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Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Popcorn Sutton: Dead By Government Bastards!

If you have small children anywhere in the vicinity, please have them leave. Because there are going to be things that I say here, and images that will be shown, that in days of enforced polity would no doubt have resulted in me being hung until dead, and then the house burned down and the ground sown with salt.

But may God have mercy, I'm not gonna hold back on this. I'm probably going to blow all the "goodwill" that I've earned as a "Christian writer" with this wad... but this is gonna be said and I don't give a flying rat's ass...

It's official: Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton took his own life, rather than go to prison. Monday he got the letter ordering him to report to federal penitentiary on Friday of this week. Later that afternoon he sent his wife to town for some errands. Shortly after she left Popcorn went to the barn behind their Parrottsville, Tennessee home, started up the beloved Ford Fairlane that he once bought with three jugs of his famous moonshine, and let the buildup of carbon monoxide seduce his weary mind into an everlasting slumber bereft of BATF agents and fame-jockeying prosecutors.

Marvin Sutton – better known as Popcorn Sutton – was an American original. The embodiment of rugged individualism. A paragon of the "live and let live" that once upon a time this country believed in. He was a product of his heritage, a practitioner of his art, and perhaps the last living link to a culture whose decimation is so actively sought by our "progressive" society that only the absence of guns spares it from the appellation "ethnic cleansing".

Monday afternoon, Popcorn Sutton died on his own terms. He left this world a free man.

And it was the god-damned aberration of decency and sanity that is the American government which made him do it.

The same American government that takes billions of dollars from you and me, and gives it to companies that should have suffered the consequences of their own incompetence and gone broke.

The same American government that takes even more money from you and me and passes it along as obscene "bonuses" to the very executives who drove those companies into the ground.

The same American government that has destroyed the industrial infrastructure of this country.

The same American government that lets MILLIONS of undocumented illegal immigrants flood across the border.

The same American government that now has a tax evader as the Secretary of the Treasury.

And yet in spite of all of this and more, this same government would have us believe that a 61-year old rail-thin, scraggly-bearded mountain man was a threat to the national economy?!

There is something that I have never, ever said before, either aloud or in print, but I gladly will now: FUCK THE GOVERNMENT!

So far as I'm concerned, the federal government of the United States committed murder. It didn't have to take Popcorn Sutton's life on its own.

Hell no. It did its damndest to do worse than that.

It had to try to kill his spirit. It had to assassinate Popcorn Sutton as a character. So he had no choice but to deny it the satisfaction of killing him in body.

Popcorn Sutton never harmed anyone. He made moonshine. That is not a sin or something that is morally evil. Hell, Popcorn's moonshine was widely reputed to be the safest product around. Nobody ever got sick or went blind from drinking his stuff (unless they imbibed too much of it). Go watch Neal Hutcheson's wonderful documentary The Last One: moonshining was never something that folks in the backwoods did just for the heck of it. More often than not it was something that was needed. In one of the bonus materials on The Last One DVD, Popcorn demonstrates how moonshine can be used as the basis for a cough and cold syrup. In the days before Wal-Mart landed a Supercenter in every nook and hollow of Appalachia, that was the only way to produce effective medicine.

But the god-damned judges, prosecutors, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms agents, and their worse-than-worthless sycophants and "useful idiots" in a lot of the media, decreed that to make alcohol without a license is a dire sin. And the license itself costs an unconscionable amount of money. Popcorn Sutton didn't have enough coin to open up a full-blown brewery, and he didn't particularly care to either. He just wanted to make enough for his own needs, and a few others.

But the government wanted its cut. How much would that have been? A few hundred dollars? Likely a couple thousand at the most. How much would it have cost to give Popcorn three hots and a cot in federal prison for eighteen months? A helluva lot more than that.

Was that worth wasting the money to pursue, prosecute and attempt to imprison the man? Was it worth driving him to take his own life?

Most people reading these words, know the answer to that question.

But the soulless, heartless, unholy juggernaut of the federal government, doesn't give a damn. Think any of the agents or prosecuting officials in Popcorn's case are going to shed any tears?

Fucking automatons, all of 'em.

And meanwhile, the real criminals of this land are still in Washington, still on Wall Street, still sitting high on the hog and sucking the fruit of our labors. Bernard Madoff? He's just a token gesture. His only "serious" mistake is that he got too greedy. So he'll go to prison for the rest of his life (if even that long) and the bastards of Absolute Power will keep feigning indignity and have to suffer the inconvenience of the occasional "congressional hearing"... and it will just be Business As Usual™.

Because there are different rules for Them and for Us. They can get away with it. People like Popcorn Sutton are too small to "matter". The little people have to be quashed at every turn, lest they get too uppity.

