@davidc4430 wrote:
i caught a little of 'the drum' (a current events program on ABC TV) last night where they were discussing the civil unrest and impeachment progress in the USA
now a women of US birth, an academic, who seems is living in australia. was saying she fears a civil war is about to break out in her country.
now this may or may not happen
but i feel like the storming of the capitol it would be very a short lived excersise ending in deaths and failure by these morons
why?
because their numbers are relatively small compared with the population as a whole
they would get little or no support from the various levels of law enforcement
military, police, home guard
and the vast majority of americans arnt stupid, the election prooved that
and the fact since the capitol riot most of these morons are hiding because everyone they meet or see might be dobbing them in to the FBI
so sure they can rattle their gun talk
but if even 1 of them decides to 'take the law into his or her own hands' and starts shooting
laws will be invoked
armies of law enforcment will double or tripple in the country
and they will not have as much freedom as they do now, regardless of the republican party
there is a good chance in 2024 the republican party will be reduced to a cinder at the ballot box
I doubt a civil war is about to break out, or I hope not.
The thing is, public memory tends to be short.
Even at the height of the drama, when a group invaded the Capitol building, the overall vibe I was getting from Americans was sadness, not a lust for battle. The majority didn't want things to go so far. To a lot of them, it was a step too far.
To put it in perspective, there was a large rally/group that spilled into unnecessary violence and caused some damage to a building. Some people were killed.
Take out the word Capitol and it could have been any one of dozens of similar displays all across USA last year.
I don't know whether it is the publicity or learning by example, but there seemed to be almost an expectation that if people weren't happy, the only way to protest was to go on the rampage.
But it is interesting that the Capitol is seen as different and I think it is for 2 reasons. First, that the president of the day was seen to encourage the rally, which was certainly something different and second, it was seen as more political, and a possible threat.
It reminded me a bit, if you've ever read 'Lord of the flies" where the boy was running along the beach, I think it was, ready to kill another, when adults arrived and stepped in front of him.
Suddenly, from out of control little hooligans, there was that moment of shame, of realisation of how far they had wandered from civilised behaviour.
That's the impression I got of how a lot of Americans took the Capital riots. That it was a step too far, a worry about what had their country come to. Absolute shame.
Given that so many people felt that shame and sadness, I don't think there would be enough support for a civil war, people have had enough. Plus Trump is not there in power now, he seems to be keeping quiet, he isn't still inciting his supporters. In fact, I'd say he will have to be careful exactly what he does say as he knows it could cause more trouble (for him) if he does.
So David, I'd say you are right. If a smallish group did decide to protest, they would not have most of the military or law on their sides, so any 'war' would be short lived.
