Thursday, February 16, 2012

Be Careful What You Ask For

The Militia movement has always has a presence in South Carolina. It is to be expected, we have a pro gun culture, we hold a hyper authoritarian view on society, we do not like the federal government and we are, as a state and individually, on the whole under-educated. Fertile ground for conspiracy theories that fuel these movements

That is why we see scenes like this foolishness in our state.

We have a onetime county GOP leader, a town councilman and 'community leader' spinning tales of oppression, the creation of a police state and the overreach of law enforcement. In addition, this man hints of retaliation and taking the fight to the police.

What started this? He got pulled over for DUI. His feelings are hurt and he is now seeking a way to excuse his behavior by blaming others.

While I do agree with him on some points; I do think that we have created an environment where the police may have too much power and we may have removed too many of the protections that we once had against illegal searches etc. That said I would tell this man, and those who think like him, that it is not some grand global conspiracy, merely the end product of the changes that he and his ilk have demanded of society that has led to this. .

The GOP (The group this man has close ties with) has led the push for law and order. Demanded more power for the police and insisted that the courts erode protections that had been in places for decades. It is the GOP that pushed for the creation of the Department of Homeland security and the Patriot act and a countless other measures that have all resulted in the police having more power. This has led to more pressure being put on them to do something to address some type of behavior. The end result of all of this is inevitable, heightened enforcement, more traffic stops, and more arrests, leading to pissed off GOP county chairmen busted for DUI who are now seeking revenge.

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