I defy anyone to tell me that there is something right in a country where a well-connected businessman or politician can abscond with millions or billions of taxpayer dollars and escape with a slap on the wrist, while someone like Popcorn Sutton gets hounded to the bitter end.

No one can tell me that there is anything right with that.

Like I said: FUCK THE GOVERNMENT!

Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton: killed by a performance of Prosecutorial Theatre, produced by his country, the United States of America.

He was a Free Man. One of the few who can honestly say they deserve that title. The chains never came to rest upon him.

Can any of us say the same?

You can live on your knees, or die on your feet. You can be safe, or you can be free.

A man chooses. A slave obeys.

Popcorn Sutton was disobedient. He chose his life, all the way to the end.

And if nothing else that I say makes an impression, I will let Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton himself deliver the parting words to those who would enslave others, carved in the footstone that he already had prepared for his eventual gravesite:


Note: the photos used in this article are from Johnny Knoxville's post about Popcorn Sutton's passing. I very much recommend reading what Knoxville has to say, and especially check out the video interview that he made with Popcorn in February 2009.

66 comments:

Anonymous said...

A really sad situation; moonshine is the least of our government's concern, maybe they should reassign these BATF folks to inspect the meat and poultry processors for e-coli and salmonella instead of hounding one man making a little still gin.

In case you haven't already, write your congressman to ask that the situation be investigated. Seriously.

Chris Knight said...

Greetings, my "West Coast Hippie Alter-Ego(tm)"! :-)

(Again folks, Chris "HotCat.org" Knight and the strange being running this blog are two separate people. He's cooler than I am, for one thing...)

Anyway, Chris... you're right, and a friend brought up that same point this morning too. There's a peanut butter factory in Georgia that got away for a long time with producing contaminated peanut butter that was used in a lot of other products. I ate one of those a few months ago, and it made me sick like all get out. Made a lot of other people sick too.

But it's easier to harass people like Popcorn Sutton. Makes the bureaucrats look like they're "really" doing their job. Where's the fortune and glory in shutting down a food production plant, when there are people like Popcorn still in the world to harass and make headlines from?

Our priorities as a country are completely screwed up.

Anonymous said...

This post could be called Chris Knight: Unplugged. You said what I've felt about Sutton's death too.

This is one of the best I've ever seen from you Chris.

Anonymous said...

What is the end of the matter . . . .

Where is Popcorn Sutton's soul right now? Heaven? Hell? Anathema? Wherever he is, he's there because of choices HE made, and not those of the government.

What about our choice? Do we idolize, emulate and follow Popcorn Sutton? If we do, we could choose to end up where he is. Do we learn from Popcorn Sutton's moral choices choose better? I hope so.

Ol' You-Know-Who

Chris Knight said...

Ol' You-Know-Who,

I never met the man (and will now never have the pleasure) but I have heard plenty testify that beneath that very gruff and bushy exterior, Popcorn Sutton was as fine a God-fearin' man as you're ever likely to meet.

And there is a difference between choosing morally and choosing legally. But I know you enough to know that you understand that already.

Anonymous said...

Zoinks! I've been a reader from the start of this blog and I've never seen you in a rage like this Big Guy. Personally I'd love to see it happen more often :)

Regarding Mr. Sutton. He was hurting nobody but the government. And the government doesn't tolerate any deviation. We will all march in lockstep or we will die. That is the message that the feds were sending with their treatment of Sutton.

You should repost the list you did of the people who deserve to be shot when the revolution comes. And update it. How things are going, we might need it soon.

Anonymous said...

Is Popcorn different from the tens of thousands of people who are in jail for possessing and/or growing marijuana?

Dobson III

Chris Knight said...

"Is Popcorn different from the tens of thousands of people who are in jail for possessing and/or growing marijuana?"

Honestly?

Not really.

The government has the exact same motivation in going after "illegal drugs" that it does for condemning "illicit" booze. Namely, that it can't tax it easily. It has nothing at all to do with why drugs like marijuana are bad for ya. Just that the feds can't get their cut of the action.

The "war on drugs" has been one of the biggest fiascos in modern American history. You would have thought that we would have learned the lesson of the Prohibition, and why outlawing something like alcohol or drugs just makes people want it more.

Why doesn't the government go after tobacco, when smoking causes a helluva lot more problems? Why will the government never outlaw it?

Because it's raking in too damned much tax money (and as of this week it's raking in even more 'cuz of higher taxes).

Always follow the money.

You asked, and I gave you a sincere answer. Some people might not like it, but there it is.

Anonymous said...

Can the continuing depravity that would order such a tombstone to be carved and set on his grave co-exist with the righteous fear of God?

