For years, the nra and others have espoused this notion that gun owners need to be prepared in case the government tries to take over. You know you gotta defend yourself *from* government.
So here we are, police brutality has hit a high. There's this notion that police are becoming a military force and we, the people, are being pushed by them. In many ways, this is the very kind of thing that the gun-toters were talking about.
...at one point, I used to listen to some of the G. Gordon Liddy radio show when I was on the road. He was interesting (his past operations, and his connection to watergate are notable), and he was at least a little witty. I didn't agree with everything (or most of what) he said, but in small doses, it wasn't too bad.
I do remember there was a police standoff somewhere. It may have been just after the Waco, Texas incident. He was urging listeners to be good patriots and to fight against the police in these situations because we're becoming a police state. Maybe not the exact words he used, but you get the idea.
And his callers were ready for "the next time"...that was 25 years ago. Surely there have been "next times" in between then and now. And now, is essentially the situation he described.
Heck it's the situation that we heard about time and again, when there were stories about how the 2nd amendment was there to protect us, and how "the Jews could have fought off the nazis in Germany if they hadn't given up their guns."
And yet, here we are. Those brave "patriots" showed up with their guns as a shit-show of "strength" and yelled at police because they were being asked to wear a mask a few weeks ago. But now that people are under assault by police? They are nowhere to be found.
I am NOT suggesting they should be out there to take on the police. I'm simply pointing out that their argument is fatally flawed, that the very notion of why they have guns, what they are espousing, is utter nonsense. So let's not fool ourselves. They have guns because they want to feel important, it makes them tough guys.
And, make no mistake, they haven't said anything about the black lives movement, because these gun toters are mostly white, and this is also about race.
So in effect, they are refuting every argument they make about guns. And I sincerely hope this leads to an honest conversation in the not-too-distant future about why we "need" guns.
