Terror by self-inflicted means

America's Homegrown Terror

Can't you hear it already? Those who will be saying, "we never saw this coming." No, it's not a bunch of dudes in Afghanistan who will be our undoing. We have met the enemy and it is us. I think that's how it goes. 

Just a small article to brighten up your day! Well, it will inform you of avoidable disasters in the works. Cut the EPA. Cut OSHA. Cut it all. The free markets will sort it all out!   

Neoliberalism

Something we all need to be aware of. 

Neoliberalism

Ranchers and Militia Men

The case of The Rancher and the Federal Government in Nevada recently, sure brings the weirdos out in force. The linked article seems to be the most neutral I've read. People always want to oversimplify things, casting people as good guys and bad guys. The far righties cast the government as the bad guys and the rancher as the little good guy. I've not read a ton on this on-going conflict. But I've read enough to know it is far from something so simple. I'll let the link rehash a little of the history. I'm more interested in what happens when a large armed white mob decides to take on Uncle Sam's minions. Uncle Sam is not a nice guy, Ruby Ridge, Waco and so on and so on. Some people are foolish enough to believe this is some kind of "victory" for freedom. As best I can tell, the rancher, Cliven Bundy was breaking the law. Uncle Sam got all huffy and sent in the armed goons / agents. Mr. Bundy called in his buddies who in turn called in their buddies (all armed of course) and the stand off was on! Somebody in the Federal Government fortunately decided such a confrontation was not a good idea and backed off. I don't think Uncle Sam was worried all that much about a cattle dispute. Standing up to Uncle Sam is not in itself a bad thing. He's a bully and a thug, no doubt. I'm not so sure this is a good thing. It is not good. Here's why.

Number one, I stand for resistance against oppression via non-violence. Had cooler heads not won the day, how many dead people would there be now and for what? Sorry Militia guys, Uncle Sam still wins any direct confrontation hands down. What if it had gone differently? What if people showed up with no weapons? Uncle Sam would have still backed down and there would be much broader support for the rancher. Am I naive? Well, look at our history. Civil Rights were not gained by force via violence. Gay rights? No, they don't use guns either. Women's Rights? I don't think there were any gun carriers whining  about Mexicans. Let's just take a pass on the violence, shall we? 

Number two, violent change is too damn costly. 600,000 dead in the American Civil War to end slavery is a high price to pay. The French and Russian Revolutions brought about change but also filled a lot of graves along the way. I'd shutter to think what a violent revolution would really look like here in the USA. The Civil War of the 1800's would be a sunny day at the beach by comparison. We have much better guns, more armed people and air war. Anyone who advocates for such a thing is a god dammed lunatic. Somebody had to say it, so I said it. There it is. How can these brave freedom fighters be advocating anything else? This is just not the way to go for so many reasons. This is no way to resolve differences. 

Number three. Damn it! We are in 2014. Have we not learned anything? Uncle Sam at least was smart enough to back down from this. As far as the gun carriers, how many of them have ever seen real combat? Some sure. I bet there is a good percentage who have never shot at anything but paper or unarmed animals. I saw nothing to indicate they were at all organized. That's not going to end well either once the shit storm gets really going. We have a system in place. It is far from perfect. I'd still take it over armed mobs be they government goons or so called militia groups. I'm no fan of either side. Here are some things to ponder. 

1. I mentioned race on purpose. If the rancher were a black guy or a Mexican, how many of the militia guys would have shown up to defend them? If the rancher was a poor person? 

2. How can armed people facing down law enforcement be a positive thing? If it were a group of brown people or Muslims, what would the reaction had been?                

3. Do we want to live in a country that works this way? Mob rule? 

4. What could have Uncle Sam done differently? Macho-male bullshit too often goes hand in hand with badges. How did it come to this?