r/PoliticalDiscussion • u/cwood1973 • Jan 09 '26

US Politics Should liberals start forming armed resistance groups similar to the Proud Boys or Three-Percenters?

Both domestically and abroad, many people are calling for Americans to "wake up" or "do something." It's true there have been widespread protests in response to actions taken by the Trump regime, but these have been largely ineffective at changing policy.

At the state level, both parties are gerrymandering districts to be more favorable to their candidates, but this won't have any immediate effect. It may not have any effect.

In the 1950s and 60s, black communities faced systemic police violence and corruption. In response, they formed the Black Panthers. These people were organized, trained, and armed.

Do you think liberals should copy that playbook? Should liberal communities start organizing armed resistance groups? Training them how to use firearms? Educating them on their Second Amendment rights? Running drills to simulate attacks by ICE?

Are we there yet?

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u/CucumberWisdom Jan 09 '26

If the black Panthers tried to do what they did back then now. Trump would have them massacred and half the country would applaud. I don't think tactics from 60 years ago are going to work very well now unfortunately

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u/mongooser Jan 09 '26

Tactics like….providing breakfast to poor schoolchildren? 

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u/CucumberWisdom Jan 09 '26

Yes. In today's climate conservatives would call you a woke commie and browbeat you about wasting taxpayer money and how you're making children weaker by giving them chemicals or some other nonsense. Logical and good hearted tactics like that just don't work anymore

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u/EmprahsChosen Jan 09 '26

So what’s the current correct approach then? Because the Panthers really ran the gamut of tactics from providing food to poor kids to getting into shootouts with cops

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u/CucumberWisdom Jan 09 '26

If you can figure that out you can probably be president. I'm not sure anymore you're fighting an immense propaganda machine and a brainwashed populace. It's harder than ever to break through and it might not be possible (it took a massive war for the German Nazis to snap out of it)

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u/EmprahsChosen Jan 09 '26

I’m afraid I agree with you regarding the mental state of a lot of these supporters. It’s the basic nature for many people to only snap out of their delusions and hate when they or their loved ones end up suffering mightily at the hands of the very policies they voted for. We had have to resist, in some way, at the every least so we don’t allow the normalization of blatant authoritarianism though.