They did! They were cleanin’ 'em when they went off!
I hope this thread is not closed, because it’s still an interesting question to debate. I’ll offer my input.
First, I think the OP’s example is a poor one. Nobody cares about Jews, generally speaking. There aren’t enough of them in this country to matter to most people. Hell, even in their own country, they’re barely hanging on, and hated by most of the rest of the world. This hypothetical dictator of America would not face a resistance; the Jews in the country would flee, the rest would die, and that would be that.
A better hypothetical would be the dictator declares that Christianity is illegal, and on top of that, increases the income tax by 300 percent and also bans computers. I think that would be enough to get a revolution in the works.
How would they fight against the government without firearms?
Very simple: explosives and sabotage.
Explosives are infinitely more destructive than any firearm, and they’re also very easy to make. The oppressive government would find itself under constant attack with bombs of all varieties, both planted time bombs and thrown/launched/dropped explosives. Tunnels would be dug and massive explosives placed beneath important buildings. Mines would be buried. Look at what happened in Iraq. Government troops and agents would be in perpetual fear of random explosions.
Sabateurs would sneak in and destroy important electrical and plumbing systems. Poison gas would be released in air ducts. Arsonists would burn down government offices.
The revolution could definitely happen without firearms.
Um, wow. TL:DNR most of the damned thread once they veered off onto gun control bullshit.
Back to the OP. Guns are illegal, m’kay so how would you change the government.
Well, I belong to the SCA. We can field around 5000 people in armor, and have people who know how to arch with either a bow or a crossbow, and actually know how to make said items. Think of bows and crossbows as the liberator of our conflict. cap the opponents and confiscate their toys.
Actually back in the early 80s when I was taking creative writing in college, being a child of the cold war a story I ended up writing had people with crossbows and bows/arrows potting soviet soldiers on patrol turkey shoot style. Pot the guy in the back of the line and work your way forward. There were also some females who were possessed of negotiable affection who happily negotiated some affection with soldiers, took them out back and killed them while they were ‘occupied’.
I would guess that if you really wanted to, and didn’t mind getting up close and personal that the military and police forces die just like regular people. They aren’t the monsters in a movie that can’t be injured or killed by normal means. Knives, poison, sharp pointy sticks work on them just like on anybody else. I know how to generate phosgene gas. Chlorine gas likes to head to the low points on a battle field. Mustard gas will burn skin. The recent issue with anthrax pointed out how easy bio-war is on a budget if the right [wrong?] people get involved. You do not need guns to kill people on a large scale, just organization.
And as demonstrated in Iraq against the US, more effective. IEDs were much more dangerous than guns, and gun ownership was common in Iraq under Saddam. Amusingly, we confiscated a lot of their guns; apparently it’s only noble patriotism to shoot at soldiers occupying your country when they aren’t American.
FWIW, gun ownership was also legal under US occupation. Pretty much every other house I went into had an AK. We were okay with it. Citizens were allowed to have them for their own protection. Hell, at one point we even gave the “neighborhood watch” a couple AKs and some full magazine to help their cause.
Amusing, indeed.
We’ve relaxed our rules on old threads, but this one is ten years old and it’s going to get confusing if people are arguing with posts from mid-2001. M1garand. or Argent Towers, please feel free to open a new thread on this topic and link to this one.