Those Who Scream "Tyranny!" The Loudest Are The First To Embrace The Violence Of Fascism

[Celerity]

When actual tyranny came to America, the gun fondling warriors of freedom and Mom’s apple pie were nowhere to be found.

https://thebanter.substack.com/p/those-who-scream-tyranny-the-loudest



It has been six weeks since Trump stress tested America to the breaking point in Lafayette Square on June 1. His attempts to have the military become his personal weapon against the people of the United States faltered and dreams of a military coup have since evaporated. The fallout from Trump’s attempts to end the American Experiment are still ongoing, however. Congress is investigating the incident and it’s becoming more and more obvious yet another cover up is taking place. Bill Barr was in charge. Or maybe he wasn’t. Who can really say who gave the orders that night? Maybe a massive assault on the First Amendment and civil rights of unarmed, peaceful protesters just happened spontaneously. Oh, and the radio recordings of that night are “missing.” Because, presumably, it wouldn’t do to have Bill Barr’s voice on tape ordering the police to do something indisputably illegal. But we’ve learned a very important lesson about the American right wing over these last six weeks: All of that talk about “Second Amendment remedies” and “Watering the Tree of Liberty” was absolute bullshit. When actual tyranny came to America, the gun fondling warriors of freedom and Mom’s apple pie were nowhere to be found.

Give Me Fascism Or Give Me Death!

There are several legitimate reasons to own guns. Some people hunt and whether you’re squeamish about it or not, it is a legitimate reason to be a gun owner. I’m not really onboard with killing animals for pleasure but if you’re eating what you kill? Sure, knock yourself out. You can be a marksman. Shooting a target, moving or otherwise, is fun. I, myself, own an archery set for literally no other reason than the enjoyment of honing that skill. Yes, it’s a real bow. No, I have never killed anything with it. You can also collect guns for the same reason people collect clocks. Or scales. Or old radios. They’re well-crafted machines with a fascinating history. There’s reasons to carry for legitimate self-defense. Abusive ex-husband, violent stalker, and so on. You get the idea. There are plenty of real reasons to own a gun, but those are not the two most cited reasons for (white) Americans owning over 300 million guns and definitely not the reasons they desperately cling to their assault rifles. (White) America needs AR-15s, high-powered sniper rifles, silencers, extended magazines, and other assorted weapons of war explicitly, in their words, because someday they may need to shoot a (black) intruder but mostly to fight a government that has become tyrannical. That’s why they were ready to go to war (allegedly) during Operation Jade Helm.

You remember that, right? The set of military exercises in 2015 that the freedom-loving patriots of the gun-loving right had convinced themselves was actually a plot to “take over” Texas? Oh, they were eagerly caressing their guns in anticipation of going to war. Or, at least they said they were. They certainly liked to march and protest when Obama was president and wasn’t actually threatening military rule. They were all over the place, all the time. The press ate it up like candy and couldn’t give them enough screen time. Fast forward a few years and, lo and behold, nary an armed militia was to be found when Trump threatened to deploy the United States military against the civilian population. The Bundy clan? They were scoping out a different wildlife refuge to occupy. The KKK? No clean sheets to wear. The III%ers? Only 3% serious about their mission. The Oath Keepers? A prior engagement. The “Boogaloo Bois” were on hand trying to cause riots, but they are not opposed government tyranny so much as against the concept of government itself, so they don’t really count. So where were these brave defenders of the Constitution? Well, a good number of them have been showing up at Trump’s rallies cheering lustily as he threatens to stomp on the First Amendment, arrest his political opponents, and declare himself president-for-life. In other words, the same exact people who swore they would take up arms against a government that trampled our civil rights sided with the government doing exactly that. On the flip side, it is most illuminating to see who the brave “patriots” of the right were willing to take up arms against. Hint: It wasn’t the people threatening their freedom.

The Tree Of Liberty Only Accepts The Blood Of Antifa?

