J.R. Smith
21st Century Wire
The circus is in town. Joining in the Ferguson media spectacle, a detachment of ‘Oath Keepers‘ militiamen arrived at West Florissant Ave early Tuesday. Standing out in front of the crowds, militiamen, adorned in their impressive-looking military gear, posed for the cameras, while appearing to be ‘on patrol’ through the crowd of protesters who have gathered for the one year anniversary of the death of 18-year-old resident Michael Brown.
As standard, Oathkeepers were armed to teeth – with each militiaman sporting his own semi-automatic assault rifle, sidearm, radio unit, Oakely shades and tactical combat vest. Ready for ‘the collapse’, as it were. As they festooned down the high street, they could be heard telling Ferguson street demonstrators, “We’re on your side.”
According to one civil rights advocate in Ferguson, Carl Dix (photo, left), Oathkeepers are, “An unofficial arm the government working hand in hand with the police to suppress rage.”
Last year, Oathkeepers arrived in Ferguson in what appeared to be a much more constructive role than this year’s, as militiamen appeared to assist local business owners in protecting their premises from looters and arsonists.
Luckily this year, Oathkeepers seem to have (conveniently) missed all the real action which took place a day and half earlier on Sunday night – when a firefight ensued between street thugs and police on Sunday evening.
In the video below, an Oathkeepers member claims to be acting as bodyguards “to protect Infowars’ reporters.” Infowars.com is a website run by flamboyant American radio host Alex Jones.
The spurious ‘bodyguard’ claim appears to be a laughable one by Oathkeepers – and extremely disingenuous, considering that there are hundreds of media outlets and reporters in Ferguson, most of whom do not require an armed paramilitary escort in order to do their job. On its website, Infowars.com seems to want to go to great lengths to promote their lead ‘reporter’ who, “… is a highly-recognized former Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army who fought in some of the most intense combats in Iraq and Afghanistan.” It’s an attempt to try and characterise Ferguson as a “war zone” akin to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Here is a case where certain parties have inserted themselves into the chaotic Ferguson mix so that in classic agent provocateur, or yellow journalism fashion – they become the story, and thus capitalize on the monetary rewards from the exposure.
Some reports on CNN are referencing images of an Infowars.com reporter, allegedly “attacked by looters”, but as yet it’s not clear who is being depicted and when those images were taken.
Watch the Oathkeepers segment from Ferguson here…
The publicity stunt appears to have paid dividends for both Oathkeepers and Infowars, with both organizations getting national news coverage today due to the “controversy”. From a marketing perspective, this golden coverage could very well translate into more paid clicks and additional membership dues.
Clearly, such sensationalist organisations do not appear to care much if they are taken seriously or not – as they pander to a hopelessly fearful and politically detached constituency. Never mind, just stock up on your storable foods, ammo and water filters – and everything will just peachy (trust us).
They are often referred to behind the scenes in patriot circles as “Dad’s Army” and “Museum Militia” due to their aging membership. “More salt than pepper” seems to be an accurate description, and that’s not just talking about their hair. Unfortunately, a cult-like set of identical Cracker Jack talking points are pervasive throughout the ranks. Oathkeepers is by all intents and purposes, an exclusively all-white and all-male club. Unfortunately for their PR office, some Oathkeepers are not the brightest when it comes to fielding questions…
OATHKEEPER: ‘Obama is a Mulato’ and a ‘Secret Muslim’ (Image Source: Ruptly)
Amusingly, while claiming to be protecting Ferguson’s black residents, the Oathkeeper spokesman in the video has referred to US President Barack Obama as the “Mulato President”. He then goes on to parrot the popular right-wing conspiracy theory meme that Obama wears a “Muslim ring” on his finger, claiming that it’s adorned with an Arabic inscription of the first part of the Shahada, “There is no god except Allah.” Despite the fact that this claim has been thoroughly debunked, it still remains a rallying point for many gullible individuals who are still trying fruitlessly to unseat Obama after 7 years.
Interestingly, many of the same individuals who continue to spread the ‘Obama Secret Muslim’ meme are also pushing another totally invented, extremist rightwing and fringe-Tea Party-pandering, fictional tale about how ISIS has set-up training camps 8 miles over the Texas borders in Mexico, as well as perhaps the most ridiculous of all imaginative stories of recent – the sensational claim that in April, 2014, the US Attorney General had “authorized a drone strike on Bundy Ranch”.
One could argue that many of these wild talking points baked into the alternative media’s ‘cult of collapse’ culture, make their purveyors genuine pawns of the right-wing, but also pawns of the left as their over-the-top, sensational rhetoric goes a long way to discredit real conservative ideas which could really be aligned with American moderates. Additionally, far from helping the candidate – this Oathkeeper’s endorsement of Donald Trump (see here) could likely be used by the left to help to discredit Trump.
Protest Theater
History has shown that most, if not all, large national leftwing and rightwing activist or ‘patriot’ groups in the United States – function as a type of controlled opposition, and in most cases these organizations are infiltrated by federal informants and agents – right up to the top positions.
White men armed with assault rifles freely roamed the streets of #Ferguson last night. Welcome to America in 2015. pic.twitter.com/3I13vk4ORf
— John Haltiwanger (@jchaltiwanger) August 11, 2015
Armed white men now walking down #Ferguson. No problem. Can you imagine armed blacks doing same? pic.twitter.com/74lOXPiLha
— Grace Lidia Suarez (@gracels) August 11, 2015
The questioner in the video above posed the pertinent question to the Oathkeeper, asking the armed militiaman, “If you (Oathkeepers) are armed (to the teeth, with assault rifles, in a volatile inner city setting), then why can’t the protesters be armed?”
Excellent question. Perhaps Carl Dix has scratched the surface of something bigger. Do Oathkeepers have the federal government’s seal of approval in Ferguson? Willing federal accomplices? It certainly looks that way.
At this point in the conversation, the Oathkeeper began framing his organization as the victim, claiming that police had “set upon” Oathkeepers, while they were out on the streets of Ferguson performing their ‘duties’.
Meanwhile, like many of the alternative media outlets who promote his organization, Oathkeeper leader Stewart Rhodes continues to be heavily invested in (and profiting from) an ‘American End-Times’ scare industry. Recently Rhodes gave yet another in a seemingly endless line of ’emergency warnings’, stating, “The realities are right in front of your face. This country is running out of time. To all Oathkeepers, hold an emergency summit in your state immediately. The time is now, do not waste another second.”
“United we stand, Stewart Rhodes calls on all Oathkeepers to hold the New York Veteran Patriot Emergency Summit in their states. Organize communications, food, medical supplies… Prepare for the worst.”
“Now is the time to set up a emergency food fund in your community, this is very important.”
Dad’s Army meets Ferguson End Times?
READ MORE FERGUSON NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Ferguson Files
