Bruce Vanwyngarden, in his article Making Tennessee Great Again (1/7/16), suggests that the militias occupying the wildlife refuge in Oregon are ridiculous, wrong, and crazy. Vanwyngarden uses satire to bring out the seemingly ridiculous points the members of the militia, and its supporters, has made. He declares his views towards government in a disrespectful manner, threatens his audience with extremely dangerous weapons, and assertively mentions the fact that he is white in order to bring out the ridiculous declarations the militia has made over the past few weeks. Vanwyngarden hopes to raise America’s attention to the unacceptable behavior the militia is getting away with, in hopes that the attention will bring a stop to this occupation and justice to the militia.
I am disturbed by the fact that the militia occupation, that started a few weeks ago, is still going on today. Although I understand that the members are not threatening anyone, they are breaking laws and threatening the power of the government. Until today, I was unaware of this event, and to read about this event was upsetting and angered me. Not only do I disagree with the views of the militia, I also disagree with their tactics and the actions the government has taken to solve this issue.
Although America is a free country, there are limits to insure public good and safety. While trespassing would not upset me so much, a well planned occupation of government property does. Especially while they are announcing the many weapons they have and shouting insulting slurs, how can someone expect to get respect and be successful? Sadly, they are accomplishing their goals. They are getting respect, in the sense that people see them as a threat. They are successful, in the fact that they are still occupying this land and the state government in Oregon has not been able to function properly, because they have had to deal with this issue. The fact that an immature group of people can get achieve their goals in such a disrespectful manner makes me angry.
