Derrick J’s Victimless Crime Spree
January 25th, 2013
This doesn’t happen very often, but this is appropriate as a Rebel of the Week post, and a Pop Friday post so I’m marking it as both. Derrick J Freeman is a liberty activist from Philadelphia who moved to Keene, New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project. Now he’s the star of a feature-length documentary chronicling his first year of civil disobedience activism in The Shire. Whether it’s dancing, smoking marijuana, filming the sociocrats or riding a bicycle, Derrick asks no permission and makes no apologies for which he served 60 days of a 540-day jail sentence.
The documentary was released for free online (see below), but now you can which is loaded with special features and bonus content. At $8.99, and qualifying for Amazon’s Super Saver Shipping I ordered two. It’s scheduled for release by February 19th, right in time for the New Hampshire Liberty Forum.
I gotta tell you, it’s hard to watch this documentary and not to just fall in love with Derrick J. He’s so overwhelmingly kind, and considerate while simultaneously firm and uncompromising, even in the face of cruel and incomprehensible treatment from sociocrats who push him around. By far my favorite scene is during a 420 celebration in Keene Central Square when Derrick J says to a police officer:
“Can you agree that since we don’t really know each other I won’t put my hands on you, and you won’t put your hands on me? Can we make that agreement?”
Then he gets a show of hands from everyone except that cops that they agree to remain peaceful and commit no violence.
He’s so explicit. Telling the police his preferences as casually as if he were speaking to a close friend. It’s happy radicalism, because even though he is considerate of their humanity, he gives no consideration to their status.
The film is both a record of the activism that goes on in Keene, New Hampshire including cameos by many other activists, and a personal narrative of Derrick J and his growth as an activist. It’s philosophy in action.
This film was made on a very low budget using a lot of amateur footage captured spontaneously by other activists, but that only makes it that much more intimate. The professional production quality more than makes up for the low resolution of the occasional cellphone video. The soundtrack is especially good.
I can’t wait to see all the extras. The special features include the movie trailers, a commentary track with Derrick J and producers Ian Freeman and Beau Davis, a solo commentary track with Derrick J, and a recording of the Q&A session from the film’s premiere. The Bonus content also contains hours of the full-length activist videos that are spliced in throughout the documentary, the “Chronic Carols” lyric sheets for the songs the Shire Choir sung outside the courthouse, and other printable activist outreach material.
Here’s the full length documentary in HD:
And if that’s not enough for you, here’s the trailer for the Director’s Cut DVD.
But Derrick J’s not done yet. He’s currently on a self-imposed exile from The Shire called the ”Freeman in Exile Tour.” He’s left New Hampshire to report on the liberty activism around the country.
Visit http://www.SilverCircleMovie.com to learn more about our upcoming 3D animated film. Also, the Silver Circle graphic novel is available now at the following hyperlinks in full color and black and white.
