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?
Because people are idiots
Sin is never a sufficient explanation for human behavior. Meaning anytime we think “it’s because they are bad”, we’re missing something big.
All behavior is an attempt to meet needs. Any correct explanation of behavior identifies the need and how the behavior is believed to meet it.
They may not be smart, on average as a group. But that’s not why they keep doing this.
The prerequisite for joining such hyperindividualistic ideologies is the belief that you’re better/more important than others, that the work of others can’t be depended on (“if you want it done right, you’ve got to to it yourself” fallacy mindset).
So:
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.
“Well duh, those people failed because they weren’t me!”
While what you said is true, you’re neglecting that it’s not entirely based on selfish ideations.
There are people selling courses and profiting heavily from tricking those people into thinking that these strategies work. They pretend they’ve won cases like this, that the loopholes are real, that many people are singing them praises. The failed attempts are just “the loud minority that screwed up the process”.
