Here is a Hard Truth: There were as many armed Patriots at the last NC PatCon I attended as were at the Foley Building in Spokane.
Let that sink in for a moment.
That is not a dig at the Washington Patriots - hell, I have been to Patriot events all over the country like Foley where turnout has been consistently pathetic. But for the righteous indignation that was the motivator for Foley, and for a "Patriot Leader" who has been in the mix "...since the 90's...", to draw a crowd of 60 or so Patriots is not a win, using that narrow metric. It is also a major telegraph to the Enemies of Liberty about capabilities, quality of Leadership and intent. That is inside information you would not share with most allies - why broadcast it to your enemies while standing in a concrete canyon with reticles on your foreheads?
The average III Patriot who will go to the Green is not the kind of person who is inclined to attend political rallies or events, especially when the Mission Objective is just to bitch and complain, and especially when most of us have become convinced that such political remedies are not feasible.
Most hard Patriots I know will show up when it is real, when there is an actual, defined task to be performed - like opening Memorials. That event brought together far more than people who self-identify as III - there were OathKeepers, bikers, Vets, Tea Partiers, and more.
The average III Patriot simply is not going to go and rah-rah in a circle-jerk.
Private events in the Patriot community are far more appealing to III Patriots. The enduring success of Brock's NC PatCon is testament. And the general chatter at such events is not bitching and whining - but planning, training and networking. These are people who intend to go to work when there is work to be done and when that work has a reasonable chance of being successfully completed.
Bill Nye held the first PatCon. Local, Local, Local was the cry, and it works. It works in every community I have been where it has been tried. And here is the most important point: Such events do not openly broadcast capabilities, leadership quality, intent, strengths, weaknesses, et cetera - instead, such events create unknowns for the Enemies of Liberty.
If we are indeed in the final historical moments of quiet before Americans begin hurting one another, telegraphing all your Tribe/Team business is not prudent, certainly not in public where head-counts are easy and all of your people are in a concrete canyon. Unless you want to be the next Boston Massacre...
Let's not ask our Militia allies to put themselves in danger for the benefit of a weak public political display, when they are our Minutemen who are properly reserved for ensuring LEO doesn't have the best seat in the house when things get real.
As a community, let's consider the value of unknowns. Let's consider the ROI of public displays of discontent where our numbers do not match the day shift of the Mayberry LEO shop.
Kerodin
III
Enemies of Liberty are ruthless. To own your Liberty, you'd better come harder than your enemies..
