Some Thoughts on History, War, and Gun Control

An interesting thread sprang up on Facebook a day or so ago…and I thought it worthwhile to extract some comments from it and post them here… The original post that started this thread, went like this:

RL: Thanks to David DCM, we have a more accurate understanding of my post regarding a possible WWII invasion of California. He writes:

“there is truth here. However, there are issues. First off, killing a human is far different from killing a deer. If it were the same, then, all those country boys that joined the Army in ww2 would not have required the amount of training they did. secondly, This is meaningless in today’s world. When the world is filled with weapons that can see in the dark, and accurately put a kill shot on a target a mile away, not to mention drones and other killing machines, a guy with a rifle is not going to have the effect. As for the facts claimed in the meme about the day…well…here is some truth

The Meme, by the by, claimed that Admiral Yamamoto said it would be impossible to invade the United States, because we had so many guns in the possession of civilians, there would be one behind every blade of grass. I address this later on in this post.

DL: I wanted to answer this earlier,..but work happened. The original quote was attributed to Admiral Yamamoto, sic “…a gun behind every blade of grass” which was never said. An attack on mainland US was virtually impossible for the Japanese due to logistics. They needed to destroy the Naval Fleet at Pearl harbor to buy time to create a system of island jumps Iwo Jima, Philippines, and smaller Pan Asian islands to create a supply chain. Any advancement to areas in the Pacific required pre-staging of fuel and of supplies. They knew as they advanced to the Philippines would gain the attention of the Pacific fleet. Their crown jewel as I read was Australia. BUT they had to be able to not only get there but to supply the whole way and procure and supply while there. The U.S. was too far away and the land fighting force demonstrated in WWI, they knew it would be a lost cause relatively quickly. They could not get here by air without multiple refueling stops for ships and aircraft. We did the same to them starting with the battle of Midway, then second incursion into the Philippines. This is how I understand it.


DCM: I agree with this. The issue of supply chains is a real problem, even for countries like America. We have too many examples over the past 40 years or so of troops having serious trouble thanks to the lack of a viable supply chain.

From a strategic point of view, too, it makes no sense for them to reach out so quickly….far better to establish an area of control on the land right next to them, then, slowly start moving out.

DL: Then think 1941 regarding supply chains. The Japs only goal was to buy time to land grab. Even their alliance with the Germans was symbiotic…enemy of my enemy is my friend. There were at the time a LARGE series of Coastal defense systems on the west coast (Sometimes manned by civilians). The U.S. had them on the east coast through a series of old forts some active into the 70’s. NOT to mention that during the 40’s the “proving grounds” for military hardware was in the west. CA, had El Torro (Marines) for instance, multiple Naval installations LA, SF, San Diego, just to name a few. Army Air Corp (later USAF) was throughout CA, NV, and NM. The Japs knew this because they spied on us the level the Chinese do today (relative to time periods). AND for the same reasons the ChiComms are expanding today. They need resources. Back then Australia promised oil, gold, and space. That’s why they wanted it. Not to mention all of the other potential benefits. The underestimated the Aussies too, and badly. Just my opinion, but also my favorite subject. Love speaking with someone that knows this history. Thanks for the exchange.

MFB: DL What is interesting to me is that people continue to believe that someone’s opinion is fact. I agree that logistically it was impossible for Japan to invade the mainland. However, there are just as many people who say Yamamoto made the statement as there are who say he didn’t. No real proof either way. Still 2nd Amendment says we have the right to own whatever gun we chose to protect us from a corrupt government!

DCM: MFB: Hum…a couple of sketchy points in your post.

1) It is pretty well proven that this comment by Yamamoto is a hoax.

2) The second amendment does not say what you think it says. I quote: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Now…in the day, a “well regulated militia” simply meant that any, arms bearing citizen was required to meet in the town square on a regular basis, where, they would receive rudimentary training in military discipline, and, would practice shooting for accuracy and speed.

