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Schaeffer Cox, a 25-year-old organizer from Fairbanks, Alaska, talks about how a movement sprang up in Fairbanks from a coalition of people disgusted with the government and the economic system while he was speaking Thursday, Dec. 2, at the Greyhound Park in Post Falls. Cox and other speakers appealed to the crowd at the Freedom Festival, a gathering of political groups to talk about grievances with the government. Afterward, many people asked Cox how to start a militia like he has helped organize in Alaska. Meghann M. Cuniff’s SR story here. (Jesse Tinsley/SR)
Question: Are you concerned that militia organizers like Schaeffer Cox are attracting hundreds toevents like the recent Freedom Festival at the Greyhound Park?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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coeurgenx on December 10 at 9:46 a.m.
Dressed like that, what kind of militia is he portraying?
Digger on December 10 at 9:46 a.m.
The fabulous kind! If you’re gonna start a militia, do it in style!
Duffer on December 10 at 9:50 a.m.
They’re all in parkas today down at Fred Meyer! ;)
scootermom on December 10 at 9:54 a.m.
These are probably the same people that don’t vote and avoid jury duty.
Phaedrus on December 10 at 10:12 a.m.
I’m concerned that the militia movement seems to have gone from being considered an extremist movement to one that is being positioned as mainstream. The farther right the ‘mainstream’ moves the more I fear for our country.
Lizard_People on December 10 at 10:16 a.m.
The funny thing is, you liberals have way more in common with the Militia guys than you do the Palin crowd, and you don’t even know it!
The people at the Freedom Fest are against illegal wars, torture, and the elimination of due process.
The Palin crowd love the show 24.
See the difference?
ejs on December 10 at 10:31 a.m.
If that cat is doing it for a true and genuine cause and for the cause its self then more power to him.
On the other hand if its just a cause that he knows will stir people and in turn is making money from fear mongering then no I’m not for him.
DCR on December 10 at 12:11 p.m.
In my experience, militia types don’t believe government at most levels has the authority to levy taxes (especially the feds; some conspiracy theory about the 16th Amendment not being properly ratified), don’t believe they have to get drivers licenses or register their vehicles, don’t believe any law enforcement entities besides the Sheriff has arrest authority, have narrow neo-constitutionalist mindsets that reject over two hundred years of case law and jurisprudence in favor of their own self-serving interpretations of the constitution, and run around the woods with their guns conducting “training” exercises in an effort to cow the government into not enforcing existing laws against them. Until they demonstrate otherwise, they’ll always be fringe wingnuts to me.
spokelooneh on December 10 at 3:23 p.m.
Well said, DCR.
richard on December 10 at 10:25 p.m.
No, the real story here is that a newspaper can run a story such as this and define for its readers those who attended the meeting. And no one questions how the media leads them to particular conclusions.
I am always amazed at how little questioning most people do when confronted with stories such as this.
When was the last time followers of Code Pink had a meeting in Spokane? Did the SR go that meeting and then run front-page article using similar “buzz” words to label them as they did with “militia”?
SR could have run that very same story and never used the word militia - and they could have also not sought out the “expertise” from Morris Dees’ organization … and it would have likely had a comletely different response from readers.
Why are so many readers so willing to accept all the induced images that reporters use these days to “flavor” their reporting.
I had no idea the meeting was even taking place and it wouldn’t be something I would be interested in attending … but what it really sounded like to me was a group of like-minded Americans meeting to discuss political strategies to influence government representatives.
Just the way democracy in this country was designed to function.
And, just the way all the MoveOn.org meetings across the country were used to support Obama and other liberal politicians.
The only difference between the two, were the political beliefs of the two organizations … and media’s response to both of them.
Smell the coffee.
Arch_Druid on December 11 at 8:40 a.m.
Lot of words, “Richard.” Your letter sounds a lot like the apologia for this Freedom what ever held in Post Falls that was published in the S-R this morning.
Oh and, apparently the irony was lost on the attendees, THEY CAN PEACEFULLY ASSEMBLE in order to denounce a gvt as tyrannical that has yet to establish its capacity for tyranny. Remarkable, huh.