Most of the "Militia" Types Are Just Doing Cosplay

[MineralMan]

When we use the word "Cosplay," we're usually thinking about young folks dressing as anime characters or some other fantasy characters. Generally, most people just dismiss this as harmless "kid stuff," but a lot of Cosplay enthusiasts take it pretty seriously.

When we see grown men, though, dressed in expensive "tactical" gear and carrying unloaded AR-15s and other weapons, we never call that "Cosplay." But, that's exactly what it is. Little boys dressed up in cowboys suits make us smile a bit, but men dressed in size XXXL body armor and camouflage get taken more seriously. We shouldn't really take them that seriously, despite their dangerous-looking outfits.

I suggest that they are just cosplayers, out pretending to be something they definitely are not. Sure, there are some who take what they're doing seriously. Those guys are authentically dangerous. Most of the "Militia" cosplayers, though, have trouble walking up three flights of stairs and are just there between Cheeto-eating sessions in their basement "compounds." They talk a good fight, and some of them are military veterans, who spend their time in the military riding a desk and want to relive their fantasies.

Cosplay is what they're doing. When the shit hits the fan, you aren't going to see them. They'll be planning their next dress-up occasion from the safety of their basements, where they're still at Level 3 in Call to Duty.

[lark]

1. I'm not so sure about that.

I live in FL, full of rednecks. There are 2 militia types that have moved into the neighborhood. They park their vans in the front yard & driveway & do target practice behind them - in the front yard! They fly an upside down huge American flag! I have seen a bunch of them gathering up on a Sat. morning with hip holsters & long guns & when we walked by heard them talking about "training". They younger guys walk around the neighborhood in their camo outfits like they are patrolling or something. Now my neighborhood is pretty diverse & they chose to move here. Three of our neighbors are mixed couples and there are a few black and hispanic families as well. So how hard core are they? Don't know but I do keep my doors locked now where I wasn't worried about that when we were home before.

[MineralMan]

2. Yes. Perhaps some of those would actually show up if something went on.

Most, however, would not, I'm sure. There's no risk to them in "training" and doing the things you describe. Nobody is telling them to disperse. Nobody is facing them with arms. It's easy to be brave when there is no risk.

[lark]

3. I hope you are right but given 1/6 I worry.

The militia folks all just moved in within the last year for one house and 6 months for the other one. At least they have jobs, I would be more worried if they didn't.

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

4. Concur...

This does describe most of them. I think the real insurgency will be younger, more radical members of racist, terrorist groups. I don't think we see most of them garbed up very frequently except for the ones who wear "law enforcement" uniforms day to day.

[taxi]

31. Yeah, he did say most, and not all desk jockeys.

The smart ones will read this.

[lagomorph777]

5. No.

They are terrorists. The ones who stormed the Capitol are felons. They are a grave peril.

[MineralMan]

7. And, as soon as adequate law enforcement showed up,

it was all over. The January 6 insurrectionists were untrained, had no workable plan, and were largely ineffective. There were a few small groups that actually did have a plan, but they were thwarted in their plans.

It was an ugly event, to be sure, but ended up being a toothless threat in the end.

Remarkably, none of the insurrectionists had loaded firearms, either. Once the folks who should have been defending the Capitol all along showed up, fully armed, the crowd dispersed quickly.

[lagomorph777]

10. They have influence throughout law enforcement and governments at every level.

Which is why it took so long for adequate law enforcement to show up. It is also why most of them are still walking around free. That is what makes them so dangerous. They are the visible tip of a very large iceberg.

[MineralMan]

15. And yet, the defensive people did show up and

dispersed the crowd. They were blocked by the Trump administration for some time, but finally did respond with enough armed people to send the cosplayers away.

[lagomorph777]

17. Thereby making the problem worse.

The terrorists should have been rounded up, not dispersed.

[MineralMan]

27. Perhaps, then, you should have been in charge of

the operations.

[lagomorph777]

28. I see. Because I'm not all-powerful, my opinions are crap?

[MineralMan]

29. I said nothing of the sort. You are projecting.

Given the number of people available, even late in the day, to protect the Capitol, dispersal of the crowd was the primary goal. People got rounded up later, after being identified, usually by the public, which was outraged by what happened.

You underestimate the size of the force that would be needed to "round up" people. There were never enough people on hand to do that. That's the former administration's fault, of course, but was the situation at the time.

[lagomorph777]

30. Re-read your last post.

[Aristus]

6. I spent my time in the military riding a tank.

But I feel no desire to cosplay that at my age (53) or any other age since I got out.

I loved being a tanker. But the place for that is in the military.

Those brain-dead, 400lb hippo-heimers would never get past the recruiting stage...

