| Submit your comments on this article | ||||
| -Land of the Free | ||||
| Who Will Win the Upcoming Civil War? | ||||
| 2016-07-18 | ||||
| In which a leftist writer makes an awful lot of unspoken assumptions, some right but most completely wrong, about civil war in America. Thanks to Sipsey Street Irregulars TNG for the link. With racial tensions, inequality, and populist rage set to boil over, some fear America could be on the path to a violent confrontation between the angry Trumpies and the equally angry lefties. Before we decide to start this war, we must ask: who would win? Better to ask: who would lose? That would be America. As police shootings and street protests stoke a national climate already heated by xenophobia, terror attacks, One might ask oneself whether the terror attacks and the "xenophobia" could be tied together? and the unexpected success of an anti-everything brand of politics not seen in generations, many have compared 2016 to 1968, a year marked by assassinations, riots, and questions about the continued success of the American experiment. It is still early, though. By the time this is all over we may be more inclined to compare 2016 to 1860, when half of America got so pissed at the other half that a bloody civil war ensued. The violence in the 1960s was almost 100 percent caused by the left, criminals and their allies. Civil wars don't start because "half of America got so pissed at the other half." They start because one side decides to do something about the other side. This, of course, is the worst case scenario. But it’s always good to plan ahead. The Combatants On the Right: Low-income white workers who were on the losing end of globalization and have become convinced that immigrants and non-white people are to blame; Billionaires; White nationalists; Angry grandpas; Fearful grandmas; Survivalists; Fox News viewers; “Car guys”; Everything you need to know to know that the author is an idiot is right there... On the Left: Black Lives Matter activists; Bernie Sanders voters; Aging hippies; College students and professors; Legal and illegal immigrants of all nationalities; Occupy-style perma-activists; Confused self-identified pacifists. Idiot. The Billionaires are on the left.
On the Right: They own more guns. They may also be able to claim a higher percentage of military veterans and law enforcement officers in their ranks.
I think the elements on the right will be a good deal more scattered and divided than is assumed here. Every time some mention of civil war getting started gets started, inevitably the infighting and score settling begins, but in the virtual realm. I suspect once lead starts flying, it will fly everywhere, not just between sides. Amongst sides, rather. Again, the writer's biases are on display -- he assumes that the conservative right are "Nazis", not recognizing the brownshirts on his own side... On the Left: They have a higher average education level, which could be useful for designing bombs and crafty booby traps.
They have a younger average age, making them more physically fit on average.
A bit of silliness. The left will no more have a monopoly on the basic aspects of warmaking than the right, such as deception, arming up, etc. What it could boil down to is experience and a willingness to be inhumane to political opponents once things get sporty. Though comparing the Left to the Khmer Rouge is always correct... Weaknesses On the Right: High proportion of elderly crackpots could hold back fighting units when traveling for speed and distance. High proportion of rural residents could be a drawback in urban battles, when skills like navigating sidewalks and subways are necessary. Anti-intellectual tendencies could result in hostility towards “outside the box” guerilla tactics. Affinity for Donald Trump holds no combat value whatsoever. I think this jamoke would be shocked at the creativity his armed opponents would have towards committing mayhem against political opponents. I think he would be shocked at the notion of just how powerfully a spring will return to its natural shape once released. The folks on the right can read. They'll figure out the subways... On the Left: Widespread lack of military or contact sport experience could lead to panic in the ranks when the violence begins. High proportion of urban residents could be a drawback in rural battles, when skills like living off the land or not being scared of bugs are necessary. Reggae music is an ineffective pre-war motivational tool. Tactics On the Right: Mass shootings. Head-on assaults on mosques, quinceanera parties, and college dorms. Lots of gunfire, everywhere. Occasional arson of libraries (they haven’t figured out the internet stuff yet). Another