Note that the amendment does not say “ANY Arms THEY WANT….” it is quite legal for the government to make it illegal to keep and bear certain weapons. For example – Tanks, grenade launchers, TOW Rockets, Apache Helicopters, Vulcan machine guns and the like. However, from day one, the Supreme Court has upheld the right of citizens to keep and bear such arms as low-capacity magazine rifles and pistols, and has not even limited the caliber allowed. if one has the ready cash, one can purchase a BFG 0.50 caliber rifle that is accurate and deadly to a mile or more. Machine guns, for example have been heavily controlled for decades. it is possible to own a fully automatic weapon, legally, however, not only is the weapon expensive, the background check is almost as thorough as the one for getting a Top Secret clearance, and the licensing fee fairly high.

Finally…this is a very different world than the world of the 1700s. Today, the military has such a pool of technologically enhanced killing machines that, while the idea a person armed with a semi-automatic AR-15 or similar weapon, and plenty of ammunition, could prevail is questionable at best. In addition, even a group of people attempting to build what is called a militia today would have to be very, very well off in order to purchase the tools that would bring them up anywhere close to the U.S. Military.
it would still be possible, if a significant percentage of the citizens took up arms, and practiced the asymmetric warfare of guerilla warfare. However, look at us…a vast majority of us are, in general, overweight, chained to a desk, and so get too little exercise, and spend our days typing on the Net…not keeping the skills of shooting and moving without trace through a forest.

Remember…to maintain one’s abilities to shoot accurately, the average person must visit the range once or twice a week, and shoot several hundred rounds. I do not do this. Do you? Do you know anyone who even comes close to this?

While the current administration does move one to consider using the 4th box that Citizens have to control the government, the Ammunition box, realistically, it is far, far wiser to use the third box – The Ballot Box. This means vote in every election; get as educated as possible about the issues, and the candidate’s stance on them. Do not be swayed by heated rhetoric, filled with lies designed to distract like smoke and mirrors, from the actions of the politicians, and vote for the person who actually follows through on actions that will help the most Americans.

What is my point here, you may be asking. I found this thread interesting for a couple of reasons. The first of which is the issues of looking at history brought up in it. Even in a history that is just a couple of generations back, the data we get from it is sketchy and argued over. It is fairly clear that Yamamoto never said the quote attributed to him…and yet a fair number of people both believe it, and use it to justify a stance on the level of gun control in this country. Is this deliberate lying to support an agenda, or simply gullibility stemming from a desire to believe what we read on the Net as truth? I am sure that there is a little of both going on here.

Secondly, there is clinging to the illusion that the government is being held in check by the weapons Citizens are allowed to own. As I point out, the military, if activated against a real threat, would have all the difficulty of a person stomping a June bug at making the people causing it to go away. Even today, as the current administration works to tear down the structure of laws that has sustained America since its founding, there are enough left that the actions of that administration are either blocked or slowed. While I am all for responsible gun ownership, I harbor no illusions as to what America would look like if a true rebellion were to arise. I point to Afghanistan as a classic example. Over the decades, Russia and America sent in tens of thousands of troops to deal with the situation there. They dropped billions of dollars worth of tools of war, from tanks to bombs, on the country. The Afghans, though, won the field. Russia pulled out decades ago. America is desperately trying to find a way to pull out and not look like losers. Look at the war that was fought there…it was classic guerilla warfare. The standard military, against a shadowy enemy that worked in small units, would implement a strike, and, then vanish into the hills. When I was in high school, I agreed with Jay Mohr’s assessment of the Revolutionary war, with the Redcoats marching in fine order down the center of the highway, glowing in the sunlight, while Colonists, in primitive ghillie suits, stood in the shadows of the surrounding trees, and shot them down. The Redcoats were sitting targets.

This is also why I continue to urge everyone to use that Third Box – the Ballot Box – and vote for the candidate who is most likely to do the best for the country as a whole, NOT just their rich buddies! And, of course, once they are in office, keep track of what they are doing, and be sure to use contact information to let them know if you approve of their performance or not. I am not a huge fan of petitions. Almost anyone can argue with, and ignore a petition with 10,000 signatures on it. However, getting 10,000 emails/phone calls/snail Mail missives is impossible to ignore. Politicians like the cushy jobs they get, both for the perks and for the 98% return rate…so they are not going to go against the wishes of the people who put them there…at least if they are smart that is. ANY politician can be replaced, and should be if they are hurting more citizens than they are helping.

God Help Us All

Bee Man Dave

This entry was posted in Ethics, Humanity, Nuttiness, Observations, Political rants, Politics, Questionable decisions, Ruminations and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

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