Armed Group Occupies Fed-Land. Not Terrorist?

By Eugene Robinson Opinion writer January 4 Washington Post What do you think the response would be if a bunch of black people, filled with rage and armed to the teeth, took over a federal government installation and defied officials to kick them out? I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be wait-and-see. Probably more like point-and-shoot.
I'll take the opinion of Eugene Robinson over yall's goofy sentiments any day!
I don't see anyone contradicting your point that there has existed an institutionalized double standard re: what might actually happen if the protestors were black, or if they were not armed. (Although, now that I think about it, President Obama would probably not"send in the troops" if these armed protestors were black. At least not before trying a lot of other options. Even though he might be under public pressure to do so. But state and local law enforcement probably would.) What is being questioned, is the implication that these armed protestors should be immediately met with force, and whether that would be the best option. (Because they are armed and they are white, and state and local law enforcement doesn't seem to want to have anything to do with it, AFAIK.)
I don't see anyone contradicting your point that there has existed an institutionalized double standard re: what might actually happen if the protestors were black, or if they were not armed.
Well someone commented about nothing to lose. I said they're losing face. Which is factual. Read Eugene's or any number of thousands of tweets and news outlets. Cops rush in and shoot an unarmed little black kid in Cleveland. Cops ignore heavily armed terrorists who have occupied Fed Building.
What is being questioned, is the implication that these armed protestors should be immediately met with force, and whether that would be the best option. (Because they are armed and they are white, and state and local law enforcement doesn't seem to want to have anything to do with it, AFAIK.)
AFAYK....exactly. The situation is still developing. They are breaking laws though....so we'll see if they just walk away. If they do it's a miscarriage of justice. The sign out front says "Open dawn til Dusk".

In this case it depends on what motivates these militia nuts. So far all they’ve done is take over a wildlife refuge to protest the Hammonds having to return to jail for arson. Also, there’s no standoff and they’ll probably leave when they run out of snacks and heat, which is about to be turned off. Their claim that they have a right to “take over” a Federal Gov’t facility because it belongs to the people is laughable. Nobody asked me BTW and I’m one of those people. My answer is no! Also, Daddy Bundy is reported to have said that God called them to do it. Hell, that tears it, now we just have to let them take over the cabin 'cause God’s on their side. This isn’t fair, how come god always sides with the Xtians? What if we took it over? Who could atheists blame for our actions? Ingersoll?
Cap’t Jack

Ooh. Good idea. From now on, if I do something that somebody doesn’t like, I can just say “Ingersoll made me do it.” (Even though I just now, had to look him up. Smart guy, judging by his quotations.)

Ooh. Good idea. From now on, if I do something that somebody doesn’t like, I can just say “Ingersoll made me do it." (Even though I just now, had to look him up. Smart guy, judging by his quotations.)
Tim, you gotta read Susan Jacoby's bio. Of him. And while you're at it read anything she wrote, especially Freethinkers. It's a great read and she is a real fan (so am I, that was one brave Atheist from that time period) of his. Cap't Jack

I don’t think of them as terrorists.
From what I’ve heard the building is in the middle of nowhere and they haven’t killed anyone or taken anybody hostage because there is nobody around there! The Cliven Bundy affair fizzed out, so hopefully that will be the case here.

In this case it depends on what motivates these militia nuts. So far all they've done is take over a wildlife refuge to protest the Hammonds having to return to jail for arson. Also, there's no standoff and they'll probably leave when they run out of snacks and heat, which is about to be turned off. Their claim that they have a right to "take over" a Federal Gov't facility because it belongs to the people is laughable. Nobody asked me BTW and I'm one of those people. My answer is no! Also, Daddy Bundy is reported to have said that God called them to do it. Hell, that tears it, now we just have to let them take over the cabin 'cause God's on their side. This isn't fair, how come god always sides with the Xtians? What if we took it over? Who could atheists blame for our actions? Ingersoll? Cap't Jack
That's right. Somebody should tell them that the right peaceably to assemble does not include taking over buildings or trespassing in general, not that they'd understand it. These people are not only dangerous, they are stupid.
Explain the contradictions I made. I thought I was responding to your statement. I suspect you call it a contradiction because somehow I am disagreeing with your own assessment, whatever it is. It's hard to tell.
No, it's all written above. Go back and figure it out. It's not difficult. I said the govt is not rushing in because they don't want to incite more discord. You retort: What do you expect them to do, rush in and cause further discord? Hello? Can you read? you wrote this and it's what I was responding to 'These guys are white, and are openly armed and making threatening statements…and the government does nothing. 'Wake up!!' Maybe YOU should learn to read your own posts. especially since you seem to forget what you wrote.
These groups are not being labeled terrorists because the Gov't is afraid of inciting more discord. So they are hesitant to use force to suppress these overt terrorist actions. A horrible dysfunction by itself, let alone the misguided feelings of these yahoos with guns who are "occupying" a Federal facility.
There is no need to rush in and start a battle. These idiots are not threatening anyone. They have no hostages, no means to kill anyone, and are in an isolated area. Turn off the electricity and water, close the roads and wait them out. They were too stupid to bring adequate supplies. They'll cave, starve or freeze. Meanwhile, they have become a laughingstock.

Just point at them and laugh. They vowed to occupy the place ‘for years’, yet neglected to bring more than a modicum of food and drink. they don’t have enough warm clothes. They are begging for supplies. I am more concerned about the well being of the few children who seem to be there. Meanwhile, the Feds can easily prevent resupplies, turn off the electricity and water, wait them out while we point and laugh at them. They will come out eventually, and get arrested. They are incompetent.

