You know how DHS and DOW have huge contracts with Palantir?
You know what Lavender is and how it's been used in Gaza?
Pointing that out always seems to make people really angry, and I guess sorry to be a debbie downer but that's definitely what I believe would happen. I am curious to know why people think it wouldn't?
Totally plausible. Shoot first and avoid consequences second. Especially with the lax or lack of regulation around AI. No accountability.
If everybody at ICE protests showed up with masks and a gun would there be more or less violence?
Yes
We saw ICE disarm and shoot a citizen who had a gun. A lesson from this is that a weapon is only threatening if we create an environment where it's a credible threat, like outnumbering them with armed citizens.
Masks? I could go either way on this. Masks can be protective, and can also be seen as alienating from the community. That alienation is not some unchangeable truth, it's just a result of how they're perceived in our cultures (often associated with crime). For a counterexample, look at the Zapatistas who regularly wore masks to protect them from cartel and state violence:
[photos; click to show]
That's a great point I hadn't considered about masks. Face paint and drag makeup can help protect from facial recognition, and they'll also let us speak clearly and emote on camera to make any footage more compelling. I wonder if that's something that could catch on.
I know that juggalo and dazzle paint is an antiquated ai countermeasure. I would be surprised if drag makeup still works but with the extreme contouring it might. Lots of facial rec is run through IR now though, so it basically negates that.
Bullies target the defenseless, and always pick weak targets. So unarmed protestors who pose no threat, are going to get attacked far quicker than an armed and disciplined group.
But unfortunately US cops can kill anyone with impunity so no one is safe even if they do defend themselves.
Yeah showing up as an armed militia would just escalate from ICE to national guard and then you can’t do much unless you can get real soldiers on your side. But we know how it plays out when a military takes over the government.
whack one cop and i bet they won't be as "brave".
My guess is: ICE shoots first (either because of their regular activities or trying to incite a larger riot), the protesters shoot at them, the media shows it as a national tragedy between a rebellious, anti-American group of traitors and the honorable Burger brownshirts and the prez drops the military there and in nearby areas, imposes curfews, etc etc and further restrictions on freedom that, if they trigger a larger conflict, the people would never win because they'd be fighting the American empire's forces. If it happens, other cities would lower their heads, and America would continue its path into a slave base country. Maybe?
Ice disguised as a protestor going on a mass shooting spree
Certainly my expectation. This is how the empire has destabilised other countries, they have a lot of experience.
the people would never win because they'd be fighting the American empire's forces
I think the US has been great at spreading the "we are so invincibly powerful" narrative, but, how would that actually work? Do you see the US military carpet-bombing their own cities? A nuke here and there?
Soldiers, in the end, are people. No matter how MAGA they can be, I bet most would think twice about bombing their own country and countrymen.
Drones
I mean, there was WACO, but hopefully you're right and I'm just too used to these old narratives and exaggerating whatever inhumanity some Americans might have.
I do think there’d be more than a few mutinies and refusals to follow orders all across the board. Perhaps even to the level of the president trying to nationalize (for instance) the Minnesota National Guard, and their commander responding with a hearty “fuck you, eat shit”.
Most times the US military has gone up against the general population of a society, the US military has lost.
Soldiers would never be able to feel safe again, there is no safe home to return to. Even off duty, what if someone knows?
Then let's hope that from a post civil war America something good can still grow, then. 👍
Odds of getting a democratic regime out of a civil war are usually fairly low. The guys with the guns normally do not like to give away their power.
Look at our world right now. How many democracies vs. authoritarian regimes do you count? Then, look at the world at any other point of history outside of the last 100 years.
Democracy is a very unique and rare form of government. I would not gamble on a civil war achieving the outcome you would prefer even if the “good guys” win.
This is my big hope. That this fall is so deep that it is burned into our DNA. That a more humane species of mankind emerges from the ashes.
Forlorn hope I'm afraid.
Probably. And irrelevant to me - I'll be long gone.
Have you read God Emperor of Dune? 😁
Why yes I have!
There would be violence, more or less.
More obviously, Americans are nutters
If you lived here, you would want to be strapped.
Yeah no shit because it's full of people who all have guns and who all think having guns is more likely to cause less violence
More. The larger the group, the more distributed the intelligence, and the larger the chance that someone with unmitigated mental health problems are present.
someone with unmitigated mental health problems are present.
You mean ICE ?
There would be more violence. These thugs in riot gear want an excuse to slaughter people en-mass.
It’s so relieving to watch so many people change their stance on the second amendment. Trump has done the pro gun movement a huge favor.
I wont hold my breath. I thought Jan 6th 2021 would be that, but liberals continued to lust for gun control. Im sure if things ever become "normal" liberals will continue to pursue gun control.
Because what are you gonna do, vote republican? Classic hostage situation.
At the risk of dying themselves?
I doubt they're worried about that. Protest implies that the gun is symbolic or defensive. ICE is there to shoot, and will shoot first.
If it turns into a gunfight, one side gets a gov pension when the smoke clears, and the other side gets prison if they live.
Fair but it’s hard to pin down who shot who if there are hundreds/thousands of shooters and all wearing masks.
I think the real issue would be having to deal with national guard.
They think they're beyond consequences and "it can't happen to me, I'm the main character!"
That only applies if they fight with equal weapons. In a violent conflict, a government might use armored vehicles, tear gas, drones etc. I don't think the risk would be equal for both sides.
That's also why I think that the second amendmend is pointless in today's world. If it ever comes to a wider conflict between the general public and the government it's not guns against guns. It's guns against high-tech weapons.
Pretty sure the USA lost the war in Afghanistan.
It's worth acknowledging that superior firepower hasn't directly resulted in success for the US military. Guerilla armies like in Vietnam and in many countries in the Middle East such as Afghanistan have repelled US invasion, and wargame simulations (including US on US wargames!) have repeatedly shown this.
Add into the mix that there was a serious degree of military revolt (complemented by homeland revolt) in the Vietnam War (and other later wars too). While this was largely boosted by it being a conscription army at the time, I still believe an internal US war would make the military similarly vulnerable to internal conflict, and even external sabotage by citizens.
Good point, thanks for bringing that up. But I still think that recent developments, especially drones, would lead to very high losses in a real conflict. Also I'm not sure how supply chains would work in case of an intra US conflict. Wouldn't they run out of ammo immediately?
Yeah I’m only talking about ICE in their ford fusions and vans. But yes, once national guard is called in it’s game over.
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