During the bleakest nights in Ferguson a few years back, men armed with assault rifles “protected” properties, most all businesses owned by white guys.
More recently, a similar group descended on downtown Louisville.
The group calls themselves the Oath Keepers…
The Oath Keepers, which claims tens of thousands of present and former law enforcement officials and military veterans as members, is one of the largest radical anti-government groups in the U.S. today. While it claims only to be defending the Constitution, the entire organization is based on a set of baseless conspiracy theories about the federal government working to destroy the liberties of Americans. – Southern Poverty Law Center
Here’s a quote from their leader…
Stewart Rhodes was living his vision of the future… “Let’s not fuck around,” he said. “We’ve descended into civil war.”
Now, America tolerates crazy beliefs and retailers make a fortune selling camouflage gear and assault rifles to the paranoid. So, if some 17 year old answers the call and crosses a state line with a gun he can’t legally possess and thence shoots dead two unarmed protesters, well, it’s just straight-up self-defense. Or, if two yuppie lawyers threaten people walking past their yard with guns, the “crime” comes from the prosecutor arresting the righteous homeowners.
Call them militia, patriots, nationalists or even white supremacist and they will most all claim that they are not the problem, no, it’s an out of control America that needs stern, perhaps even lethal, action to save ‘our’ way of life.
Here’s where it gets really messy…
With him [Rhodes] in his pickup were a pistol and a dusty black hat with the gold logo of the Oath Keepers, a militant group that has drawn in thousands of people from the military and law-enforcement communities. [www.theatlantic.com]
Yes, a lot of people charged with enforcing the law and serving America it turns out have taken an oath to make things “right” – no matter the cost or the body count.
Remember, cops let that 17 year old walk away – still carrying his assault rifle – after murdering two unarmed Americans.
This past Saturday, at the tax-payer funded Family Arena, in St. Charles:
Red, White, and Back the Blue Freedom Rally
Join fellow freedom fighters for this FREE EVENT Saturday in St. Charles!
https://971talk.radio.com/blogs/the-marc-cox-morning-show/red-white-and-back-the-blue-freedom-rally
His accidency, Mike Parson drove in on a tractor. Ann Wagner and many other Republican office holders attended too. So did many, many members of law enforcement and their families.
So did their welcome guests, Oath Keepers, in uniform with hats, shirts and sidearms.
The Oath Keepers claim may members among law enforcement in Missouri…
“Funny story,” wrote a police sergeant in a St. Louis suburb. “I stopped a speeding truck driver, who had your decal [Oath Keepers] on the side of his truck, I asked about it, he went on and on, I said, ‘Damn I’m all about this.’ ” He listed skills as a firearms and tactical instructor and said he would forward the membership application to his fellow officers. [www.theatlantic.com]
Let’s summarize: the Republican Party in Missouri encourages a ’radical anti-government’ group to participate in their events. They are enablers of people who believe “We’ve descended into civil war.”
That’s not right. Yet, it is so “2020.”
Glenn