What a difference a gun makes

Anyone wish to remember the occupation of Ferguson, Missouri when a bunch of outsiders descended upon that city to peacefully protest there?  Anyone remember if they showed up with all kinds of weapons or did they just appear as unarmed people?  So much was made of that with labels and names being thrown around that were not a description of the people but a description of the types of people they were.  Words like troublemakers, thugs and terrorist, so what are we calling another occupation from outsiders who decided to bring guns to a fist fight?

I’m talking about the Ammon Bundy Clan who departed Nevada to travel to Oregon to speak for those oppressed ranchers there as if those ranchers couldn’t speak for themselves.  According to the article titled “Oregon refuge occupation: 'It's getting dark, and it is freezing' Protest in Oregon” written by Nigel Duara and Molly Hennessy-Fiske.  In it they report; Ammon Bundy, who has been described as the leader of the protest group, said they have had no contact thus far with federal law enforcement authorities. "Nor is there any police presence here," he said in a Twitter message to the Los Angeles Times.  "We plan on staying as long as we have to," he said. "It's a very peaceful protest."  He said the occupying group has made "no direct demands," but the participants have stated that they will leave if the federal government gives up control of the nearby Malheur National Forest.  They are also demanding freedom or a reduced sentence for two Oregon ranchers whose imprisonment sparked the current standoff, Bundy said.   The occupation began as a demonstration in support of two local ranchers — Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son, Steven — who were sentenced to more prison time last year for setting fires in 2001 and 2006 that spread to federal land. They returned to prison Monday to complete five-year sentences for arson.  “We can enforce the Constitution in Harney County and that’s what we intend to do,” Ammon Bundy told reporters. “We have a lot of plans.”

Now several things should be made clear and since this administration is not one which wishes to even come close to repeating what happened in Waco, Texas many years ago that is why many will report that the federal agencies will keep this situation under monitors but will refrain from direct engagement if possible, so there should not be a massive assault made upon those occupying these federal lands.  The Fed probably will just wait them out since no others are placed in actual danger of the occupiers being there.  The major difference here is federal agencies are controlled by the federal government so we should not have some local “shoot first and ask questions later” type of vigilante.   The second is no one was killed in the taking of an empty facility and thirdly there is massive confusion as to the demands of this Bundy Clan so attempts to end this occupation are foolish to say the least.

My point is, why do we accept the actions of one particular group and call them patriots when they commit the same acts as another group that we label thugs, troublemakers or terrorist?  What is it about a particular group that it is okay for them to trample over every single right of others and we make it okay while another group attempts the same thing and we seek to eliminate them?  Maybe groups of all types fear not the repercussions of what they do because the clear definition of who’s who is not so clear today.  Maybe it is time we re-defined what is a right and what is a crime because right now the lines are so blurred that even a blind person can see just how screwed up we are and if a blind man can see that, other countries around the world can see it too, so no wonder many see us today as a bunch of spoiled rich kids with nothing better to do than to declare war upon each other.

Some claim the title Mormon and say that they are following their religious text but isn’t the Islamic State saying the same thing?  Paul wrote in Romans Chapter 13 verse 7 “Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority”.  And it is reported that so does The Book of Mormons so is it really about a few ranchers who refuse to pay taxes?  Maybe the truth of the matter is, it’s more about a group of unruly and ungrateful 30 plus year old children who believe that true peace can only be achieved from the other end of a gun.