No. This isn't another diary about the showdown in Nevada last week.
This is a diary about the proverbial line in the sand drawn by right-wing lunatics in 100% pure, unadulterated bullshit last week and why it scares the hell out of me.
Like everyone else, I have read through the DK diaries and off-site progressive blogs about the insanity that unfolded in Nevada over grazing rights and usage fees. I had no initial desire to write about it. Most everything I was reading already echoed my own sentiments.
A case can certainly be made that the Bureau of Land Management let things go for far too long. It can be argued that when the decision was finally made to act on Clive Bundy’s blatant disregard for the authority of the judicial system and his refusal to comply with the law, some of those immediate actions were questionable. Maybe they were, maybe they weren’t. I've read plenty of opinions and “at this point what does it even matter?” That is irrelevant now.
Regardless of what side of the corral fence you’re on regarding the BLM’s actions at the outset, it was the BLMs last action, the decision to stand down that matters most.
That maneuver undoubtedly saved lives because if you actually believe that no one wanted bloodshed, no one wanted to see this situation escalate into a good old-fashioned “range war” between the U. S. government, Cliven Bundy and the heavily armed, raging, right-wing, molon labe flag-waving lunatics who rallied on his behalf—well…sorry, but you’re just stupid.
We spend plenty of time discussing the lunatic fringe in our diaries. We debate them mercilessly. We laugh at them when their arguments invariably break down and break Godwin’s Law. We ridicule them when they call us Nazi, communist, socialist, Kenyan-loving libtards. We just hate on them in general because they represent everything we find morally reprehensible—everything they believe, we are wholly and whole-heartedly against. And yet we all agree that they have the right to believe whatever they choose as long as it does not oppress our own views or threaten our own safety.
Now, it seems, we must add another layer to the conversation and our perception.
Now, we need to take them seriously and recognize them for what they are—domestic terrorists.
Domestic terrorists who have had a small taste of what they believe is a big victory.
They will surely be emboldened. Aren't bullies always emboldened when they think they have their target running scared?
Folks, I think the days of zombie-like “We-The-People” chants and confederate flag waving in front of the White House are officially over. They have drawn a line in the sand and regardless of the outcome with the situation in Nevada (because this isn't about grazing rights) the lunatics just walked away from the fringe and insinuated their will on the American government and the American people by force.
Even as I write this there are people organizing to “guard” the Bundy ranch in Nevada in rotation "as long is takes." The Oath Keepers and other "Patriot" militia groups are actively recruiting. And make no mistake, these people are as unhinged as former sheriff Richard Mack who said,
We were actually strategizing to put all the women up at the front. If they are going to start shooting, it’s going to be women that are going to be televised all across the world getting shot by these rogue federal officers.
And then said:
I would have put my own wife or daughters there, and I would have been screaming bloody murder to watch them die. I would gone next, I would have been the next one to be killed. I’m not afraid to die here. I’m willing to die here.
And these women are happy to offer themselves up as blood sacrifices for the cause.
Responding to the call on the Oath Keepers website, CindyL wrote on April 18th at 6:37 am:
I cannot belong to Oath Keepers because I have never been in armed services, police work, etc. I am a retired disabled Humanities professor. However, I am glad to donate what little money I have for an incredibly important effort. Also, if there is another armed standoff, I will gladly be in front lines if you believe it to be good press for them to hurt or kill a disabled senior woman in a scooter/wheelchair. I so wish to be able bodied, but there it is. In the meantime, my donation is in the mail.
(My damn emphasis!)
Am I an alarmist? You betcha!
Because damn it all, I'm alarmed!
And with good reason.
There are things happening today that could have come straight from the pages of a horrific dystopian fantasy.
Candidates and elected officials are waving guns and Bibles around in campaign advertisements.
Dead bodies are being forcibly used by the state to incubate fetuses.
Peace officers are shooting effigies of the President of the United States in YouTube videos.
Politicians are threatening to throw reporters from balconies.
States are passing laws that legalize the hateful mistreatment and discrimination of others.
Our economy has been driven to collapse and near default because of the hatred for one black man.
Women are being imprisoned for having spontaneous miscarriages.
Women may be subject to tax audits if she chooses to have an abortion.
Women have been forcibly sterilized in U.S. prisons.
Black children are being suspended for having too many pig-tails.
Black men are being shot for wearing hoodies in the wrong neighborhoods.
Sitting Supreme Court Justices are calling on the people to openly defy the government and stop paying taxes.
(I am pissed off right now and not even bothering with links - all these things and more have happened. Search DK or Google if you want more details.)
We need to recognize that there are people out there who need to be feared for more than their conservative vote. Because voting and following democratic processes don’t matter to them anymore. They can’t win fairly so they have resorted to cheating and terrorist tactics to take what they want when they want it - or die trying.
Am I alone in feeling like this has been a turning point? I would like nothing better than for everyone to tell me I'm as crazy and paranoid as lunatic fringe.
So tell me already!