bit of silliness on the author's part. I will grant you that a small number on the right would not be predisposed to things internet, but the same applies to other groups on the left. Both sides regard the internet as a communications tool. He should study matters in southeastern Ukraine, where in the early going there was a tremendous amount of media posted to the internet from both sides about the war. That is until both sides started using that media to grid for artillery strikes and recon probes. Then use of the internet wound up in the hands of the leadership. It won't be a bunch of right wingers and left wingers sitting at their consoles spouting war propaganda. Those guys will already be dead, and their replacements will be posting fotos and videos for the commanders and leaders of their respective sides.. On the Left: Guerilla warfare. Elaborate ruses designed to entrap jeeps full of enemies into concealed pits. Hit-and-run attacks on churches, VFW halls, and high-rise office buildings. Lots of Molotov cocktails, homemade spears, and gunfire that is somewhat sporadic due to relatively low gun ownership in this fighting cohort. This fella unwittingly hit on the basis of an American civil war: Guerrilla actions against civil institutions. He speaks of those actions as though they are a part of normal fighting, but they are not. They are partisan acts of war to destroy one side. They will be nasty, and they will be dirty, and in the end, none of those acts will contribute to victory for the side committing them. He also speaks, if you'll notice, as if the left will have some advantage in the very basis of warfare: deception, but as Sun Tzu wrote: "All war is deception." The Outlook My outlook. It will be a gawdammed mess. The Left’s purist ideology and youthful vigor will inevitably wane under the withering fire of The Right’s mob-like bloodlust and superior weaponry. The inevitable ugliness of the conflict will tend to erode the morale on The Left, where philosophical approval of violence is mixed at best, whereas the religious and racial zealots of The Right will only grow more emboldened, easily integrating this new war into their longstanding intellectual framework of patriotic genocide of The Other. We can expect that the next civil war, like the last one, would be explosive, bloody, and long. But we can’t expect that the good guys would win this time around. Sure we can. Democracy, freedom, liberty and conservative values will win in the end... In the final calculus, The Left is better off parlaying its domination of the media into social victories that can be leveraged for peaceful political gain. It’s the only real choice, unless we all want to get massacred. Probably the first thing in this missive the writer has deliberately gotten right. The problem: it will apply to both sides. Now what we need to do is take away their guns... That would be an excellent start to civil war. Can't think of a better triggering event, as it were... | ||||
| Posted by:badanov |
| #26 DV - one thing to put in the "not to be forgotten file"; in a true riot where TSHHTF, concentrate on neutralizing the second and third ranks of the rioters. NOT the first rank. The professional organizers are behind the 1st/2nd ranks urging the drones onward. Take them out and the mob will break and run. Just saying. |
| Posted by: GORT 2016-07-18 19:58 |
| #25 Charger, When it comes to gang banging idiots vs. disciplined riflemen interspersed with vets... I'll take the right any day when it comes to killing efficiently, quickly and ruthlessly. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2016-07-18 16:41 |
| #24 F-150: The new Technical, Commodore Frank. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2016-07-18 16:27 |
| #23 The right has the guns At the risk sounding like Eeyore: Actually, the left has plenty of guns -- just look at the gangbangers, the imported criminals and, soon, the rapefugees from the Middle East. Not to mention many hypocritical SWPLs who denounce guns while getting them for themselves. They may not all be great shots, but they have a ruthless willingness to use force and the backing of the Ministry of Truth. OTOH, a lot of people on our side get the vapors over "crudeness". The outcome of a fight between these two cohorts is not absolutely certain to me. |
| Posted by: charger 2016-07-18 16:20 |
| #22 High proportion of elderly crackpots could hold back fighting units when traveling for speed and distance Wrong. "F-150's" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2016-07-18 16:02 |
| #21 They watch a lot of UFC. They carry the revolutionary zeal of notable groups like the Confederacy and the Nazi Party. How does this guy miss NASCAR, Bass Pro Shops and Natty Light drinkers in his list of stereotypes? Amateur. |
