Discrediting The Patriot/Militia Movement in the USA – (TCP)CHICAGO

The Bittersweet Player – Clear your browser cache to hear the latest play list.

Other articles concerning this are as follows:

IS IT A REAL REVOLUTION OR JUST A MASS DELUSION – DAVID WILCOCK, DRAKE BAILEY, BEN FULFORD AND THE NEW REALITY OF INTERNET FANTASY

A FACEBOOK GROUP: GLOBAL VOICE 2012 – DAVID WILCOCK – DRAKE BAILEY – IS IT A CULT?

“THEY” SAY THAT A COUP D’ETAT IN AMERICA IS IN THE OFFING ON OR BEFORE THE 4TH OF JULY – HOLY SMOKES

FREEDOM MOVEMENT FRAUD – IT’S A “GLOBAL” THING

By Ava Fox – Staff Writer

(TCP)Chicago – July 4th’s passage of Drake Bailey’s deadline and “The Event That Wasn’t” ( a military takeover of the government backed by American citizens with the help of US Marshals and militia groups) has the alternative media buzzing. At one point, Bailey claimed to have issued a “yellow alert” to all standing militia nationwide. While most find Bailey’s claims ludicrous at best, his name is linked to the American militia, casting an already long shadow over the movement. Mention the word “militia” and invariably images conjured up involve the Hutaree, charged with plotting to kill law enforcement officials (later acquitted on all but a few firearm charges) or the Sword of the Lord, a paramilitary fundamentalist Christian group based in rural Southern Missouri. John Trochmann, head of the Montana Militia and linked to the disastrous operation at Ruby Ridge, brought attention to the movement, but very few understand what a militia really is, having only the sensational media stories of subversive plots and anti-establishment lifestyles upon which to base their opinion. But what is a militia? Who joins one? Are their any legitimate groups out there? Or are they all havens for extreme right-wing whack jobs and paramilitary post-apocalyptic doomsday prophets?

There are two types of militias in this country. The first is the Organized Militia,created by the Militia Act of 1903, an offshoot of the 1792 Uniform Militia Act. (http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/archive/index.php/t-277937.html ) This group consists of State militia forces, particularly the National Guard. This is the “well regulated militia” as understood in the Second Amendment. This is not to be confused with the National Guard of the United States, a federally recognized reserve military force. The National Guard is under the jurisdiction of the governor of each regiment’s respective state and can be called up during domestic disasters, such as hurricanes or floods, to provide security and protection for the public. The second group is the Reserve or the Unorganized Militia, also created by the 1903 Militia Act, and consisting of essentially anyone eligible for the draft or any able-bodied male seventeen to forty-five. (http://www.knowsouthernhistory.net/Articles/Government/Other%20Articles/reserve_militia.html ) Because this group is not chartered nor subject to gubernatorial jurisdiction, there are no standard rules or regulations to follow, each group independently creating their own. It is under this heading that the more sensational groups fall. While some of these groups are religious in nature, some are also constitutional, formed to exercise their Second Amendment rights and preserve the Constitution.

In 2008, prior to the Obama election, there were 149 militias nationwide. Today, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there are over 1200, an increase of 755%. (http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/08/10602763-election-economy-spark-explosive-growth-of-militias?lite ) Why the upswing? “Brian”, a member of the South East Michigan Volunteer Militia explained it this way: “Well, anytime we get a Democratic president in office, people become concerned, including myself, and we get a resurgence out there.” (http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/cnn-parachutes-michigan-interview-mi )

Their “concern” is centered around what they believe to be the slow dismantling of the Constitution and the increasing growth of a government encroaching on more areas of civil liberties. These people are rarely in the spotlight and receive little positive recognition from the media. Even the Anti-Defamation League gives a rather inflammatory view of the movement, claiming that it is a “relatively new right-wing extremist movement consisting of armed paramilitary groups…with an anti-government conspiracy-oriented ideology.” (http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/Militia_M.asp?xpicked=4&item=mm )

It is true that the modern movement gained speed in the wake of Ruby Ridge and the botched raid at Waco Texas on the Branch Davidian compound. However, not all militia groups fall under the definition given by the Anti-Defamation League. In a discussion group on the Ron Paul website this was found, in regard to militia membership from a Libertarian standpoint:

Submitted by ZioSlaveNation on Sat, 05/12/2012 – 14:52.

99% of people in the Militia movement are good folks … the movement is a reaction to two things 1.growing Federal power grabs 2. the cultural disintegration of the U.S.

And yet another, confirming suspicions regarding media bias:

Submitted by JCole on Fri, 05/11/2012 – 17:13.

Is there a militia movement out there that is solely anti-tyranny? Most reports on militias that I see seem to portray them as having some other agenda… anti-Black, anti-Hispanic, anti-Jew, Neo-Nazi, etc. I’m sure there is a probability that the press reports on them unfairly, but it seems to me that the good intentioned militia members get upstaged by their bigoted brothers.

(http://www.dailypaul.com/232684/ron-paul-and-the-militia-movement )

That uphill battle for respectability grows more difficult ever day when militia is linked to someone like Drake Bailey. The movement seems to draw conspiracy theorists and fanatics desiring to live out their fantasies in a paramilitary world. Not all unorganized militias are populated by right-wing extremists or racist groups preparing for an apocalypse. There are far more members in the movement that merely believe in preserving the Constitution, and serving their community in times of disaster. For example, the mission statement of the Sauk County Riflemen Wisconsin State Militia states: “Our mission is to defend the Constitution, the people and property of Wisconsin and the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” (http://www.darkgovernment.com/news/list-of-u-s-militia-groups/ ). Florida’s Citizens for a Better Government is even more innocuous stating that their group “is a community-sponsored information gather and sharing group that meets for fun, food, and fellowship” (http://www.darkgovernment.com/news/list-of-u-s-militia-groups/ ). In 1996, Sam Sherwood, leader of the now-defunct Idaho Militia, stated “The whole movement is being distorted on one side by the press and media, and taken over by the nuts and crazies on the other.” (http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/Militia_M.asp?xpicked=4&item=mm )

Fast forward fifteen plus years and not a lot has changed. The movement is still divided. With the arrival of, and association with Drake Bailey the movement will have an even more difficult time establishing its legitimacy and polishing its image. Bailey claims to have given all militias nationwide a “yellow alert” sometime back, putting them on notice for for the Event. This was posted to the Well Regulated American Militia site:

Reply by Drake on June 26, 2012 at 10:58am

How can the movement possibly retain any credibility whatsoever? The vast majority of militia are people who care about their community and want to protect and serve in any way they can, some being VFW members or local volunteer fireman. They are not poster children for psychiatric profiles nor are they preparing for a worldwide apocalypse. The shadow across them grows longer when people like Bailey step into the spotlight and the battle for legitimacy only grows harder.

-&-

Donate to The Critical Post