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STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images |
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Being Prepared in the New America |
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By Roger Simon |
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When I was a kid, I loved the brilliant satirical songs of mathematician/musician Tom Lehrer who is thankfully still with us at age 95. One of my favorites was “Be Prepared,” which I can quote at length since Lehrer, unlike most other songwriters, has put his songs and lyrics in the public domain. What a guy! “Be prepared! That’s the Boy Scout’s marching song Be prepared! As through life you march along Be prepared to hold your liquor pretty well Don’t write naughty words on walls if you can’t spell" Sadly, the last stanza is a little less satirical now then it was back in the 1950s when Lehrer wrote it, though it’s still pretty clever. But it would take one extraordinary satirist to write a version of “Be Prepared” for what we are going through in these times. I wonder if even Aristophanes or Jonathan Swift could do it. Apropos, popping up on my computer as I type this, in the second longest of the Jan 6 sentencings so far, Joseph Biggs of the Proud Boys has just been given 17 years in federal prison. What did Biggs do to merit so much of his life behind bars? According to the NY Post: “Biggs and other Proud Boys joined the mob that broke through police lines and forced lawmakers to flee, disrupting the joint session of Congress for certifying the electoral victory by Biden, a Democrat.” No word on how many of the Proud Boys were government agents urging the boys to break through those lines. Judge Timothy Kelly didn’t seem to care. He deemed the boys to be “terrorists.” Biggs, on the other hand, demurred. “I know that I messed up that day,” Biggs told the judge just before being sentenced, “but I’m not a terrorist.” Poor Biggs. He was evidently not “prepared.” Nor was a man named Theodore Deutscher of Henderson, Tennessee, a military veteran of eight years. At approximately 6:40 a.m. on Aug 16, an FBI SWAT team raided his house, and shot and killed him. From the Tennessee Star: “Deschler’s mother, who was not named in a local WBBJ TV report, described the killing. “It was a senseless act,” she reportedly said. “You know Teddy was a 100 percent disabled veteran. He had problems. He had severe PTSD. He had depression but he was getting help for it, but this was senseless. He didn’t have a weapon on him. He was just trying to get out of the house because it was filled with tear gas.” |
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The Star went on: "The story of Deschler’s death has not garnered much media coverage locally or nationally." It’s unclear what Dreschler did to deserve this. The FBI, as per usual, is mum about the details. That last comment from the Star, underscoring press disinterest in the killing, is particularly notable. It may be because such behavior has become so commonplace it isn’t even worth reporting unless you’re a famous person like Donald Trump or Roger Stone, both of whom were similarly invaded en masse in the small hours of the morning, fortunately without those mortal results. But even they weren’t really “prepared.” Fortunately for Trump he wasn’t at Mar-a-Lago at the time. Stone had to deal with the embarrassment of being filmed in his pajamas by CNN, whose crew was somehow mysteriously in the neighborhood at the crack of dawn. Which leaves us with a serious question: How should we, as mere ordinary, law-abiding citizens, be prepared in these times? That we are even asking the question in a supposedly free society is, in essence, tragic. In the old days, almost all of us would instinctively want to be helpful to law enforcement. But, that has changed. We are where we are. So, a few humble suggestions of what to do if the FBI comes knocking on your door. I know these are obvious, but worth reminding ourselves anyway. (I include myself here.) One, this is not the time to express your allegiance to the Second Amendment. If you have a weapon of any sort in your house, do not expose it or even mention it. This is true even if you’re a master of self-defense and a 10th degree black belt in karate. These SWAT teams arrive with enough weaponry to take on a small country. If you value your life and that of those living with you, don’t tempt them. Two, while obviously being as polite as possible, refuse to answer any questions. It’s your constitutional right to remain silent. Virtually anything can be held against you and these guys are taking notes. If they get insistent, you insist on a lawyer before you say anything. Make sure you get a good one. In fact, try to have one you know or know about at your disposal in advance. Check him or her out as thoroughly as you can. Three, if they want to search your premises, ask to see a warrant first. If they have one, you have to let them search, but call that lawyer pronto. In other words… Be prepared! |
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Roger L. Simon’s new book “American Refugees” is available for pre-sale on Amazon where it is No. 1 in new releases in the local politics category. “Roger Simon is among the many refugees fleeing blue state neoliberalism, and he’s written the best account of our generation’s great migration.”—Tucker Carlson. From my inbox: Linda Fisher: “Today I am suffering Covid 19. It is the pits. The first time around, I immediately realized I was being manipulated. But since I was 71 and had some health issues, I finally got the J & J vax, and got Covid 6 weeks later. It is criminal that we aren’t holding responsible the criminals in China and here, including Anthony Fauci, who forced all this suffering on the whole world. It was the perfect launch of the Great Reset.” Diane C.: “Please help us understand [a] way to become a force for sanity. How, for example, do we say 'No' to masks at local stores when they are just following government guidelines?" Roger’s response: The best hope is to organize with like-minded people. There are a fair number almost everywhere now with many organizations. But if you can’t find a good one in your area, start one. If you’re reluctant to do that, surprise yourself and do it anyway. It will make you happy and you’re probably a lot more capable than you think. |
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