>> You want the state to have
>> a monopoly
>> over arms?
>
>Yes. The notion that an armed citizenry could present any kind of
>meaningful opposition to the Pentagon running amok (*domestically,* that
>is) is ludicrous.
I wholeheartedly disagree. Or at least if we presume that the Pentagon would hesitate to use all-in weaponry such as bombs. If it came to 'pacification' by troops, firearms would be very useful, just as they are in, eg N.Ireland. England would *never* have come to the table, else. (which isn't at all to say that i hold a brief for the IRA bombers, so please don't let's go down that road)
To repeat what the cultural anthropologist Marvin Harris said anent resisting Capitalism: fighting back doesn't guarantee success, but it changes the odds. We'll be totally washed up only if too many people give up the struggle.
=margaret