nonsensical to them, which makes it the same as magic.

Their response is to try to rearrange the words to find the right incantation, the right spell, to allow them to win. What they write is meaningless gibberish to us because what we write is meaningless gibberish to them. They respond in an imitative but nonsensical way because superficial manipulations of words is all that they can understand.

And when I say they can't understand, I'm not necessarily commenting on their intelligence, because it's really a combination of ignorance and emotional blockage. They don't really want to understand anything that means they're wrong, so they don't really try to understand.

This precise explanation, in these words, is really very good, in my opinion. I would argue that this language, or language close to this, should be added to, or somehow worked into, Dan's existing discussion of magic words in his Tax Protester FAQ.



EDIT: I should point out that I believe that quoting from Dan's Tax Protester FAQ can have a beneficial effect when trying to explain these things to people. Depending on where you are on the internet, it is sometimes advantageous -- from an authority standpoint -- to be able to say that the quote is specifically, directly from the Tax Protester FAQ.

Hint..... hint....

I agree. I think both you and Dan have hit upon the most rational explanation of TP/TD behavior, and adding it to the FAQ (as an introductory paragraph) would be beneficial.

Starting with the idea, "They don't understand ...." and acknowledging, "What they write is meaningless gibberish to ordinary folks, etc." and showing how it all ends up in "magic words" is a powerful way to describe what goes on in the confusion that passes as a TP/TD.

And, don't forget the fact, "They don't really want to be shown they're wrong!" That's key.

Good stuff, guys! Those thoughts should be written somewhere and maybe developed a bit.