> The reaction of the state is not about the value of the material, it is to
> drive home the point that they can do anything they want to anybody they
> want any time they want.
> Joanna
>
Agreed. The ultimate expression of power is to choose some trivial offense or make something up, and prosecute it beyond measure. The military is good at that.
On the other hand there is a dialectic involved, I think.. where those arbitrary acts of power begin to annul the authority of power. It's something like the mad queen of hearts syndrome, off with their heads, etc.
CG