Something for our homegrown Rambos to ponder.

[Cyrano]

During the American Revolution, the British wore red and the revolutionaries (for the most part) wore blue.

During the War of 1812, the British were still wearing red.

During our Civil War, the South wore gray and the north wore blue.

Ahh, the good ole' days when you could tell the enemy by the color of their uniform.

Not a day goes past on which there aren't one or more postings here that shout "Time to take to the streets." (To be honest, I've posted it myself in moments of blind rage.)

Okay, so we all take to the streets and do battle with ... who? Anyone in a Rolls Royce? What if you get George Soros by mistake? Anyone wearing an American flag lapel pin? What if you get some WWII vet who's missed the fact that the world has moved on? Hey, why not go after everyone in Kansas and Texas? We all know what THEY'RE like.

And let's not forget the military people who will also be in the streets. People's sons, daughters, husbands and wives, many of whom are not THEM, but US.

The bottom line is, aside from pols, pundits and Pat Robertson, how are you going to identify "the enemy?" It's easy enough to pick out the loud mouthed dittohead in a barroom, but what about the rest of the wingnuts?

And let's not forget the White House. We can storm it and tear it down, after we get past the tanks and the strafing aircraft. Then what? Do we go hunting for Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove, Frisk, et al one at a time?

For those of you so anxious to "Take to the streets" as step one, please tell me what step 2 is. Damned if I can figure it out.


(Edited for spelling.)

[pretzel4gore]

1. the mediawhores, you fool....

kerist, why do you wanna attack military etc, or the things they protect? otoh, everybody on earth HATES the media ie the pigmedia, including the cops, so....
step one- locate the pigmedia in your area
step two- monitor their activity, like a lab tech monitors a pteri dish of ebola or flesh eating disease virus...
then= harass them however you can, their advertisers, the stations that carry them!
keep your spirits up, cuz someday, we'll round them all up, and try/execute them (after torturing them, of course, to learn who was their ringleaders :))
the entire lynchpin of the bushpig revolution was/is their media....
so never forget, killing solves ALL PROBLEMS

[Cyrano]

2. Okay, I'm going out right now to hunt down Olbermann, Krugman, Bob

Herbert, Sy Hersh, Molly Ivins, Dan Rather, Katrina Vanden Heuvel, and oh so many more. Then we can go back to being the "Greatest Country in the World."

[BootinUp]

3. cities vs the rural areas

Is where the battle lines would be drawn. Just give me a heads up first, I'm across enemy lines.

[Cyrano]

4. Why not just go after anyone who looks like a fugitive from "Deliverance?"

[BootinUp]

5. You're thinking it will be like a riot

instead of organization and planned attacks and such.

My theory is that if politics continue to break down in this country the rural areas will organize and attempt to undermine the cities.

[Hubert Flottz]

20. Gawd I hope you don't invade West Virginia!

Let me put my teeth in!

[Cyrano]

22. Lol. But I don't think Robert Byrd would permit it. -- An invasion, that

is, not putting your teeth in.

[KharmaTrain]

6. But That Takes Away From Watching Survivor

Pardon the extreme :sarcasm:, but been here, done that as well.

I "came of age" in the late 60s and saw what thousands of people on the streets looked like and what effects it had. In specific, I vividly recall the "Days of Rage" Vietnam protests in 1969 in Chicago that became violent. I saw anger that day like I haven't since...in the eyes and actions of the anti-war protestors and with the Chicago Police. People were willing to put it all out cause not only did they feel the war was unjust, but many felt this was where they had to be...the more we took to the streets, the more we got noticed and one day closer to ending that ugly war. I sure don't see that now.

Blame it on lots of diversions, a busier lifestyle, economic...but I don't see the real fire in people to take to the streets. They'd rather let someone else do it and they'll catch up later. It's hard enough to get our own people to show up at polls on election day and it is a major, major concern of mine as Nov. 7th approaches. Many time, trying to co-ordinate people is like herding cats...lots of ego and different agendas have taken the forefront.

I'd love to see several thousands of us on the streets...being seen, being heard and creating an atmosphere that not only invites people to our cause, but motivates them to get active. Too many people are waiting for others to clean up the mess.

Peace

[Cyrano]

10. As much as I agree with what happened in the '60s, it only ended up

bringing us Richard Nixon and 35 years of Republican rule (with the brief exceptions of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton).

The '60s scared the hell out of the majority of people in this country who never pay attention to politics. All they saw was a threat that had to be stopped. They were wrong, but try telling them that.

On edit: There was also a draft in the '60s. It's why so many young people actually led the demonstrations against Vietnam. Bring back the draft and it's almost a certainty that the kids will come out in force. It's why BushCo is avoiding it and screwing our service people with unending tours of duty.

