General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Do the police think that they are gods? [View all]baldguy
(36,649 posts)And when the people fear the govt & have no recourse to find justice.
Considering the fact that no matter how many guns you have as a civilian, and no matter how big they are, THE GOVT WILL ALWAYS HAVE MORE GUNS & BIGGER GUNS. So, your hypothetical dictator doesn't really care if you're armed or unarmed. Being able to have a gun doesn't mean you're free.
As long as people can stand up & protest what the govt is doing, and can have a reasonable expectation to peacefully effect change in laws, policies & procedures, it's not totalitarianism. All of the pics in your OP (even those from outside the US) show people doing just that. And that's what totalitarians really fear.
OTOH, when the people are alienated from the govt, and can't stand up to protest, and don't have a reasonable expectation to effect change - peacefully or otherwise - it probably is totalitarianism. That's the world the gun-loving RW wants to create.