# What are the militias all about in the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 26, 2002, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-militias-all-about-in-the-us/138912 "2002-11-26T16:54:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-militias-all-about-in-the-us/138912/21 "2002-11-27T00:13:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Saltire \* > \*\ ***Crafter\_Man** , this is the whole paragraph that you excerpted from above. **friedo** did not make such a claim about ‘citizen militias,’ as you claim, but about ‘groups of nutballs…with the eventual goal of taking over the country.’ Which of these groups are you defending? \*\* My bad. Let me rephrase the question. **Friedo** : _Who_, exactly, are you referring to when you say “certain” militias are usually racist, etc. Are you referring to the “unorganized militia,” i.e. the militia groups in the U.S. who have no ties to the government? ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-militias-all-about-in-the-us/138912/22 "2002-11-27T00:47:09Z")
Actually, my ex-boyfriend was a member of a militia group in Hawaii back in the early 1990’s. They had no government sanction and, as far as I could make out (his happened after we broke up and I moved back to the mainland), they were basically a bunch of guys who liked to play war games. They were extremely safety concious and came about, in part, as a reaction to strong anti-gun sentiment. Needless to say, since this was Hawaii, they were not white superemacists or neo-Nazis. In fact, I’m not sure any of them was mono-racial, if I can make up a word. Around the time of the Oklahoma City bombing, when they found out the sort of person mainland militia groups were associated with, they pretty much disbanded out of shock. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that a bunch of them still hang out together, though. By the way, this is the fellow who converted me from my anti-gun beliefs after I spent a lot of time with a responsible gun owner. CJ ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-militias-all-about-in-the-us/138912/23 "2002-11-27T04:36:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Crafter\_Man \* > **Friedo** : _Who_, exactly, are you referring to when you say “certain” militias are usually racist, etc. > > Are you referring to the “unorganized militia,” i.e. the militia groups in the U.S. who have no ties to the government? I am referring to the various factions of the “Michigan Militia”, the Montana Freemen, the Republic of Texas, and similar. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-militias-all-about-in-the-us/138912/24 "2002-11-27T14:26:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by friedo \* > \*\*I am referring to the various factions of the “Michigan Militia”, the Montana Freemen, the Republic of Texas, and similar. \*\* I apologize for my defensiveness. But I’ve been involved with the (unorganized) militia for a while now (see my web page), and have somewhat of a knee-jerk reaction to those who claim we’re a bunch of racist rednecks. Of the hundreds of members I have acquainted myself with, _not one_ fits the tidy stereotype so often perpetrated by the media. ---
**Author:** ![aahala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-militias-all-about-in-the-us/138912/25 "2002-11-27T16:33:43Z")
One of the illuminaries of the US militia constalation has been retired Lt. Col. Gritz. Bo Gritz(rhyme’s with white!) made several unauthorized Rambo type excursions to SE Asia in search for mythical POWs. He went so far as getting on the Presidential ballot twice in a few states, once with our old friend David Duke(yes, that David Duke) as his running mate. Included in his many forgettable assertions was that the Federal Reserve was controlled by eight Jewish families. He also got his nose into the Ruby Ridge matter, volunteering himself as a negotiator. You also might wish to lookup the “Posse Comitatus” and the group’s rather interesting ideas concerning federal regulations. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-militias-all-about-in-the-us/138912/26 "2002-11-27T16:40:42Z")
Sorry, but **Bo Gritz** is not in anyway respresentative of your typical militia member… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-militias-all-about-in-the-us/138912.md?page=1)