Strange Bedfellows: Militias Exercise Their Second Amendment Rights To Protect Occupy Phoenix!

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/10/28/strange-bedfellows-militias-exercise-their-second-amendment-rights-to-protect-occupy-phoenix/

From Merriam-Webster.com:

Irony: Incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result.

Once upon a time, Right Wing outfits like Fox News and all of AM radio stoked the fears of conservatives that liberals were going to “take over” the country and put them all in “re-education camps.” Militias spread across the country like wildfire, suspicious of a “liberal” government that, so they were told, was poised to strip away all their rights at gunpoint.

It got so bad that wingnuts started showing up at conservative rallies openly carrying their guns in states where it was legal to do so. Of course, the Right Wing media celebrated this expression of their fundamental right to bear arms because it was directed against the Obama administration which has done exactly nothing to warrant these fears.

Oh, how times have changed!

The whole point of the militia movement was to defend the people against gross violations by the government of peoples’ constitutional rights. For instance, suppressing peoples’ First Amendment right to peacefully protest with pepper spray, beatings, tear gas and flashbang grenades.

More at the link --

[Arctic Dave]

1. I think it has more to do with they will use any reason to go out and brandish their weapons.

OWS has made it more then clear they are a peaceful movement.


Edit again. geez this phone is killin me today.

[xchrom]

3. +1

[Doremus]

5. The militia leader in the video said he is there to protect OWS protesters.

I take that to mean that he and his group will use their weapons against the police should they become violent towards the protesters.

Pretty darned cool if true.

[Arctic Dave]

6. No, not cool.

And as far as I have seen and read, completely against the ethos of this movement.

[Doremus]

7. Militia is not part of OWS.

You are confusing two different groups.

What this militia does or does not do has no bearing on OWS. I believe most people have enough brains to recognize that they are separate entities.

If a militia stepped in to take the heat from armed LEO, and saved someone like Scott Olson in the process, I would applaud them.

I have a feeling however that armed LEO have no intention of provoking *anyone* capable of firing back.

[Arctic Dave]

11. The armed militia will not be greeted by OWS.

I haven't seen anywhere that Mr. Olson asked anyone one to use weapons if he was hurt. You may want to go to their website and view the decision they have made for themselves, violence and weapons are prohibited.

If the militia want to go parade with their weapons there are other venues they can occupy.

[Doremus]

17. Watch the video; it looks like they were greeted just fine.

And you are missing the point.

The desirability of firing projectiles at people who can and very well may return the favor drops a few notches, I'm sure.

[jpak]

19. "greeted just fine" = self preservation behavior when confronted with unknown toter

yup

[Arctic Dave]

22. Can't watch video since I'm an old celluar link.

And you are missing my point, OWS is a peaceful movement and when you include weapons, all it does is escalate problems that could be otherwise difused.

[Doremus]

23. OWS isn't "including" anything.

Are you being purposely obtuse?

OWS has nothing whatsoever to do with the presence of these individuals. They are there because they choose to be, just like any other person who is there.

Your opinion that their presence will escalate problems is just that, your opinion.
My opinion is the exact opposite, that their ability to respond in-kind will give pause.
We will just have to agree to disagree. Have a good evening.

[Arctic Dave]

26. I believe you are intentionally being arguementitive.

Read their rules, if these guys show up they ARE NOT part of OWS. It has already stated they do not allow weapons. These guys are just looking for a reason to brandish weapons. Show me anywhere that OWS has asked anyone to provide "protection" for them.

As usual, the open carry morons are being just that.

[FrodosPet]

18. From the small number of "militia" oriented people I've known

From the small number of "militia" oriented people I've known in the past, there is some crossover in philosophies. They were no friends of the Bush family, the bankers, or the multinational corporations. The main difference seems to be that progressives believe A) a large, powerful government oriented towards people instead of business is good, while the militias are anti big business AND big government, and B) the personal ownership of guns.

Ultimately sounds like a case of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend".

[nc4bo]

2. TPTB ain't gonna like seeing too much of this.....

I know it makes me uneasy but they have a right to be there. It's a free country afterall.

....the KKK protests Westboro Baptist church.

All strange bedfellows indeed.

What or where's the catch in all of this? :shrug:

[Enrique]

4. oh good

my generation needs its own Altamont.

[Fumesucker]

8. Good analogy.. n/t

[Luminous Animal]

10. A bitter-sweet lol from me.

[Luminous Animal]

9. This is not good. Guns represent the threat of violence. OWS is a non-violent movement.

[anamandujano]

14. Exactly, NO GUNS!

This may be an attempt to destroy the movement. Bring in guns, Gov't via police or who knows what will shut it down fast. Plus they will be able to spin it in their favor.

Nothing but an excuse to perpetrate violence, possibly an idea from TPTB.

[derby378]

21. I'm a Quaker, and I own a firearm

The Society of Friends, as you know, promotes nonviolence to a greater degree than most other Christian denominations do. However, the act of owning a gun is no more a violent act than owning a telescope or a book.

If this militia is serious about its words and not just spewing a lot of BS, good on them. But I would agree that we must be cautious.

[Exultant Democracy]

12. Guns aside what is really going to scare the PTB is that this movement in Non-political

it is a valance issue in American Politics and bother the right and left agree.

[jpak]

13. They are out to itimidate the Occupy Movement and provoke a shoot-to-killl police response

but of course, by the time that happens, the cowards of the gun toting flaming douchebag brigade will be long gone.

fucking idiots

yup

[Luminous Animal]

15. They have no concept of facing guns with only your life and liberty as weapons.

[TheWraith]

16. So much to say here, where to start?

"It got so bad that wingnuts started showing up at conservative rallies openly carrying their guns in states where it was legal to do so."

Actually, this had nothing really to do with the "militia movement." The "open carry" people take advantage of large public gatherings because their point is to raise public awareness of the fact that some states allow open carry of firearms. Previously, most people DIDN'T know, and thus would freak out or call the police if they saw someone who had a gun on them. Sometimes even the police didn't know it was legal. They like hanging around large gatherings with lots of police, because that way people stay calm and get the message that it's not illegal.

This is not connected to the "militia movement" of the '90s, which was based on forming paramilitary groups under the expectation that there would be a war with the US government. There might be some guys involved with both, but as a rule the former is involved with respecting the law, while the latter is involved in disrespecting it.

Second, the point of the "militia movement" was not about "gross violations of constitutional rights," so much as "imaginary violations." Like taxes, or environmental standards. The "militia movement" attracted a very much "hands off, no government" type who found burdensome and interfering with his "natural rights" the sort of laws we take for granted and depend on, like meat inspection and the Endangered Species Act.

I will say at least that this guy, nuts as he is, is self-consistent and not picking and choosing who is worthy of free speech.

[jpak]

20. Open Carry douchebags attempt to subvert the Occupy Movement and discredit it

they suck

large

yup

[TheWraith]

27. A typical response from you, being about as informative as Fox's message of the day. nt

[in_cog_ni_to]

24. OWS should stay as far away from this as possible! Thanks for the offer, but NO THANK YOU! They'll

end up looking like the Teabaggers. Do go there.

[MrSlayer]

25. Yeah, J.T. Ready and his neo-nazi private border guard showed up.

I posted this on another thread. Easily found on youtube. Simply trying to further his own agenda.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjOwSIsgE8c

[rug]

28. Hell's Angels at Altamont.