It could not exist within my mortal body. If it did, I would expel one or the other, or die trying. Did it exist in Popcorn Sutton? Could THAT . . . the intolerance of light and dark . . . have been the motivation for his death?

Ol' You-Know-Who

Anonymous said...

This shows what kind of christain chris knight is----every one is Reidsville already knows

Eric H. Smith said...

I have been preaching this same message of Govco intrusion for years. I know you allow Anonymous comments but I really wish these folks would at least post who they are. I would never make comments on any blog or message board Anonymously unless it was to protect the identity of others.

Anonymous said...

"This shows what kind of christain chris knight is"

It doesn't show me, so I don't know. Please explain what kind of "christain" Chris is.

Dobson III

Anonymous said...

Whoever the person is, they cannot spell. Hmmm. I wonder who that could be? :-)

Chris Knight said...

Take a wild guess.

That's the difference between real Christians and normal people of earnest conscience, and the sort like Johnny Robertson.

People like me are outraged when others are hurt.

People like Robertson are outraged when others are not hurt.

Chris Knight said...

Ol' You-Know-Who,
I think that Popcorn Sutton was a man who lived by the grace of God. And I also think that meant he understood what that really meant, a lot more than most Christians who "put on airs" about not cursing, not smoking, not drinking and not associating with those who do those things, etc.

The "sins" that he committed were sins against polite society. Not sins against God.

I don't believe He'll hold ol' Popcorn accountable for something like that. Merely saying the word "fuck" never sent anyone to Hell. God judges the heart of a person, not the outside.

And y'all can hate me for saying this if you wish, but I rather like that grave marker. It's the kind of thing that I would probably do for myself someday.

Anonymous said...

This essay is a "J'Accuse!" for the Twenty First Century. Good job!

Anonymous said...

I have known Chris Knight for a number of years and I can honestly say that he has more integrity on his worst day than you on your best. "Ol You Know Who", what are you a two year old?? All you are sir is a troublemaker pure and simple. Why else would you go out of your way to visit this site except to antagonize Chris?

It appears you are the "reverend" (and I use this term very loosely) who has been harassing Chris over the past several months. You are a bully hiding behind his religion. I only hope that your church comes to it senses soon and casts you out for the serpent you truly are. I have never witnessed someone so eager to pounce on a recently deceased person's afterlife destination. I only pray that God shows you the same mercy on your day of judgment that you have shown towards others.

Chris, hang in there and do not let this pitiful excuse for a human being get you down. He really is not worth it.

Chris Chadwick

Anonymous said...

Don't hold back Chris. Tell us how you REALLLY feel!

Anonymous said...

Chris,
I don't know Popcorn man but it is sad that someone commited suicide just because he wanted to make moonshine and the government would not let him. Seems to me that if he wanted to keep a tradition alive and his moonshine was as high quality as it was. He should have slapped a tax label on it and sold it in the ABC store. That way he could continue to make moonshine and made money.

I do not care if people have an occasional drink but I do care if people are getting drunk. I do believe that God was against people getting drunk. I dont believe it is a social drink to get drunk. I believe it is an accident waiting to happen to get drunk and loose control of your person. This leads to auto accidents, assaults and unwanted pregnacies. (but who cares the government is paying for these anyway)

My mother, sisters and I were victims of a Drunk who would beat my mother and not even remember it.

Hope you don't take my take personal I just wanted you to know where I stand in all this.

Your Friend,
Johnny Y.

Anonymous said...

Chris (all of you who bear this given name),

I don't hate you. You are all people whom God loves. Since He created me too, how dare I to do less than love all of you?

BTW..."reverend" is a term I do not use myself. Others have called me by that term, and if one chooses to do so I will not embarrass that person by making a public example of him/her. I much prefer to become a personal friend . . . to the point that titles fall by the wayside and people call me by my first name.

I am anonymous here for reasons that are sufficient to myself. Perhaps one day you, as Chris has, will find that I am your friend as well. If a first name will make you feel more comfortable with me, and assist you in making friends, call me "Tim". Tim was a servant/guardian to The Tomorrow People. He never forced his will upon anyone, nor did he harass anyone. Go to Wikipedia if you wish to know more.

For now, I'll continue to sign my posts here as I have, and project the anonymous face on the wall.

Ol' You-Know-Who

Anonymous said...

Chris,
I've never seen so much profanity from a writer that I know is a born-again believer in Christ. But if anyone has the right and the skill to say what you wrote in this essay, it's you.

It is a superb piece and you are right to express your wrath at those who led a man to kill himself. Anytime someone - ANYONE - dies it should always be an occasion of sadness. So I thought that your response was very human and even very Christian.

On the right side you have a link to a Stanley Hauerwas archive. You have studied him a lot, haven't you? :)

Chris Knight said...

