Thursday, December 18, 2008

Hey Frenchie, here we come....

Several years ago when we only had 2 kids and the dollar was strong, my husband surprised me with a trip to Paris. I was teaching French to preschoolers at the time, so it was a perfect surprise....I know, I know, I did marry a great guy.

Anyway, while there, we were zipping through town on the Metro when a lady in front of us got her stroller caught in one of the "turnstyles". Alarms went off and out comes a combat unit - kid you not - dressed in all black, running in formation with automatic rifles strapped across their chests. It was then I felt the full realization that we werent in Kansas anymore. No nice blue uniforms, no "Excuse me, ma'am", but full military black.....

This little walk down memory lane came flooding back today when I read these articles:

20,000 troops



AND

Marine Road Blocks



AND

Arizona Police



These articles recite the 20,000 troops....and then the Marines setting up roadblocks in California.....and the Homeland Security News feed talking about civil unrest and how the Arizona police have been practicing playing war....

There is a part of me that thinks that the expectation of civil unrest will bring us civil unrest. If people believe that civil unrest is expected, they will act accordingly.

We are being led down a road setting us up to be totally controlled - martial law. We are being shown OUR OWN MILITARY on our own streets, doing basic things. It will be a shock the first time we see them - they will be kind, they will be helpful - they are OUR military and we LOVE our military. The next time, it wont be such a big deal and eventually, we wont even see them at all.

This article outlines what could cause civil unrest:

Civil Unrest

There is a line that lists one of the reasons as "purposeful domestic resistance or insurgency". I dont like how they link "resistance" - American, Constitutional, Jeffersonian RESISTANCE with the word we usually see linked with radical Muslims - "Insurgency."

Why would there be a resistance? What are we resisting? What are they planning to change/do that they think would result in resistance?

I dont have these answers although I bet we all feel we "know"....

Keep vigilant - Keep prepared - decide where YOUR line in the sand lies....

8 comments:

Shy Wolf said...

Pearls- we know it's comng, don't we? the problem, as I see it, is who's going to be 'the first to defy and die'?
Being an American is becoming a terminal occupation and everyone wants to be the Terminator.
Shy

Ryan said...

We do indeed all need to know where our line in the sand is. At the same time having enough food and water to sustain ourselves goes a long way towards staying out of the fray. A shotgun with a few boxes of 00 buck stashed away goes a long way towards warding off a scumbag or two who comes lurking around.

I drive my tractor in pearls... said...

TOR - Amen - in fact, I threw in another large box of just the exact thing today at Walmart :) I cant imagine a better way to spend $20!

By the way - LOVED the police post!

Sam said...

Remember 9/11? No cops or military did a thing to stop the terrorists. The only "resistance" on 9/11/2001 was by civilians aboard Flight 93. They were unarmed but for with their wits: They used a steward's refreshment cart and a pot of boiling water to take down the terrorists. They were just regular, everyday Americans called upon by chance. They did us proud.

Americans are good, courageous, and very resourceful people. No wonder the gov is afraid of us. They should be with the crap they've been pulling. And we are not unarmed.
Sam

Brad K. said...

Sam - I consider this - the government being aware of gun-owning citizens, and being wary of getting too far out of hand - to be "tyrant repellent". The 2nd amendment. I don't believe the 2nd amendment permits anyone to actually fire a gun "when in the course of human affairs ..". But the potential for resistance has stood us in good stead since the Bill of Rights was passed.

Pearls, I think it goes both ways. Thinking about unrest, thinking about our choices ahead of time, helps 'desensitize' us to paralysis from surprise. Watching the police, national guard, and Homeland Security practice may influence some toward unrest, but may limit the damage if unrest does arise.

It is threat to food supplies, and necessities like medical care and food and shelter that make us most susceptible to unrest. Frank W. James, gun writer and farmer in Indiana, writes that current corn prices, since the collapse of Ethanol plans, put crops next year at $5/acre below cost to plant. Who will plant a losing crop? Who would lend farmers the money to plant with no expectation of return?

Will there be credit for farmers to plant next year, anyway?

A short crop may not result in food riots and wholesale starving in this country. But other countries and regions that expect our surplus crops may riot, and may foment military attempts to change things.

A stable economy for us and our adversaries and allies is necessary for a stable peace. And our economies are not stable.

When considering weapons, don't forget the lowly wood handled broom and pitchfork, or axe handle or other club or quarterstaff. Poking and thrusting don't risk breaking the stick, and may be more effective, than swinging wildly like a baseball bat. There are more reasons that one to carry a walking stick when traveling, or even answering the door.

Anonymous said...

Just a few scattered thoughts while I was at lunch:

Linking resistance and insurgency is a great way of helping deter many americans from choosing to resist the .gov (at least from the .gov point of view).

If you link the 2 things then when you consider resiting the .gov you will consider it a bad and horrible thing because of what we have been force fed from the media.

Also linking the 2 helps you understand that the .gov folks won't stand for any resistance and will thus treat you like a terrorist with all the "perks" that go with that label.

Start thinking about that line in the sand because when .gov starts "holding" (with out due process or recorded charges) ma and pa for being insurgents then many people will start to wake up, hopefully. If the "holding" doesn't wake people up hopefully the water boarding of ma and pa will.

I can only hope and pray that things don't get as bad as they seem to be headed toward. It will be a shame to see this country fighting itself when so many of us are the very people who support our troops the most.

tanksoldier said...

There are hundreds of thousands of "US Troops" in the US. Formally designing some to provide civil support if/when it's needed really doesn't change the fact that if they were needed whole divisions are sitting at Ft Hood, Ft Carson... etc.

The Marine MPs at roadblocks are for any military service members found to be drunk driving at the roadblocks. Military police often have cooperative agreements and projects. In many neighborhoods outside military bases they do joint patrols. Military personnel are subject to the UCMJ and military police 24/7 on or off post... and the military penalties for a DUI are much greater than the civilian ones.

I guarantee that the Marine MPs have no interest in and will not be involved with civilian law enforcement.

Anonymous said...

My wife taught French for seven years, then she moved over to special ed. I taught social studies for three years, then went back to my old job because we needed the money. When Miriam and I were stationed in Naples, we visited France often and they were always nice to us. Maybe because she spoke French.