Does that get your attention? It should. Thankfully for the thinking world, this headline's not real, at least not yet anyway. This scenario did play out in a war games simulation published in the Small Wars Journal on July 25th. That article, entitled Full Spectrum Operations in the Homeland: A "Vision" of the Future, outlines an all-too-realistic scenario where angry, racist Tea-Partiers take over the local government of my hometown. Here's an excerpt of the madness:
In May 2016 an extremist militia motivated by the goals of the “tea party” movement takes over the government of Darlington, South Carolina, occupying City Hall, disbanding the city council, and placing the mayor under house arrest. Activists remove the chief of police and either disarm local police and county sheriff departments or discourage them from interfering. In truth, this is hardly necessary. Many law enforcement officials already are sympathetic to the tea party’s agenda, know many of the people involved, and have made clear they will not challenge the takeover. The militia members are organized and have a relatively well thought-out plan of action.
With Darlington under their control, militia members quickly move beyond the city limits to establish “check points” – in reality, something more like choke points -- on major transportation lines. Traffic on I-95, the East Coast’s main north-south artery; I-20; and commercial and passenger rail lines are stopped and searched, allegedly for “illegal aliens.” Citizens who complain are immediately detained. Activists also collect “tolls” from drivers, ostensibly to maintain public schools and various city and county programs, but evidence suggests the money is actually going toward quickly increasing stores of heavy weapons and ammunition. They also take over the town web site and use social media sites to get their message out unrestricted.
That's my hometown. With a full spectrum of potential locations for this fantasy to play out, the author singled out Darlington. Two things struck me about this fallout from this article. One - this scenario underlies the dream for many who follow this political ideology. Two - the woeful post-journal reaction painted a shameful light on the place where I grew up.
This war games simulation paints the party in its most extreme light. It highlights the potentially explosive consequences of the far-right wing political ideology. From issues of gun rights to immigration, many of these individuals dream about the published scenario. They dream of the moment when they are able to rise up against the government, enacting their own immigration policies and using their stockpiled weapons to exact control over the people not like them. What this simulation does properly point out is the strong racist undertone that powers this party. While the party often parades under the facade of Constitutional advocacy, many of its adherents are driven by devious motivations.
Consider the following except from later in the simulation:
While mainstream politicians and citizens react with alarm, the “tea party” insurrectionists in South Carolina enjoy a groundswell of support from other tea party groups, militias, racist organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan, anti-immigrant associations such as the Minutemen, and other right-wing groups. At the press conference the masked militia members’ uniforms sport a unit seal with a man wearing a tricorn hat and carrying a musket over the motto “Today’s Minutemen.” When a reporter asked the leaders who are the “red coats” the spokesman answered, “I don’t know who the redcoats are…it could be federal troops.” Experts warn that while these groups heretofore have been considered weak and marginal, the rapid coalescence among them poses a genuine national threat.
In discussions on this simulation, I hoped to run into a wall of individuals decrying its outrageous assertions. Our hometown, painted as a hotbed for racist extremism? This should be the exact thing that cuts across political lines. I was disappointed at the response, as it confirmed the inclinations of the author. It was proudly posted on Facebook walls, with posters discussing which role they would play in the insurrection.
The shameful response even went mainstream, as the largest area newspaper proudly reported on the article in its front page slot. The headline - "Will The Rebellion Start in Darlington?" The obvious take away from that headline is the assumption that "the rebellion" is inevitable, with only its origin up for debate.
You might expect the mayor of this town to speak out against the unfortunate characterization. After all, it's never good for a community to support and nurture a picture of racial disharmony.
After noting that the town's rebellious past might have driven its distinction as a future rebellious hotbed, the mayor went on to say this:
Watkins said he was eager to read the article and opined that it might not be a bad thing.
“I don’t want to confuse notoriety with infamy,” he said, “but we could use a little publicity around here.”
Publicity indeed. This is a gross response that highlights a disturbing level of backwardness in towns like mine and many others. A KKK-backed Tea Party revolt intent on detaining illegal aliens should be met with contempt by all. Unfortunately for my town, it was met with amusement, excitement and unbridled anticipation.