Heavily-armed members of a controversial right-wing “patriot” group added an extra dose of unease to protests in Ferguson, Missouri, early Tuesday. The Oath Keepers organization says its members — all former military, police and first responders — pledge to “defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”…. However, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar described their presence as “both unnecessary and inflammatory.”…. Protesters and police confirmed that a handful of Oath Keepers with what appeared to be assault rifles, bulletproof vest and camouflage gear were seen early Tuesday on the streets of Ferguson, which was under a state of emergency following demonstrations pegged to the anniversary of Michael Brown’s death…. “I’m happy that we’re able to defend ourselves,” one Oath Keeper replied in footage from NBC station KSDK. “It’s been our right for a long time.”
Yessiree…there’s nothing that says “I’m compensating for certain ‘shortcomings,’ I have anger control issues, AND I’m as asshole!” more effectively than showing up at a racially-charged protest with an AR-15. There’s a time and a place for (erroneously) asserting your 2nd Amendment right…and it shouldn’t take a rocket scientist or a brain surgeon to understand that Ferguson, MO, on the 1st anniversary of the death of Michael Brown is neither. This is what you get when you have Proudly Closed-minded Gun Control Foes © who believe that the world by right revolves around them…and ONLY them. To these narrow-minded, self-absorbed zealots, any and all other considerations- differing viewpoints, public safety, the rule of law- are and should be subordinate to their definition of their 2nd Amendment rights. That most of these folks are angry, poorly-educated, and intensely Conservative White Folks shouldn’t exactly come as a surprise.
I realize that current Missouri laws allows for this- apparently the right to make an ass of oneself while carrying a semi-automatic rifle is sacrosanct in the Show Me State- but one could (and probably should) argue that there are times when common sense should prevail. Then again, “common sense” is a phrase rarely heard when discussing Proudly Closed-minded Gun Control Foes © and their “struggle” to protect their “rights.” The idea that a gaggle of armed and angry White males might inflame an already tense situation seems to bother the Oath Keepers not at all…because the 2nd Amendment, don’tchaknow? Proudly Closed-minded Gun Control Foes © of the sort who belong to groups like the Oath Keepers believe they have the absolute, Divinely-granted right to openly carry weapons anywhere they choose. They cling to this ignorant, self-important belief even when there’s no call or reason for it, and even when the presence of firearms will only complicate an already delicate situation. Nothing- not public safety, common sense, or any other consideration- can get between a Proudly Closed-minded Gun Control Foe © and their God-given 2nd Amendments rights…as they define them.
Oath Keepers has been on the radar of the Southern Poverty Law Center for quite some time; SLPC considers them to be a “fiercely anti-government, militaristic group”…which is pretty much spot on. When one considers that the group lives by the motto, “Go armed, at all times, as free men and women, and be ready to do sudden battle, anywhere, anytime, and with utter recklessness. That IS the price of freedom,” it’s easy to see that they’re not devotees of Mahatma Gandhi. Nonviolence is not their way, and the assumption seems to be the an armed society is a polite society.
Missouri law being what it is, police don’t have much recourse but to allow the Proudly Closed-minded Gun Control Foes © to publicly demonstrate their dickishness and disregard for common sense and public safety. That’s what you do when you little more than a collection of attention whores with no positive contribution to make. Oath Keepers is all about their 2nd Amendment “rights,” but with rights come a corresponding responsibility…in this case to preserve public safety and not inflame an already delicate situation. That they don’t recognize this responsibility is a reflection of their collective impotence and pointlessness. The best we can hope for in the current climate is that they don’t kill anyone while exercising their “rights.”
Patricia Bynes, Democratic Committeewoman of Ferguson Township, went to check on the protests early Tuesday and was surprised to find the Oath Keepers amid a heavy police presence.
Bynes said the Oath Keepers’ presence detracted from the real issues at heart: racial inequality.
“I would rather the story be on things we’re working on in Ferguson and not the Oath Keepers,” she said.
Several protesters asked the Oath Keepers to leave and questioned why the men were allowed to openly carry weapons given how protests over the past year have been to highlight racial inequality.
“If there were black and brown people in this country who showed up in the streets open carrying assault rifles in paramilitary garb would they still be received the same way?” Bynes asked. “It seems to be that especially when it comes to the Second Amendment there seems to be a different way that it is enforced.”
Bynes’ question is legitimate. What IF a group of armed African-American males showed up in Ferguson? It doesn’t take an expert on race relationS to know that the media would likely be reporting on it as the prelude to a race war. Angry White men show up with guns: No worries; just a bunch of patriots exercising their 2nd Amendment rights, knowhutimean?? Angry African-American males show up with guns: OMIGOD!!! THE RACE WAR IS UPON US!!!
There’s absolutely NO reason- logical, sensible, or otherwise- why an armed, militant militia group should be allowed to parade around Ferguson and act as if their role is to help enforce the peace. Simply put, the “patriots” of Oath Keepers are attention whores who seek to focus the spotlight on themselves and their pet cause at the expense of events in Ferguson.
What’s happening on the ground in Ferguson should be about the people there, NOT a ragged band of wannabe soldiers/cops who believe their 2nd Amendment rights supercede any and all other considerations- including public safety. You have to be a pretty miserable excuse for a human being in order to believe that you have the absolute right to march anywhere you choose while carrying a rifle…which is pretty much the working definition of an Oath Keeper.