[MineralMan]

9. Well, my USAF enlistment was spent sitting at a desk, surrounded

by high tech equipment. The only time I had my hands on a firearm was when I earned my Expert Marksman ribbon in basic training.

I enlisted. I value my four years in the USAF. But, I'm not interested in playing soldier any more. I grew up, thanks in part to my four-year enlistment.

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

32. Same.

I loved traveling the seas. I loved my job, radioman. I loved all aspects of the "adventure" they were advertising at the time. I was not a fan of the bureaucracy and day-to-day BS, but that just came with the rest. 4 years was enough. I never understood the toy soldier, cosplay mentality.

[LeftInTX]

8. They're KKK in a different "costume"

[MineralMan]

12. Pretty much, yes.

[Voltaire2]

53. So just another Tulsa.

No big deal if you’re white.

[Elessar Zappa]

11. Exactly.

I don’t fear these idiots. Their whole world would collapse if an actual civil war started. Whatever would they do without KFC and WalMart?

[brewens]

13. They say a lot are ex-military. Shit, the gravy seals I see probably aren't even poddy trained!

Especially some of the younger ones. No way you qualified in anything in the military, then had enough time to get that fat "D-Day"! LOL

[MineralMan]

14. In reality, we don't know that much about those

cosplayers. No doubt some are ex-military, but that's meaningless, too. Most people in the military branches are not really combat folks. I know I wasn't.

[brewens]

19. I bet the companies that make all that military gear are thrilled. They never had huge sizes for

real combat troops. Now they sell XXXL and probably above.

[MineralMan]

22. Oh, yes, indeed. Google Militia Cosplay to see more.

[Sympthsical]

33. "Gravy seals" is deeply funny

That's a new one for me. So perfect.

[Jedi Guy]

54. Meal Team 6 is another good one. Also Delta Farce. N/T

[Hortensis]

16. Agree but only to a point. When the front-liners' shit really hit the fan

is when the bloviators would be liable to show up.

Der Leader followers have been studied. Generally speaking, the sort you're thinking of cosplay from home and thrill to the chance to rant and play act with a group they've joined.

But give the phony brave boys a chance to join a mob to attack weaker people (including women and children), and their hot air is liable to catch fire. "Hang Pence!" "Naaancy, where aare yuu?"

"Let's burn them (neighbors) out and get rid of them!" -- worked up, needing a target to attack, and believing the authorities were both safely occupied far away and would be replaced by their own.

Of course, as we saw at the Capitol, the large majority who did come out and stayed to join that mob were undisciplined and untrained, and easily subdued by professionals, but they did provide mass, and passion.

[MineralMan]

20. Had adequate numbers of law enforcement and NG folks been

at the Capitol, things would have been far more peaceful. However the Trump administration blocked them from showing up until much later, so...

I remember, as I watched the entire thing unfold, most of the people entering the Capitol building had no idea what to do once they got in there. That complete lack of a plan revealed the true nature of what happened.

There were some small groups that acted in concert with the others in each groups to make deeper incursions into the building, but were effectively blocked by a small group of Capitol Police and a few others. There was no communication or plan between those groups, so only small groups worked together. As soon as reinforcements arrived, the party was over and everyone left the scene rather quickly.

The problem, as I saw it, was a lack of preparation in defending the building and Congress from that mob. That was 100% Trump's fault, I believe, aided by his toadies in the DoD. Had a decent-sized force met the insurrectionist, none of what occurred would have happened. The blame for that is solely on TFG and his minions.

[Hortensis]

37. +100. Lack of the authority signals to the crowd that would have

stopped thousands of play actors away from the Capitol.

Besides them, a lot of those who showed up to protest the election either never intended violence or belatedly realized they didn't want any part of it. Thousands of people turned back the way they'd come as the insurrectionists started breaking in.

[TheRealNorth]

36. +1

It only takes a few knowledgeable people to train a rabid mob.

[MineralMan]

49. Did they do that before January 6?

They did not. Instead they just sort of stirred up the mob, but failed to train them in any way. I saw a few small groups of people under a dozen who were acting in concert. Very few. The rest were just milling around with no strategy at all and no leadership anywhere to be seen. Did you watch?

[uponit7771]

18. The bigger problem is the ones who are NOT cosplaying being among them fit, trim and ready to

... implement some white supremacy.

We shouldn't tolerate any of it, we're tolderating far too much of it now

[MineralMan]

21. You're absolutely right. We should tolerate none of it.

The previous administration did not respond at all properly, which aggravated the situation. Trump is a madman. He is no longer in power. We have a new administration that will be far less tolerant of such shenanigans by hooligans.

