Chapter 6:
The Militias Rally
The news of the kidnapping of Carlos Guerrero threw the secession movement into a crisis. Every preconception of them was seemingly confirmed, as a violent threat to innocents and a bunch of racists with a special animus towards Mexicans. The question of Mexicans has always vexed those who think of Texas as a once independent nation. Obviously the Mexican and American Indian presence predated their own and had far more legitimacy than did any claim to Texas independence. The obvious solution was simply racist denigration of Mexicans, but after the civil rights movement that was no longer as acceptable as it once was.
Guerrero was the embodiment of that ideological threat to their ideas, so it was little wonder he was singled out by an irrational and not very bright group of militia. But how to show the world that image was not all they were? The obvious way, after several failed public statements by their leaders that actually refused to condemn the kidnapping, was a public demonstration, bringing the whole movement into view where their voices could be heard, where they could make their case to the media.
The call went out on secessionist sites all across the web, and was picked up by the national press:
“Militias across the state rally!
Texas is one and indivisible!
We will not allow these illegal aliens to take over our beloved Republic!
Will this be the proud Texas Republic?!
Or one more banana republic run by drug dealing mafias?!”
The rally had been in the planning stages prior to the kidnapping, as a counter protest to the Aztlan Now rally at the Alamo. Now it was needed more than ever. But already there were problems. The announcement seriously asked people to believe that all Mexicans were in Texas illegally. Not only was that racist and a ludicrous stereotype, it clearly was not true. Virtually everyone in Texas knew Mexicans who had been in the state many generations. Some of the young Latinos could not even speak Spanish. Some only knew the cursing. Most spoke Tex-Mex, which included not only a mix of Spanish and English, but many very archaic Spanish words from the days when Coahuila y Tejas were somewhat isolated from the rest of Mexico. Some Tejanos even named their kids very un-Latino names like Crystal and Cameron. Long gone were the days when most Mexicans had Biblical names like Lazaro and Magdalena.
In Austin, more than 2,000 militia members, secessionists, gun rights people, anti-tax protesters, and varied opponents of the federal government rallied only two days after the kidnapping. The marchers gathered at the banks of the Colorado River, marching north up Congress Street for a dozen blocks, and then finally demonstrated in front of the State Capitol building.
One of the most common and striking sights was that of marchers carrying guns. Perhaps half the marchers had pistols, revolvers, or other handguns strapped to their side. Many carried rifles and shotguns slung over their shoulders. Some were carrying semiautomatic weapons, AK-47s, M16s, and Uzis. A few provocatively chose to carry the weapons in their hands and sometimes even brandished them for the cameras, waving them high over their heads, shouting slogans.
Officially, none of them were supposed to be loaded. (More than a few seemed to be carrying ammo clips or had them stashed or hidden nearby, ready to lock and load at a moment’s notice.) Much like armed protesters at the Tea Parties, the marchers carried them with the intent of making a point about what they believe on the subject of gun rights, that anyone law abiding should be able to carry a weapon openly. But the manner of the protesters, and the fact of who the protesters were and what they believed on other subjects, undercut any gun rights message. What most of the public saw was a bunch of people wanting to overthrow the government. As if to underscore that, some protesters also carried signs saying, “My Gun Isn’t Loaded- THIS TIME!”
In practice, gun ownership in America has always been heavily racialized. Originally, the first gun laws in America both required every white male to own a gun and barred anyone who wasn’t white from having one. The intent was obvious: Keep the darker races in line through force or the threat of force. When nonwhites carry guns, many find it threatening. California passed laws barring the public carrying of guns…right after the Black Panthers started doing it. Rapper Jasiri X put it succinctly in his song, “If the Tea Party Was Black.” The double standard is clear. If Blacks or Mexicans tried carrying guns in demonstrations, the public outcry would be deafening. Even carrying Mexican flags in demonstrations brought forth bigoted howls from the likes of Fox News’s Brit Hume. If he found a flag threatening, how much more enraged would he be by the sight of Mexicans demonstrating with their guns?
Gun ownership continues to be highest among those least likely to need it for protection: the wealthier you are and the whiter you are, the less likely you are to be a crime victim. The darker and poorer you are, the more likely you are to be a crime victim. And poor nonwhite people can just as clearly see there are lesser consequences, namely shorter prison terms, for using a gun against others like themselves rather than against whites or well off victims. This, in part, is why the poor victimize mostly each other, and almost all crime is on people of similar background, Black-on-Black, Brown-on-Brown, and white-on-white. The one exception is among American Indians, who are usually victimized by white criminals.
