4 ms·

How would a civil war actually happen? I know this idea gets thrown around, but, I don't see how this would happen. Usually, civil wars happen with the support

by maest 6y ago

How would a civil war actually happen? I know this idea gets thrown around, but, I don't see how this would happen. Usually, civil wars happen with the support of (at least part of) the military and there are 0 doubts about who the army will side with. Even with the high rate of gun ownership in the US (and even higher among right-wingers), there is no way civilians will actually be able to whitstand a focused, concerted military effort. The only caveat to that is if someone high up in the US military decides that this is their time to act and will try to use current civil unrest for a coup, but that seems extremely unlikely. Another scenario to consider is an IRA/ETA style insurrection, which, again seems unlikely, as both IRA and ETA had strong geographical and cultural components to their identity, which is not true of right-wing extremists. What is more likely to happen is for low-level civil unrest to be around for a while, as long as Trump is still in power, but, as soon as Biden comes into effect, the state will step in and very quickly squish anyone they suspect of right-wing violence. Still, it will probably get worse before it gets better.

henrikschroder 6y ago
> both IRA and ETA had strong geographical and cultural components to their identity, which is not true of right-wing extremists. A funny detail is that plenty of the treasonweasels who decided to storm the Capitol also decided to document themselves doing so on social media. And since they come from all over the country, they're being identified, named, shamed, and outed by people who know them. They're being fired from their jobs. They're being arrested for their crimes. They thought they were simply the bravest spearhead, enjoying the support of the massive silent majority of Americans. In reality, everyone is tired of their respective crazy racist uncle, and are gleefully outing them. The internet has made it possible to surround yourself virtually with like-minded people, thinking you're one massive family. But if you're actually disconnected in reality, if you're actually surrounded by people who really don't share your views, thinking your echo chamber is representative is a massive mistake.
withinboredom 6y ago
It only takes a few people to inspire many. I really hope it won’t come to that, and I don’t think Trump is brave enough. As for going up against the military, there are quite a lot of vets in that demographic.
germinalphrase 6y ago
The urban vs rural divide is both geographic and cultural.

by maest 6y ago

henrikschroder 6y ago

> both IRA and ETA had strong geographical and cultural components to their identity, which is not true of right-wing extremists. A funny detail is that plenty of the treasonweasels who decided to storm the Capitol also decided to document themselves doing so on social media. And since they come from all over the country, they're being identified, named, shamed, and outed by people who know them. They're being fired from their jobs. They're being arrested for their crimes. They thought they were simply the bravest spearhead, enjoying the support of the massive silent majority of Americans. In reality, everyone is tired of their respective crazy racist uncle, and are gleefully outing them. The internet has made it possible to surround yourself virtually with like-minded people, thinking you're one massive family. But if you're actually disconnected in reality, if you're actually surrounded by people who really don't share your views, thinking your echo chamber is representative is a massive mistake.

withinboredom 6y ago

It only takes a few people to inspire many. I really hope it won’t come to that, and I don’t think Trump is brave enough. As for going up against the military, there are quite a lot of vets in that demographic.

germinalphrase 6y ago

The urban vs rural divide is both geographic and cultural.