I live in one of these areas. Now I have to worry about "militias" strolling around ....
https://www.virginiamercury.com/2020/01/13/as-virginia-democrats-advance-new-gun-restrictions-militias-organize-promising-to-resist/
You don't have to worry any more than you used to have to worry. Those people were already present with their same level of armedness. They just didn't make the paper until now.
Seriously, if you're truly used to living in places where you are offended by the term "Podunk", then people already had guns and had the same mindset that leads to becoming an official member of a militia. This isn't new; this is being more out about how the urban folks don't have the same concerns as rural folks and the rural folks are tired of it.
Occasionally I'll see a guy strolling around with a handgun in a holster (almost always an older white man...but I am not kidding myself into thinking that others don't have guns!). I'm guessing that some of them are collectors. I would further suppose that some are organized in militias. I have mixed feelings.
Maybe we need to start a Cocks not Glocks (https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a63208/cocks-not-glocks-texas-protest/)militia ?
Term for the day: Boogaloo.
There's a militia that drills on Lextlington Common every now and again.
But I think it's to prepare for an attack by British forces imported here to oppose our liberties.
I don't actually think that's a real problem anymore.
So all these other folks are just...what? Re-enactors of a sort?
It does almost seem as if they've constructed this historic game in their head and want to participate in it since they missed their chance--not having had the fortune to be living back then, when the plot was so much clearer.
I mean, there's a directory for such groups if they want to join up, get training, and run around on April 18th/19th, or March 17th, or early July. They can even (like two of my music students) learn to play the fife and march with the training band if they're so inclined.
But bringing the psychodrama in their heads into reality is dangerous.
I know I go back to being myself in real historic time, when I change clothes.
They seem not to have figured that out, and keep on "playing army" like little kids--but with serious weapons.
There's a reason the UK has such lower rates of gun death than we do.
Maybe, instead of projecting our former enmity with them upon others, we could actually learn from them.
M.
Quote from: mamselle on January 15, 2020, 04:21:20 AM
It does almost seem as if they've constructed this historic game in their head and want to participate in it since they missed their chance--not having had the fortune to be living back then, when the plot was so much clearer.
Have you read Hamilton? The plot wasn't clear even then...
Quote from: mamselle on January 15, 2020, 04:21:20 AM
There's a reason the UK has such lower rates of gun death than we do.
Maybe, instead of projecting our former enmity with them upon others, we could actually learn from them.
M.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-42749089
Ten charts on the rise of knife crime in England and Wales
Yes, but it's a lot harder to wipe out 50 people in 5 min. with a knife...
M.
If we see anyone carrying a gun in public, we call the cops. Unless it's another cop, obviously.
As far as I can see, this sort of thing only works to undermine police effectiveness and, thus, overall safety.
Quote from: mamselle on January 15, 2020, 09:03:58 AM
Yes, but it's a lot harder to wipe out 50 people in 5 min. with a knife...
M.
Yes.
My cousin had a breakdown and killed his wife and his mother with a knife. This was in France where guns are illegal.
Thank goodness he didn't get a hold of a gun or the tragedy and lives lost could have been much worse.
I've always thought that militia formation is an attempt at empowerment by people who feel powerless and perceive themselves as culturally insignificant----often reasons for gun ownership itself (and I am a gun owner who grew up in a gun-owning family).
I read an article about this - and I can't find it right now - that talked about the rise of these. Basically the idea of the article was that while 10 or 15 years ago militias were mostly anti-government nuts, an increasing number of former military, police, and other "normal" types are gravitating towards them due to the increasing polarization in the country and the increasing attempts at gun grabs in places like VA.
It seems to me there's still those two basic types to watch out for. Some are nothing more than wanna-be terrorists spawning McVeigh types and others are people with purer motives. Now whether those with better motives are correct or justified, or will be vindicated, is an open question.
Quote from: ciao_yall on January 15, 2020, 09:56:04 AM
Quote from: mamselle on January 15, 2020, 09:03:58 AM
Yes, but it's a lot harder to wipe out 50 people in 5 min. with a knife...
M.
Yes.
My cousin had a breakdown and killed his wife and his mother with a knife. This was in France where guns are illegal.
Thank goodness he didn't get a hold of a gun or the tragedy and lives lost could have been much worse.
I'm sorry to hear of that.
I didn't mean to be insensitive.
M.
Quote from: mamselle on January 15, 2020, 10:57:36 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on January 15, 2020, 09:56:04 AM
Quote from: mamselle on January 15, 2020, 09:03:58 AM
Yes, but it's a lot harder to wipe out 50 people in 5 min. with a knife...
M.
Yes.
My cousin had a breakdown and killed his wife and his mother with a knife. This was in France where guns are illegal.
Thank goodness he didn't get a hold of a gun or the tragedy and lives lost could have been much worse.
I'm sorry to hear of that.
I didn't mean to be insensitive.
M.
You weren't being insensitive. I was just emphasizing your point. People get all up in my face about "not understanding violence" and "if you lost someone you would know..."
This just came across my newsfeed and made me think of this thread:
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/939b3y/virginia-declares-state-of-emergency-after-armed-militias-threaten-to-storm-the-capitol
Quote from: LibrariAnne on January 15, 2020, 01:33:44 PM
This just came across my newsfeed and made me think of this thread:
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/939b3y/virginia-declares-state-of-emergency-after-armed-militias-threaten-to-storm-the-capitol
Thank you. Exactly what I've been saying. But apparently, if these "armed citizens" are my neighbors in Podunk, I should just move.