We can look across the Atlantic, cluck our tongues, and remark about how much it reminds us of the Los Angeles or Watts riots. But we have to remember a couple of things:
- It can happen here. Reports appear to be that most of the rioters are from a government-supported underclass that is taking the opportunity to vent their spleen and feather their nests with merchendise purloined from businesses just before they are torched. The United States also has a large class of people who feel that the world owes them a living and that they are untouchable. This is not a racial issue, it's an economic and social issue. For 45 years, people have been given the option of giving up and re-attaching the umbilical cord. This unruly mob-in-reserve has already shown its willingness to shred societal norms when the opportunity arises, and they will do it again. For examples, please consider the LA riots, the looting of non-essentials in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the flash mob crime problem in Chicago, and the recent mob violence at the fair in Milwaukee. When the monthly payments from Uncle Sugar start to dry up as our government starts to find it hard to borrow money, these people will take to the streets to get what they think is coming to them.
- Just because you go to a "safe" country such as Great Britain for vacation doesn't mean you can drop your guard. There is crime everywhere, and this episode shows that large disturbances can happen just about anywhere you get a large population. You can be in Egypt during the Arab Spring, or you can be in London this past weekend. Location means nothing these days. Matthew over at "Straight Forward in a Crooked World" has a series called "Dark Arts for Good Guys". He has some good advice on how to stay alive and out of trouble with the local law enforcement, and I suggest you all give it a read. He suggests a lot of things that make sense even if you never leave your home city.
5 comments:
Hi Daddy bear, I got an off the wall question ....I have been thinking about this for a long time. If we as a country go to crap, like obungler gets another term(God forbid) and and the tyranny starts up. Where would you go? I am a student of history and I keep thinking about the smart jews that got out of nazi Germany in time. They went to France and England and some came here. Where could we go? Or will I see the decline and fall of Western civilization in my lifetime. I don't mean to sound defeatist or anything, for I believe that the 2012 elections are the crucial point for our republic.
Where would I go if living anywhere in the U.S. became intolerable? I honestly don't know. As messed up as it is sometimes, I don't see any other country on the planet as having any more respect for liberty than the U.S does. Parts of the British Commonwealth would probably be the closest we could get without heading to some third world craphole and re-colonizing, which would be sub-optimal for a myriad of reasons. Everywhere else on earth is either a dictatorship of one form or another, or it's a socialist pitcher plant that has done a good job of suckering its people into oblivion.
Thing is, the U.S. is still the last best hope for the world. In a lot of ways we're at a low point for freedom, and we're about to go through a really bad time economically and politically, but I still believe that one way or another we'll survive and be better for it on the other side. As much as we like to bitch and complain, there's no other place on earth that has so much freedom and a citizenry, armed or not and on either side of the political spectrum, that so jealously guards their freedoms.
My best bet is to stay put and be prepared to ride out the rough times while pushing for improvements in liberty and security here at home. There just plain isn't anywhere else to go.
Oh, and I agree that the 2012 election is crucial. Obama just doesn't seem to get the idea that doing the same things that he has been doing isn't working and we need to go in a different direction in order to get our financial house in order. I heard someone say once that it would be hard to decide if what he's been doing is because of stupidity or planned action to bring our country to its knees.
Not sure if the Republicans can pull their heads out of their butts and find a statesman this time, but it's pretty clear to me that four more years of Obama will be disasterous for the country.
Thanks Daddy Bear, I was wondering about "what if's" I will stay and do my best of course to keep the politicians feet to the fiscal fire, and obey the last box of the American political system if it becomes necessary.
MrG's, don't let my opinion sway you. Everyone has a different level of BS they'll put up with and a different line in the sand before flight or fight reactions start.
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