What Happened In Venezuela Couldn't Happen Here. Could It?

[thresher_593]

Graphic example of what happens when a government disarms the citizens.

They become criminals, dissidents, refugees, corpses.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/venezuelans-regret-gun-prohibition-we-could-have-defended-ourselves

Make no mistake about it, this could happen here all too easily.

[Lostinspace]

Just yesterday I read on another forum from a former resident of that country who had visited his brother there in the last month.  What he said and described sent chills down my spine.  It's 10 times worse than any media is reporting.  He described a scene that took place across the street from his brothers home and holding the elderly woman's hand as she passed away.  She had been beaten and raped by a gang of thugs just to get her cat so they could eat it.  People kill each other over there right now simply for looking at you the wrong way or thinking you may have a few dollars.  He described a murder he witnessed on the sidewalk in front of their house.  A prostitute had been observed putting money in her bra and the next day after she had been working the corner and had some cash two guys pulled up to her on a motorcycle, jumped of and pumped 3 bullets into her head at point blank range, then ripped off her clothes took the money and left her almost nude body right there in the street.  The police do nothing but come around once a day collecting bodies.  No law unless the police and military are stealing from you.

[Hodgie]

Yeah next time someone tells you "that only happens in the movies" let them read this. In order to remain a free people your government needs to be kept in line through any means possible including the threat of the people rising up.

We have it way to easy here in modern day America, but as history has shown us time and time again nothing lasts forever.

“Venezuelans didn’t care enough about it. The idea of having the means to protect your home was seen as only needed out in the fields. People never would have believed they needed to defend themselves against the government,” Vanegas explained. “Venezuelans evolved to always hope that our government would be non-tyrannical, non-violator of human rights, and would always have a good enough control of criminality.”

He said it didn’t take long for such a wide-eyed public perception to fall apart. “If guns had been a stronger part of our culture, if there had been a sense of duty for one to protect their individual rights, and as a show of force against a government power – and had legal carry been a common thing – it would have made a huge difference,” he lamented.

[Lostinspace]

Yeah next time someone tells you "that only happens in the movies" let them read this. In order to remain a free people your government needs to be kept in line through any means possible including the threat of the people rising up.

We have it way to easy here in modern day America, but as history has shown us time and time again nothing lasts forever.

“Venezuelans didn’t care enough about it. The idea of having the means to protect your home was seen as only needed out in the fields. People never would have believed they needed to defend themselves against the government,” Vanegas explained. “Venezuelans evolved to always hope that our government would be non-tyrannical, non-violator of human rights, and would always have a good enough control of criminality.”

He said it didn’t take long for such a wide-eyed public perception to fall apart. “If guns had been a stronger part of our culture, if there had been a sense of duty for one to protect their individual rights, and as a show of force against a government power – and had legal carry been a common thing – it would have made a huge difference,” he lamented.

I sincerely hope nothing close to this ever happens here like that.  My family is from Louisiana and some of my extended family (distant cousins) did not survive Katrina.  The last count we had was 11.  My close family all survived.  My brother was in the thick of it in Covington for about 2 weeks starting 2 days after landfall.  He had gone there to help out a family of close friends.  Without giving away opsec, he got a really good idea of what works, what doesn't and how people become.  We talked many times about those 2 weeks after it happened.  I am so grateful for a family that is self sufficient in terms of being able to take care of ourselves in a SHTF and a bug out location that will supply us with all our needs including being very highly defensible.  This much I know that as a family (we have close to 50 immediate members) we will be able to survive and protect ourselves from pretty much anything that comes our way.  The BOL is in the middle of a huge forest many many miles away from a city with 30K residents and that's the biggest city within 200+ miles, with bayous and rivers all around and there are about 60 camps there of similarly minded folks.  My guess is that in a SHTF scenario our little "community" will probably end up consisting of 400-800 folks that are very capable of providing for themselves and very capable of defending themselves with all sorts of defense mechanisms.  A number of them are veterans, ex-LEO, current service and current LEO.  I've already told my family that when I do finally retire, in just a few years, that I am moving there.