WATCH: Brazen liquor store thefts show disturbing breakdown in rule of law

After all, we wouldn’t want to live in an authoritarian police state in which signs of government power were omnipresent.

So, in a democratic society, the rule of law is paramount, and the rule of law functions on the basis of the vast majority of people agreeing to follow the rules, even when someone could technically get away with lawbreaking.

It also functions on people believing that the rules will be applied when warranted. If people are allowed to brazenly steal, show total contempt for any basic decency, and then get away without punishment, that kind of attitude can spread throughout society like a sickness, signalling a deeper level of corruption and breakdown.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly the kind of breakdown that’s happening right now in Winnipeg. And it’s worse than the rampant LCBO thefts in Ontario.

Twitter and Facebook conversation among Winnipeggers is increasingly focused on the appalling sight of Manitoba Liquor Marts being beset by criminals who brazenly walk into stores, steal vast quantities of alcohol, knock alcohol onto the floors, and then scurry away, all without any punishment or action from the authorities.

In many cases, security guards simply stand there and watch, doing absolutely nothing, not even admonishing the criminals to stop. The Liquor Mart employees stand there watching as well, and the only thing they usually do is tell law-abiding Liquor Mart customers not to intervene.

And how about the police?

Well, they’re telling people not to intervene either, warning they could face “legal action.”

“Winnipeg police are addressing the issue of customers physically intervening in liquor mart thefts. As frustrating as it is, officers are warning people not to get involved. Police say you could be hurt and could be held liable criminally or civilly if someone else gets hurt.”

So this is what society has now become: Criminals break the law with impunity, while the authorities warn law-abiding people to do nothing or else risk getting in trouble.

What the hell is this?

Society is supposed to punish those who violate the laws, and reward those who follow the laws. It’s actually incredibly simple. This combo of punishments and rewards is what keeps any healthy society functioning, and when it breaks down, then society breaks down as well.

And that’s exactly what we see happening.

The system of punishments and rewards is being reversed, with the criminals being rewarded – with free alcohol and no punishments – while law-abiding citizens are punished. And law-abiding citizens are really being punished three times, first with the threats from authorities not to intervene, then with having to pay for alcohol while criminals don’t, and finally by the increased taxes that will be extracted by the government to cover the mounting costs of the Liquor Mart thefts.

All of this is outrageous, and it’s an insult to every Manitoba Liquor Marts customer who is following the law and following the rules.

There’s also something deeper going on here. It’s no coincidence that this type of weakness from the authorities is being matched with our country’s inability to stand up to China’s mistreatment of our citizens, the rise in meth and opioid related-crime and death, and the rise of gang crime. Meanwhile, the federal government wants to jail people for five years for sharing what they call “misinformation” about politicians on the internet.

Our so-called ‘leaders’ are so weak and corrupt that they only know how to be aggressive against good, law-abiding citizens. They can’t deal with criminals, aggressive strength, or brazen disregard for the law.

This will have dire consequences. The more people see that the rule of law is breaking down, and the more people see that following the rules results in punishment while breaking the rules results in reward, the worse and more chaotic things are going to get.