Not So Quiet Riot

"Well I'm an Axe Grinder...Piledriver,
Mother says that I never, never mind her."
-Kevin DuBrow, Quiet Riot (and yes, I had to look up his name.)

I usually keep this blog reserved for the simpler things...the goings on of the Leo family and what The Lord is teaching us. I usually keep it light and airy. Tonight, I feel like adding my 2 cents to some socio-political issues happening in our world right now.
Specifically: Rioting.
Riots are nothing new. if you Wikipedia "list of riots", you'll get info on hundreds of riots that have occurred both home and abroad, ranging from a hundred or so people to several thousand. Most are usually fueled by a quick political decision or as an immediate protest to an action performed by a governing body. And don't forget the nonsensical chaos ignited in a given region by the loss (or win) of a local sports team, most recently in Vancouver, after their Stanley Cup loss, although New England/Boston is certainly guilty in this vain as well.

Like I said, it's nothing new....and maybe it's just the increased media coverage and outlets available in our culture but, doesn't it seem like these things are popping up all over the place? And I'm not just talking about in countries tired of living under decades of political oppression and tyranny, but in self-proclaimed "modern" democratic cultures. All you need to do is look to Vancouver and London.
I feel like this world has a hair-trigger. I feel that, at any moment, something unpredictable could happen that would quickly incite chaos into a currently calm culture. I don't live in fear. At the same time, I don't have a great confidence in the restraint of the masses in the wake of a quick change to the status-quo.
Look at Katrina. It took only hours before chaos ensued and property/family protection was left in the hands of the individual home/business owner. In less than a 12 hour period, the main means of protection was not a 911 call but a shotgun in the hands of a landowner pointed at the temples of a would-be looter. When a culture deteriorates and chaos reigns, there are usually only a few who are motivated by the actual issue...the masses just want to break shit. Vancouver was no exception. Not that the die-hard Canucks fans were justified, but let's face it. Most of those out there were not pissed that their team lost a hockey game...they were out there because there was a free pass on chaos and they were going to take full advantage of that opportunity to create mayhem for mayhem's sake.
Imagine if President Obama was shot tonight. What would Boston or Worcester or Hartford look like tomorrow? I work 2 blocks off main St. and 2 blocks out of the Piedmont District in Worcester. I'd be killed on my way in to work tomorrow. It would be reminiscent of those white guys getting pulled out of cars and stomped during the L.A. riots....not because of who they were or what they stood for but because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It would be wonton chaos throughout most (if not all) urban/suburban areas tomorrow if Obama was shot tonight.

So what about it? What do we do? I'm all for raising awareness to the issues at hand. I'm all for educating the current culture to lift them beyond their animal instincts in the wake of a quick travesty or unjust ruling. I'm also all for being armed. Armed to the teeth. I'm in no way a doomsday survivalist nutcase but I do believe in protecting that what is important and irreplaceable....family.
The thought of a family member falling victim to the foolish aggression of an assailant...break in....robbery....riot, or otherwise makes me crazy. I believe fully in prayer and The Divine's hand hovering over all, and protecting us. I also feel as though a degree of that protection has been instilled and handed over to us as people. To stand educated, against the social upheaval of the idiotic. The bottom line is that...if push ever came to shove...I'm ready. My family is ready. Trained, armed, and ready. Most Americans sit and read of this stuff and always imagine it happening somewhere else to someone else. Those are exactly the people in New Orleans who watched their homes and businesses get ransacked while those who were educated and prepared stood their ground, drew a bead on the foreheads of their oppressors, fended off the stupidity of the masses, and are safe, healthy, and open for business today.

"When a strong man, fully armed, guards his house, his possessions are safe."
-Luke 11:21 (NKJV)