I'm the oldest daughter of two Lt Colonels, and the product of a three-generational military family on both sides, and I think y'all need to listen to the next bit:
We ended the draft because the military's analysis of the Vietnam War revealed that 90% of all draftees would not shoot to kill, even when it was life or death. They'd shoot high or low, but they *couldn't* shoot to kill. As such, they actively degraded the war effort.
So you need to think twice before arming yourselves.
(1/?)
There's a lot of *wildly* irresponsible rhetoric floating around right now about how all queer folk should arm themselves to resist what's coming. And, deadass?
If you're armed, and you're not 10000% sure that you can shoot to kill, the only thing you're gonna do is get yourself and everyone around you dead.
Period.
A weapon is a *massive* escalation. Meanwhile, the tool that really gets you out of deadly trouble in a fascist dictatorship?
A silver tongue and steely guts.
(2/?)
Resistance is about far, far more than the image we have in our heads of the brave French resistance fighter in WWII. It's making the gears of their fascist machine grind. Drop a little sugar in the right gas tank. Lose important paperwork and records. Follow all the rules, *exactly,* in excruciating detail, explaining to the fascists that their superiors will come down on you if you don't.
(3/?)
Fascism is a machine. All machines have moving parts. You don't attack the reinforced bits. And fascism, specifically, is a machine built to kill. When you take up the same arms, you're attacking them where they're strongest.
So, when you plan your resistance, unless you're a very rare sort--probably with preexisting military experience--don't plan for a violence that you can't and won't win.
(4/?)
Governments are nowhere near as omniscient as you think, and have nowhere near enough resporces to follow up on what data they do have.
Wanna resist? One of the very best things you can do is look suspicious as fuck while doing *absolutely nothing* illegal.
Consume their resources. Frustrate the machine. *That* is how you save lives. Not weapons. Not for the overwhelming majority of you.
Leave that trouble for those truly prepared for it.
(5/5).
Addendum:
What the fuck, people?! I talk about how bad an idea it is to arm yourselves and a bunch of yall start arguing about blades and homemade bombs instead of firearms?! When I said weapons and not firearms, I meant ***all*** weapons.
This is not a fucking movie. This is your lives. All your posturing is gonna do is get you and the people around you dead.
Knock it off, dummies.
Addendum addendum:
Jesus fucking christ, a lot of you need to get your heads out of your asses and out of video games/action movies. You are not fucking John McClain. You need to *survive*, you lunatics.
I'm muting this insanity.
I am absolutely NOT questioning your practical advice with respect to the current situation AT ALL, but out of curiosity, given your position, what is your take on the role that armed self-defense historically played for Black resistance in the he US? I know there are people who argue it was crucial in that situation. Not to anticipate your response, but I suppose that DID include Black veterans from WWII and Korea, and therefore partly fell under the exceptions you mentioned?
@bifouba armed self defense was *always* the minority for Black folks. There were a few who carried, and in doing so made it much riskier for white oppressors to harass Black folks. And most of those people who did were indeed veterans, as I understand the history.
Which, honestly, is exactly my point.
@Impossible_PhD I train with bladed weapons (well, blunt ones) every week, and the thought of using them in self-defense is fucking stupid. Like what's the plan here? You get jumped and then expect to have a minute to pull a knife out of your bag? Or walk around with one in your hand whenever you feel unsafe, thus pre-escalating any confrontation? A knife is an offensive weapon, not a defensive one. They only get more people hurt.
No, your first plan should always be to de-escalate and defuse the situation. Keep your hands low, make it clear you're not interested in a fight. Don't brandish anything at anyone.
Your second plan, if you can, is to run. Keep an eye on your escape routes, don't let people back you into a corner.
Only after both those options are exhausted should you turn to fighting. And the only "weapon" I'd recommend is a good stout umbrella. It's not perceived as a weapon, meaning you can still de-escalate with one in your hand. You can give someone a swift knock in the jaw or round the head to daze them, or you knock the knife out of their hand, and then you run.
Self-defense is about getting away safely, not escalating a confrontation into a fight.
