the american insurrection .... can the "elites" take refuge in "hiding" ....

in the comments section to "what will be the likely model of american insurrection ... " reader "jd" linked a post suggesting that ex-federal officials and business types might be going into hiding, apparently intent upon sitting out any unpleasantness attendant to getting the obama mess straightened out.

i read the article at the link, and it was interesting.

reader "rod" took some exception to the general notion that anyone can "hide" anymore in this country, in a note at "the american insurrection, where will it be fought," and further doubted that the elites discussed were very much good at living obscurely, by either inclination or skill level.

he suggested frost bite might be in the offing for some of them.

the opposing views kinda got me to thinking on that topic, of what would be the consequence for those who might be considered to have aroused the ire of the gun possessing & toting public, should insurrection occur, and should such types "go to ground."

some of course might have the resources to seek a comfortable exile in europe, or south america, which tends to handle such matters rather discretely.  they could hide there, if hiding were what they were interested in.

as to the rest, i tend to agree with reader "rod," and think that the idea of an obscure & discrete "enclave" of like-minded fellow fat cat federal bureaucrats and financial tycoons, let alone politicians or celebrity talking heads, is a bit unlikely.  i always thought that the weakest part of ayn rand's book, "atlas shrugged" was the hidden valley in colorado, where the protagonists of that story found safe haven from the idiocy of the day.

it's hard to hide wealth.  it's hard to hide attitude.  and, of course, the bigger the enclave, the harder it is to be discrete about it.

and, there is one other thing, that sort of tips the scales for me, and oddly enough, it is the issue of health care.   (we might even label in "obama care," in this particular context  ...  some irony in that, eh?)

the sort of iconic fat cats that we are talking about, such as might be the target of the insurrections anger, tend toward certain things.  they tend to be old, (having the necessary longevity to become both successful and heedlessly arrogant), they tend to be fat, (living off the top of the hog like the kennedey's, and the murfa's of the world do), and, as a consequence they have health problems.

i am not saying that madeline albright would be a natural target of the insurrection, heaven forbid i single out an old corpulent woman as a political enemy, that would be graceless, ... , but, she illustrates my following points precisely.

she is old.  she is hopelessly fat.   and, she absolutely has to have chronic health problems of one sort or another, centering around diabetes, cardiac problems, and arthritis issues.  she has to suffer from some or all of those issues, and anything else dealing with chronic obesity.

how many old skinny politicians do you know of?  old and fat financial titans?  old and fat ward healers and labor bosses?  old and fat journalists, and media giants?

these types simply cannot go off to someplace remote or obscure, to while away the days as chaos and violence goes on about them, they to remain unscathed.  nope, they simply cannot do it.

they are tied, due to circumstances that simply cannot be denied, to major urban centers, wherein are found the high priced medical help that keeps their fat asses alive, ... , they have to live in proximity to the major cardiac centers where the heart surgeons ply their trades, they have to live near the cancer clinics with the resources to do chemo and surgery, and they have to live close enough to these places where they can be hauled in in emergent situations, and where the medical professionals can marshal the resources to gather organs for transplant, and where such procedures can be had and executed.

and, there is another reality.

money and influence are entirely worthless, if there is nothing proximate to it to be obtained by it.

now, warren buffet and sam walton before him were content to live in their simple and bucolic circumstances.  the glitz and glitter of urbanity meant, and mean, nothing to them.  if they needed that, they simply got on and airplane and went to, and came back home to their old and decrepit ford pickups.

you don't need much, if you like macaroni and cheese, with a little ketchup on the side, for dinner.  and, you don't need much to be anyplace fancy to have that.  and, likewise, you don't need hangers-on and sycophants to massage your needy ego if you are built as apparently buffet is, and as apparently walton was.

these people would be capable of laying low.

they are few and far between.

the politicians of this world, the business people of this world, the celebrities, the talking head media, need the adulation and affection of the public, and they have a constant hunger and lust for it.  (hell, they just have a constant lust and appetite for everything.)

they are as incapable of "taking to ground" as ghaddafi, or as assad, or as the iranian mullahs, for that matter.  you think vladimir putin would go into hiding in a russian revolution.  for people like this, to seek refuge, to denounce their influence and "fame," would not be worse than death, it would simply be death.

in sum, i do not think that those who arouse our enmity, who seek to destroy our liberty and freedom, are the types who will hide.   they will either flee to europe and south america and a life of "celebrity" there (much like the exiled duke and duchess of windsor, who exemplify the type perfectly, now that i think about it), or they will stand and let the minions fight, much as assad, and ghaddafi before them, much as would putin.

