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A report this week described how American citizens who support the United States Constitution (specifically the Second Amendment) were portrayed as “domestic terrorists” in training drills carried out by the Ohio National Guard in January 2013. Why would law-abiding citizens be equated with nut jobs who would poison children at school? Yes, that is what those crazy Second Amendment supporters did in the National Guard scenario: they tried to poison school children with mustard gas.
The ONG (Ohio National Guard) 52nd Civil Support Team training scenario involved a plot from local school district employees to use biological weapons in order to advance their beliefs about “protecting Gun Rights and Second Amendment rights.”
Portsmouth Chief of Police Bill Raisin told NBC 3 WSAZ-TV in Huntington, West Virginia that the drill accurately represented “the reality of the world we live in,” adding that such training “helps us all be prepared.”
The ONG team discovered biological weapons being produced in the school, requiring activation of containment and decontamination procedures.
In the disaster-preparedness scenario, two Portsmouth Junior High School employees poisoned school lunches with mustard gas, acting on orders from white-nationalist leader William Pierce.
Participants in the disaster drill located documents expressing the school employees’ “anti-government” sentiments, as well as a note identifying Pierce as the fictional right-wing terrorists’ leader.
First off, the premise that people would use biological weapons to “advance their beliefs about ‘protecting Gun Rights and Second Amendment rights'” is absurd. Whoever came up with that scenario isn’t exactly the brightest bulb in the Ohio National Guard chandelier. Because, you know, poisoning school children would really ensure that the Second Amendment was upheld. It doesn’t make sense – except that it reinforces the left’s stereotyping of the right.
And why politicize the scenario anyway? Why not just have some psychotic loner decide to put mustard gas in school lunches because the demons in his head told him to? The training response for the National Guard would be the same.
Notice how they connected the phrases “protecting Second Amendment Rights,” “white-nationalist,” and “reality of the world we live in.” I am not easily offended, but the stereotype of the “reality” of only (or mostly) “white-nationalists” believing in the protection of Second Amendment rights is highly offensive. I took the required training and have my concealed carry permit; I believe strongly in the Second Amendment; I believe strongly that I have the right to carry a gun in order to protect myself should the need arise; I am not a white nationalist. However, the left is doing a damn good job of linking racism to anyone who doesn’t toe their liberal line of gun control.
It is also interesting to note that the same National Guard unit had a similar drill involving a left-wing terrorist scenario, but when environmentalist groups protested, they issued an immediate apology. Meanwhile, there has been no apology for slandering people on the right. Crickets.
Anti-government? If government officials are going to consider me a terrorist or enemy because I support our Constitution, then I guess I am anti-government.
And the demonization of people who support the Second Amendment continues.
GWB says: I’m not as upset by this as some. When I was putting together a sample plan for testing purposes several years ago I actually used penguins invading the North Pole. And, yes, I was advised that someone somewhere was going to gripe if it ever got out in a FOIA that we were targeting penguins (and their supporters – penguins don’t handle rifles well). You have to pick someone to be your foil and you’re going to piss someone off. And, yes, there actually is a history of certain ‘white supremacy’ groups in America plotting and executing violent anti-government actions. (No, they aren’t the only ones – plenty of Socialists and Communists and others, too.)
Yes, they are wrong to apologize for one and not the other – but I think they were wrong to apologize for the first one.
The real irony is it was a *Guard* unit doing this – what the anti-gun folks point to as fulfilling the “militia” need.
Actually, a worse crime is the reporting here: I really doubt that anyone in a chemical response unit would propose poisoning people with *mustard gas* in food. Mustard gas really wouldn’t be effective delivered in that fashion (it is delivered aerially, and is effective on skin and other surfaces – like lungs when you inhale the cloud). I suppose it might have an effect on your mouth and stomach lining – but not very effective. Also, “mustard gas” is most assuredly NOT a “biological weapon”.
Merle says: SURELY this is a simple misunderstanding! “They” wouldn’t be willing to stoop that low, would they? 🙂
Merle
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