Calvin,
Have I studied Stanley Hauerwas, you ask?

I took a course on modern religious thinkers one semester at Elon, and we wound up focusing a lot on his work. Later in the semester he came and spoke to our class. By that point his stuff was resonating with me so much, that I asked him to sign my copy of his "Unleashing the Scripture". It remains a treasured item in my personal library.

Stanley Hauerwas is absolutely one of the most influential Christian thinkers that I have ever been exposed to. He constantly challenges those listening to him to seriously get back to what it really means to follow Christ. And yeah, his speech is peppered with more than a little profanity (a trait he ascribes to growing up the son of a bricklayer).

Now, if Johnny Robertson wants to "debate" someone, he should drive to Duke University and challenge Stanley Hauerwas to come to WGSR some night.

I've no doubt that it would be the last time that Robertson would ever show his head on TV around here. Hauerwas would eat him alive.

Anonymous said...

Popcorn was convicted 5 times for moonshining and 2 times for assault with a deadly weapon. This was the first time he received an active sentence. He was a tireless self-promoter and therefore an "icon". He got less time than Martha Stewart and would have probably actually served about 9 months. Yet, "the government killed him". Good drama, bad logic. Notice how everything around here has an evil villain?

Anonymous said...

Great blogs and comments about Popcorn Sutton here. The man seemed to stay a kid all his life and I see nothing at all wrong with that. Wish I had seen the Johnny Knoxville video sooner or known more about Popcorn sooner and I would have visited the man myself. How many folks do we know in this day and age that actually have time, and make the time, to just sit and chat as Popcorn did. Very tragic story about his life's conclusion this week. The comments were also good at knox.com and Asheville's, Citizen-Times.com Lots of outrage and great eulogizing at these sites too when I did an online search of Popcorn tonight. Rest in Peace, Mr. Sutton.

Anonymous said...

Make that knoxnews.com, not knox.com

Anonymous said...

I live in Bryson City and Popcorn was as much a part of the life and landscape as the Smoky Mountains. The government took the mountains from us, now it took Popcorn. I say that it is time for an armed revolution, because they sure as hell can't take our guns. Form your militias NOW!

Publius Clodius

Anonymous said...

Ill keep my comments short and sweet. Popcorn Sutton wasnt doing anything more than makin the best "shine" in the state and he's dead from it yet theres murderers out there livin it up, THAT SUCKS, so i'll use a quote and do something that an alcoholic I watch on monday night's says and does. Stone Cold could say it better but if ya think Popcorn shouldve been on house arrest then give me a HELL YEAH and ill give a double one finger salute to our fine government over this.

Thanks

Sandee Wright said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sandee Wright said...

Popcorn had cancer and feared we was going to die in jail. He didn't want to go that way. When he got the letter to report to jail he figured he was out of time.

He just found a different way to beat the wrap this time.

Rest in Peace my friend.

Anonymous said...

And the nation still cares more about who will win American Idol than that our society's freedom is eroding faster than ever....RIP Popcorn!

Dr. Michael D. Sutton said...

It is all about taxes from the Federal Government. This crap has been going on since the Boston Tea Party when Colonialists chanted, "No Taxes Without Representation". Popcorn was definitely not going to Topple the U.S. Government by making his own Moonshine, I find the Government like Pontius Pilate when he washed his hands of the crucifiction of Jesus on the cross. Viva Popcorn forever.

Dr. Michael D. Sutton

Anonymous said...

I fail to understand what on earth does a ridiculous belief in god have to do with any of this?

Popcorn made his own choices, but even if I don't agree with what he chose, I admire his amazing will and his independent outlook on life.

Using poor Popcorn's demise to support your Waco-inspired rant about the government just seems a bit self-serving.

And a little scary, too.

vernonrocky said...

I COME FROM THE HILLS OF DONEGAL IRELAND WHERE POITEN(MOONSHINE) HAS BEEN MADE FOR THOUSAND OF YEARS PAST. THE VERY SAME WAY POPCORN (RIP) HAS MADE IT AND LIKEWISE IT WAS PART & PARCEL OF A CULTURE SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME UNTIL THE GREAT ENGLISH EMPIRE LEVIED TAXES ON IT TO FUND ITS FOREIGN WARS, DOES THIS SOUND FAMILAR TO ALL YOU GOOD AMERICANS ps was planing a visit to see popcorn only to learn of his sad departure a bigger tourist attraction to me than any white house

L.J. said...

