The 3%: The Modern Day "Patriots"

The Three Percenters (or 3%ers) are arguably the largest element of the modern militia movement.  Their mission is claimed to be to defend against an impending tyrannical government that would infringe on constitutional freedoms.  Unfortunately, perception is not always reality.  What I mean by that it, these groups are a fucking joke.  For starters the term Three Percenter is based on the supposed belief that only 3% of the population actively fought for independence.  In reality, most estimates put it closer to 20%.  Most of these groups don't practice what they preach and are barely able to even defend themselves let alone the country as they have little to no actual tactical knowledge.  I'm all too aware of this for one simple reason.  I used to be one of them.

Upon my leaving the Marines, I still had that itch and was kinda already feeling that whole something going on feeling that we've all had.  Through various surfing of YouTube I came across such groups as the Watchmen and the Oathkeepers (More on them later) but was unable to find anyone local.  I'll admit I had my reservations of them as well given I wasn't completely convinced of certain conspiracies that may or may not be true.  About 2 years after getting out I received a call from my dad regarding meeting with the Three Percenters.  Apparently by dad and brother had someone come across these guys and got themselves involved and given my veteran status I would be a valuable asset.  We met with them at my dad's house and after talking for an hour or 2 we decided to get involved.  A few weeks later we were at a first meeting and I met the majority of the group.  The cracks were showing but I did not see them at the time.  My general consensus was that these were people who had a strong sense of nationalism while also leaning towards the libertarian way of thinking.  Oh was I wrong about that.

In reality, most Three Percenters are just conservative ultra nationalists who are oblivious to their own contradictions.  The most obvious example of this is when you will see their cars covered in bumper stickers like a hippy college student.  They will have a Gasden Flag right next to the Blue Lives Matter Flag.  Meaning they are against tyranny while completely and often blindly defending tyrants.  Their mental gymnastics on that issue is quite comedic to witness.  As for the matter of liberty they are complete fucking hypocrites.  At least when it comes to what political party is in power.  When Obama was in office, most were all about wanting to be free and decrying government tyranny.  When Trump came into office, most of them could not wait to start licking that boot.  They come up with the most convoluted justifications for Trump.  They also have an obsession with George Soros while completely ignoring the fact that the Koch brothers could buy the motherfucker 10 times over.

Even if something were to happen, you can't rely on the majority of these fools anyways.  Most of these guys are nothing more than a bunch of weekend warriors or summer soldiers who just want to play at being a militia on the weekends or most likely once a month if that.  A perfect example of that is my own dad.  He's all for showing up when he can but is just trying to vicariously live a life he never had himself.  Like my dad, most of these people have absolutely know tactical or firearms knowledge.  Wear gear and parts built Ar15's that were comprised of the cheapest components available from Amazon.  Granted it's not like it really mattered since most of them had no idea had to use it anyways.

Although Three Percenters are comprised of veterans, I use that term very loosely.  I say that because most of those who did have military experience, did have any that was recent.  Most of them served in the military during the 90's and during a time either right after Desert Storm and right before the onset of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  One could interpret this as them trying to capture those experiences that they missed out on having not serving in war time.  Essentially they are trying to relive those glory days that they never actually had.

The Three Percenters was meant to harken back to the militia of old.  Instead they are more like a militarized cooptation of the Tea Party.  They're supposed to part of the citizens movement of liberty.  Instead, the moment they feel like they have power like a jack booted thug.  Only good thing in that case is they're a bunch of paper tiger moron in fucking clown shoes.

Lawrence of Arabia and The War on Terror

Before we get started I just want to thank the guys over at The Statist Quo Podcast and their episode on the War on Terror.  That episode was the inspiration for this so you should go check them out.  If they were the ones who brought you here well then cool and thank you.  I guess this networking shit does work.

Now I know what you are thinking, "What does Lawrence of Arabia have to do with the War on Terror?"  Well, it's actually rather simple.  His actions as a British Intelligence officer working a liaison to the Arab Revolt during WWI helped to facilitate the Sykes-Picot Agreement.  The secret deal made between the British and French partially at the behest of Zionist influencers to carve up and take control of the Ottoman Empire after the war.  These actions would help to create the lasting state of turmoil that has engulfed the Middle East.  Lawrence of Arabia is an especially intriguing figure in this situation given that his unique perspective.  Not only was he able to foresee the events that would unfold, he also actively made attempts to prevent what would be their inciting event.  Unfortunately, Lawrence of Arabia's warnings were not heeded and the world got the Middle East we have today.  I guess all you could say is that empires gotta empire.

Now seeing how I probably lost most of you already let's find out just who this Lawrence of Arabia really is.  We'll just go with the abridge version so we can eventually get to our point. Thomas Edward Lawrence (colloquially known as T.E. Lawrence) was the British Intelligence officer eventually assigned to be the liaison between the British army and Faisal I bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashemi, the man Lawrence himself determined to be best fit to lead.  In essence, Lawrence could be seen a precursor to modern day Green Berets.  Fighting along side an indigenous military force while being able to provide resources said indigenous forces would be unable to attain themselves.  Lawrence has previously learned Arabic and throughout his time in the revolt began to dress as the Arabs gaining their respect and admiration as Westerner who was willing to learn and embrace their culture.

As for the Sykes-Picot agreement, Lawrence did many things to undermine the empire he served.  One of the most significant things he did is one that many don't know about.  He committed treason by informal Faisal of the intent of the British to fuck the Arabs out of independence.  Upon learning of this betrayal, Lawrence believed the best course of action would be to take the city of Damascus hoping the Imperial powers would have no choice but to grant the Arabs independence.  Unfortunately, they were beaten to the capital of Arab world by Australian elements of the British military.  Faisal was able to establish an Arab government however, it was under British supervision.  Lawrence would continue to push for Arab independence even going as far as going to the Paris peace talks as a member of Faisal's delegation.  However, we all know by now that none of it mattered as the British and French would take direct control of the region, planting the seeds for the Middle East that we have today.