[GoodRaisin]

23. Yup. Taking pictures of themselves to post on their Facebook profiles.

“Look at me in my military fatigues and my AR-15. I’m really something…”

[MineralMan]

25. Yup. Exactly.

Many of those people were surprised to be visited later on after being doxed by people who recognized them. Apparently, they thought it was a costume party or something.

[ProfessorGAC]

35. My Favorite Part Of That

When those guys were parading down the streets of Ferguson with the camo, when they're on blacktop and the background was all red brick buildings.
They're wearing camo as if we can't see them, when what they were wearing actually made them EASIER to spot.
Idiots!

[MineralMan]

46. Exactly. Their camo "tactical" gear identifies them clearly.

Looking at the average one of those clowns, it also impedes them, although they are already impeded by their unfitness and lack of preparation. You can order the gear they're laden down with on Amazon and get it delivered the next day if you're a Prime member. Then you can make a YouTube video of "unboxing" your purchases.

None of that prepares such people to actually do anything.

In fact, here's just such a video. It's literally hilarious:

[radicalleft]

24. I'll be sure to stand behind you when these guys start shooting

To dismiss them out of hand because you "think" they are basically harmless seems imprudent. Many of these folks are combat trained veterans who have a beef. People died b/c of these folks on 1/6...

[MineralMan]

26. Yeah, OK.

I'm not in the law enforcement or military business, though, so I'll be at my house if they come marching down the street to endanger people. You won't find this 76-year-old man defending public places. I will, however, defend my neighbors and friends. I'm not without the resources to do so, either.

If you want to stand behind me, I'll hand you the resources you need to help.

You'll notice that I used the word "Most" in my thread title. I recognize that some are not playing. "Some" are not "most."

[TheRealNorth]

38. Dismissing the danger of the militias....

Will mean you will not be prepared for them. Like when the army and navy dismissed the combat ability of Japanese soldiers and their ability to strike Hawaii. You risk a "Pearl Harbor".

It only took 2 RWNJ to take out the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building and kill 170 people. These fuckers are more sophisticated and better supported then they were in the 90's.

[lagomorph777]

41. +1000 It's perilous to dismiss this looming threat as some kind of joke.

These terrorists are no joke.

[MineralMan]

45. As I said, I will not be involved in attempting to counter any sort of

mass attack on anything. I am neither capable nor equipped to do that. That is a job for professionals.

I am, however, prepared for any random attack on my neighborhood by a small group. I know my capabilities and my limitations and do have a plan.

You do not know me. Truly you do not.

[TheRealNorth]

59. I don't fully trust the "Professionals"....

To not throw in their lot with the MAGATS. The Republicans have been kissing law enforcement's asses for 40 years just for this moment.

[MineralMan]

62. Well, Amateurs Aren't Going to Get the Job Done.

Truly.

[TheRealNorth]

66. So the solution is that when the MAGATS go full Nazi....

Is to tolerate fascism unless it comes specifically for your family?

[MineralMan]

67. Did I say anything of the sort? I did not.

What's your plan? Let's hear it.

Meanwhile, there is a new administration in place. Trump's not there to stifle responses to insurrection or other such hooliganism. Biden is now the Commander-in-Chief.

Where do I live? In Minnesota. We do have some control over our law enforcement here.

Again, what's your plan?

[Hortensis]

40. Third duplicate in as many days.

[radicalleft]

50. I'm sorry...

What?

[Hortensis]

51. Website or computer glitch, posts twice. Couldn't

be anything I'm doing.

[Hortensis]

42. Radical, a major problem with many who showed up is

that they didn't know what they thought they did, just made unfounded assumptions. Those we're talking about were often like that. No coincidence that those whose brains weren't properly prepared and functioning weren't combat trained veterans, or even modestly competent icivilian nsurrectionists.

[MineralMan]

44. Yes. There's no question that there are some dangerous

people out there. No question at all. However, there are no trained and prepared large groups capable of doing something like taking over Congress, which appears to have been the goal on January 6. They were able to gather together a loud rabble of a mob, but there was no strategic plan for what to do with that mob, and no instructions for the mob itself.

So, a small law enforcement force was able to evacuation the members of Congress and stand off the rest until reinforcements finally arrived. A major turning point occurred when one person fired a deadly shot and killed one of those trying to breach a security barrier. One person. I watched the whole thing. That appeared to me to end the immediate threat on the heart of the building's security. Not long after that, reinforcements showed up and the crowd quickly scattered when faced with tear gas and actual armed force.

The vast majority of the people who showed up to storm the Capitol were people like I described as cosplayers. They did not have the intent or ability to do what they pretended they wanted to do. Once they entered the Capitol itself, most had no idea whatsoever of what to do next. Only a very few groups continued the assault. The rest clowned around doing stupid, useless things in empty rooms.