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@zgilmore
In the UK, I sometimes hear heavy flashlights recommended. Like a “throw it and run” kind of deal.
@MxVerda
I was on a knife-fighting-truths thread a while back (wanna say it was on Metafilter?) where REALLY BRIGHT flashlights with an easy on-off switch were recommended as a tool to blind an assailant so you have a chance to run.
@zgilmore
Might be OK if you're a nice straight-presenting cis white lady, but those are dicey in many US jurisdictions. People often carry baseball bats for defense, & attorneys with criminal experience will often caution their clients to make sure they also carry a mitt that shows signs of use - because otherwise in many jurisdictions you could be charged with carrying a deadly weapon. (Which it absolutely can be.)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Seeton
Miss Seeton book series (aka the battling brollie). The first five books by Heron Carvic are very funny.
@Tattie
The umbrella thing is solid. There are lots of workable self-defense maneuvers that just need a stout stick that doesn't have to be very long or heavy (I'm sure you know them better than I). Plus the umbrella likely won't be flagged as a weapon by cops, who can & often do cite people for 'concealed weapons' such as baseball bats carried in absence of baseball gear, if the person fits a profile they're interested in citing.
don't bother answering, but has your home ever been broken into?
mine was as a child - we were robbed. and then i *caught* someone breaking into my apt as a single woman
the gun was useful that day
i really appreciate that some people will never want to own a gun, & those that do should learn a lot about them, & maybe consider not getting one if they have kids.
but in 2024 USA i'll NEVER agree that we should tell all Americans "guns are bad, stay away from them no matter what"
@rustoleumlove
I’ll proceed assuming you write with genuine intent.
That sounds horrific and you should not have had to experience either of those.
You deserved better. I’m glad you found use and comfort that day, gun or not. I’m glad you felt capable enough to use it.
However, that is still twice in your life.
I don’t intend to undermine the chronic impacts of serious crime on anyone’s life.
But that final statement is not an accurate summary of OP’s points, either.
To add to that: if you don’t know what you’re doing, why, and how it helps, then you are LARPing help ffs.
Live, help others live, find joy, take notes of who capitulated, and don’t lose yourself.
That is significantly more familiar (and therefore more likely to work) than whatever tf else
@Impossible_PhD Also also? Not to put too fine a point on it, but arming one's self is a responsibility - to do so safely involves building and maintaining perishable skills. And the best time to have started that is not "now" it's "some years ago".
Weapons aren't magic talismans; they're tools with a specific purpose and like any other tool they're not that useful for someone who doesn't know what they're doing.
@daviddlevine it's extremely useful; it establishes a reality check on what investment is necessary to be competent to with a tool in order to accomplish some goal.
If someone isn't capable of coming to terms with that idea, I'd prefer they not do the thing.
@MxVerda
The advice I'm giving to my family and friends who are trying to protect themselves is to learn to keep awareness of your surroundings, pepper spray (there's practice canisters with water) and if practical, cardio.
That will get one out of a lot of bad situations and there's not many where also having a pistol would be much better.
Ever bullet you fire you're responsible for. Doc pointed out the perspective of the barrier to try to kill people... which, absolutely.
@MxVerda
But there's also the question of, in a situation where you're panicking, where will possible bullets that miss _go_? And are you confident enough in yourself that you can try to fire in time without delay and also be sure that you won't have bullets going... say, down a street. Or into a car. Into a house?
Pepper spray, at worse, someone is having an unpleasant day but will live. But avoiding things in the first place is safer still.
@MxVerda
Damn right.
I had cause at one point in my professional career to do reconstruction of a scene where an off duty cop shot at someone in an alleyway. There were misses found as bullet holes in garage doors in the alley and in houses a hundred yards away.
No bystander was hurt but... this was someone who is theoretically trained, and would have legal protections if a bystander _was_ hit.
I'm paying for my own training and have no such protection.
“It's redundant to those who already have done it and” a helpful warning to those who think they can start now.
I get the frustration, the anger, pain, resignation and worry.
If you need to defend yourself or someone else, then please do.
But defense can take many forms.
