Czechnologist
Concerned Citizen
- Mar 9, 2016
- 6,531
This is true, even if many of the liberals/progressives really are dumb/brainwashed enough to not realize that's a necessary part of the things they claim to value. The "Green New Deal" is the most fantastically stark, dramatic manifestation of that we've ever seen. It's a wonderful talking point to perhaps educate a few moderate people, but only a few.
Here's where you're wrong. I know this. I live amongst and painfully interact with the sort of people in question on a regular basis. They are NOT thinking, at all, that there are armed citizens in between them and the utopian society they visualize. They are aware that there is a small percentage of the state's population that are bitterly clinging to their guns, blah blah blah, but THEY DON'T CARE. Not about the guns, per se. They have no notion that somehow that duck hunter out in Easton or the guy who has a pistol under the counter in his liquor store in Westminster are going to violently start shooting liberal politicians down in the street. They find the idea of a fistful of OFWGs shaking their fists at them to be the OPPOSITE of scary or an obstruction - they find it to be helpful to their movement. Because they've already won and completely control the lawmaking process in the state, and having a fading generation of bitter clingers complaining about it is exactly what they need to prove to themselves they're on the side of the angels.
Truly. You have to believe me on this. THEY ARE NOT AFRAID of some guys with guns stopping what they believe is the simple, normal, appropriate evolution of society and government towards what they value. It doesn't even occur to them that the sheriff or the county cops or state police or the FBI or god forbid the national guard couldn't overwhelmingly deal with what they believe would be a bunch of delusional cranks holed up a barn somewhere. Really, this is how they think. It doesn't matter if they're right or wrong, or if you could muster thousands of people to go sling lead in the street to show them they're wrong. The point is that this is how they see things, and it informs how and why they're going about their legislative agenda with that veto-proof majority they hold.
They don't see 40+ other states with shall-issue carry laws as being an example of how Maryland should be. This doesn't occur to them. They see those 40+ states as clueless children that need the noble progressives in MD, CA, NY & NJ to show them the way.
All of the talk of violent revolt against these people PLAYS DIRECTLY INTO THEIR HANDS. To them (and to the vast majority of the media) it proves them right about everything they say. Only a SCOTUS smackdown, hard and unambiguous, will force them to confront their counter-constitutional instincts. Which is, alas, where we need to put our resources. Testimony against these bills is philosophically vital. Voting for rational people is essential. But in Maryland, neither will do ANYTHING to change the hearts and minds of the large super majority we're up against in this state. Opposition from our side, soaked in violent rhetoric and promises to use the guns the liberals hate against them - that will only attract even more Bloomberg bucks to make them more comfortable in their assumption of righteousness. Talking about litigation gives them something to think about. Talking about killing them gives them something crow about, because it's exactly what they want, as it makes their case better than they could themselves.
This is so well-said, it should be 'sticky' to remind all the anarchists and McVeigh-wannabes here that fantasizing about and advocating armed resistance is just pure, unadulterated BS in this day and age.
You knocked it out of the park, Occam. Again.