Oregon milita

In his Memphis Flyer article, "Making Tennessee Great Again," (January 7, 2016) Bruce Vanwyngarden makes a point about the ridiculousness of the Oregon militia standoff. He does this through the use of satire; he writes that he has taken a cue from the Oregon militia and stormed a restroom facility in a state park, thus establishing the absurdity of the situation. The author's purpose it to make a mockery of the Oregon militia's methods of protest. Vanwyngarden maintains the satirical tone of his article, establishing a witty, joking relationship with his readers.


The situation in Oregon is ridiculous. Their rage stems from the fact that two cattle ranchers were sentenced to 5 years for arson on federal land, so I'm not entirely sure what all the protesting and gun waving is about. How about this: don't commit arson.


The latest in this crazy story is that eight occupiers have been arrested, and one was killed in a traffic stop incident. It's unclear exactly what happened during this traffic stop that left one dead. The leader of the militia, Ammon Bundy, has released a statement asking the government to allow those still at the refuge to leave without being prosecuted. As he put it, "This fight is ours for now in the courts." Maybe if they had taken the fight to the courts in the first place, they wouldn't be in this position. But, hey, rationality doesn't really seem to be their thing.