To get reductionist with it, you can defend against someone with a weapon by injuring them so they can no longer use it.
Or you can disarm them.
Or you can reduce their will to fight through intimidation. (Including mockery, “defeating them with facts and logic”, reminding them of the cost of conflict, even just not backing down can be enough!)
Or you can make them see your humanity and theirs.
Start at the bottom and work your way up.
The point is to avoid worse consequences for both of you and anyone nearby.
I own guns. Despite everything I believe about guns, I have thought about carrying because I just haven't felt safe.
This is exactly why I have decided I cannot allow myself to carry one.
Reasonable.
@Dani
I was raised with guns. Thankfully there was never much of the crazy, racist personal protection crap that dominates gun culture now.
Guns were tools for hunting and life on the farm.
I learned early to care for and maintain the tool. Safety was drilled in constantly.
I've never been able to imagine them being banned outright. I have always thought they should be a lot harder to own than an automobile.
Gun culture in this country is astoundingly insane and dangerous. Immensely misogynist and racist.
A gun is the last thing I should have on hand if I'm already afraid.
@Wendy
Exactly. There's always this thought, drilled in by action movies or god knows what else that situations to defend one's life are analogous to even just shooting paper at a range. Simple right?
But doing _anything_ under pressure is different. And under that much pressure...?
@Dani @Impossible_PhD
Our military and other government employees who take one take an oath to the constitution.
How they react to Trumpism will go a long way towards defining what our resistance is going to be.
@GreenFire @Dani @Impossible_PhD When I was a US Government employee I swore an oath in front of an FBI Officer to defend the US Constitution from foreign & domestic enemies. All of my peers took this oath seriously & none of us ever underwent an “un-swearing” ceremony upon our departure from US Federal Government service.
Thus, independent of how we vote, that oath remains in force. I’m sure there are millions with similar outlooks to mine.
A message made in collaboration with Yellow Peril Tactical: We have been saying this for a long time, but it’s worth saying again as many reflexively move toward firearm ownership in uncertain and dangerous times: A gun is not a talisman that wards off evil.
@MxVerda
There's a dark, half joking term for people who spend money on weaponry but not on training.
"Loot drop"
@FeralRobots @Dani @Impossible_PhD
… the flying fuck is a “boogaloo”?
It sounds like a slur but ecosia says it’s a dance or far-right thing. Jfc either way
@MxVerda
'What is a boogaloo' is a question with a surprisingly contested answer.😆
Suffice to say it is (was?) a subgroup of right-wing shit-stirrers (& worse) that sprung up around the same time as the George Floyd protests. They expended a lot of effort sending mixed-signals to get people into their radicalization pipeline.
They were the assholes who ruined Hawaiian shirts.
Somehow related to Groypers but I've always been fuzzy on how.
@FeralRobots @MxVerda @Dani @Impossible_PhD
Search "boogaloo boys kill cop".
In June, 2020, in response to the George Floyd protests, Steven Carrillo and another man killed Officer Underwood in an attempt to place blame on protestors.
@FeralRobots @Dani @MxVerda @Impossible_PhD I love new words. There are more and more of them as I get older and further out of it. That’s why Urban Dictionary is my friend!
The hypothetical armed conflict caused by the current economic, racial, and environmental tensions in the United States. In theory it will be somewhere between total anarchy and civil war. Easily imagined as repeat of the US civil war, the great depression, the dust bowl, and George Orwell's 1984 all rolled into a single conflict.
Doc Impossible
Maddy, Friendly Local Cryptid
Lizzie Danger
Bilal Barakat 🍉
Katie
Tattie
Meatwharf15
Mx Verda
FeralRobots
Gssy
Kit Rhett Aultman
Mike Nelson Pedde
Anne Ominous
David D. Levine
Proto Himbo European
🇨🇦🇩🇪🇨🇳张殿李🇨🇳🇩🇪🇨🇦
David Mitchell 
derptron
Wendy "Casio" 🏳️⚧️
Kevin Leecaster
Phil Allsopp
66gardeners
David J. Atkinson
Trump & Epstein: Biz partners.