Col Kevin Benson's Faux Pas

The Great Recession of the early twenty-first century lasts far longer than anyone anticipated.  After a change in control of the White House and Congress in 2012, the governing party cuts off all funding that had been dedicated to boosting the economy or toward relief.  The United States economy has flatlined, much like Japan’s in the 1990s, for the better part of a decade.  By 2016, the economy shows signs of reawakening, but the middle and lower-middle classes have yet to experience much in the way of job growth or pay raises.  Unemployment continues to hover perilously close to double digits, small businesses cannot meet bankers’ terms to borrow money, and taxes on the middle class remain relatively high.  A high-profile and vocal minority has directed the public’s fear and frustration at nonwhites and immigrants.  After almost ten years of race-baiting and immigrant-bashing by right-wing demagogues, nearly one in five Americans reports being vehemently opposed to immigration, legal or illegal, and even U.S.-born nonwhites have become occasional targets for mobs of angry whites. 

In May 2016 an extremist militia motivated by the goals of the “tea party” movement takes over the government of Darlington, South Carolina, occupying City Hall, disbanding the city council, and placing the mayor under house arrest.  Activists remove the chief of police and either disarm local police and county sheriff departments or discourage them from interfering.  In truth, this is hardly necessary.  Many law enforcement officials already are sympathetic to the tea party’s agenda, know many of the people involved, and have made clear they will not challenge the takeover.  The militia members are organized and have a relatively well thought-out plan of action.


http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/full-spectrum-operations-in-the-homeland-a-%E2%80%9Cvision%E2%80%9D-of-the-future

The above is a small excerpt from "Full Spectrum Operations in the Homeland: A "Vision" of the Future" by PhD Col Kevin Benson and PhD Jennifer Weber. It was published in Small War's Journal on July 25th, 2012. In reading this article I found myself in constant agreement with strategies and tactics that the American Military force should take in dealing with an insurrection. 

The logical progression on how such a build-up of insurrection might occur mirrors a fantastic work of fiction. But let's get real. There is a dangerous faux pas in this imagined situation. By now if you haven't picked it up, you are either blind or just down right stupid. This imagined group has been given a name.

Dr Benson, how dare you. What in the world was going on in your mind when you accused the tea party of planning such a movement. I as a Corporal of Marines understood the need for fairness and tact when dealing with others, how did this lesson evade you as a Colonel? I understand your need for realism in proposing a situation that might arise. I understand your foresight and preparedness for future ops that might take place. But I can't imagine you being as blatant as blaming a political group of a fictional uprising. Do you not understand the tea party movement?  Do you not understand that the grassroots movement is fed up with the current state of affairs coming out of Washington, but instead of uprising they are calling for support of their candidates to remold Washington from the inside out, kind of like an electoral system is designed to do?  How many protests have they staged where police riot forces were required to show up in order to keep the peace? How many cop cars have been defecated on by tea party members? How many rapes have occurred in tea party tents? 

Your work, no matter how well intended is a black mark on your record. I would hope that you are enough of an officer and a gentleman to publicly apologize to the tea party and their members and edit your work so that this fictional uprising group has no current affiliation to a political party or movement. This sort of political dirty maneuver is something I expect from a criminal, not from a United States Army Officer.