The Bundy rebellion as a rural white Ferguson

This is a great piece that saves me the job of constantly repeating myself (Yes, I like to repeat myself). I admit it's not clear to what degree his observations apply, but there should be definitely a large chunk of population on both sides of the divide that conforms to his analysis.

Highlights:

1. The standoff has likely exacerbated even further the negative perception of the countryside among city dwellers. Other writers worried that any criticism of the federal land management is now going to be conflated with Bundism.

2. He actually did a much better job than me with his psychological analysis of the other side to the clash by drawing interesting parallels with Ferguson and the Occupy protests.

3. Stricter terror laws can actually speed up the march towards the abyss.

BY ROCKY BARKER (Idaho Statesman) {

Source = Malheur Refuge occupation ending shows rural-urban divide

The messy-but-not-bloody ending to the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge gave the nation a peak at the growing radical anti-government movement in the nation.

Final-occupier-out David Fry’s lack-of-medication rantings got a larger audience than usual for one of the many bizarre far right internet radio and video streaming channels that have cropped up. The ease of access to technology to spread a message worldwide has not only allowed Radical Islamic groups like ISIS access to a wide audience. Now ideologies espousing an alternative reading of the Constitution, questionable histories about the founding of the United States or the common-law myth that a county sheriff has the highest authority in government are thriving.

For many Americans, their view of rural life comes from reality shows like Duck Dynasty. So the crazy antics of Jon Ritzheimer, who did a video displaying the sex toys the occupiers had been sent, and of Fry and Sean and Sandy Anderson in the final streaming YouTube video, fit their storyline. But for many rural westerners, the sad narrative of how the Hammonds were sent back to prison because of the mandatory minimum sentence for arson under anti-terrorist law overshadowed most of the behavior of occupiers.

They saw the occupation of the refuge as the moral equivalent of the Occupy Wall Street movement and the Occupy protesters who sat on the lawn of the old Ada County Courthouse in 2012. Many ignored the Malheur occupiers’ threats and their clear message that if the government moved in to remove them, they would defend themselves with the weapons they had stockpiled.

Finicum’s shooting by an Oregon State Police trooper became the rural white version of the Ferguson, Mo., shooting of Michael Brown. The FBI video appeared to show Lavoy Finicum go for the loaded pistol he carried after he had evaded police and almost run down an FBI agent.

But people who generally supported the aims of the occupiers saw the video differently and called Finicum’s death murder, just as African-Americans considered Brown’s death indefensible.

[...]

The end of this occupation will not curb the growth of the militia movement, as the Oklahoma City bombing of the federal building in 1995 that left 168 people dead did... Already, the Department of Justice is considering going to Congress to extend a law used for international extremist groups to domestic ones.

Officials now can charge individuals who support groups that present a “clear and present danger” to the United States like ISIS. They want the same power for domestic groups they see the same way.

Already the law has prosecutors convicting Muslim American teenagers, who express support for ISIS during their vulnerable social stage. Groups that appears to have participated in the Burns occupation, such as the Pacific Patriot Network, could get such a tag. }