How to Stay Out of this Civil Disturbance

As I’m sitting here writing this, the news is filled with mostly speculation about the “riot” that took place at the Capitol building on January the 6^th.

If the reports I’m seeing are even quoting people accurately, we’re seeing massive hypocrisy out of the left, as they decry the attack on the capitol building, after applauding the BLM riots, complete with violence, most of last year.

Hypocrisy out of the left is no new thing. For that matter, hypocrisy in politics has probably been the norm since the early days of the Roman Empire. Politicians seem particularly adept at it, using it as a tool to allow them to attack their political enemies.

But the level of rhetoric we’re seeing right now is particularly dangerous, calling it an “insurrection” and “an attempted coup,” in addition to other things. These names are being picked up by news media around the globe, painting an untrue picture of what’s going on, long before the truth is known. As per usual with the news media, it’s not about the facts anymore, but about how they can spin them to show the narrative they want.

The event itself seems to have plenty of spin built-in, without any politician or pundit creating their own. Video has surfaced, showing the capitol police moving aside barriers and letting “protesters” into the building. Either because of that or in conjunction with that, the building was breached a full 20 minutes before Trump concluded his speech. Some of the earliest arrivals from that event say that the building was open with people inside before they even got there.

While the left-wing media and even the DOJ are saying this is 100% a right wing event, there is at least one BML activist who was taken into custody as one of the instigators. We don’t yet know if there are any more, although witnesses on the scene, who have studied ANTIFA and BLM say that there were people there who didn’t fit in with the Trump followers and who appeared to be from one of those two groups.

Now, with the inauguration less than a week away, Washington DC is filled with National Guardsmen, there in case of further violence. Those guardsmen were absent throughout the entire last year, when riots broke out in countless cities, including the destruction of property, arson, vandalism, and looting. Yet somehow, now that it looks like it might be some radical right-wing operatives who are perpetrating the crimes, military forces are being put on display.

The thing that the left doesn’t get or perhaps refuses to get is that all the hypocrisy is what has made people on the right so angry. The hypocrisy in media attacks on President Trump; the hypocrisy in impeaching Trump a second time, and the hypocrisy in calling everyone on the right by the vilest names they can find, tarring us with the same brush as NAZIs, the KKK, and those who broke into the capitol building.

Where is it Leading?

I feel like I’m repeating myself here, but it seems more and more like there are people behind the scenes who are working hard to bring our country to the point of civil war. Whoever these people are, they are working hard to divide our country along whatever lines they can. It doesn’t matter if those lines are racial, economic, political or who makes the best hamburger; their goal is to fragment society, weakening We the People so that they can increase their own power.

A large part of this effort is focused on making people think that “others” have done them wrong. The whole idea of “white privilege” is an excellent example of this. On one hand, that’s nothing more than a rebranding of the old idea of some people being disadvantaged; something that is widely understood and accepted. Children who grow up in impoverished homes, single-parent homes, with parents who are drug addicts or alcoholics are all facing life at a disadvantage.

But the other hand, the big difference between white privilege and the older concept of people being disadvantaged, is that white privilege places the blame for one’s own misfortune on others, “the reason I’m in the situation I’m in is because you are white.”

This might seem like a subtle difference to some, but it’s actually huge. It gives those who are disadvantaged an enemy, someone they can blame for their circumstances. In doing so, it tells that person that they don’t have to do anything about their situation or even accept help to get out of it. Rather, it teaches them to point the finger at someone else, blaming them as they bemoan their circumstances.

This is dehumanizing at best; making people out to be less than others. I would even call it racist. Bu then, I’m not part of the party of name-calling, so I don’t bother to do such things.

The effort that is going into creating this sort of division is mind-boggling. Yet it is apparently having the desired effect. Otherwise, those who are propagating it wouldn’t bother to continue. I can only guess at their true motivation.

But I don’t have to guess at the results; I can see them. We are living in a time where the American people are more divided than ever. Those are the results. The name-calling, election fraud, and outright lies that are being told have brought us to a point where violence is almost impossible to avoid.

When the Violence Starts

Here’s where I want to get a little controversial. I see a lot of preppers out there, who look more like they are preparing for war, then preparing to survive. They put more effort into the weapons in their bug out bag, than they put into the survival gear there. When they post pictures of their “kit,” it looks like those of a soldier going off on a combat patrol.

