Sunday, April 4, 2010

Militia Musings (Additional Material)

My previous post raises some further questions, especially in view of the current interest in militias, prompted by the arrest of the "Hutaree" gang in Michigan, and claims that the Tea Party is somehow affiliated with that great bogeyman, the Right Wing Militia.

Sebastian links to a New York Times series on militias.  At this point, I have not read the entire thing.  I did read this NYTimes article, discussing the Michigan Militia's efforts to draw a distinction between the Militia and extremist groups.

So, my question is, why don't those on the left who are so concerned about militias--I'm looking at you, Southern Poverty Law Center!--spend any time tracking leftist extremist groups?  The anarchists I discussed in the previous post, eco-terrorists like ALF and ELF, SEIU's Purple People Beaters, non-white "racial identity" groups, Muslims looking to buy property and go play Rambo in the woods...?  Why?  Why is it that, when we hear about the actions of these groups, if we hear about them at all, they tend to be one-minute wonders in the Lame Stream Media, and no one in the Liberal/Progressive wants to even acknowledge any possibility of a connection with Liberal/Progressive goals or values?

Plus, as Sebastian says in the post I linked to above:
The left shouldn’t just outright dismiss the concerns about criminal actions by law enforcement as just a bunch of right-wing nuttery. That’s something every American should be concerned about. When the people see their government commit crimes, and then not only fail to see the perpetrators held accountable, but so see them promoted while misdeeds are covered up, it undermines people’s faith in the system to the point where they believe drastic action is necessary. Given that pool of anger and resentment, you’re always going to find charlatans and opportunists willing and able to pour gasoline over the fire.
Because, if the Left/Liberal/Progressive media and leadership were paying attention, they'd know that those of us on the Right/Conservative/Libertarian side of the spectrum are condemning such activities, even while we admit that we may have something in common.

Then again, that assumes that "they" pay any attention to us.

ADDED:  Then again, what makes "them" so sure that being in a "militia" automatically equates to being "right wing" or "conservative/libertarian"?  Are Apocalyptic Christian cults sects all conservative politically or economically?  Even if they practice a communal lifestyle, and register to vote as Democrats?  Is everyone who is upset about government fiscal policy a "right winger"?  Why is it wrong for a "Caucasian" to be concerned about excesses of law enforcement, when it's a legitimate concern for minorities?

Further links:

1 comment:

Montana said...

I love that they asked for “Public Defenders”, now they know about the undercover FBI agent. The simpleton Tea baggers keep missing the point. These are the same whiners that were crying when the McCain/Bailin ticket lost. Now they are crying again because their yelling (because they are haters not debaters) did not stop health care from passing. They think they can scare, intimidate and force others to go along with them by comments like “This time we came unarmed”, let me tell you something they are not the only ones that are armed and not all ex-military join the fringe militia crazies who don’t pay taxes and run around with face paint in the parks playing commando, the majority are mature and understand that the world is more complicated and grey then the black and white that these simpleton make it out to be and that my friend is the point. Do not cry when regular people openly laugh at your group when they see on TV that your leaders are Sarah Bailin, Orly Taitz, Victoria Jackson, Michele Bachmann and that turn coat Glenn Beck from the LDS. They do more to discredit you on TV (powerful) than any of my comments do in the blog sphere.