This just helps me believe that the governent is the biggest most fucked up criminal out there. they dont stop the crackheads, rapers, and murderers but they showed us, because they got the most dangerous of all a ol' mountain man that wanted to keep his family traditions alive, not very many people can say they want to keep thier traditions alive especialy these days, because most everybody wants to be "cool", i'm 17and could care less if anyone thinks im cool, To me popcorn, is a true hero, because he didnt give in to this government, and did what he loved. he took the good way out, die in his ol ford, than rott in a little 5-6 cell that to me is a standup way to go out. I will vist popcorns grave, long before i will ever vistit the city of DC.

Steve in California said...

Chris:
I am just as pissed as you over this.

I have just learned of Popcorn from the airing of Neal Hutcheson's "The Last One" on PBS and started on the 'net to find out more about this most unusual man.

After seeing the film, meeting this man had become damn near an obsession with me, as I was intensely drawn to his strength of character. He was going to be free no matter what the cost - kissing no-one's ass.

When I found how he went, I cried. I am crying now. In grief. In anger. If they had done this to a dog, the ASPCA would have strung them all up on animal abuse charges. How they could do this to a 62 year old man, already eat up with cancer and full of ulcers, is beyond me. I guess its some sort of "obedience to authority" thing (Stanley Milgram) - same blind obedience by government minions which tortured millions of Jews in WWII.

I noted it wasn't the local law enforcement that did this. They had better sense than to torture and destroy someone over something like this. This was Federal.

If Popcorn was poisoning people with bad 'shine, that would have been different. But no - all I have seen is that he took a lot of pride as an artisan distiller and the Federals took it on themselves to draft law to criminalize his lifestyle.

About you and Popcorn's relationship with God... well Jesus Christ was a felon under Law of Man. He was killed for the crime of speaking his piece.

If God is what I think He is, he has Popcorn with Him now. I only hope God will see fit to take me when my time comes... Oh gee would I love to talk with that man.

I don't know if this is too old to post, but like Popcorn said in his video - when he goes people will never stop talking about it.

Rest in Peace, Popcorn. You have impacted many of us in a way no politician ever could.

Sandee Wright said...

Popcorn would have probably gotten off with a much lighter sentence if he didn't have guns in his possession when the Feds caught up with him. Having a prior felony conviction, the guns gave the judge little leeway with sentencing.

Unfortunately it is what it is. I'm glad to have known him, drink his shine and play a little music with him.

In the end, as he says 'F#>$ it.'

Anonymous said...

Is it fair or just for the folks in Lynchburg, TN to have to pay taxes and pay for a license? Everybody who makes liquor can get a licewnse and do it the right way. Popcorn made the decision to operate outside the law. Life is all about choices. Everybody should man-up and live with the choices they make for themselves.

Anonymous said...

the government really needs to fuckin wise up

Anonymous said...

We have needed a revolution in this country for a long time and its coming. The gov't. has destroyed freedom all we have is the illusion of it. Popcorn paid taxes on every ingredient he purchased and on everything he purchased with the profits. That isnt enough for our greedy ass gov't. Yesterday I read where there trying to lock up some old lady for feeding pigeons. I am more and more turning to a militant libertarian point of view. The idiots in charge have ruined our industrial infrastructure sold us out and are in the process of ruining the currency. It is just a matter of time before the just revenge is exacted on the responsible parties. When it starts I am not stopping until I eradicate every supporter of this evil "progressive"/communist movement.

Anonymous said...

Although I posted this as Anonymous, my name is Diane and I am in Indiana, but my heart is always in Tennessee!

It is true that the only thing that got Popcorn in trouble was the guns. Rumor has it that the night all this happened one of the sheds caught on fire and the fire department was called out and so was the local police. That's when they found the still and guns, that's when the feds took it upon themselves to butt in and make a name for themselves against this "God fearing" man.
If you have ever lived in the mountains you know that you have to have some way to arm yourself against mountain lions and other animals of pray, that is the only reason he had those guns, personal protection! Hmmmmmm, Constitutional right? I don't care if he was a convicted felon, the local cops didn't care either, most of them probably drank his shine at one point and time in their growing up, so why the big fuss? The government is the one that has the problem with ANYONE trying to preserve their heritage. You can get more financial funding to tear down an old building with history and build a new one, then to save it with the history in tact. Does this sound familiar?
Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton was and will always be a legend in my household. He stood up for the way it used to be, the way we should all be doing.
I know in my heart, as a christian, that Popcorn is sitting right next to God, pouring him another glass and watching as the rest of us down here are struggling under the governments rules and regulations. I have drank his moonshine, I have drove by his house, I might even still have some of his spirits running around my house put up for a special occasion, but I never had the priveledge and honor to meet such an honorable man and to hear him tell of his life and times. I, like all of you, have to watch the videos that he has left behind with his legacy. He has inspired me so much with what happened to him that I have changed my college degree to become a paralegal so I can help the people of this world get out from under the terrany of this God aweful government. They can have my guns when they pry them from my cold dead hands!
What ever happened to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness? That was Popcorn's pursuit, he never hurt anyone and from the people that think they are Holier then thou, you better put yourselves in check by the comments your making on here. The only man that can pass judgement on anyone is God himself, and if you think you have that power, then you will find out the true meaning of hell when you pass.
The words that Popcorn left on his tombstone is how he felt from his heart and that is the kind of man he was. He never held his tongue, if you asked him a question he gave you his honest opinion of the matter wether you liked it or not. I have family that live not more then 50 miles from where he was, and that's where I got all my information from and guess what? They're mountain folk too, just like I am. Don't pass judgement on those of us that you think don't have the same education as you do, you might learn different. We have mountain smarts and know how to survive, can you when the government crashes and all this country goes to hell in a handbasket?
Thank you Chris for opening up the window for those less fortunate to see how this world started out, what some people had to do to feed their hungry children, and how that tradition is at a loss now because he was and always will be "the best damn spirits man".
God bless you Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton, and thank God above for putting you on this Earth for a little while to make this world a better place. You'll be sadly missed by your family, friends and admirers. We love you and miss you.