None of these facts take away from the point that guns can be useful tools, both for self-defense and hunting. It just points to the insanity behind people who, rather than think of guns as something practical, are downright gun worshippers, people who think of guns as literally a magic bullet, a quick easy solution for every problem. Guns give the delusion of absolute power and protection. Your voice is a far more effective weapon than a gun for maintaining your freedom. Dictatorships, far from fearing gun ownership, fear eloquent and outspoken people far more. Dictators round up university students and artists, not gun owners. The Nazis actually ended almost all the gun control that had been passed by the Weimar Republic. Looking at the rally marching up Congress Street, most Americans and even the most gun loving Texans had the thought that most of these people shouldn’t be allowed to handle sharp scissors, much less carry an AK-47 near the capital.
The rally sent the worst possible message: Angry white people raging against Mexicans, liberals, and government, and threatening violence. Much like the Tea Parties, protesters’ signs seemed guaranteed to make them look like vicious racist nut jobs:
“Rick Perry, Obama’s White Slave”
“Obama, Back Off Homey”
“Rick Perry Got Punked by Obama”
“The Zoo Has an African Lion and the White House Has a Lying African”
“Kenyans and Mexicans Will Destroy Texas”
“Stop the Mexican-Bilderberger-United Nations Takeover!”
“Obama -Monkey See Monkey Destroy”
“Obama=Slave Owner, Texas Taxpayer=Niggar”
“Trade Obama Back to Kenya, Trade Mexicans Back to Mexico”
“Texas Is White, Not Mexican”
“Obama That’s My Nigger”
“Obama Perry = Somali Pirates”
“Hang Em High Traitors Obama Perry Pelosi Kennedy”
“Death For Feds”
“Death For Perry and DPS”
“It’s Time to Water the Tree of Liberty with Perry & Obama’s Blood”
“I Got Your Trigger Right Here”
“We Are Armed and Ready”
“No Socialests, No Meskins”
“I’m a Mavrick How Bout You”
“Obama Perry the Massas of the Texas Plantation”
“We’re Not Slaves”
“Obama Perry a Black Future”
“AP Associated Puppetmasters” with a picture of Obama and Perry
“Texas Taxpayers Are the Jews for Obama Perry’s Ovens”
“Obama Bin Lyin, Perry Bin Bowin Down”
“This Finger Wasnt Made to Press One for English”
“Undocumented Worker” with picture of Obama
“C
ontrol Our Boarder Stop Illegals”
“Obama Perry Bilderberg Jihad”
“Perry Is a Bilderberg UN NAFTA Stooge”
“Obama Half Breed Muslin”
“Perry Is a White Nigger White Meskin”
“Perry Bilderberg Puppet Manchurian Candidate”
“O.B.A.M.A. Oppressive Bloodsucking Arrogant Moslem Alien”
“Go Back to Your Country”
“Show Me Your Mexican Flag Ill Shove It Up Your Ass”
“Go Trash Your Fathers Crappy Country”
“40,000,000 Illegal Mexicans Violate US Texas Laws”
“Gee a Whole Lot of White People Here Today”
“We’re Not Racest Your Illegal”
But where the Tea Parties had an almost whimsical sense of delusion, with protesters often dressed like American Revolution characters, the secessionist uniform of choice was, well, uniform.
Fully half the protesters wore army camouflage, an ill-fitting sea of mottled greens, browns, and grays. One militia group also wore camo makeup, usually green camo mixed with black shoe polish. Wearing shoe polish on the face gave some a definite minstrel show Amos-n-Andy look that combined with the racist signs in the worst way. Given that many of the militia members were clearly overweight, most were middle aged, and some were gray haired, balding, and elderly, the message they sent was not so much “We will fight for our freedom to the death” as “We are the bigoted uncles you get embarrassed about at family reunions.”
The other half of the protesters were mostly in t shirts and jeans, and the t- shirts usually had similar slogans as the signs. Not even the militia leaders could be bothered to wear suits, preferring to pose as, well, the leaders of actual militias, as though this ragtag collection was any kind of serious military threat. Threatening neighbors, making elaborate plans for murder, making inflammatory posts on the net, and even blundering into shootouts with police, these are terrorist actions, but they are not the same as starting a revolution. None of the militias pose the slightest challenge to a real army, no matter their delusions of fighting “tyranny.” The ineffectiveness of these militias in every standoff they had and their inability to carry out any of their terrorist plots only highlights their utter lack of real military skills.
But the message they sent that day to most Americans, most Texans, and especially most Tejanos or progressive Texans, was that these were people who mean to do you harm. The thought of a nation run by these ignorant crazed types was chilling. All the media had to do was point to their signs, or point to the secessionist websites with a call to expel any “communist” progressives from Texas. Aztlan Now activists reported a flood of activity on their behalf, more signatures on petitions, more online editorials in their favor, more calls and emails to elected officials.
For the first time, most Mexican-American politicians in the state started to favor breaking away from Texas. Even should secession be defeated at the polls, reconciliation would take a long time. Texas politics had not been this polarized since the 1970s.