Loosing face by letting these guys make asses of themselves? I disagree.
You are deficient at perception. Because you think they are making an ass out of themselves, everybody thinks that way?

NPR gave an explanation of the Mormon “Moroni” legend yesterday morning. The story goes that this guy occupied something or 'nother against the wishes of “the King” (this is pure fiction), and so many people came to his aid that the King had no choice but to cave to his demands. Bundy is completely deluded about how much support is out there. Not to mention completely lacking any understanding about how government works. Obama couldn’t “cave” to demands of protesters if he wanted to.

Loosing face by letting these guys make asses of themselves? I disagree.
You are deficient at perception. Because you think they are making an ass out of themselves, everybody thinks that way? Well, it appears pretty much everyone here agrees with me, and not you. So, perhaps you are trying to project your perceptual deficit onto me? I don't think everybody agrees with me and never said that I did. And, it appears you believe you can read minds. Good luck with that!
Loosing face by letting these guys make asses of themselves? I disagree.
You are deficient at perception. Because you think they are making an ass out of themselves, everybody thinks that way? Well, it appears pretty much everyone here agrees with me, and not you. So, perhaps you are trying to project your perceptual deficit onto me? I don't think everybody agrees with me and never said that I did. And, it appears you believe you can read minds. Good luck with that! Oh yeah all 5 people. I guess that solidifies it then. There's a world outside of this forum Handy....and many more people share my view. Funny that you've come to a conclusion on a situation that is still unfolding. ;-)
Loosing face by letting these guys make asses of themselves? I disagree.
You are deficient at perception. Because you think they are making an ass out of themselves, everybody thinks that way? Well, it appears pretty much everyone here agrees with me, and not you. So, perhaps you are trying to project your perceptual deficit onto me? I don't think everybody agrees with me and never said that I did. And, it appears you believe you can read minds. Good luck with that! Oh yeah all 5 people. I guess that solidifies it then. There's a world outside of this forum Handy....and many more people share my view. Funny that you've come to a conclusion on a situation that is still unfolding. ;-) From what I've seen outside these forums Handydan's view is prevalent. The Bundy led clan is being widely vilified as a bunch of idiots.
Loosing face by letting these guys make asses of themselves? I disagree.
You are deficient at perception. Because you think they are making an ass out of themselves, everybody thinks that way? Well, it appears pretty much everyone here agrees with me, and not you. So, perhaps you are trying to project your perceptual deficit onto me? I don't think everybody agrees with me and never said that I did. And, it appears you believe you can read minds. Good luck with that! Oh yeah all 5 people. I guess that solidifies it then. There's a world outside of this forum Handy....and many more people share my view. Funny that you've come to a conclusion on a situation that is still unfolding. ;-) From what I've seen outside these forums Handydan's view is prevalent. The Bundy led clan is being widely vilified as a bunch of idiots. If these guys have more than their 15 minutes of fame, they will probably be portrayed in episodes of prominent cartoon comedy shows. The Daily Show is already portraying them as goofballs.
Loosing face by letting these guys make asses of themselves? I disagree.
You are deficient at perception. Because you think they are making an ass out of themselves, everybody thinks that way? Well, it appears pretty much everyone here agrees with me, and not you. So, perhaps you are trying to project your perceptual deficit onto me? I don't think everybody agrees with me and never said that I did. And, it appears you believe you can read minds. Good luck with that! Oh yeah all 5 people. I guess that solidifies it then. There's a world outside of this forum Handy....and many more people share my view. Funny that you've come to a conclusion on a situation that is still unfolding. ;-) I've already formed my opinion, based on a two NPR stories and some Facebook posts. Really, I formed it from the first headline I saw and when I heard the name Bundy. I got into a long argument with my goofy cousin about last year's Bundy, even looking up maps of where the land is. That was an incredible waste of time and any information I found only supported my original guesses. What actions by them, or new data could possibly convince anyone they have something worth saying? I don't care if they start a campaign to encourage recycling, build a solar generator on the roof of the shower house and plant an organic vegetable garden. They're ass hats.
These groups are not being labeled terrorists because the Gov't is afraid of inciting more discord. So they are hesitant to use force to suppress these overt terrorist actions. A horrible dysfunction by itself, let alone the misguided feelings of these yahoos with guns who are "occupying" a Federal facility.
There is no need to rush in and start a battle. These idiots are not threatening anyone. They have no hostages, no means to kill anyone, and are in an isolated area. Turn off the electricity and water, close the roads and wait them out. They were too stupid to bring adequate supplies. They'll cave, starve or freeze. Meanwhile, they have become a laughingstock. I'm not sure that's true. They are threatening anyone who comes in and tries to rout them out or arrest them. That means they are threatening Federal agents. They are well armed, so they do have means to kill people. You're right, in my opinion, that the Feds should wait them out. They will have to eventually give up or kill themselves, which would save everyone a lot of trouble. They are all too stupid for words.

You’re right, Lois. They do have a way to kill people. Fortunately they have no one to kill. They are criminals and will face charges after the siege ends.

You're right, Lois. They do have a way to kill people. Fortunately they have no one to kill. They are criminals and will face charges after the siege ends.
They will have someone to kill if the agents try to storm the building, or sneak up on it--which far too many people are suggesting they do. Cops of any stripe don't wait around very long. They want to DO SOMETHING!