Anonymous said...

Popcorn will always be a legend in my book....he continues to inspire others including me! West Virginia.

Anonymous said...

Have missed all the news about Popcorn since leaving East Tenn. Used to repair all his guns he traded on. Many a doctor, lawyer and politician enjoyed his brew. In his wording, he made selling likker and sipping likker. The good stuff tasted as 12 year Old Charter. Enjoyed Popcorn during the years we traded around together. Rest in Peach my old friend. As you say, Fuck um.

Harold Poole said...

I was raised near the site of the first raid in this country on moonshine. The first President of the US , George Washington as one of his first acts led the raid on stills in the Whiskey Rebellion here in Western Pa, right after the revolution. Popcorn Suttons is a victim of his own fate, He created it. Laws are laws and I fight to change many of them all my life, some are fair some are unjust, but we have a process to change this , its called democracy. Anarchy would be hell.

Larry in Ohio said...

Anyone who thinks our nation's laws are going in the right direction needs to get a clue. We are on the verge of a complete meltdown in this society and I'm afraid to know what the next few years will lead to. Democracy is only relevant if it is a true democracy. Unfortunately, the United States of America is not that anymore. Our country is run by career politicians, an out of control big government, lobbyists and big business criminals. Yes, Popcorn may have been outside the written law, but give me a break! The man was elderly and had cancer. Yeah, throw him in jail to die from his cancer, or the hard criminals in there with him.

Anonymous said...

popcorn was the man

-tickle

Anonymous said...

I think that a person should have the right to make any substance they want for their own use. going out and selling the product they make is only frowned upon when it is something our almighty government thinks we need to be protected from. Do the house wives get arrested for having a bake sale? I mean they paid tax on every ingredient that went into their muffins so they didnt have to pay tax on the muffins when they made the $3 for them right? There are still a few people out there that make hooch. The people that Grand dad took aside and taught them about why he did to SURVIVE in hard times. recipes passed on in old weathered notebooks. Stills that were crated up and hidden in the barn for 80 years were stumbled upon when grand dad passed away. Needless to say there are still people out there doing it and doing it the old way not with some fancy ass still bought online made in sweden and sent to their home. Lets face it most of the people that make hooch now a days are doing it just to see if they can perfect it. They do it for bragging rights to their buddies.. They do it to get the reaction when they light a 8 inch blue flame on a teaspoon of Lightening. They do it for the rush of having something that is forbidden. They do it to keep a fading art and piece of history alive. Seriously during the prohibition if people really think that the officers in the Government never snuck a hit of Hooch.. Well you all are fucking stupid too.
Popcorn may have left this material earth but he will live on forever. I had the pleasure of meeting Marvin when I was back home visiting and Ill tell ya this man was more of a threat to a rattle snake than he was to the general public.
Rest in Peace Old Man Rest in Peach. Your knowledge will live forever!

Anonymous said...

I wish people would wake up and see the government for what it is. A few select individuals who cares about no one but themselves and what they can get. You think they care about us and our welfare? I think it is a joke to think we still live in a democracy. All the government wants is to promise ignorant jobless people free stuff to get votes while the hard working american foots the bill. WAKE UP PEOPLE!

Anonymous said...

POPCORN SUTTON!! a humble person not harming no one! may you rest in peace! may the widow have success in getting popcorn,s hooch legalized!!! LONG LIVE POPCORN SUTTON!!!! R I P!!!

the wolf said...