Now when it comes to the Zionist's and their intentions within the region, Lawrence was aware that their goals would be met with negative repercussions.  He believed that if Zionists were to be given a state in the Middle East, it would be land meant only for Jews with nowhere for Arabs.  If you look at modern Israel, that is exactly what is going on.  In  a meeting with Zionists leaders where they told Lawrence of their plans to just but the land and remove those who were already living on it, the only recommendation he could give them was to coexist with the Arabs or there would be violence.  Which yet again has been going on since 1948 when Israel was finally granted statehood. To quote the man himself "If a Jewish state is to be created in Palestine, it will have to be done by force of arms and maintained by the force of arms amid an overly hostile population."

T.E. Lawrence saw all that Middle East has endured in the last hundred years coming.  However, we continue to brush history under the rug.  Everyone wondered why France has been subjected to so much violence.  Maybe it was because they took over Syria.  We wonder why Israel is almost always under attack.  It might have something to do with Arabs suffering under oppression, fighting to reclaim their independence just to have their land taken by yet another empire who goes and gives it to someone else.  Lawrence of Arabia knew this could be prevented but unfortunately, the desire of conquest by empires created a situation that has caused little more than chaos and death.

Conflicted

Upon my trip down the rabbit hole I always had a feeling within me, conflict.  Conflict in that a loss in the sense of purpose.  A feeling of waste.  As a veteran it is a hard pill to swallow coming to the realization that everything you fought for, everything that you sacrificed for.  All of the blood, sweat and tears.  Everything you endured in service of your country.  Coming to the realization that it was all a big fat fucking lie.

I'll be honest it is difficult to accept the realization that you weren't fighting for freedom or serving a greater purpose like I thought I was.  You end up trying to convince yourself that you can justify your service.  However, you often find yourself realizing that such a feat is impossible.  You even try to bring it down to a micro level and say you fought for your brothers and sisters that you served next to.  The sad thing is you can't though because in the big picture, it was all for nothing.  That's especially true for me since I spent my time in Afghanistan riding a desk.  How can I say it was worth it for me? Especially when all the war I experienced was through a computer screen.

With all that said though, believe it or not but I do not regret my decisions.  If it wasn't for my military service I don't know if I wouldn't have been woken up to the bullshit that we currently deal with.  For all I know I would still be that Neoconservative shithead that I was when I first enlisted, hating Obama for the belief he would pull us out of the war (oh how young I was).  Shit maybe I would have turned out whiny liberal begging the government to protect my feeling and take over my life.  If asked if I would change anything I would have to say no.  Was my service a mistake? Yes it was.  However, if I change anything I feel like I would just make different mistakes.

Welcome

Welcome to the Blog of Gunz and Shenaniganz.  I am the author T-Rex (I have an introduction to explain that).  Throughout my posts you'll begin to meet other interesting characters in my life.  So naturally given the title a lot of what will be here are guns.  This will mainly consist of gun reviews, accessories and philosophies.  Also some random thoughts and discussions about the community, industry and overall politics.  Also, there will be shenanigans.  This will mostly include stories involving my friends or my time in the Marines.  Mostly goofy shit for the purpose of a laugh or 2.

There will also be some deeper discussion.  This will involve what one could call my trip down the rabbit hole.  This will include my discovery and self reflection of the liberty movement.  Also, my time involving the modern patriot movement (that means militias) and my criticisms of them.  While doing that I figured why not go into comparing them to what has now been referred to as the Boogaloo and what I guess are being called the "Goons" who intend to take part in the festivities if you want to call it that.

With all of that said, I hope you enjoy your time here.  Whether that be by finding some good information, a funny story or a struggle of state of mind that you might relate to.  If not you can tell me I suck and call me a Statist it's whatever I could really give a shit but then again there's one saying that no one could deny to be true.  You can't fight the internet.

An Introduction: T-Rex

I'll just stick with T-Rex for now.  If that's a problem well fuck you I like my anonymity.  Now with that out of the why I bet you're asking yourself "why T-Rex?" Well that's because amongst my circle of degenerates, goons, and other people who rebuke societal norms, I am most likely the shortest and definitely have the shortest arms.  That means most items that are in an elevated position or hanging up are usually comedically just out of reach.  This has lead to everyone constantly pointing out that I have tiny little T-Rex arms.  With that said, I could act like a little bitch about it, or I could embrace as my nickname.  Besides, most nicknames are bestowed upon you and not one you make up yourself.  If you do make up your own nickname, people quickly realize just how big of a tool you really are.

Now with that out of the way, a little bit more about me.  I'll keep this brief (I just realized I had like a whole page here and realized you don't need my whole life story just yet).  I served in the Marines, began to quickly realized the Honor, Courage, Commitment was total bullshit and just a campaign slogan.  Went to Afghanistan for a year and realized we're just spinning in circles there and wasting our time, money and blood.  However it was at that time that I stumbled upon the Alex Jones film The Obama Deception (no I'm not a fan of his, I'm not really interested in getting deep into conspiracy or selling supplements).  However, it was my first step to where I am now.

In the time since getting out I've worked dead end jobs while going to community college then on to Fordham University where I would receive a degree in Political Science.  I realized that degree was bullshit but stayed for the same reason people get married in the service, the bennies.  It was also during that time that I discovered Libertarianism and the modern militia movement.  I also began to realize that both of rife with shortcomings and hypocrisy.  It was only recently to realizing that the current situation is for a lack of a better word, completely fucked.