It’s important not to overstate the actual importance of Ammon (seriously, “Ammon?” “Cliven?” Where the fuck are these people getting their given names, StarCraft?) Bundy and his merry band of shuddering chucklefucks. Calling the Birdbath Occupational Dingbat Brigade “terrorists” gives them far too much credit, as Deadspin’s Albert Burneko pointed out earlier this week. Bundy’s Boners are sad clowns attempting to get the FBI to lean in to look at their breast pocket flower so they can squirt them in the face (with bullets). They are worth no regard beyond mockery as they howl impotently into the abyss.
The above quote is (while admittedly skewing to the childish side) something that perfectly summarizes the self-parody that is the modern militia movement. It’s what happens when you attempt to channel legitimately-felt anger and disillusionment in a way that feels productive but has no hope of effecting real change.
The first problem is that modern “militias” seem to have no concept of the historical context of the name they’ve appropriated. Traditionally, the definition of “militia” has been “an army or other fighting unit that is composed of non-professional fighters, citizens of a nation or subjects of a state or government who can be called upon to enter a combat situation, as opposed to a professional force of regular, full-time military personnel[.]” During the American Revolution, militias were “on call” trained civilian/soldiers available for call-up by the government should the need arise to augment the standing professional army. Militias were the forerunners of today’s National Guard, not of the current melange of angry White guys stumbling through forests on “training exercises” plotting to defend themselves and all they hold dear from the Zionist Occupation Government (ZOG). Today’s militia’s are more often not comprised of angry White men steeped in a fundamentalist Christianity, or in the case of Ammon Bundy’s motley crew, fundamentalist Mormonism, that allows them to see themselves as “freedom fighters.” To assert they’re nothing of the sort seems somehow redundant.
Today’s “militias” are a modern day attempt by Far Right-wing zealots to legitimize a movement lacking a core ideology (unless you consider hatred, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and/or a sense of entitlement based on White privilege, and disdain for government to be the basis for an ideology). Very often, it’s little more than an excuse for angry White guys to stomp around in the woods, shoot guns, and call themselves “soldiers.” They base their arguments on a Constitution they clearly have little understanding of, and they use cherry-picked assumptions to buttress their often spurious claims.
Groups like Bundy’s insist that land must be “returned” to ranchers, miners, and loggers, even as they ignore the truth that, in the case of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, the land in question was stolen from its original owners, the Paiute Tribe. It was never in any moral sense the property of White men. Despite this, they feel justified in demanding the federal government “return” the land to its rightful owners…White businessmen?
There’s a legitimate debate that can and should be conducted regarding the federal management of range land…but that conversation can’t be conducted at the business end of a rifle, and it shouldn’t be facilitated by acts of lawlessness. Whatever form that conversation takes, it can’t in fairness include serious discussion of simply giving land to those who wish to make money off it. Federally-owned rangelands belong to the American people; we have a legitimate stake in protecting our heritage and the environment. We have an interest in ensuring that land isn’t turned over to those who would exploit it for profit without accountability and/or the achievement of a public benefit.
In a fundamental sense, the ideology of the modern militia movement, such as it is, revolves around the idea of making America a better place- for Real Americans © (Conservative White Christians). Unable to articulate a cogent, defensible argument for why they should be able to violate the law in pursuit of their agenda, they’ve devolved to a point where militias now provide safe harbor to domestic terrorists. They’ve become the single biggest threat America faces. Granted, Ammon Bundy’s gang of poorly-disciplined “freedom fighters” are largely a threat only to themselves, but there are militias who could pose a significant (albeit small) threat.
Groups like Bundy’s dishonor the legacy of militias, but it’s not surprising Real Americans © with guns would appropriate part of a history they’ve interpreted to their own advantage. I suppose that’s what you do when you can’t articulate a coherent ideology save for hating government.