RIP POPCORN SUTTON. I didn't know that popcorn had passed. I am sorry to hear that. His moonshine was exceptional and I hope the government drops dead. They took a wonderful mans life away form him and his family and friends. He did not do anything wrong and still they refused to see that. At least he died on his terms where he wanted instead of in prison. We all can learn from Popcorn, live and let live, at least let the people live that are not doing anything wrong and let the government know that if you continue to be a "plague to society, as they already are," they will be the next plague to be wiped off the face of the earth. I make shine from time to time, not as good as popcorns was, but I still do. Anyone who has a flex fuel vehicle can make it because of the ethanol content. REST IN PEACE POPCORN SUTTON. YOU ARE TRULY MISSED BY YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

When the American people stop being a bunch of pussy’s and take up arms against the fascist who have taken control of our country, then maybe this shit will stop. The agents that hunted and prosecuted this American should themselves be hunted down and dealt true justice. These pigs need to know that there is a very high cost for their treacheries.
You can live on your knees as a coward and be a subject to a king or government, or you can stand on your feet as a man, and maybe be killed standing up for what you believe in, the latter is much better then being a slave to a corrupt government that steals your hopes and dreams from you and your children.
The confederates stood against this criminal government and although we lost the war we bleed our enemy hard and keep our honor and pride like men not like the sheep Americans have become.
May Popcorn rest in peace, and may the pigs that pursued him never know a moment of peace.
God bless Jefferson Davis and Robert E Lee

Anonymous said...

If they ever come for me,I will do the same damn thing.Nicholas Patson.

Anonymous said...

moonshine is the backbone of our country. i believe in shine,the confederacy and robert e lee and jefferson davis. and of course popcorn may they all rest in peace

Anonymous said...

the so called government are the true criminals here. Wow! thanks for saving us duech bags! This country keeps going down year by year.
RIP Popcorn!

Beznarf27 said...

We just started watching "Moonshiners" on tv not so long ago and became instantly inamoured of Popcorn Sutton... irreverent, wily and bordering on criminal he had more ass then class and it was no wonder they wanted to squash him...that's what all good legends are made of and popcorn chose to elevate himself to legend status when he took his own life...Along with our own Ned Kelly he gave "the system" the bird and lived how he wanted till the end. R.I.P. Popcorn, you shall be remembered...not only in your Apalacian mountains but all over the world. We salute you for being totally and utterly "Real"...amen!

Unknown said...

I live not too far from where the moonshiners were active. I had family members that ran moonshine in Cocke County that were killed in a wreck. They were being chased by the feds.It is sad that several lives were lost due to moonshining and the federal government being afraid they were not getting more money from lower and middle class to keep the upper class basically tax free. I mean come on how many of you would like to get all of their tax breaks. Laughing at the cooment on Tax Stamps. Well let's just all move to North Carolina, grow marijuana and put tax stamps on it. Who is to say what we really sold it for and tax stamp means we paid taxes on an illegal product.

Anonymous said...

The federal government is hell bent on taking ALL the freedoms we the people have left. RIP Popcorn you were a true free American probably the last.

Old Fox said...

Thank you for your passionate essay defending what was evidently a good man.

Reminds me of what happened to the great psychiatrist Wilhelm Reich, who escaped the Nazis and then the Communists only to find himself targeted by the FDA for proposing "orgone energy" might be a source of psychic pain. They declared that there was no such thing, and, ultimately, after his refusal to cooperate and submit to them, put him in prison for quackery where he went mad and died.

I hope Sutton was Christian and am reminded that Jesus is the Lord and loves His children. We all have to die. Jesus and Popcorn decided when, NOT ATF!

Unknown said...

It is a tragedy that the BATF routinely oversteps and botches cases. Also, the government seems to concern itself more with smoke and mirrors to hide its ineptitude and the fact that its agenda is robbing us of our liberties.
A little man with a big spirit was pushed into a decision he should not have had to make.
I only wish there was some way to get back at them for what they did to him.
Really, how much taxes will the government be out for the Liqour he made. Was it more valuable than a human life?
If I was kin to him, I'd be looking for a legal way to stick it too them for sure.
R.I.P. Popcorn, a true American legend!
As for the current administration, those knuckleheads are due a come uppance!

kelticcaper said...

My name is Hugh E. Murray. Only a coward would post on a blog under anonymous. The same kind of a person who lives his life hiding behind his bible. In the end the Lord will judge each of us. Even Jesus changed water into wine. Wonder if HE applied for a permit or license. Maybe anonymous can take that up with HIM when his day of judgement comes. And it will. The bottom line is this. Most governments spend all their time and resources trying to stop anything that might take a few dollars from their pockets. What about Pedophiles, rapers, child abuse,etc. Crimes that are harmful to people. Real crimes. Drinking is a choice some people make. Same as smoking or even praying. Not everyone does it or even believes in it. But that should be their choice. What would people think if the governments wanted to tax praying. RIP. Mr. Sutton.

