19 votes

‘If others have rifles, we’ll have rifles’: Why US leftist groups are taking up arms

6 comments

  1. [6]
    welly
    Link
    This is going to end well...

    This is going to end well...

    2 votes
    1. [5]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. [4]
        The_Fad
        Link Parent
        You don't see this as an eye-for-an-eye mentality that may ultimately make the whole world blind?

        You don't see this as an eye-for-an-eye mentality that may ultimately make the whole world blind?

        2 votes
        1. [2]
          Comment deleted by author
          Link Parent
          1. The_Fad
            Link Parent
            Buying a gun to spite someone with opposing political ideology isnt taking an eye? We're gonna have to agree to disagree on that. Thank you for elaborating, though.

            buying a gun is not taking an eye

            Buying a gun to spite someone with opposing political ideology isnt taking an eye? We're gonna have to agree to disagree on that. Thank you for elaborating, though.

            3 votes
        2. [2]
          unknown user
          Link Parent
          You know, I used to believe this radicalist nonsense around libertarianism, guns, and freedoms to be confined within the borders of the U.S., and to some extent it predominantly still is; but I...

          the whole world blind

          You know, I used to believe this radicalist nonsense around libertarianism, guns, and freedoms to be confined within the borders of the U.S., and to some extent it predominantly still is; but I can't help feel with the infectious capabilities of the internet that it's slowly spreading to more parts of the world as social & environmental conditions deteriorate.

          As it stands, given my current income & point in life, I would much rather live in my country than in the U.S..

          6 votes
          1. The_Fad
            Link Parent
            With every passing day I grow more closely to your line of thinking.

            I would much rather live in my country than in the US

            With every passing day I grow more closely to your line of thinking.

            1 vote
    2. alyaza
      Link Parent
      leftists have a pretty long history of arming themselves so yeah, it'll probably go relatively fine. the SRA, john brown gun clubs, huey newton gun clubs, etc. have existed for awhile now, and...

      leftists have a pretty long history of arming themselves so yeah, it'll probably go relatively fine. the SRA, john brown gun clubs, huey newton gun clubs, etc. have existed for awhile now, and being armed usually isn't what prompted violent reprisal against leftists during either red scare, nor was it generally the catalyst for actions the FBI and other domestic agencies took against more militant groups like the black panther party (fred hampton being a noteworthy exception). states also generally don't use mere possession of weapons or the possibility of having them as a pretense for cracking down on leftism, and the US is not likely to either because of the second amendment.

      what's more likely is reprisal by fascists or right-wingers but, to be entirely frank with you, i'm skeptical that they're going to be willing to get into shooting wars when they're already not popular with the american public and their whole thing is trying to normalize fascism, and anti-fascists really don't have a similar problem.

      9 votes