How to be a Post-Modern Revolutionary, Legally

One of the limitations of blogging is that I have to be very careful about what information post that pertains to my off-line existence. I really can't talk about too many things I have done or too many places I have traveled as by doing so I either 1) reveal incriminating information or 2) reveal identifying information. But I can write about stuff that I haven't done yet or have no plans of doing. Today I want to talk about how commit revolutionary acts in "non"-violent and legal ways. That said check your local, state and federal laws before doing anything described herein.

The ELZN or the Zapatistas are known for being the first "post-modern" revolutionary army. This is because while they have guns, they only used them for twelve days in 1994. Since then their arms act merely as a deterrent against outside aggression, i.e. as a means of providing self-determination. Back in their prime, the Black Panther Party in San Francisco took advantage of California's open carry laws and formed armed street patrols to deter acts of police brutality in their neighborhoods. It worked and acts of police brutality against Blacks plummeted.

Some states, such Vermont still have open carry laws permitting your to carry firearms openly as long as you are not on government property, i.e. on the Vermont Statehouse lawn. As such, there is nothing inherently illegal with a band of ski-masked people carrying guns to walk around the streets of their hometown carrying AK-47s. Pointing them at or generally threatening people with them however is illegal. One idea that I had was to establish patrols in my home town to demonstrate that the town and the state of Vermont are more than capable of defending itself against foreign aggression, without the help of the federal government. Thus your band of revolutionaries is replacing and therefor nullifying the federal government in one respect. Providing for the populace where the government has failed is the first step towards establishing your movement as a counter-authority and gaining popular support, as described by Timothy Wickham Crowley.

Another idea is to use the fact that you are armed to bring attention to your cause. Media member will no doubt take interest in you and you must you this opportunity to get your message out. They key to this is having a statement prepared so that you do not look like another "gun nut" (my apologies to the gun nuts who read this). Also do not allow yourselves to become provoked into confrontation. If the police come, which they will remain calm and cooperative, explaining that you are well within your legal and constitutional rights. Have a copy of the open-carry law with you to prove that you are not committing a crime. Again, double and triple check all applicable laws before doing this. For example in Vermont you can have a loaded handgun in your car, but not a loaded rifle or shotgun so you would have to load up your AK or AR once you got to where you plan to demonstrate and then unload them when you leave. This is assuming that you want to keep your guns loaded, which is not necessary as you will not be using them, plus it looks better if you do get arrested for whatever reason.