no, the targets of the insurrection will stay in the target rich areas they now inhabit.  there will be no shortage of them, as they cannot give up their status, and they cannot give up their support structures.  they know they would be no better at such things as reader "rod" describes, fully as well as "rod" knows it.

and, do not forget.  they are old and fat.  they are linked as surely to their doctors and the medical structures, as surely as if the docs had them on leashes.  which, as a matter of fact, they do.

you think fatty albright gets out of town much, that henry kissinger goes hither and yon without a care in the world.  not without a medical retinue, they don't.  not without a health logistics train.

there is no secret enclave for these people.  they simply move into town with too much highly visible baggage.

john jay @ 12.30.2012

p.s.  you may regard them as fixed fortifications, just like ww i's maginot line.   targets, vulnerable to movement and maneuver.  fixed to the firmament, with the inescapable glue of wealth and position.

power hammered into chains.

i know exactly how the vandals, the visigoths, the vikings, the huns, and the mongols would have regarded them.  ripe for the taking.  naked, when the help abandons them.

fixed.  immobile.  defenseless.  helpless.

like saddam in his spider hole, ghaddafi in his culvert.  like one of nicolai ceausescu's chained bears, like ceausescu himself.

 

Comments

[Rod]

JJ -
outstanding epistle, you display a great potential with your understanding and life-experience for serving as one of the needed commando field commanders in the coming days.

"Old dogs" unlike "young studs" have the sense to not waste energy running headlong into a dog-fight without first gaining an edge; the advantages of planning and picking and choosing the battles bring far more success versus foolishly squandering precious, finite resources in hopes of a quick victory. It has been said that a competent commander first develops his vision of the battlefields of compaign before committing to a fight. Most Americans have an abundance of bravery once they have been motivated. But courage alone is not enough if one is to direct, lead, and survive the coming battles and engagements. Wisdom and sound judgement will rise like cream in the milk. This has been the nature of true leadership throughout history.

You are dead center - mass with your thoughts regarding the visibility elitists require as much as the need oxygen, water, and food. This form of narcissim is the weak link in their armor. Escape to foreign soils can only be temporary. In today's world, there are no impenetrable fortresses. To think other wise is incredilby naive and fatal; the likes of Saddam and his ilk bare this out.

There is much more to be said on these topics. It is best to approach sharing and discussing the undertaking systematically rather than trying to understand it from the first few drinks out of the firehose. More later.

[Mesa Goat Man]

Just found your blog. I will be a regular reader from now on as long as you continue to post regularly. You seen to be in the same vein as Lizard Farmer.

[Bill Harzia]

Look at private physicians' offices close to university hospitals. Be aware that their security forces will be squared away and on the job, too.

[Yank lll]

What a breath of fresh air to read your blog. To actually read someone with the balls to speak honestly is liberating in itself.

Liberty
Yank lll

[Machifer]

Sam Walton may have come from a bucolic place, but Buffett's Omaha seems bucolic only to someone from the East Coast jungle. How simply he truly lives, and how much is myth, I don't know. However you are on the right track. And also each of the smaller cities here in Flyoverstan has its own upwardly aspirant elites and media gentry. Maybe a mayor or councilman who has facilitated the oppressors. Neutralizing such people would strengthen the heartland and demoralize the rulers. Rememverm that Saigon was captured by felling the village headmen.

[G_A]

Where are the elites? I strongly suggest purchasing Charles Murray's "Coming Apart."

[Bret]

Just found your blog. Love your style. I have to disagree in the respect that there are 144 deep under ground military bases connected by an underground mag lev train system. It would be naive to assume that none of these facilities will serve or rich elites. Just look at Denver airport

[Bret]

I do agree that some of the elites will not find a hole to crawl in. I also agree that the fight will start on the front porch of americans. I have long preached the effectiveness of long range marksmanship. I defer back to Jeff Cooper saying the battle rifle is the queen of battle. I have long believed this to be true and have sought to learn those lessons fully. Now I see my training has not been in vain.

[john jay]

bret:

thanks for the compliments, and the read. it is much appreciated.

as to the deep holes, it works both ways. if you cannot get in, you can always work it so that someone cannot get out.

impressive tombs.

as to long range marksmanship, i agree in all particulars. it sure beats the hell out of using teeth and nails, ... , the whole thing is to get some "stand off" on the battlefield, or, in any conflict, for that matter.

john

p.s. you might search the blog here for articles on "jj's brit," a little wildcat i am developing. i have a "rem-chester" test mule up and running, put together with an old remington 700 barrel a friend gave me.

shoots marvelously.

[john jay]

thank you all, ... , for your carefull reads, and excellent comments.

i am kind of swamped w/ a couple things, but will get back to each letter, as soon as i can.

john