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The most obnoxious part about this comment is how sure you think you are. The important questions to ask are, how does the civilian population split? How do t

The most obnoxious part about this comment is how sure you think you are. The important questions to ask are, how does the civilian population split? How do the police, the military split? What exactly do you think civil war looks like? The idea that you have all the answers and some how guns are ineffective, at the very least in hurting those who want to oppress, is so laughable and appropriate for HN. What is going on in HK right now? You think that would happen if they were armed? No one says we win, but we make it hurt. You would rather be enslaved? The US is looking for a way out of Afghanistan and they are not the victors. Lost to some men with long guns.

pjc50 7y ago
> What is going on in HK right now? You think that would happen if they were armed? No, they'd be dead. Armed conflict with the PLA with no artillery or air power? (Street protest relies on some unspoken norms that police won't indiscriminately fire on and kill protestors, precisely because the protestors aren't armed. The whole point is to stop short of actual deadly urban combat. This is partly why Tianamen was so shocking; while it's difficult to know what actually happened, it's clear that army units were sent in and simply murdered a large number of people who were carrying out an unarmed protest.)
- usrusr 7y ago
  > it's clear that army units were sent in and simply murdered a large number of people who were carrying out an unarmed protest Which is utterly puzzling because the technique of priming the slaughter with agents provocateurs amongst the protesters is neither new nor particularly difficult. Were the leaders involved just incredibly incompetent at tyranny or was there something else going on?
usrusr 7y ago
> How do the police, the military split? This is exactly the question that makes civilian arms stockpiles utterly irrelevant. If anything, a well-ish-equipped rebellion would make it easier for the government to avoid that split: "kill them or they will kill you" is the oldest trick in the book for keeping an army fighting on your side.

pjc50 7y ago

> What is going on in HK right now? You think that would happen if they were armed? No, they'd be dead. Armed conflict with the PLA with no artillery or air power? (Street protest relies on some unspoken norms that police won't indiscriminately fire on and kill protestors, precisely because the protestors aren't armed. The whole point is to stop short of actual deadly urban combat. This is partly why Tianamen was so shocking; while it's difficult to know what actually happened, it's clear that army units were sent in and simply murdered a large number of people who were carrying out an unarmed protest.)

usrusr 7y ago
> it's clear that army units were sent in and simply murdered a large number of people who were carrying out an unarmed protest Which is utterly puzzling because the technique of priming the slaughter with agents provocateurs amongst the protesters is neither new nor particularly difficult. Were the leaders involved just incredibly incompetent at tyranny or was there something else going on?

usrusr 7y ago

> How do the police, the military split? This is exactly the question that makes civilian arms stockpiles utterly irrelevant. If anything, a well-ish-equipped rebellion would make it easier for the government to avoid that split: "kill them or they will kill you" is the oldest trick in the book for keeping an army fighting on your side.