On this day in 1992, the Ruby Ridge standoff ended with the surrender of Randy Weaver. I certainly think that this is one of many examples of where the federal government didn’t deal well with a volatile situation. Just the same, why is it always the right wing loons who cause these kinds of stand offs? Weaver’s family was given millions of dollars for the death of his wife. But it was fully his own fault. But these “live free or die” types are always the first to go running to the government when they feel that they’ve harmed.
But I’m really not interested in Weaver as a violent extremist. I’m interested in how he became a hero to so many people on the right. These are people, after all, who claim to be such patriots. If Weaver had been a Muslim, they would have fully backed the government. What’s more, Weaver would undoubtedly be spending the rest of his life in prison — if not having been put to death. But when it comes to right wing bigots, well, the conservatives think that they are the great defenders of freedom.
I don’t know what the right wing thinks of Ruby Ridge at this point. It seems that they have mostly forgotten it. But if it happened again, they would think the same thing. It’s also interesting that even though Ruby Ridge took place under Bush and the Waco siege took place before the Clinton administration was fully settled into the job, on the right, both cases were blamed on Clinton. Because regardless what they say, the extreme right wing is ultimately loyal to the Republican Party.
Regardless, people like Randy Weaver are not patriots; they are traitors to the aspirations and the facts of America. They should be shunned and hated. And they are by me.
I worked with a skinhead who went to Idaho to stand with Weaver. I didn’t shun or hate him; he seemed like a well-intentioned fool. I pitied him. I hated and was physically sickened by his ideology, though.
I understand. But social norms don’t just pop out of a vacuum. Social norms are enforced by people paying a price for repugnant acts and beliefs. Holocaust deniers just aren’t invited to parties that normal people give. I think it is important to talk to conservatives. But I think people like Weaver just need to be shunned.
So here’s a lovely story. We worked nights at a convenience store/gas station. One night the skinhead comes in with an abscessed tooth (no sick days or dental plan at that job.) He just sits in the corner and moans.
We’re down the freeway from a local hospital, and a nurse getting off work comes in and hears the moaning. Of course, she’s African-American. She immediately starts pulling things like alum and cold packs off the shelves, tending to the guy. He feels a little better and starts crying “thank you.” The nurse tells him to get to the ER as soon as his shift’s over, and he says “yes ma’am.”
When she’s done, I walk out the door after her to thank her. I asked “didn’t you notice his tattoos?” She responded “oh, he’s crazy. But I’m a nurse. You don’t let people suffer.”
Here’s the O. Henry twist — guess what the hospital’s name was? Too perfect to make up. It was “Good Samaritan.”
Didn’t make the guy hate blacks any less. He didn’t want to talk about it later.
Great story! Pain can make people think clearly. But as the memory fades, so does the clarity. But the nurse is the best of what we are.