Grizzly Miller said...

Popcorn is just one of those born in those mountains that for the most part have no way out. Our government is'nt our, government any more anyhow. Popcorn and most of those folks in those mountains made shine all of there lives, all of their ancestors made it. To them it's a way of life. If popcorn did'nt sell it to those that buy it somebody else would. It's a way of life for them too. Popcorn did'nt deserve the ending he gave him self. He was afraid of what was going to happen to him and he took the only way out he thought he could. GOD Bless Popcorn, Rest in piece.

Anonymous said...

Yes, If we take arms against the one that steal from us we can stop this.Nothing hooens to these people.It is time for those to suffer like us.

Unknown said...

Reminds me of the war on drugs. Nothing like telling the public what they can do with their own lives and bodies. Nothing like putting a rapist away for 3 years and a second time drug offender away for 15.

Murder? Pshhh 25 years. Intent to distribute? Life and some lol.

Yea keep making policy based on people living with 19th century ideals based on a book created to control from a few MILLENIA ago.

I yearn for all the older generations to die and get out of Washington. Move in the young crowd. The realists. People that are ready to move not just the USA but mankind forward.

Should be a sign when we are 17th internationally on the academic scale and are made fun of by other countries for our ignorance and our stigma attached to things like sex and nudity. Prohibition AND inquisition 2 imo.

the fact that coca cola spends more on research for new flavors annually than all the money that goes to life extension research is nothing less than a travesty. A sign of ignorance of the highest order.

But more on topic - screw the atf. Screw the dea. Screw the local police which do nothing more than seek out speeders and jaywalkers instead or building relationships and trust with their communities. Let's not forget screw the government for continuing to hand out money to the other species we have generously allowed to live in our country and leech off us in EVERY WAY POSSIBLE.

Did you know that whites are now the minority in public schools for the first time? By 2040 we will be a minority period.

Keep on sleeping outside of your species ladies. Keep on giving welfare and housing to said species for making more and more kids with different partners. This country is cultureless and soon to be identitiless.

I could get into today's self entitled kids who aren't even taught how to write in cursive anymore..... It's amazing that these are the people we pay huge salaries to lead our country:

Sometimes I wonder where I went wrong. The more clueless you are the better your chances at success apparently.

If my wife wasn't aytached to her parents nuts like a child I would have left this country long ago. Of course easier said than done now that almost everyone's borders are closed nowadays.

The world is going to hell.

PS. We have to make sure we take away guns. This way the only ones who are armed are the criminals: (cause they obviously obtain their arms legally ... Obviously)

Unknown said...

Reminds me of the war on drugs. Nothing like telling the public what they can do with their own lives and bodies. Nothing like putting a rapist away for 3 years and a second time drug offender away for 15.

Murder? Pshhh 25 years. Intent to distribute? Life and some lol.

Yea keep making policy based on people living with 19th century ideals based on a book created to control from a few MILLENIA ago.

I yearn for all the older generations to die and get out of Washington. Move in the young crowd. The realists. People that are ready to move not just the USA but mankind forward.

Should be a sign when we are 17th internationally on the academic scale and are made fun of by other countries for our ignorance and our stigma attached to things like sex and nudity. Prohibition AND inquisition 2 imo.

the fact that coca cola spends more on research for new flavors annually than all the money that goes to life extension research is nothing less than a travesty. A sign of ignorance of the highest order.

But more on topic - screw the atf. Screw the dea. Screw the local police which do nothing more than seek out speeders and jaywalkers instead or building relationships and trust with their communities. Let's not forget screw the government for continuing to hand out money to the other species we have generously allowed to live in our country and leech off us in EVERY WAY POSSIBLE.

Did you know that whites are now the minority in public schools for the first time? By 2040 we will be a minority period.

Keep on sleeping outside of your species ladies. Keep on giving welfare and housing to said species for making more and more kids with different partners. This country is cultureless and soon to be identitiless.

I could get into today's self entitled kids who aren't even taught how to write in cursive anymore..... It's amazing that these are the people we pay huge salaries to lead our country:

Sometimes I wonder where I went wrong. The more clueless you are the better your chances at success apparently.

If my wife wasn't aytached to her parents nuts like a child I would have left this country long ago. Of course easier said than done now that almost everyone's borders are closed nowadays.

The world is going to hell.

PS. We have to make sure we take away guns. This way the only ones who are armed are the criminals: (cause they obviously obtain their arms legally ... Obviously)

Unknown said...

LOL a blog that rants about rights and freedom that is censoring comments!!!! ROFLMAOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!'

Beth said...

You tell'em Chris!!!

Pat said...

RIP Popcorn. The government does not care about anyone.