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"An unarmed people are slaves or are subject to slavery at any given moment."
Huey P. Newton
FAQ
Violence is never the answer, baka!
Less of a question and more of a common sentiment we see. We can address this in two ways. Firstly, it is wrong to consider a willingness to defend oneself as "violence," especially while you call the monopoly of violence held by the state as "peacekeeping." The hypocrisy of the people who levy this accusation is that they support our imperialist wars of expansion & exploitation overseas and political suppression by badge & baton domestically. If you are threatened by the phrase "I will defend myself," it is because you are, or have adopted the ideology of the oppressor. This is a known phenomenon called "Cultural Hegemony" or "False Consciousness," the idea that the dominant ideology of a country's populace is reflective of its ruling class. Courtesy of their complete control over education, media, news, and altogether the superstructure of their society. Lastly, violence has historically been the only answer to social progress.
How do you prevent reckless individualist violence?
Individualist acts of political violence in the form of terrorism, assassinations, insurgency, et cetera, are referred to by us as "adventurism." Such things may serve as symbolic victories of the people, but they do not further the revolution, and thus we advise against it as a waste of a life. Only with large-scale revolution, collective action, may the people utilize force effectively to overthrow the bourgeoisie. A practical answer, however, is through screening. Any member who wants to be armed must meet several requirements, endure a second screening, and earn the trust of other armed volunteers. Additionally, ideological standardization; we do not require our members to be Marxist-Leninists, but they must fall in-line with Marxist-Leninist ideals, such as advocating against adventurism. That said, we have no intention of dampening the righteous parade of the working class whenever one of their enemies has met their fate.
How do you handle terrorist or police infiltration?
We handle this in several ways, some of which we must keep confidential to ensure that future infiltrators do not attempt to account for it. We acknowledge that you do not need to be in violation of the law in order to be victim to malicious police efforts against you. That said, as an above-ground organization that has not gone out of its way to antagonize local police, this is the first way. The second way is by following in-step with Deep Green Resistance's article on Security Culture. It advises against fed witch hunts because if you maintain a proper security culture and prohibit any discussion of any unlawful activity, they have nothing to gain from infiltration. Additionally, accusing people of being feds is an intentional, documented strategy that federal agencies have employed to tear progressive movements apart from the inside.
Is there a John Brown Gun Club in my area?
This is probably the most frequent question we get from people all over the United States. We have compiled what we can only assume to be the most comprehensive list of JBGCs across the United States. However, at the same time, it isn't comprehensive nor is it kept up-to-date, with only occasional changes. Our movement is a de-centralized one, no JBGC necessarily has any connections with any other JBGC. There is no official list of chapters, and it is hard to determine whether certain JBGCs have gone defunct other than their social media activity, which not all JBGCs engage in. If you do not see a branch listed for your local area, please do not email us asking if we know of one, because we will use the same methods you would otherwise use to find out; a search engine.
How do I start my own John Brown Gun Club?
As we are a de-centralized movement that anyone can join, you require no approval to start a local club. We have a pamphlet available on our website which is meant to serve as an introduction to starting your own club called "Start-A-Branch."
Won't your activities provoke crackdowns?
We've exercised only our legal rights, and have done so with minimal clashes with law enforcement, with some Capitol Police Officers expressing gratitude to us for the way we do things. But, we do have domestic terrorists to worry about, who lose sleep over us. We sometimes have to monitor what types of activity we do and when in order to not needlessly provoke large-scale fascist responses. That said, if the state or the fascists are looking for a reason, they've been historically known to manufacture them in lieu of a real one, so we don't lose too much sleep over what we decide to do.
Won't your activities provoke crackdowns?
We've exercised only our legal rights, and have done so with minimal clashes with law enforcement, with some Capitol Police Officers expressing gratitude to us for the way we do things. But, we do have domestic terrorists to worry about, who lose sleep over us. We sometimes have to monitor what types of activity we do and when in order to not needlessly provoke large-scale fascist responses.
Do event organizers welcome you?
The duty of Democrats & liberals in our society is to co-opt and pacify workers' movements while preventing progress to the left. As such, they work to suppress our voices wherever possible, especially when we expose their coziness towards, and preference to fascism than the very marginalized communities they claim to champion. With this in mind, we usually show up unannounced, unbothered by what the event organizers think. Sometimes they thank us, usually in private and through other people, and sometimes they don't like us. We prefer to keep positive relations with event organizers, but we know that we are here for our community, not event organizers, no matter how well they got their attendees wrapped around their fingers. Especially when liberal event-organizers are hard advocates against "violence," which they define as any sort of defense of marginalized communities against fascism.
How are you received by the people of Madison?
Overall positively, but it largely depends on the demographic of the protest, which itself is validating. Usually, the older, the whiter, and the more liberal the crowd, the more they can't stomach us. On the contrary, the younger, the more diverse, and the more radical wholeheartedly support us en masse, and those are the people we exist for. We do not exist to placate white fragility, we exist as a radical manifestation of the most vulnerable in our society.
Are you a militia?
We are not a militia, we're a gun club. If we were a militia, we'd be unable to provide our communities with the training they need, and we'd be unable to be an above-ground organization.
If the state isn't cracking down on you, are you effective?
You're correct to point out that the effectiveness of a revolutionary organization can be partially observed through how hard reactionary forces are fighting to suppress it. You're also correct in the observation that we do not, currently, face state suppression offline. However, we do face severe backlash from non-state reactionary forces. Y'see, we do not consider it a failure to not be subject to state crackdowns, if anything it is a tactical success. But, as an above-ground organization, we are capped to legality. This just means that we have a special purpose to play. How, though, have we, then, provoked the backlash of terrorists? Well, simply put, there are legal means we utilize which challenge the status quo. Our open-carry of rifles, for example, presents an image of defiance against genocide & fascist tyranny, and that enrages them. Community defense, mutual aid, dual power structures, these things attack the system by begging the question of its effectiveness, of its credibility. And, while undermining state systems, it builds up proletarian infrastructure that is needed to support a revolution.
What revolution?
When this is asked, even over online correspondence, you can always hear them devilishly smirking while pushing up their glasses with a single finger after a self-satisfactory wank for their genius gotcha. Well, we aren't simple. The revolution isn't something that just happens or doesn't. There isn't a set beginning or set end. Dialectical Materialism teaches us that progress leaps forwards & backwards, but has an overall trend leading upwards, towards liberation. This is what it means to understand such a thing scientifically. It is a process full of gradients. Quantitative changes, leaping forwards and backwards, until a qualitative change, a change in form, occurs. And hopefully that change in form will be something that would undoubtedly be recognized as a revolution, or progress towards it. When we refer to the "Revolution™️," we are often referring to the process towards liberation.
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