The next time, there will be a stronger defense of the Capitol or whatever other target is chosen. We no longer have the past administration in charge. Now, we know what might happen in such a situation, and will plan to stand it off effectively.

[Hortensis]

47. If serious insurrectionists have a "next time,"

at least of this type, leaders will need to be there, heading up the strategic plan and tactics on the ground. The new model for DVE organization of leaders keeping a deniable distance while, in this case, sending in active units surrounded by a lot of rabble didn't work so well.

[Kaleva]

48. If you think they are a serious threat, what are your detailed plans to respond to them?

Last edited Tue Oct 26, 2021, 01:17 PM - Edit history (1)

I haven't done anything because I don't believe they are serious. If you haven't done anything, then you don't think so either.

If I thought they were serious, I'd have gone to ground. for starters, I'd stop being here at DU lest the site is hacked and my identity is made known. I'd keep my mouth shut and not talk about politics and current events even with family because some of them are TFG supporters. I'd get really busy stocking up on essentials that would last many months lest the fighting interrupt supplies. I'd be sounding out, discreetly, like mined people to form a network of mutual support.

That's just a few of the actions I'd be taking if i thought they posed a real threat. There's more but I have to get outside and do some yardwork while the weather is good.

[samnsara]

34. most still live in mommy and daddys basement...virgins...indulged little brats

..who did the crime and now are crying about the time....

[TheRealNorth]

39. True,

But that doesn't mean the incels are not dangerous.

[newdayneeded]

43. At work

years back a gun nutter I knew was showing me pics of his camper, he kept clicking through the pics and (I'm sure purposely) came to pics in his garage with full fatigues and combat helmet. I chortled, he quick looked up, I then did the cover up fake cough. LOL! He looked so pathetic in the pics! He weighs 110lbs soaking wet.

[Voltaire2]

52. So were most of the fascist militias

of the 20’s and 30’s.

They are all a bunch of clowns until suddenly they aren’t.

[Kaleva]

55. The German American Bund, Black Legion and British Union of Fascists didn't accomplish much

[Voltaire2]

58. That's true.

We avoided fascism in the 30s. Other countries didn’t. There is nothing exceptional about this country, no reason it can’t happen here.

[Kaleva]

64. Fascism, Communism, militarism tends to take hold in nations under great duress

I don't think the US today compares to the conditions that Post WWI German, Russia, Italy and Japan were experiencing. The US, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Sweden, Norway and many others in the 1930's also didn't compare.

[Kaleva]

56. if they were actually going to take it to the streets, they'd have done so already

But they keep moving that line in the sand.

[traitorsgalore]

57. So are KKK members just dressing up too? LOL

What an insult to even suggest it. Go tell all the people who's live are threatened daily by them that you said their abusers and tormentors and just playing dress up. Go tell Gretchen Whitmer her kidnappers were just playing around. Go tell the American public that anti-maskers are just goofing around and there's not 700,000+ dead.

You actually think people shouldn't be afraid of heavily armed and unstable people? LMFAO!

[MineralMan]

68. Most of them are. Some are not.

Gretchen Whitmer was never kidnapped. She has police protection. The anti-maskers aren't keeping anyone from getting vaccinated, either, are they? In fact, mask resisters are among those 700,000 dead. Those who have been fully vaccinated aren't dying much at all.

I got my Moderna booster the other day. I got the original two shots by simply waiting until my state's vaccination system notified me that I had appointments generated by their system that I signed up for. The anti-maskers didn't keep anyone here from getting the vaccines if they wanted them. Not where I live, anyhow. In fact, nowhere I know about. People who want the vaccines can get them.

We have plenty of problems, but there are also bright sides to look at.

[bluewater]

60. K&R

[Paladin]

61. If our history teaches us anything, it is this:

It only takes a single extra-serious, extra-crazy "cosplayer" to alter matters for the infinitely worse, now and forever more. Just one of them.

We dismiss these tactical-equipped, well-armed fascists at our peril. They want our kind dead and buried.

[krawhitham]

63. Is it "Cosplay" or is it LARPing?

[MineralMan]

65. The two things are often linked together, really.

However, most of the militia garb wearing is really done on an individual basis and is essentially unorganized. So, the game-playing aspect isn't formalized or uniform.

Cosplay can be an individual effort. LARPING generally involves some rules for the game.

But, it can also be both.

Think about the nutsy guy in the horned helmet and furs. Strictly on his own. He got the attention he wanted, but also got to go to court, probably to his complete surprise. He broke down pretty quickly when that happened.