I'm not trying to be a wise-ass, but I just don't get it.  Every time I see the militia types interviewed on TV they strike me as a bunch of boobs (granted, TV is anything but unbiased).  Now I'm sure there are some very fine people involved with militias across the country, so I'm not denouncing everyone who is a member of one.  Just seems they don't really put a very good foot forward.

My questions to those of you who have more knowledge about militias are as follows.  This is purely for informational sake because I have no intention of ever joining one.  If things go South I have a friend in the mountains about an hour from me that has a few hundred acres, ponds and streams, plenty of game and room enough for a handful of his friends' families to ride out the storm.  If the SHTF, I won't be making any stands in the streets standing among a group of people who might be mistaken for the enemy.  Nope, I'll be up North and the government can feel free to call on me if they need assistance in defending the homeland.

First, do you think the government is really kept in check by any fear of you as an organization?  They know who you are.  A friend of mine in the U.S. Marshalls Service told me that the feds have infilitrated EVERY major militia group in the country.

Second, if the government wanted you gone, don't you think they could eliminate you at any time?  Its not like you are all wholed up in a compound 24/7.  Even if you were, that would simply put you all in one place and make it easier to eliminate you.

Third, for all of your disaster relief drills that you have done, I seem to remember seeing a 60 minute interview about one of the mid-Western militias that drill all the time for this.  Local authorities wanted nothing from them in terms of assistance.  Seems like a lot of money and time spent on a good intention that will never see fruition.

Fourth, in time of trouble, do you think National Guard troops and police are going to greet your armed and camoflaged units with open arms or are you likely to be perceived as a threat?

Fifth, don't you think the negative stereo-types associated with militias causes a further degradation of our rights, the exact end you claim to want to avoid?  Stereotypes in large part created by the members themselves.  As harsh as it sounds there is a morsel of truth behind every steroetype, it is usually just blown way out of proportion.

Sixth, as I understand it militia members equip themselves and elect their own leaders.  So to what degree do you owe your allegiance to this guy or gal?  If (s)he decides (s)he wants to redistribute your equipment to others in the group, does (s)he get to do that?  What if you want to leave, what are the ramifications?

I don't know I'm just having a really hard time grasping the concept as it exists today.

FWIW, I don't think the second amendment exists to arm militias.  I think it exists to arm the individual who then may choose to form a militia freely or as provided by federal laws which define the militia as able bodied men...  I think its a terrible mistake to argue that the 2nd amendment exists to arm a militia because it does nothing for those who choose not to organize themselves accordingly.

Anyway, I apologize if the post seems convaluted.  I have gotten maybe 8 hours of sleep over the past three nights and admittedly am not at the top of my game.  Just hoping to understand this whole concept better.

McUzi...  I grant you that what you see on TV is not always a realistic or representative portrayal of reality.  Hence I said it was anything BUT unbiased.

Still, I think you would be hard pressed to argue that 99% of militia public perception isn't negative.  this isn't solely the fault of the media either.  Websites that spew hatred, and many of them are decidedly anti-semetic.  Maybe you don't consider the Aryan Nation and their paramilitary groups to be militias, but many do.

How about the fat smelly guy at the gunshow with a (name your state) Wolverine Militia t-shirt straining to hold in his gut talking about killin all dem A-rabs and sand niggahs.

How about the wonderful t-shirts that say witty statements like, "if you die first we're splitting up your gear" and "sniper - you can run but you will only die tired..."  Maybe all militia members aren't like this, but these are the ones people see.  Why would anyone of respectable character and professional prominance wnat to involve themselves with these idiots?  Even if you can find a group that was the antithesis of these negative steroetypes, you'd still be painted with a very wide brush and labeled one and the same.

Can anybody give me a really good reason to join a militia?  I really can't think of one.

I'll say something controversial here, but hell... I like to live dangerously.

FUBU is aimed at the urban hip-hop scene and believe it or not, African Americans.  Just because someone other than a black person wears FUBU does not mean that is not the targeted demographic.

Likewise, anyone see the commercials for Mountain Dew Code Red?  Guess what, with the exception of one or two white faces in the crowd everyone is black.  Clearly, this is Mountain Dew's targeted demographic.

Carry your analogy over and the fact that every militia member I have ever met (and I admit its only a couple dozen) loves to wear thos asanine t-shirts and spews the hatred of racism and anti-semitism.  Likewise, I have never met anyone other then these creeps who would wear one of these shirts.  So, from my experiences, and not from the tv, it does appear that the mentality and the product go hand in hand.

As far as bad mouthing the national guard boys, I'd put my money on them over the chariborne militia any day of the week.

If its what you want to do, go forth and do it.  I just can't see the purpose as they have been presented to me personally.

Yeah McUzi and if you go in most gas stations in "white" areas of town you won't see it and if you go to the upscale grocery stores that serve the "white" community you won't find it either.  However, if you go to a Bodega in the ethnic areas you will.  Go figure!

If they were truly trying to target white kids you would find it in every Coke vending machine (Mountain Dew is a coke product right?).  However, you don't.  Read the trade publications and they identify it as targeted for the black community.  Hey kool-aid is popular among blacks but not so much among white kids...  White kids drink Sunny-D et cetera.

Anyway, this really isn't a thread about marketing commercial products, it is about how militias market themselves through their own behavior and how the ensuing perceptions prevent the worthwhile professionals that everyone claims they want to have involved from joining.

McUzi, nobody would be so un-pc as to say they were targeting blacks... its always phrased something like this, "Coca-cola announced today that it will be introducing a new product to its popular Mountain Dew line.  Mountain Dew Code Red is a berry flavored soft-drink targeted at the urban market (read black) with a 13-28 year old age demographic.

Maybe its a regional thing, and I could be wrong.  Hell, the Capital region just got that Red Bull drink that has been in other parts of the country for a couple of years now.  

I hear ya Rew, and when the NG boys move on the militia from APCs, with Blackhawks and a few tanks (I think there are some guard tank units in NY) will see how important their training is.  I know there is an old saying that God created man, but Colt made them equal.  Maybe if the militia was as well armed as the NG that would hold true, but I don't think that a few pipe bombs and "assault rifles" is going to do it.  Maybe they have some stolen small arms from guard armories, but not enough to stand toe to toe or to even sustain protracted guerilla operations.

Yeah, they can probably bloody the NG's nose, but they won't win.  Anyway, I hope they don't go toe to toe...  I don't like the idea of Americans killing Americans.  However, some militia members seem to be itching for the chance to take on the federal government in whatever form they can.

Yup, and the VC had supplies rolling in from the Com Bloc countries and China.  They had places of refuge.  They had hundreds of thousands of men and women and children to throw at us.  The militias are not unified and benefit from none of these things.  Not a fair comparison.

Actually Rew, yes...  If a large group of armed militia members started wreaking holy havoc you would see something akin to martial law.  curfews, restricted movement, random roadblocks, profiling.  that is exactly what would happen if some of these "patriots" followed through on their threats to take out dem feds...  And given what has been going on lately, most people WOULD support it.  Not necessarily the people on these boards, but society as a whole.

IMHO the first priority of any group with such a character as a militia should be first aid and emergency preparedness.  One should be able to respond so an ambulance crew (or the FD or PD) will thank you for being in such a place that you get there before they do.