In my question I am not defending whether or not the above incident is an example of “protest of authority”. Nor am I equating the two groups as having the same motives.
I am asking if an armed protest is a viable tactic to protest authority if ones motives are genuine and earnest? Then an example that is a completely different scenario than the one above.
I am conceding your point that an armed protest to protest authority is not a viable tactic if the true intent isn’t to protest authority, but to shit stir or cause “violence for it’s own sake”.
If you want us to provide a list of times where we think it’s “appropriate” for you to be in public with weapons it’s going to be a short fucking list.
It’s irrelevant, as this is not what is happening with this here. They are not remotely genuine or earnest. They are violent racist. They don’t care about police brutality, because if they did, they’d have come out to BLM protests in support. They did not.
I read this earlier but only clicked on it now: glad I listened to this! The guy is PISSED these morons are prancing around with their performative gun fetish in his town. I bet he yelled something like ‘What the FUCK do you think you are doing?!?!’ before the camera started rolling. Also glad I listened to the end where he closes in (mask discipline my dude!) and asked in kind of a growl “were you guys part of that shit down in Washington?” “Oh no no no, heavens to betsy no!” LOL
I don’t know how is it in the US, but over here when a group fires live rounds at police they become a proscribed organisation - Terrorists if you will - membership of such can lead to arrest and prison on conviction.
In the US, if your organization’s membership is entirely Caucasian and promote right wing goals, you get labelled anything but “terrorist”. You get called “extremist group”, “militia”, “fraternal organzation”, “2nd Amendment Enthusiasts”
Given that Ann Arbor police have managed to murder only 2 people in 25 years, I’ll take my chances with them. The community demands that PD practice Community policing instead of Broken Windows. The man that confronted these idiots is correct, we do have a peaceful community. I’m furious this happened here, possibly as furious as the man who confronted Vanilla Isis.
These armed idiots claim to be protesting an arrest that happened miles from Ann Arbor - a man said to have been having a mental breakdown engaged in a standoff with the Sheriff’s Department, who called in a crisis team that eventually got the suspect to put down his gun, and come out of the house. He was arrested rather than killed - generally a good outcome considering the guy opened fire on the deputies upon arrival.
@Mindysan: I got caught in the middle of two BLM protests at Ann Arbor city hall last summer, not an armed “protestor” to be found.
Sometimes opposite sides of the spectrum find themselves in alignment.
Example:
non-bigots want a crackdown on facebook because they let in too much hate speech.
bigots want a crackdown on facebook because they are infringing on their “freedom” to espouse hate speech
Surely you are not suggesting that the non-bigots be ok with bigots wanting a crackdown on facebook and somehow not calling out their bigotry at the same time?
Because that’s what’s happening here. A militant, militarized group is calling on the police to be less militant. Something that happens to align with folks who would very much like less militarization everywhere. But that doesn’t preclude folks from taking issue with the former for themselves being militarized.
I think they’re just in Ann Arbor because they want visibility against a perceived liberal bastion. Looks like they’re posted up over by the courthouse. Hopefully they had a few cops recording them.
First off I can’t make out from this short video nor from the article who exactly these protestors are. I find it hard to make blanket statements about individuals based on out of context snips of video. I’ve seen enough “violent Antifa attack” videos to know headlines don’t always match reality and the guy in a balaclava punching another dude might not be the actual problem. ETA - NVM - someone pointed out the much longer video. I will have to listen later for the fuller story.
But let’s just assume they are Boogie Bois (or there is a Boogie Boi) or Proud Boys or III%ers or some other known radical group with a disingenuous motive. If that was the criticism, like what some other people have made in the thread, I wouldn’t have made a snide comment. Instead this guy suggesting the problem (the cops) should be the respected authority here. “The law is: They are in charge, not you.” Honestly that statement I found nauseating. His comments, to me seem to be less about who they are - and more about how they were doing it. Which, I guess lends to your point "But that doesn’t preclude folks from taking issue with the former for themselves being militarized " But I really didn’t get the sense police militarization was a big issue for him. ETA - And per above with the longer video maybe my opinion of this guy will change as well.
To follow your example, I might agree with some bigots that FB’s moderation policies and privacy violations need to be scrutinized - but I am not going to suggest FB should how more power and autonomy, such as have access to more of my personal information in its efforts to combat hate speech.
It was a massacre, and the cops actually went to a local gun store to get better guns during the shootout. Their sidearms couldn’t get through the robbers’ body armor. It was a terrible event that contributed greatly to the militarization of police and proliferation of SWAT throughout the country.
The world imagined by these bo-g-loo clowns is utterly terrifying. Every little emotional spat that angry white men have with each other would be a bloodbath.
