I just came up with a theory on a useful tool that you can use in thinking, and would like to see what people think.
I was reading an article on the Penn State scientist implicated in the so-called "climategate" scandal, and the fact that an "internal investigation" cleared him of all wrongdoing today.
It occurred to me that one way you can tell which side of the gun a person is on, is looking at this issue of investigations.
People that are on the side holding the gun, if they ever actually get in trouble, get to investigate themselves, or have a friendly body investigate them, and they are inevitably cleared of all charges.
People on the receiving end do not get to do this. If the state attacks me and threatens me with death because I drove my car too fast, or parked someplace they didn't like, or carried a plant they don't like, I do not get to investigate myself and clear myself of all charges.
So if you see someone like a professor, where its not entirely clear which side of the gun they may be on, just think what would happen to that person if they were investigated. This should clear up any doubts.
"The evil that is in the world almost always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding". - Albert Camus