Why do some folks believe that they can use guns to rebel against a tyrannical government?
Some time ago, a friend told me that’s why she and her husband had guns and went regularly to the firing range – if the government came for them, they wanted to be able to protect themselves.
Me: But, Anita, if the government really wants you, you’re not going to be able to prevent it. If they want you badly enough, they can send a tank down your street to get you.
Anita: But I can shoot at them and stop them.
Me: Stop a tank? No.
Anita: I can get all the neighbors together and we can all shoot at them!
Me: That won’t stop a tank.
Anita: So what do you think of the Bears this year?
Because the truth is, if the government comes for you, you’re not going to able to stop them The only weapons that could stop a tank (like a hand grenade or a bomb) are illegal.
Please read the OP. I am not trying to find out if rebelling will work or not. I am trying to find out if groups that previously espoused fighting against the tyranny of the federal government still do so.
But if we didn’t have guns, then they wouldn’t need the tank! They could rule the world with a board with a nail in it! /s
That’s the underlying assumption that a lot of these people don’t realize, or don’t want to admit: The guns are just enough of a threat that, if you’re serious about not complying with government tyranny, they can’t just have a group of thugs drag you out of your house and beat you up. You can make them use enough force to just kill you outright.
The hope is, they’re not quite tyrannical enough to do that, and if they are, that this action is outrageous enough that your death will spark a general uprising.
And that’s why you don’t see anyone doing this just yet: the US hasn’t reached the point that people are willing to die to advance the cause.
These kind of questions come across like this to me…
The right wing don’t care care about fighting tyranny, and they never did! It was all bullshit! Personal freedom, the constitution, fighting tyranny, it was all a thin vinneer to cover over the fact they just wanted bad things to happen to people they don’t like.
They have no intention of actually endangering themselves by fighting against tyranny. Espousing the idea is cheap, safe, and supports their desire to own guns.
I own a few guns. I do not belong to the NRA and cannot envision joining them unless they change a LOT. I do not want to have “the government” take my guns. I have not yet risen against the current tyranny. WTF am I waiting for? I don’t know.