A curious phenomena has been occurring over the last several weeks. While trigger happy “real” ‘Murikans have been awol while the police have been attacking and arresting the press (First Amendment violations), smashing people who have been peacefully protesting or just standing nearby (First, Fourth, and Eighth violated), and attacking people on their own property (who knows how many amendments that violates?), they were super eager to grab their guns to shoot imaginary hordes of BLM protesters. Via Buzzfeed:

Watching footage of the day, you can see the energy grow darker and heavier. You can hear a man yell “you came to the wrong fucking town,” a woman scream “you’re supporting the goddamn niggers,” another man threaten to “break your fucking jaw, bitch.” You can see rifles and handguns and a literal bag full of baseball bats. You can see a woman in a pink sweatshirt repeatedly calling a Black woman the n-word. You can see people grabbing sign after sign from the pro-BLM demonstrators and ripping them to shreds. You can see a biker come up behind Nick Reardon and punch him directly in the skull. And you can see the police officers watching the encounter do nothing.

This happened in the small town of Bethel, Ohio. Only about 50 people showed up to protest police brutality. About 800 people, many from out of town, showed up with weapons to fight a horde of non existent Antifa and BLM protesters. But, naturally, once they saw it was just a small group of people they could easily overpower, the mob instinct took over and the protesters were brutalized. It sure was nice of the police to prove the point of the protesters, by the way. It makes the story of the Minneapolis cops complaining about PTSD that much more risible. Then there was the heavily armed mob of “patriots” that swarmed Gettysburg, PA, looking to shoot them some Antifa on July 4th. Was Antifa planning on rioting? Were they planning on looting? According to the (fake) online announcement, “Antifa” was going to protest the police by burning American flags. Nothing about smashing monuments or flipping police cars. There would also be, I kid you not, Antifa face painting for the kids and little flags for them to safely put on the fire. This was what sent hundreds of “I’ll die for my freedom!” right wingers into a frothing rage. So much so that they grabbed their guns and descended on Gettysburg, praying they would have the chance to open fire on a crowd they understood would have children in it. Similar hoaxes got angry mobs of “freedom or death!” types to show up in Idaho, New Jersey, and several other states. But none of them saw fit to travel to Washington D.C. to confront literal assaults on the Constitution. But you can be damn sure they’ll be locked and loaded the day Joe Biden is inaugurated.

This Is Not Going To End Well

If you’ve been paying even a little attention to the right wing in America, you’re not the tiniest bit surprised by any of this. White Republican voters have been telling us exactly who they are for decades (and it’s far past time that we believe them). The only difference now is that they know their time as the dominant force in the nation is rapidly coming to an end and that fear is driving them to openly declare war on their fellow Americans. They’ve always longed for the opportunity to drag us behind the barn and put two in the back of our heads, now they’re standing in the streets looking for an excuse to pull the trigger. If Trump loses the election, there is every possibility that he will try to use mob violence to overturn the results. This isn’t a conspiracy theory — mainstream politicians are openly discussing it. “I think it is a fair point to raise as to whether or not, if he loses, he’s going to go quietly or not," Hillary Clinton told Trevor Noah this week. "And we have to be ready for that." It’s just as likely he won’t even wait that long, instructing his cult to prevent minorities from voting under the aegis of stopping “voter fraud”. The same people who swore to die defending democracy will be the very first to rush out into the streets to attack as many people they feel aren’t “real” Americans as possible. After all, it’s not terrorism if the president tells you to do it, right? The past several weeks have just been a preview of the coming months. If you do not live in a bright blue part of the country, prepare yourself for the absolute worst from people you consider your neighbors. They consider you the enemy and they will treat you accordingly when the time comes. If you have not already arranged to vote by mail, do so. If you’re planning on voting in person, do not go alone. Find out what the plan is in case your polling location is closed due to rioting or arson. Make sure your voice is heard because this will almost certainly be the last chance you get if you don’t.

[niyad]

1. LNR and bokmarking.