[KharmaTrain]

12. People Aren't Feeling This Invasion

With 500,000 boots on the ground and over 40,000 returned coffins by mid '68, everyone knew someone who either was serving or had been a victim of that ugly war. Yes, the draft was a big motivator, but so was the common hurt so many people were feeling and the loss in faith in the government...people who, during the New Deal days, had become paragons of service...now our we learned our leaders had lied to us.

I suggest that it wasn't Vietnam that got Nixon elected and the following Repugnican onslaught, it was the "Southern Strategy" that turned the party Southward and Westward that would later congeal under Raygun and the fundies. It was the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1965...that brought on both George Wallace and then Nixon and the far right/racist tilt of the Repugnican party.

If anything, Nixon could be called almost liberal for some of the actions he took. He pushed the establishment of the EPA and other conservation efforts, put price controls on certain commodities and pushed forward expanding both government and many social programs. Compared to the crooks squating in the White House now, I'm almost nostaglic for Tricky Dick...almost.

Life is a lot busier and more distracted today. We live with two and three income families where time and resources are already stretched...and what I think is a major reason people don't like to get involved.

Yep, the 60's scared the hell out of a lot of people...but it also enlightened many. My hopes are that the abuses of the past 6 years will scare people...at least enough of them...to keep Repugnican from having any power for years to come.

Cheers...

[xchrom]

13. nixon was the first non-believing corporatist president.

and viet nam didn't fit with his vision of the future.

he is the precursor to reagan and the republick party follow ups.

[HereSince1628]

7. We can all buy our rw family, friends and boss "ENEMY" t-shirts

Yep that'll solve the problem. :eyes:

But as I remember it from Grant Park in 1968....the game is like this...you go to the streets to protest then the enemy shows up to try to crack your skull with night sticks.

[Bucky]

8. Note: shooting fish in a barrel is not a sport

Take to the streets means protest, not revolt. Cindy Sheehan has taken it to the streets.

Oh crap, now I've got that Doobie Brothers song in my head.

[CanonRay]

9. It doesn't have to be violent

But it has to be of significant size (eg millions of people) that the paid for media can't ignore it. We demand investigations into voting fraud, and demand to get our democracy back. Civil disobedience, etc. Not tearing down the White House. The people have to be heard.

[Cyrano]

11. There is no way to keep it from turning violent. A simple handful of

agents provocateurs, placed there by BushCo, will see to that.

It was a tactic that Josef Goebbels used with great success. He understood the ease with which peaceful protesters could be turned into a raging mob.

To some degree, it also happened in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic convention. Hubert Humphrey, the Dem candidate, sat in his hotel room watching the TV and sobbing. He understood what was going on and was helpless to stop it.

[rug]

14. If this becomes necessary you will realize this is a foolish question.

[Cyrano]

16. I don't follow you. Could you please be more specific.

[rug]

17. You are describing an armed revolution.

Before this happens two things must occur.

The government and social institutions will become so oppressive that an armed revolution will be deemed a necessity by vast groups of people. By this process the lines will be clearly drawn and the focus of an armed uprising will be readily apparent.

Second, an armed revolution, versus crazy shooting, will be organized, politically and logistically. (And if this occurs it will not be organized by the Democratic Party). This process alone will define the goals and targets of a revolution.

Not to be insulting, but if all this occurs, I think the only real question will be which side are you on, not, what do we do now.

[Cyrano]

18. Given the government's ability to virtually track our every move, I'm not

sure that what you're describing is doable.

The film "Enemy of the State" was fiction, but almost all of the technology was real. I hope I'm wrong, but I think the ability to remove our government, even by well thought out strategies and outstanding leadership, would be almost impossible in this day and age.

Perhaps the only action that would work would be a military coup. But that leaves us with the question, "What then?" Would they reinstate constitutional law and turn the government back to the people? Or would we just become the best armed, most dangerous banana republic in the history of the world? I don't pretend to know the answer.


(Edited for spelling.)

[rug]

19. That technology point is interesting.

One of the first targets of the Bolsheviks in 1917 was the Petrograd telephone exchange.

Even so, if the government loses the confidence of the people AND uses its power to oppress the people there aren't enough nanobots, scumbags or satellites to keep them in power.

[Cyrano]

21. I still don't believe it's doable. But I certainly hope that

you're right and I'm wrong.

Either way, given the steam that is building, the lid will blow off at some point. Hopefully, the madmen holding the levers of power won't use our arsenal to take the world with them if they see themselves going down.

[dkofos]

15. Go after the media

If the media won't come to you, go to the media.