Signs and Wonders

Signs and Wonders

by Marco M. Pardi

All comments are welcome and will receive a response.

Over the past twenty years and more the United States has seen increasing evidence of White Power militancy and hoarding of weapons in preparation for some expected internecine conflict. But for most Americans almost all of the evidence has been viewed at a distance, presented in short news stories and the very occasional in depth coverage of such incidents as Ruby Ridge and Waco. The massive death toll at the bombing of the Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City was glossed over as the work of a couple of deranged individuals. And, particularly after the September 11, 2001 airline hijacking incident the public mind increasingly linked the concept terrorism with foreign Muslim. Meanwhile the White self-styled “militias” increasingly gained the status of heroes and patriots, a bit zealous perhaps but basically good guys.

During several of those early years I worked in a federal counter-terrorism program. But, unlike my superiors, my attention was centered on domestic evidence, threat levels, funding sources, and the ultimate question – Cui bono, usually rendered as “Who benefits?” Yet, my findings and concerns were ignored; the emphasis was instead on shoveling massive amounts of tax payer funds to States and Territories to militarize their police forces in anticipation of a foreign invasion of evildoer saboteurs and wild eyed suicidal terrorists. I eventually chose retirement and more involvement in college teaching.

It is interesting that as I write this the public is being informed of top level Department of Homeland Security attempts to suppress information and findings on the dangers and activities of domestic, predominantly White Nationalist Right Wing groups. More damning is the evidence that Left Wing groups are instead being falsely demonized. But again, these are news reports, seen by many people, internalized by some, ignored by others, and forgotten when prime time viewing airs the current episode of some meat market reality show, or some “crime” show in which the crime will be resolved in an hour.

However, just as I finished the paragraph above I got a notification that the FBI is issuing very serious warnings about the potential for armed violence at polling stations and State buildings on Election Day. The warnings cite high risk from armed Trump supporters trying to coerce voters and erupting in violence should it appear Trump is losing. But again, even with broad coverage on mainstream news, how many people bother with such news anymore?

Apparently, people are forming their opinions from some information sources. Just today it was disclosed that Trump wanted to fire a top level Dept. of Homeland Security official because the official stated for the media that Russia, not China or Iran, is the primary influencer in Trump’s favor. Oh, well, dictatorships control the news. That’s what they do. Maybe we should just get over it.

A couple of days ago I took a car trip. But before doing so I got the emissions check I need for a new license tag. As I flipped open my billfold to select a highly protected credit card the cashier at the auto inspection place, who looked like he just got out of prison, saw my Concealed Carry License. He said, “Joe Biden will take that away from you.” Not wanting a confrontation, I simply said, “I don’t think so.” He then launched into an NRA inspired soliloquy on how “They” would have to come and take his guns off his dead body. Since he had my address, a couple of miles from the shop, I passed on telling him to be careful what he wished for.

We then set off on a trip into the north Georgia “mountains”, not too far from home and just on the border with North Carolina. We selected old State roads over the newer Interstates, giving us a horrendously twisting, climbing passage on very narrow two lane roads but an up close view of “Deliverance” country. Yes, that movie was filmed in the area we were driving. I knew a couple of retired “Feds” who built houses in these woods and who told me, “Don’t piss off the locals”.

With 50 yards or less of forward visibility through the tree lined curves I watched the local mountain boys hurtle their huge and questionably maintained pickup trucks up and down the twisting road like Olympic bobsledders, wondering when our mirrors would clip. Watching those trucks I noticed most of them were festooned with Trump stickers, gun manufacturer logos, and rude messages. I don’t recall seeing Confederate flags.

Each time the road opened a bit we saw houses, some fairly nice and some not so. And, everywhere there was room we saw yard signs for Trump, messages from God, and American flags. At one intersection we saw our first local campaign sign: the candidate’s name over a very large picture of an AR-15. We got the message.

Finally we arrived at the town we wanted and found the apple orchard store we had come looking for. Everyone, including us, wore masks. Must all have been tourists. We spent over an hour getting bags of apples and various other items before loading up and searching for a place for a late lunch. We finally found one. Afterwards, while walking to the car a young couple was walking toward us, she was White and he was Black. He had his head down and looked rather apprehensive. But as he glanced up I nodded, looked him in the eye and said, “How are you doing?” He had a typical startle reaction but smiled and said, “Fine, thank you.” I guess he was expecting something else. In fact, judging by what I had seen in the area I felt that around this region the initials BLM mean Bureau of Land Management.

As we drove off we had to negotiate another few miles of twisting, blind two lane road to get to a major highway back to Atlanta. Coming up on a stop sign we saw a very large billboard advertising an independent pharmacy. The name and logo of the pharmacy were clearly presented over a line of large script which said: Drugs, Guns, Ammunition, Tags. All your shopping needs.

Great! We could load up on opioids, take our pick of guns and load them, and maybe get a tag or two for any “big game” we shot. Couldn’t ask for more. We wanted to photograph the sign, but several factors prevented that: A blind curve behind us meant some mountain boy in a pick-up truck would likely slam into us; there was no place to pull off the road without clearing some trees or driving into a ravine; the license tag on my vehicle is marked with an identifier for an affluent county bordering Atlanta; and, I didn’t feel like engaging in a shoot-out after such a nice lunch. But I do sincerely regret not being able to post the picture, which is still clear in my mind.

So what do we make of all this? Is this just an aberration, a sojourn into The Twilight Zone? Or is this Americana? I’ve lived in or traveled 49 of the 50 U.S. States, North Dakota being the only exception. While working in counter-terrorism I was in frequent contact with State counterparts throughout the U.S.. In several cases I was told that, no matter the attack or disaster, State personnel and vehicles would NOT be sent to certain areas, specifically large compounds of heavily armed self-styled militias and “religious” anti-government groups. “I’m not sending my people out there to get shot to pieces!” I completely agreed.

I’ve been “out of the business” (directly) for a while. But at my last check there were 750 such groups known to still be up and functioning, distributed throughout the entire United States. No State is without at least a few. But it’s important to realize and remember that these are the identifiable groups; they do not include the supporters and the sympathizers. Remember the Olympic bomber, Eric Robert Rudolph? He was a federal fugitive for five years. The public has been told he survived those years by camping in the woods, eating acorns and salamanders, and pilfering dumpsters. Having the training and experience that I do I would consider that possible. But that same training and experience make it very highly unlikely he survived those five years with no human contact. I have never accepted that. Any Agency profiler would tell you his motivations for his actions were fundamentally based in his need for human contact and recognition. Someone supported him, if by no other means than by providing appropriate clothing for the harsh winter seasons in the forest.

In the history of the Great Experiment in Democracy in this country there has always been the assumption that those who supported the losing side in an election would accept the results and try harder the next time. Frankly, I don’t see that happening this time. Some are saying that if Trump wins this could very well be the last free election this country sees. That may be an overstatement, but such an outcome would clearly usher in a dictatorship which, though emboldened to become more visible, has likely learned from others to veil itself in patriotism and religion.

I certainly do agree that this is the most important election of my lifetime. And so I ask again, please vote.