I’m a veteran; I carry concealed every day, and I have prepared my home in case of attack. But I have no intention of going out and getting embroiled in a riot or other fight, just because some of the people involved in it have a different political outlook than I do.

Please don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t care about what’s happening to our country. Nor am I saying that we shouldn’t fight for what is right. But the fight we are involved in right now is one that needs to be fought legally, not through force of arms. We need to fight the things that are being done against our conservative principles at the ballot box, in the courts, and in the realm of public opinion.

The ideas that Democrats are pushing can’t stand up to public debate. That’s why they always resort to name-calling, rather than logical arguments. Their entire 2020 campaign, in addition to everything else they did for the four years before that, was centered around hating Trump. They didn’t have any real platform to stand on.

But that doesn’t mean we start a war. If anything, we need to be the people trying to bring more civil discourse into the public sphere, rather than all the hate speech that’s going on. We need to show those on the left a better way. We need to be the adult in the room.

As part of that, we need to avoid any inkling of violence. As we have seen in the last week, the left is going to pounce on any act of violence that they can blame the left for, even while supporting the violence of their own followers. They are prepared to blame us so that they can get away with their atrocities while setting things up for us to take the blame. The only way we can avoid that is to stay out of their way and not become involved.

We are about surviving, not about fighting. Our purpose in buying guns and ammunition is to defend ourselves, not to defend our ideas. Perhaps the day will come where it becomes necessary to join some future army that is trying to prevent the destruction of our country, but it isn’t here yet. Let’s not hasten that day along.

If shots are fired, they need to be fired by those on the left. If buildings are burned, it needs to come from there too. On our part, we need to be above reproach, while still relying on the laws which allow us to use force in self-defense and defense of our families.

Avoid, Just Avoid

If there is a public gathering in response to something happening in the country, the best place to be is somewhere else. Let those on the left throw their public temper tantrums, while we watch from the safety of our own homes. We can see everything we need on the internet, without having to go anywhere near whatever they are doing.

As for our own gatherings, we need to use the same sort of precautions that were in place during the events of 2019 and 2020. Apparently, there were a number of conservative events that ANTIFA members showed up at, either in mass, as a counter-protestor trying to infiltrate the event. In a number of cases, they were apprehended by people who were attending the event, taking into custody, and escorted off the premises before they could cause any problems. That seems like a great example for us to follow.

Should we find ourselves in such a situation, the best thing that any of us can do is to leave? We don’t really need to be part of a political rally or protest in order to make our voice heard. All we need to do is to sign a petition. So why put ourselves in danger, when that isn’t necessary?

Seeing the riots and protests of last summer, it’s clear that any of us could find ourselves unexpectedly caught up in leftist violence. Should that happen, the worst thing you can do is to let them know who you are or what you believe. There’s no way that you can take on a whole group of them, all by yourself.

Rather than taking a stand for what you believe in, pretend that you’re with them, while you work your way out of the crowd. Either yell what they’re yelling or just keep your mouth closed, nodding your head like your part of them. Work your way slowly to the edge of the crowd, and then make good your escape as soon as you can.

If you find yourself caught up in one of their roadblocks, slowly drive your car through. Don’t stop, but don’t gun it either. Give them a chance to get out of your way. If they refuse to do so, that’s not your fault. But if you intentionally ram them, you could be charged with intended manslaughter or even first-degree murder.

A Final Thought

While the actions I’m advocating for in this article may seem strange to some of us, there’s a very solid reason behind them. That is, we are survivalists, not a militia. We’re certainly not a political strong-arm committee, like the Brown Shirts of pre-NAZI Germany. Our stated purpose is to survive any disaster and what’s happening in our country is no different.

My goal is to help you survive. That’s what I’m here for. As part of that, I see it as important that we don’t allow ourselves to get caught up in something that could be dangerous to ourselves and those who we love.

At the same time, I recognize that there might come a day when we can no longer stand on the sidelines and must take up arms in the defense of our country. As a veteran, I understand what that means. But while I’m willing to lay down my life in the defense of the Constitution and the nation that it formed, I am not willing to lay it down just to make a political statement, or even worse, no statement at all.