Apparently the US media doesn’t really think it’s a big deal for a small army of heavily armed fanatics to take over government property in hopes of spurring some sort of armed revolution — if the armed fanatics in question are white guys.
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And, as you may already be aware, alt-right trolls are actively spreading misinformation about this standoff, so if you run across any of that please point it out here as well.
No trolls, MRAs, etc.
Alan Robertshaw,
a few years ago, musician/activists fighting mountain top removal coal mining in southern appalachia were sitting around the campfire spitballing ideas and came up with ‘Redneck Anarchist Faction’ Tshirts for a fundraiser. the image was a crossed banjo and shotgun. like many ideas around the campfire, this one came to nought.
@Pandapool
I’ve seen that floating around Facebook for a couple days and I can’t help but smile every time I see it. The poor little guy! I know I’ve lost my candy floss to a puddle more than once. Figuratively, at least.
To be honest, if these people are stranded out in the snow with no supplies, then soon enough they’ll need ambulances rather than police. Storming the place wouldn’t be required.
@dlouwe
I was, like, “Ohhh nooooooo, poor baby *giggles*” because I’m a horrible person who likes seeing raccoons sad I guess.
@mockingbird They’re held together by conspiracy theories about the federal government and the banking system. Some are more open minded and less committed to a particular ideology. Also a number of left anarchists have gravitated towards far right and anti-Semitic views thanks to knee-jerk anti-Americanism.
That poor, poor raccoon….
On-topic:
It’s not so much that we want cops to be aggressive (as in going in guns blazing), as that we are noting the difference in the reaction–if the cops had taken this sort of approach to the BLM protests, we wouldn’t have had any where near the sort of issues that came up.
Likewise, it’s frustrating that the cops aren’t talking about doing anything at all, really. Some passive approaches that could work would include setting up not only roadblocks but also some barricades on parts of land between the roads–even add some barbed wire, running around the whole place. Start calling it the “Malheur Federal Penitentiary” during press conferences, even. Use it as a training exercise for the National Guard–setting up a sufficient surrounding barrier in a wilderness setting would actually be a pretty good drill, I’d think. Make it clear to everyone that you are taking it ‘seriously’, without giving the goon squad any actual respect.
Apparently federal authorities are planning to cut power to them, so that’s a start.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/05/oregon-wildlife-militia-standoff-power-cut-off?CMP=share_btn_tw
@Pandapool
Yeah, after writing it out I had a moment where I thought “Why exactly does this distraught raccoon make me so happy?” Maybe a raccoon stole my cotton candy when I was a baby, and this is just long brewing schadenfreude.
I don’t want them shot, I’m all for siege tactics being employed. Block the roads, cut off supplies and power. Show the world these are privileged and sheltered weenies who won’t last long on their own rather than the big tough survivalists they think they are.
I also think they should have to pay restitution for the costs this has incurred. Freeze and then garnish all their assets.
@ pandapool
Thank you for that. Funnily enough I’ve just been discussing that video with a friend. She’s of the opinion that it was a good thing as raccoons shouldn’t eat sugar. He just looks so upset though.
Quick question for our evolution experts.
Why do we have such strong empathy with animals and why do we find baby mammals especially so cute?
You’d think if anything we’d be geared to see them as a food source.
The usual strategy is to wait for them to run out of supplies and negotiate so they leave the building peacefully. Escalating the situation is almost always a bad idea.
@Alan – Big eyes, big heads, flatish faces.
Not an expert.
I’m not an evolution expert but it’s probably because they exhibit many of the same features as human babies. Big heads, big eyes, squeaky voices – human babies don’t have fur and stay cute through adulthood, though, so that’s where they fall short and animals are supreme, although for some reason other mammals have been known to care for human babies, too. Weirdos.
EDIT: Ninja’d by mockingbird. YnY
Ha, funnily enough I was going to exclude baby humans as an exception! They aren’t anywhere near as cute as, say, baby chimps or gorillas; or even baby Ewoks.
I wondered if it was a throwback to when we had fur, but baby heffalumps are cuteness overload and they’re not particularly furry.
Edited to add that I should point out I have nothing against human babies, I just think they’re more like mini Winston Churchills rather than cute.
Fluffy Unicorn.
I’m sorry, but one of these nitwits is calling himself “Fluffy Unicorn”???
Having got that out of the way, when it comes to place names, I’ve always been a bit in awe of the old English habit of naming the local red light district “Gropec*nt Lane.” It’s just so unashamedly direct.
@ sillybill
It’s probably just as we’ll most campfire ideas come to nought. The last thing you want is to end up buying a racehorse and then finding out they won’t let you call it “a Brown Horse” just to make the commentary interesting (moreso as the horse was black)
I swear, fluffy unicorn is familiar sounding. I wonder if he’s been written about here before. It wouldn’t surprise me.
The last few days I’ve had the song The Militia, by Gang Starr, Big Shugg and Freddie Foxxx stuck in my head, and couldn’t figure out why. Hadn’t thought of that song in probably 10 years. Now I finally figured out the connection. :p
I went to youtube to listen to it. Most recent comment says: “Ammon Bundys theme song”
@ dhag
If we’re doing music can I plug my mates’ band?
New Model Army ~ Christian Militia
It’s an old song so its theme of the rise of right wing politics in the US is probably a bit outdated.
@Alan Robertshaw
We sang this cheerfully at church school (half-days in Sunday school for a week or two in the summers):
I’m too young to march in the infantry
Ride in the calvary
Zoom over enemies
I’m too young to march in the infantry
But I’m in the Lord’s army
Actually, I loved church school. Everyone was nice. We got snacks and playtime and stories. Still, this song is kinda creepy.
@Kat
OMG, I remember that song. Except I think instead of “Zoom over enemies”, we sang “Shoot the artillery”.
Church was great as a kid. Then as I got older, everything got super serious, and it stopped being a fun place to hang out.
But yeah, that song. And about a half-dozen other creepy soldier-y children’s songs. (I was part of a decidedly pacifist denomination, too.)
Mockingbird and Jackie already answered the latter half of your question, but as for the former half, the current theory’s that our empathy evolved in response to our partnership with early dogs, which would have begun for purely utilitarian reasons.
Anything more in-depth than that would be getting into evo psych territory, unfortunately. =P
@ kat
Wow, that’s quite a song. I like the “zoom” bit though. Although littleknown’s artillery version probably scans better.
The use of martial imagery in Christianity is interesting. Onward Christian Soldiers and all that. I wonder if it has anything to do with when Christianity was adopted by the Roman army?
@ SHFC
There’s some interesting discussion about the origins of empathy and altruism in those documentaries about early humans. Arises from the discovery of an H.Erectus skull of an individual who survived many years despite having no teeth (you of all people will appreciate the implications of that)