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I thought it had to do with the British saying the colonists shouldn't have weapons that could help the colonists revolt against their government. So the consti

I thought it had to do with the British saying the colonists shouldn't have weapons that could help the colonists revolt against their government. So the constitution says that the people should have access to the weapons they need to overthrow the government if needed. Of course, the constitution writers didn't envision the government having tanks, airplanes, nuclear missiles, etc. that make it practically impossible for modern citizens to overthrow a corrupt government.

umvi 7y ago
> that make it practically impossible for modern citizens to overthrow a corrupt government. Some of the citizens overthrowing the government would be in the military, though, no? Since the military is made up of normal people that live among civilians. It's more likely the military would split into factions, with the revolutionaries gaining control of a sizable chunk of tanks, airplanes, etc. Or maybe the military would stage a coup. However, a truly tyrannical government would have long purged guns from its civilian population as evidenced by every tyranny ever.
- mirimir 7y ago
  Right, there are National Guard units, and armories, everywhere. Some of those would probably side with revolutionaries. And then there are police forces of large cities, which wield serious firepower. It'd be a mess.
- mamon 7y ago
  >> Some of the citizens overthrowing the government would be in the military, though, no? Very unlikely. Biggest part of military training is brainwashing you to always following orders. People that resist brainswashing are quickly discharges as "unfit for duty".
  - umvi 7y ago
    > Biggest part of military training is brainwashing you to always following orders. The US military has both Republicans and Democrats in it (though probably a larger percentage of the former). If there is any sort of internal conflict, it would likely split along those party lines. Also, the US military does not advocate blindly following orders. The person receiving the orders should only obey lawful orders and should resist and disobey unlawful orders ("I order you to go shoot all those unarmed civilians over there!")
  - jki275 7y ago
    I spent twenty three years on active duty, maybe I missed this critical part of military training somehow? Could you point out the brainwashing sessions in Navy boot camp perhaps? I do remember a constitutional law class we all had to take where we were specifically taught that we had an absolute duty to refuse unlawful orders, maybe you were confused and for things backwards?
homonculus1 7y ago
Heavy ordnance, nukes, etc. can't realistically be employed against grassroots resistance from the population at large. As a rule, corrupt governments prefer to control cities and infrastructure, not smoking craters, so the tools of authoritarian control are limited to police squads and small arms. Look at the Chinese response to the protests in Hong Kong. Are they flying bombers over the city and setting up artillery? No, they're using forces of infantry, police, and paramilitary thugs who are far outnumbered by the protesters. If they actually leveled one of their own cities the entire government would collapse on itself.
m_coder 7y ago
>>practically impossible for modern citizens to overthrow a corrupt government. However, given a sufficient percentage of the population which is interested in doing this, it would be very difficult even for the US military to completely conquer.

umvi 7y ago

> that make it practically impossible for modern citizens to overthrow a corrupt government. Some of the citizens overthrowing the government would be in the military, though, no? Since the military is made up of normal people that live among civilians. It's more likely the military would split into factions, with the revolutionaries gaining control of a sizable chunk of tanks, airplanes, etc. Or maybe the military would stage a coup. However, a truly tyrannical government would have long purged guns from its civilian population as evidenced by every tyranny ever.

mirimir 7y ago
Right, there are National Guard units, and armories, everywhere. Some of those would probably side with revolutionaries. And then there are police forces of large cities, which wield serious firepower. It'd be a mess.
mamon 7y ago
>> Some of the citizens overthrowing the government would be in the military, though, no? Very unlikely. Biggest part of military training is brainwashing you to always following orders. People that resist brainswashing are quickly discharges as "unfit for duty".
- umvi 7y ago
  > Biggest part of military training is brainwashing you to always following orders. The US military has both Republicans and Democrats in it (though probably a larger percentage of the former). If there is any sort of internal conflict, it would likely split along those party lines. Also, the US military does not advocate blindly following orders. The person receiving the orders should only obey lawful orders and should resist and disobey unlawful orders ("I order you to go shoot all those unarmed civilians over there!")
- jki275 7y ago
  I spent twenty three years on active duty, maybe I missed this critical part of military training somehow? Could you point out the brainwashing sessions in Navy boot camp perhaps? I do remember a constitutional law class we all had to take where we were specifically taught that we had an absolute duty to refuse unlawful orders, maybe you were confused and for things backwards?

homonculus1 7y ago

Heavy ordnance, nukes, etc. can't realistically be employed against grassroots resistance from the population at large. As a rule, corrupt governments prefer to control cities and infrastructure, not smoking craters, so the tools of authoritarian control are limited to police squads and small arms. Look at the Chinese response to the protests in Hong Kong. Are they flying bombers over the city and setting up artillery? No, they're using forces of infantry, police, and paramilitary thugs who are far outnumbered by the protesters. If they actually leveled one of their own cities the entire government would collapse on itself.

m_coder 7y ago

>>practically impossible for modern citizens to overthrow a corrupt government. However, given a sufficient percentage of the population which is interested in doing this, it would be very difficult even for the US military to completely conquer.