In the coming second American Civil War,
which side are you on?
Sure, it's unlikely. You may think it's impossible. But that's always what people think, until it's too late
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 4, 2021 6:00AM (EDT)
A man hold his hand to his heart as a Proud Boys organizer recites the Pledge of Allegiance during a Proud Boys rally at Delta Park in Portland, Oregon on September 26, 2020. (MARANIE R. STAAB/AFP via Getty Images)
A man hold his hand to his heart as a Proud Boys organizer recites the Pledge of Allegiance during a Proud Boys rally at Delta Park in Portland, Oregon on
If there is a second American Civil War, which side would you choose? It may be wise to make that decision now, in the spirit of planning for the worst while hoping for the best.
A recent public opinion poll by the University of Virginia Center for Politics finds that a majority of Trump voters want to secede from the Union. Alarmingly, nearly as many Biden voters, 41 percent, also feel it may be "time to split the country." This is part of a larger pattern; other polls and research have come to similar conclusions.
It's important to resist false equivalence and superficial analysis here. It may be true that a large percentage of both Democrats and Republicans are willing to consider seceding from the United States, but their reasons and motivations are very different.
Today's Republican Party has, in practice, largely surrendered to neofascism and white supremacy — currents that were not far below its surface for many years. It has embraced and condoned the violence of the Jan. 6 insurrection, and has come very close to directly endorsing terrorism against its perceived political enemies.
For Republicans, America's multiracial democracy is anathema to their values and must be destroyed. Public opinion research has shown that tens of millions of white Republicans, especially Trump supporters, view Joe Biden as an illegitimate president who should be removed from power by whatever means necessary.
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I could not find any reference on line objecting to the use of the term as a xenophobic slur.
I think you are making it up as a slur.
to get the oil, beef up our domination in the ME, and "finish" the first gulf war by smashing Iraq?
Right now the trumpist types are feeling sorta isolationist because trump hasn't been blowing the war trumpet. But most of them are frequently huge warmongers, and most of the rest support it as needed.
Btw, and this helps explain so much about them, it's the nature of strong conservatives to know enemies will detroy them if not destroyed first. And they always have enemies. (Unfortunately, instead of Russia or Iran, we're currently #1.)
And it's also their nature to believe only forcing enemies to total surrrender will save us from destruction. 41 let them down terribly by not invading Iraq (and they didn't reelect him) but 44, one of them, returned to invade, occupy, and kill Hussein and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis (and salvage his father's honor).
This is why so many respond with outrage to diplomatic solutions, limited engagements, smart war, etc. It's not just partisan opposition -- typical strong conservatives are typically appalled. Trumpist types opposed all the nuclear test ban and step-down treaties! And, btw, they've always known we will need to use our nuclear arsenal to protect ourselves, nice people placidly accepting the need to murder millions as a certainty.
And very hard-core conservatives like these and worse currently threaten to take over. Situations and reactions change, but personality traits remain the same, including in very educated and experienced strong conservatives at the top of government and business. We've all been amazed at what mean, inadequate little creeps so many are.
China and Russia are of course also ancient enemies, and both are headed by conservative governments. Of course they are allied, somewhat, against us now...
flocking to government too??
Beyond unbelievable times.
revolution, and for that reason alone insurrectionist authorities might encourage it, as well as DVE groups. Our own county is very red, already Republican territory, so hopefully those in charge would attempt to maintain order.
As for potential consequences, simple, linear grasp might be overstating it. Someone some months ago told me he could always feed his family by hunting and pointed to the southern Appalachian wilderness for a backup food supply. He seemed to be imagining himself stalking through silent woods like Daniel Day Lewis.
I told him about the millions of hunters that would be pouring into them from all surrounding states and cities as soon as food was cleaned out closer to home. They'd also of course be ravaging agricultural crops. Exponentially.
Worst cases of course, dystopian novel territory. But for any level of disorder from any cause, I have a very low expectations these days for the competence or integrity of conservative governments.
Doughnut time. 
So I’m not sure about your “mopping up” term.
Many, if not most, of these loons seem to be in PA, OH, OR, western NY, MI, MN.
We don't live in an either-or world. Things aren't black-or-white.
I won't be manipulated into deciding whether I'm coming or going.
Just sayin'
The US will be the Big Military that protects the 1% in this scenario. And serves to keep all the little regional Wars that will happen rolling along, because Arms Sales.
In 25 to 50 years I do see the real possibility of the US becoming more or less 'balkanized' at some point, probably more due to the effects of severe Climate Change and not so much a prime result of political strife.
But not in an active Civil War...it will just 'drift apart' along obvious political/societal fault lines, with terrorist attacks, some riots and violence, lots of shortages and pain and suffering, but overall if compared to the French Revolution or the American Civil War, it will not be a bloody throwdown.
