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Monday, November 28th, 2016

Undercover with a Border Militia

Author:     Shane Bauer
Source:     Mother Jones
Publication Date:     Nov/Dec 2016 issue
 Link: Undercover with a Border Militia
Stephan:   Almost without  comment and often with the connivance of Oath Keeper sheriffs a force capable of armed insurrection has been created in the United States. Many are military trained and have done tours of urban warfare, just the skills an insurrection requires. And they are armed about as well as they were in Iraq or Afghanistan, even down to drone support. The profile data shows these are overwhelmingly non-college educate White men filled with misinformation from Theocratic Rightist websites and faux-news sources.   Driven by their fear, anger, and hate, as this lengthy first hand account reports, they find meaning in the camaraderie, purpose, and structure of these militias. It makes them feel righteous to be involved. Metaphorically this is like keeping a 500 lb bomb in your garage; everything is fine until it's not, but then it is too late. These men have been emboldened by Donald Trump's hate speech, and his staff and cabinet selections. They think their hour is coming. They say it explicitly. This is only going to stop when citizens band together and make it clear this is not o.k. We need 10% of the population to become activists-- 31,700,000. The 8 Laws are clear: it can be done. Are you prepared to stand up and do it?

shanebauer-134-blacklayout2000px_2I crawl out of the back of the pickup with my rifle in hand. “Keep your weapons nice and tight,” Captain Pain orders. I am traveling light. Unlike the others, I don’t view southern Arizona as a war zone, so I didn’t put steel plates in my chest rig. Next to everyone else’s commando-style AR-15s, my Ruger Mini-14 with a wood stock is slightly out of place. But everything else is square—I’m wearing a MultiCam uniform, desert tan combat boots, and a radio on my shoulder. I fit in just fine.

We are in a Walmart parking lot in Nogales. Captain Pain and a couple of others go into the store to get supplies. In Pain’s absence, Showtime is our commanding officer. He is a Marine special­-ops veteran who did three tours in Afghan­istan. He has camo paint on his face and a yeti beard. He gets in the cab to check Facebook on his phone while Destroyer, Jaeger, Spartan, and […]

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3 Comments

  1. Mark R on Monday, November 28, 2016 at 5:30 am

    First, the Southern Poverty Law Center is a biased organi ation which I do not trust to sort out who are good guys & bad guys. Second, while we may not agree with their opinions, people who participate in militias or similar organizations are within their rights so until they break the law or harm others…they are not the problem. The real problem is the crony capitalist government which has failed the people of this nation by gutting our infrastructure, damaging monetary policy, divisive rhetoric, corrupt trade agreements, collusion with banks big agriculture and big pharma, endless foreign wars, unjust legal system, no knock police raids, assault on rights of free speech, privacy violations, the list goes on and on. Militias have existed since the founding of this nation. When is the last time a militia harmed your family or community? When is the last time the government policy or police state harmed your family or community? Let us focus on real problems. This article is primarily a result of indignation & fearmongering from the progressive left. Reject fear and support freedom and unity!

    • Paul H. Smith on Monday, November 28, 2016 at 8:43 am

      Mark R., thanks for adding an opposing view. Mine is somewhere in between, but it’s always refreshing to see some balance to offset Mother Jones,which often mistakes emotionalism for objective reporting.

  2. Mark R on Monday, November 28, 2016 at 9:44 pm

    Thanks for your kind note Paul. 🙂