The election of a black president seems to have completely unhinged some people who are convinced that he is a Kenyan Marxist who seeks nothing less than to install a communist dictatorship. This is yet another even more extreme example of the white paranoia that I linked to yesterday and it is not limited to just a few crazy fringe elements. In certain parts of the country it has gone mainstream, as we see from the armed militias that have taken it upon themselves to prevent government agencies from doing their work.
The most recent example is Texas where the military is conducting one of its regular exercises, called Jade Helm 15, to maintain readiness when it is called upon to invade yet another country. This kind of exercise happens periodically around the country and has happened before in Texas as well. But some in the state see something far more sinister this time, a trial run for a future military takeover.
Speaking on their behalf is Texas congressman Louis Gohmert who, in any rational society would be in a rest home listening to soothing music to drown the voices in his head rather than being a member of the national legislature, said in a statement, “Over the past few weeks, my office has been inundated with calls referring to the Jade Helm 15 military exercise scheduled to take place between July 15 and September 15, 2015… This military practice has some concerned that the U.S. Army is preparing for modern-day martial law. Certainly, I can understand these concerns.”
That’s not all. The governor of the state Greg Abbott actually called upon the Texas National State Guard to ‘keep a tight watch on the exercise’, saying that “During the training operation it is important that Texans know their safety, constitutional rights, private property rights, and civil liberties will not be infringed.”
So the Texas governor and its National State Guard are warning the federal not to get any fancy ideas about declaring martial law because they are ready to defend freedom and liberty and apple pie and take on the entire US military if they think a military takeover is in the offing. Exactly how long do the think that they can hold out?
The Daily Show had a segment on this latest craziness, along with a report on the shooting yesterday at the Mohammed cartoon drawing event.
(This clip aired on May 4, 2015. To get suggestions on how to view clips of The Daily Show and The Nightly Show outside the US, please see this earlier post. If the videos autoplay, please see here for a diagnosis and possible solutions.)
Mano, he called out the Texas State Guard, not the National Guard. The State Guard is a different bunch with no relevent training and no legal authority. Think beer swilling gun petting doofuses, like the Open Carry clowns.
Just when you think they can’t possibly pull another rabbit out of the crazy hat, they pull out another rabbit. It just goes to show how easily the right wing rubes are convinced of the most insane things. Don’t think of an elephant! I wonder how many in the leadership actually believe this nonsense, and how many are just happy to have a new way to manipulate the masses.
You refer to Obama as a ‘black’ person, as many others have done. I find this significant, since his mother was, in usual parlance, white. Dawkins has made a similar point.
mike83, they’re just continuing a long history of that sort of thing here in the US. Where white Americans weren’t classifying people by how much black ancestry they had, (Google mulatto for an intro) they were attempting to follow the “one drop” rule — one black ancestor was enough to call you black, even if you couldn’t tell by looking. (There were apparently a number of “black” Americans — by this rule — that managed to pass as white, even playing in the major leagues long before Jackie Robinson, though.)
@mike83
Half black people are considered black by anyone who doesn’t know the person is half black. This is the nature of reality. It isn’t like a cop is less likely to shoot me because my mother is white. He’s never met my mother. He just see’s me dangerously carrying skittles and “fitting the description”.
The store clerk isn’t going to ask me if one of my parents is white before following me around the store. It isn’t a matter of offense if someone who doesn’t know me considers me “black”. I’ll correct someone if the issue is brought up, clarifying that I am mixed, but do not take issue with the assumption.