Liberals need to start buying guns. They’ve spent decades disarming themselves, but now we’ve got fascists co trolling the government, and their supporters have 90% of the guns.
Guns seem evil until you need them, and there’s a very real chance that day is coming soon.
In the context of a protest, using guns is the most extreme escalation. You start shooting at cops, cops start shooting at you, and most likely everyone around you. It’s an option but it requires restraint.
Not everyone is mentally, legally, or financially able to take that burden on.
I’m not saying show up and start shooting cops. But if you can openly carry a baseball bat without the police shooting you, you can carry a concealed pistol (in states where it’s legal) without escalating anything until escalation is required.
I tell people as often as I can, especially my trans and bipoc friends; now is the time. Get a couple guns (a long one and a short one) and learn how to use them. Learn some basic first aid, you really just need to know how to stabilize someone. Start networking with like-minded people in your communities. The police will not protect us, they’ve proven they’ll happily club senior citizens to the ground and shoot any protesters in the face with rubber bullets while escorting a rightwing murderer to safety.
Iran was a secular, liberal state until almost 1980 when they (mostly legitimately) elected an Islamist theocracy; it could happen here.
Get to know people in your community. Take an interest in growing food, learn how to fix things. Get a gun (or two) and learn how to use them. Establish secondary lines of communication and start preparing.
People who are unable or unwilling for whatever reason to arm themselves shouldn’t. But it’s definitely a good idea to consciously reevaluate your ability or willingness on a fairly regular basis, considering the rapidly changing circumstances. And just because a particular course of action isn’t right for everyone doesn’t mean it’s wrong for everyone.
Handguns only work after they’re too close. You want a rifle, too. Handguns have their place in that they are concealable, lighter, “last ditch” alongside a rifle
And you want it now. The best time to get a firearm is before you need a firearm. You need to learn how to operate it safely, field strip it, clean it, manage clearing jams. And you need to practice; you will want to send hundreds of rounds through it so that you know how it aims and behaves, and so you can have some confidence that you’re going to hit what you aim at. You’ll want to find out what ammo your gun “doesn’t like,” and you’ll be spending a bit of money on ammo, cleaning supplies, range case, holster (for a handgun), hearing and eye protection, maybe even tools if you need to fix something.
You can’t practice enough, and you can’t practice at all without a gun. Unfortunately, there are a good number of shops/ranges that feel real skeevy, in a “we cater to fascists” way. I’m lucky to have a clean, well-lighted chain store in my area. Find a place like that.
Liberals need to start buying guns. They’ve spent decades disarming themselves, but now we’ve got fascists co trolling the government, and their supporters have 90% of the guns.
Guns seem evil until you need them, and there’s a very real chance that day is coming soon.
Yes. But…
you should check out the John Brown Gun Club!
Using guns is escalation but showing guns can keep people safe when there’s nazis about.
I’m not saying show up and start shooting cops. But if you can openly carry a baseball bat without the police shooting you, you can carry a concealed pistol (in states where it’s legal) without escalating anything until escalation is required.
If you go black panthers and just have 25 people with ARs (where open carry is legal) they will be concerned about escalating with you
I tell people as often as I can, especially my trans and bipoc friends; now is the time. Get a couple guns (a long one and a short one) and learn how to use them. Learn some basic first aid, you really just need to know how to stabilize someone. Start networking with like-minded people in your communities. The police will not protect us, they’ve proven they’ll happily club senior citizens to the ground and shoot any protesters in the face with rubber bullets while escorting a rightwing murderer to safety.
Iran was a secular, liberal state until almost 1980 when they (mostly legitimately) elected an Islamist theocracy; it could happen here.
Get to know people in your community. Take an interest in growing food, learn how to fix things. Get a gun (or two) and learn how to use them. Establish secondary lines of communication and start preparing.
https://www.dsausa.org/
https://mutualaiddisasterrelief.org/
https://socialistra.org/
https://generalstrikeus.com/
https://afsc.org/news/how-create-mutual-aid-network
https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/raids/
https://mutualaidhub.org/
In the context of a protest, you’re right.
People who are unable or unwilling for whatever reason to arm themselves shouldn’t. But it’s definitely a good idea to consciously reevaluate your ability or willingness on a fairly regular basis, considering the rapidly changing circumstances. And just because a particular course of action isn’t right for everyone doesn’t mean it’s wrong for everyone.
If Ukraine has taught us anything, it’s that we need cheap drones and hand grenades.
Guns only work after they’re too close. FPV drones work from a good distance.
Also we should be designing these without GPS and with frequency hopping and weird spectrum use to avoid easy jamming.
While you’re 100% right about the drones,
Handguns only work after they’re too close. You want a rifle, too. Handguns have their place in that they are concealable, lighter, “last ditch” alongside a rifle
And you want it now. The best time to get a firearm is before you need a firearm. You need to learn how to operate it safely, field strip it, clean it, manage clearing jams. And you need to practice; you will want to send hundreds of rounds through it so that you know how it aims and behaves, and so you can have some confidence that you’re going to hit what you aim at. You’ll want to find out what ammo your gun “doesn’t like,” and you’ll be spending a bit of money on ammo, cleaning supplies, range case, holster (for a handgun), hearing and eye protection, maybe even tools if you need to fix something.
You can’t practice enough, and you can’t practice at all without a gun. Unfortunately, there are a good number of shops/ranges that feel real skeevy, in a “we cater to fascists” way. I’m lucky to have a clean, well-lighted chain store in my area. Find a place like that.