Forcefully Retaking The Wildlife Refuge From Vanilla Isis Will Be Making The Classic American Mistake.
We love martyrs. Hell, we worship martyrs. If prosperity and fame is the American Dream, then the Human Dream is to die for a noble cause. Wealth in life. Meaning in death.
If a gun battle ensues to retake the federal building in the Malheur Wildlife Refuge from the militia/activists/terrorists in Oregon, there will be bloodshed and we’ll have made the same mistake we’ve made in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Korea, and in dealing with a long list of so-called enemies to our national interests, both domestic and abroad.
A common refrain sweeping social media is, had these terrorists been anything but white conservatives, police would have rushed in with guns blazing. It is true that other ethnic and religious minorities have been harassed and killed for much less than forming an armed mob and taking over a federal building. Also true, this is no longer a protest, this is terrorism. So, being white has probably kept these guys alive thus far, but maybe that is because these are people the American majority understands. As opposed to Islamic militants, illegal immigrants, or ethnic minorities, local, state, and federal enforcement agencies intuitively comprehend and empathize with this group and their intentions because they are familiar. These men sound and look like family white America has grown up with. Maybe fathers, brothers, or distant uncles with whom we desperately try not to engage in political discourse. Local, state, and federal decision-makers know that the Bundy Brothers and co. are itching for a battle. They are bullies and blowhards, but these men also know that, no matter how many rifles, shotguns, and pistols they may have, the government has way more bullets and way better weapons. If the USA decides to retake the wildlife refuge by force, they will win.
But then the USA will lose because we love martyrs. The deaths of these activists/militants/terrorists/martyrs will energize an already fanatic right-wing element. More acts of protest/terrorism will ensure. More lives will be lost and any state or federal agencies involved will have their reputations tarnished.
This battle is not about a lone federal building in an isolated marshy area surrounded by protected lands. This is about harming the legitimacy of the federal government. This is voicing their resent that these lands are not in private hands. Specifically their hands. They resent that they can’t graze their livestock on those lands. They resent that they can’t hunt on those lands or set protective fires to shield their own lands from raging wildfires.
Are the gunman holed up in the refuge willing to die for this cause? No. But they are ready to die for the glory of appearing to die for politics/liberty/religion/family/what-have-you. They are glory hounds without the fortitude to do something more significant and helpful with their lives. They are taking the easy way out by martyring themselves for whatever cause seems the most convenient. Again, that is the Human Dream. If we must die, let us die for a purpose so our names live on.
If state and local police raid that building and kill these white conservative men in the same way that police have shot down young, black men across the country, there will be a sick equality to that, granted. But it won’t make this country better. It will make it worse. Instead, if this country, on all levels, learns to deal with conflict with patience and logic rather than with aggression, fear, and pride, then we may finally be able to break a long cycle of failed foreign policy decisions and toxic race relations.
Perhaps, by the time you read this, the Oregon standoff will have ended peacefully or violently. If I was placing a bet, I would wager a long stalemate finished with a negotiated surrender and minimal, if any jail time for the terrorists/protesters/freedom fighters. Before that moment comes, though, interest in the standoff from the American mainstream would have faded. Some fanatics would herald the bravery, but most would be so disappointed that not a single shot was fired. They would feel robbed because there is no glory to be had in negotiation. This is how Occupy Wall Street was diminished. Don’t attack, don’t inflame. Just sit back and let internal strife, boredom, and discomfort do the hard work for you.
No one dies. No martyrs are born.
Then, if we are really smart, we would begin a national conversation on wildlife lands and grazing rights to examine our policies, the arguments against, and see if this is just a land grab by ranchers or if there really is some failure in how these lands are utilized. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle, as it often is. Not a sexy or exciting end, but a healthy and constructive end.
But, again, we do love our martyrs.
