Oregon Town Torn Apart by Protest at Wildlife Refuge

[jpak]

Source: New York Times

BURNS, Ore. — The courthouse is still blocked by concrete ballasts. Tires have been slashed. Family members have argued and refused to speak again; friendships have been severed. Fights have broken out in church.

The occupation at a wildlife refuge near here by a band of outsiders — 11 of whom have been arrested, one killed, and four still in the compound — has turned this patch of small-town America into a community at war with itself. Rather than uniting the hamlet of Burns around a common cause, the rebellion at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by anti-government protesters has dissolved neighborly ties and exposed divisions among residents, some of whom support federal regulation of public land and others of whom bristle at Washington’s sway.

The tumultuous events of the occupation — still not over after 27 days — have left scars and divisions that residents said would not soon heal, even after the drama ends and the world’s attention moves on. Nearly everyone here wonders when — or whether — the community will be able to move on.

“This county is so tore up, it will never be the same — ever,” said Jeff Dixson, 68, a wildlife photographer and former truckdriver who said he supported many of the goals of the occupiers in his midst, making him unpopular with many neighbors. “There’s a lot of people that have told me they ain’t never going to talk to me again.”

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Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/30/us/burns-oregon-protest.html?_r=0

[mdbl]

1. Once a moron, always a moron.

“This county is so tore up, it will never be the same — ever,” said Jeff Dixson, 68, a wildlife photographer and former truckdriver who said he supported many of the goals of the occupiers in his midst, making him unpopular with many neighbors. “There’s a lot of people that have told me they ain’t never going to talk to me again.”

( I wouldn't talk to you either ) But you I hope you photographed the wildlife that has been occupying the refuge. Should make for a great travel series.

[SCVDem]

2. Burns was first

The rest of the country will follow.

Asswipes like Trump and the right wing noise machine are getting the message of hate spread all over America. The tenor is towards violence.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't concerned.

[daleanime]

3. As we all should be.

[maxsolomon]

4. what WERE their goals, again?

stop the BLM managing BLM lands, end grazing fees, let the 2 convicted ranchers out of jail. was that it?

[csziggy]

5. They want all federally owned land distributed to private ownership

They don't believe that the federal government should own any land - no national forests, parks or wildlife refuges. No federally owned grazing lands that they can lease for a pittance. No land protected from overgrazing, unlimited timber cutting, mining, drilling, fracking, etc. No land preserved for wildlife or public recreation.

[jpak]

6. The Feds should give all that western BLM land to

Eastern Dude Sissies from Neewwww Yooork Cittay!!!!!1111

yup

[csziggy]

7. That will charge the rancher New York City prices for grazing their cattle!

Seriously, these guys are delusional - they think that they will end up with free land to overgraze. Instead big corporations would buy it up and charge them many times over what the BLM does for grazing and water rights. Plus the ranchers already proved in the past in the Malhuer/Burns area how bad they can be at managing that marginal land.

In the 1920s and 30s large scale ranching companies overgrazed the land around the wildlife refuge and turned it into a dustbowl. You can still see on Google Maps in the aerial view the channeling that was done to the rivers that damaged the lakebed. With BLM management, the ground covers have returned, the wildlife is doing better and the limited grazing is managed to protect the water sources and not allowed to destroy the land.

Here is a good opinion piece about the history of this delusional thinking: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/06/opinion/in-oregon-myth-mixes-with-anger.html

[Coyotl]

8. And they intend to take it even if it breaks up the Union.

Tradition, y'all realize, don't thread and all dat ....

[Spitfire of ATJ]

9. What's funny is these guys actually believe they're heroes....

Think about it.

Say they have the big shootout of their fantasy.

The shooting stops and they actually WIN!!!

They come out and step over the bloody corpses of FBI guys and what do you think happens next?

They believe the whole community will cheer.

[japple]

14. That's the way it happens in that movie playing in their heads! eom

[vinny9698]

10. Most of the town is on some type of government job

And they want the government to leave.
In rural Harney County, the federal government is not some far away agency. It is a significant employer, providing about 240 jobs to county residents, according to data from the Oregon Department of Employment.
http://www.bendbulletin.com/home/3906161-151/government-a-big-player-in-harney-county-economy#

[passiveporcupine]

11. I knew this was going to tear Burns and the whole area apart.

That's one of the reasons I was hoping for more action from the FEDs sooner. The longer it lasts the more division it creates. I did not want to see anyone killed. I hope the last four are finally taken down without loss of lives. But, please...let it be over soon.

These kinds of rifts in a small town can last a long long time.

[secondwind]

12. this makes me so sad...

[roamer65]

13. Dissent was the primary goal of these people.

That is how groups like this one grow and thrive. It's the old ideology of divide and conquer, sadly.

It's a common tactic among fascists, like Bundy and his ilk.

[mpcamb]

15. Yeah. Dissent is the key. But it's the type of dissent...

I was thinking about marches in the 60's , the Occupy Movement, Anti-War rallies that took over public places.
A primary difference was that they were unarmed.
A second was that their purpose was a high moral and societal goal. (and here's where the argument begins- 'high', 'moral' goal.) Those are the distinguishing parts that separates these (wrongly named) 'militants', who should be termed 'rebels' or worse.

Labor in the early years of the century was more macho, more physically confronting. (And management then was able to be as arbitrary as they are today with lawyers, guns and money.) It was probably only moral righteousness, FDR and numbers that let them make the gains that brought about the success that the US had in the middle of the last century.

Hopes for the future may again rest with those factors- just causes, numbers and an honorable leader.

[lark]

16. These occupations aren't about the general good, not one bit.

It's about enriching themselves and certain other ranchers by the federal government explicitly giving the land to them for free with no controls. They are even against national parks because some rancher or timber company could rape the land for free, fuck we the people. It's total blind selfishness and that's it. It's also really and totally stupid, especially in the long run.