Brookings and Rapid City aren’t the only places where concerned citizens are showing up at public places with guns to stand vigil against the merest White House-stoked rumors of violence. Nameless buckaroos are bringing their guns to anti-violence protests around the country:
They won’t give their last names, citing safety and job security. But on a recent evening they are standing watch over about 200 protesters at a rally about the death of George Floyd in Missoula, Mont.
They say they’re there to keep things peaceful. Missoula hasn’t seen any rioting or looting associated with a week’s worth of protests, but if some people incite violence, the men plan to enter the crowd and grab them. They carry handguns and other weapons in case someone starts shooting, they say.
…Wyoming, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and other states have seen armed people responding to antifa rumors. But the rumors have been widely debunked [Nate Hegyi, “The ‘Concerned Citizen Who Happens to Be Armed’ Is Showing up at Protests,” NPR, 2020.06.10].
Now I should be up in arms about such unwarranted displays of firepower, but I’m trying to avoid metaphorical self-contradiction (yet still I love David Ignatow—there is no escape…). Instead, I’m intrigued by the fact that the presence of so many civilians ready to take up arms against their oppressors seems to support the slogan of the protestors whom those armed concerned citizens come to protect: Defund the Police.
53% of South Dakota adults have guns in their households. If a crime happens at your house, either you or your neighbor probably has the firepower to put that trouble down. As then-Representative, now Lieutenant Governor/Secretary of Agriculture Larry Rhoden said while breaking the law in plain daylight in the Capitol, “When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.”
Governor Kristi Noem has said personal responsibility, not government, is the proper way to respond to imminent threats to South Dakotans’ lives and livelihoods. And cops cost too much for small towns, anyway. I can’t think of a more Republican, conservative position than reducing public expenditures on functions that can be carried out by the private sector and charitable donations. With so many concerned volunteers ready and willing to respond to danger with their own initiative and ammunition, why not defund the police?
These nameless trump voters are for the most part, people who were to cowardly the join the military where your opponent shoots back.The ones who were in the military are also the ones who set around the VFW or American Legion clubs and tell their combat stories when truth be known, they were just REMF’s of stateside duty. If the protestors carried weapons, these guys would not be found leaving their house other than to hold a circle jerk in someones bunker.
Indeed Cory, the more these guys prance around like peacocks, the more they should ask themselves “why not defund the police?”, as you’ve written. Gwaad help them if one of those pea shooters go off accidentally and they take a gut shot. That perforated bowel will only give you so much time before you start going into shock. War is a bitch man, and from what I’ve seen of it, it ain’t worth it. On top of it all, with the Covid19 kicking into gear, hospital beds are getting as hard to find as a good looking ewe.
Cops in Chi-town have got it sussed.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chicago-police-caught-tape-lounging-making-popcorn-congressman-s-office-n1230191
So there are civilians with guns at the protests and cops are not disarming them and beating them up like they did people throwing rocks? WTH?! Oh. They’re white and racist.
The better way to describe the changes in policing cities like Minneapolis are talking about is “transforming police.” If there is a real, imminent, physical danger, send in the cops. For everything else there are more fitting resources.
In the 60s in San Fran a genuine community police force plan was made. Each community within the city would have their own small police force made up of cops who lived in that community and were accountable to that community. IOW, that would replace precincts of anonymous cops who come to work from miles away, bust heads, show ’em who’s boss, then return home to the burbs. These local police forces would work together when necessary.
The important thing to remember is that great upheavals like the Black Plague, World Wars and other such things have all been followed by dramatic reshapings of societies. This is our time and it’s pretty much all on us white people.
We need to suck it up, stop whining, recognize that what we’ve got is obviously not working, find our courage in the midst of a natural amount of fear and get after it.
We’re the ones with the power and this is prime time. Protest, write, donate, support POC, get on your representatives in Pierre and DC real hard and stay there. Don’t let up.
Don’t be silent when you see and hear racist stuff around you, whether it’s strangers, friends or family. Push everyone to vote – real hard!
It’s hard and often scary, but it’s on us. No excuses. Suck it up, my sister and brother buttercups. Let’s do this. BE FIERCE!!!
Here’s some of the ridiculous crap that’s going around on the web. Members of the Deluded Dunce Cult and similar types believe this stuff is real. 🙄 🙄 🙄
How The Antifa Fantasy Spread In Small Towns Across The US
https://flip.it/.BA9NL
I think I could make some money by starting a weapons training program for liberals.
Maybe the next move would and maybe should be the protesters with AR15’s and AK’s slung over their shoulders.
See where this could go??
Clyde? What are u suggesting?
See where grdz gets his inspiration? Such a troll.
***For lots of folks, it’s much easier to accept the idea that the only people who could be protesting the local police would be from outside the area,” McAdam explained. “It couldn’t possibly be that people of color in our community could have bad experiences with local law enforcement.” Or, for that matter, with locals in general.
“The ‘outsiders’ part of this narrative is just so important,” McAdam said. “It allows people to say, and to believe: ‘We don’t have problems in our community.’” ***
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/annehelenpetersen/antifa-rumors-george-floyd-protests
What criteria do you have Clyde? What formal military training have you had under combat conditions? I would say that liberals should just save their money and depend on defunding the police to get the resources necessary to go after the real problem, mental illness. Each and every one of the brainwashed trumpians are clearly either vitamin deficient or mentally unstable or both, start with that training.
Denver’s effort to de-escalate 9-11 calls seems to be working….
https://www.wonkette.com/denver-sends-social-workers-not-cops-on-mental-health-calls-city-not-apocalyptic-hellscape-yet
Who is really defunding police in America. Not who magats blame.
https://www.salon.com/2021/06/28/fox-news-sunday-host-asks-gop-congressman-why-it-is-the-republicans-who-are-defunding-the-police/