PowerSaw 28.09.2017 --------- When I was very young, and foolish, I saw a diamond-edged power-saw at Home Depot with my father. My father told me that the saw could "cut through anything" and I assumed that whoever owned one would be among the most powerful men alive -- he could infiltrate Fort Knox or the White House. He could go anywhere or do anything. But in reality who wields these tools? I intend no offense, but the laborers who use such tools are often categorized as among society's *least* powerful. What explains the contradiction? Well, in reality, powerful men are protected not by walls, nor concrete nor steel. Instead, they are protected by *their allies*. Just try, try to cut through the wall protecting the White House lawn, and you will be immediately assaulted by professional assassins. A bullet cannot do anywhere near as much damage as a power-saw; but it does its damage very very quickly and from a very safe distance. And those assassins are in turn constrained in a hundred ways. Those who surrender the most "power", so to speak, are granted the most prestigious "control" over bullets. In the past, if someone killed your brother or nephew, your family or church or tribe whatever would swear revenge -- we have a powerful instinct for it! We have tremendous sympathy for those who suffer -- but this sympathy is disabled by the emotion of "contempt". We love to see "bad guys" get their comeuppance. The tradition of revenge killings continues to this day. Today we call it "death row". Or else we call it "warfare". We outsource the job to expert specialists. A serial-killer who murders people with a power-saw, won't last very long against the specialized team of "revenge-seekrs" that will come after him. Detectives, lab technicians, police officiers, prosecutors, judges, baliffs, behavioral criminologists, prison architects, and so forth. All of them working in large, organized teams; working 24/7. In turn, the interest of these specialists are protected by other specialists. While they are at work, their children will be taken care of at schools, or even by their employers or by some other specialist. Retirement homes will be built for them, complete with tennis court et cetera. https://goo.gl/JZY6sw