Kyle Ramos: Anarchy in the Streets and the Second Amendment

It is obvious, now more than ever, that in times of crisis, no matter natural or unnatural, warranted or unwarranted, the government cannot entirely protect us. There must be self-policing of communities by the residents and community leaders. Previously this would have been pastors and other religious leaders. There is a void that needs to be filled in order to bring back order and peace in this country. The death of George Floyd was unnecessary and completely uncalled for and the police officers involved should be prosecuted.

That being said, the response to the tragedy was not much better. Honest, peaceful, thoughtful protests soon devolved into lawless riots. The protests turned into riots because they were infiltrated by “professional protesters”. These professional protesters are trained at how to agitate volatile situations where tensions are already running high. All it takes is one person to escalate the situation and then another will follow which causes a snowball effect, next thing you know there is a mob. This is exasperated by weak, feeble, leadership from elected officials.

While peaceful protests should not only be allowed but encouraged, violent protests should be stomped out. Violence can never be tolerated because it inevitably leads to innocent people being hurt. It must start with local leadership, not necessarily elected officials, but leadership on a community level.

The leaders of the peaceful protests must ensure honest protesters don’t take the bait of the instigators and become violent. The political leaders should attempt to help, but the reality is unless they are on the ground, they can’t do a thing from behind a podium. A combination of legitimately concerned citizens being taken advantage of by opportunists with an agenda and weak leadership set the stage for a perfect storm.

A perfect scenario for violent mobs who are met with no resistance. Protesters who are poked and prodded into destroying their own communities. No community leaders are keeping the protests peaceful and self-policing. Law enforcement were told to stand down and quite frankly they had no choice. Law Enforcement officers in this country are severely outnumbered.

The only way to prevent this violence by criminals who are hiding under the guise of protesters is with self-policing. The peaceful protesters must not allow the insurgents to taint their cause. The idea that we, as citizens, can always count on the police to protect us is a fallacy.

You can depend on the police to protect you in times of relative peace, but you also have a responsibility to protect yourself, your family and your community when the police alone cannot. Law enforcement agencies in this country can only be effective in times of general solidarity.

When there is relative tranquility police agencies can operate effectively to react to isolated incidents of violence and victimization of citizens. Law enforcement agencies are just not prepared to deal with massive uprisings. Many law enforcement officers won’t like me saying this, but they are far outnumbered and under equipped to prevent an uprising.

This is why the Second amendment is so important. The second amendment is not about hunting, or sport shooting, it is about protecting yourself. Every law-abiding citizen should have the ability to protect themselves, their family, their property, and their community when necessary.

In Minneapolis, the stores that got looted and burnt to the ground were left unattended and the businesses who had armed citizens on guard were left untouched. If every business in Minneapolis had armed guards outside there would have not been massive problems. Criminals are cowards and don’t want any push-back. They look for easy targets and the path of least resistance. In the times that the government cannot protect us, we must protect ourselves.

This is why the second amendment is so important, it solidifies the people’s right to protect themselves. There is a place for law enforcement agencies to operate but we cannot depend solely on them for our protection and safety. Citizens have a responsibility to keep their communities safe.