> A government is far more likely to oppress you, deny you rights, blackmail you for political reasons, etc. because it has the resources to do so.

I don't know... you're asserting as a fact here that one is more likely to be oppressed or blackmailed by the USG than by a criminal. But for blackmail alone there are thousands of criminal cases per year in the US, and an incalculable amount of "oppression" caused by criminals generally. What are the numbers for USG cases of blackmail each year? I guess they wouldn't be tallied... But I'd have to estimate that they're somewhat lower.