| Posted by: Raj 2016-07-18 15:34 |
| #20 Lol are we sure this isn't parody? We also got all the stink oil, smelly refineries and most power plants. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2016-07-18 15:32 |
| #19 I'd go after teacher colleges first. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2016-07-18 14:39 |
| #18 Head-on assaults on mosques, quinceanera parties, and college dorms He left out gay bath-houses. Y'know, just to cover the demographics... |
| Posted by: Pappy 2016-07-18 12:53 |
| #17 The right has the guns, the farmland and the areas surrounding the cities. Guess what happens when no food, water, electricity or fuel moves into them? It will be Bosnia on a continent wide scale. And you idiots will lose. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2016-07-18 12:18 |
| #16 The tea is hot in their mugs. Beware Deacon. |
| Posted by: BrerRabbit 2016-07-18 11:46 |
| #15 I can't wait to confront the Pajama Boy brigade. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2016-07-18 11:33 |
| #14 When the power goes off in a major city during a heat wave, hundreds or thousands will start dying in 48 hours due to lack of A/C. This was responsible for a large fraction of the deaths just after Hurricane Katrina. Elderly will be the first to go. Massive evacuation of tens of thousands (safely) is only possible during peacetime. Our electric grid is ridiculously vulnerable. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2016-07-18 11:20 |
| #13 Think I'll go back and view Sheriff Clarke mauling that moron Don Lemmon on CNN. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2016-07-18 09:53 |
| #12 Great inlines though. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2016-07-18 09:34 |
| #11 This article sounds like a parody of sports commentators doing a pregame sports show. That's about how seriously I take it. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2016-07-18 09:34 |
| #10 The Moms, Aunts and the Grandmothers would get their licks in, too. The 'Abuelas' might get particularly nasty. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2016-07-18 08:37 |
| #9 Just try an assault on a "quinceanera party". Lot's of the Dads, Grandpas (Abuelos) and Uncles (Tios) might be packing. They won't be too kind if you try to assault their little girls. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2016-07-18 08:35 |
| #8 Once the power and water goes off and the roads are blocked the mainly democratic cities have 48 hours before they're toast. A dispersed enemy can beat a concentrated enemy, especially as they have a ridiculous supply train (try finding an organic quinoa meal pack to go with your civet lattes). |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2016-07-18 07:15 |
| #7 He's a complete idiot, and his ignorance is a huge part of the problem. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2016-07-18 06:53 |
| #6 Farmer's markets and heavy rifles. No gas and the nearest place with food to sell, or available is 40 miles away. In the cities think Venezuela and its Winter, very cold. No dogs around ( for some reason ), or cats either. Ammo is more valuable than currency. And you don't have any real friends, do you? Your money won't buy anything. What else, you got? |
| Posted by: Thuter Wheatch1095 2016-07-18 05:46 |
| #5 The markup is awesome.As always! Thanks All! |
| Posted by: newc 2016-07-18 05:17 |
| #4 If the guns come out the trucks stop rolling. Food stores are empty in 3 days. The FSA revolt and burn the cities along with their liberal inhabitants. I can live without the internet. |
| Posted by: BrerRabbit 2016-07-18 03:37 |
| #3 aw look - here's your clue that this is (albeit lame) satire coz not even the most retarded leftarded bat of the lunar species could compose this seriously. "Reggae music is an ineffective pre-war motivational tool". No shit leftard. I love me some reggae, 4 subjects - sex politics religion and dope, wrong on all yet still compelling - da riddimz, mon. Love (H)island patois - we have coarse anglo-saxon C words and F words - hell, Jamaican cuss word sound positively edible. "Yeah Man, give I two a dem beef cla'ats an a cheese bombo" Civil war? not even a good meme war, read the whole thing for laughs. |
| Posted by: Bov Flimbers 2016-07-18 02:52 |
| #2 Gawker: consider the source |
| Posted by: 746 2016-07-18 01:14 |
| #1 This guy Nolan----aside from eating Brie and tweeting, what else has he done? Ever learned basic marksmanship and safe handling of firearms? Rode the subway? There ya go. Pontificating commuter. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2016-07-18 00:38 |