The Hutaree story sort of fascinated me when it broke. The more I learned about it though, the more it sounded like they were a bunch of trash talking guys with guns who the FBI were trying to essentially frame as terrorists out to overthrow the government. Now I could totally believe that they said all sorts of crazy things, especially if they had been drinking at some point, and I absolutely believe that people that have had too much to drink say all sorts of crazy things. And of course, it’s not only alcohol they could have been under the influence of, but there were no drug charges in this case, so I lean towards believing that if they imbibed in mind altering drugs, alcohol would be the substance of choice.
Now the media pounced on this story like sharks on chum, seeking to build a narrative of how we have home grown terrorists and shouldn’t seek to single out any specific group, since if we are going to profile, we will have to add white folks to the profiling list. Others tried to make hay of the case by trying to build a narrative of how Militias are a threat to the United States.
It all sounded good, and fortunately for the media, the American Mass Media market has an attention span shorter than the mating time of a housefly. Charges were filed, and all the boring legal stuff that takes time to sort out happened next. But clearly the FBI had done a great job of infiltrating a terrorist group and stopping them before they terrorized our great nation. Surely the trial would basically be a formality, after all, our justice department would have told us that there shouldn’t be any rush to judgment if there was any real doubt.
What I find to be particularly awesome about this story is that it actually reinforces the militia types’ narrative that the gummint is out to get the good ol’ boys that really only want to talk trash, drink, and be ready to protect their freedom. The fact that the players in this case haven’t tried to capitalize on their newfound freedom to play to a market that I believe would lionize them tells me that they either really aren’t interested in some sort of idealistic principles, and would really rather just be able to go back to their simple lives (probably sans their guns) or they are really otnay eryvay ightbray.
As for the FBI, it really seems that they need to really re-evaluate the way they pursue these cases. If they really have sufficient resources that they can spend their time essentially framing loudmouthed dumbasses, then we really can spend less on law enforcement, or they are part of a bigger problem, which is more likely psychological on their part and they have to be re-trained so they can tell the difference between dumbasses and real threats, and if they determine that they have been chasing down dumbasses, they need to have a branch that specifically deals with low level monitoring just in case rather than trying to build a spectacular case that is at the heart of it an infringement on protected free speech (as offensive as it may be).
Of course, for the conspiracy types out there, there is the possibility that the FBI is acting in concert with the media to create a sense of fear so they can increase their budget, and move the country towards a police state. You don’t even have to buy that it is a particular conspiracy as opposed to a mind set, since both possibilities lead to the same place. It may even be worse if it isn’t a specific conspiracy being led by individuals or small groups, but an evolution of mindset, since if it is the latter, that is much more difficult to turn back.
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