Tennessee Gentleman said:
Most all of us have that attitude. We just think there are lawful ways to do that rather than using violence where everybody loses.
I think nearly everybody here agrees with this. No one is really advocating violence as a first resort, but the answer to the thread's question is "yes".
It is for the absolute worst case scenario where your votes aren't worth a damn, and numerous seemingly insignificant incidences become large ones. It is for when the lawful means are exhausted and people are no longer confident in the possibility of change.
The thing I wish for some members to understand is that to think that just because someone serving in an official capacity is beyond reproach, and can do no harm is just unreasonable. Men are subject to the same whims of greed, and corruption regardless of their positions, be they elected officials, sworn law enforcement officers, or servicemen. Without turning this into a history lesson, I will just say as Dog Confetti said that history will show us the errors of not understanding this.
As I have seen, and as I'm sure you have as well, wearing a uniform does not magically make you a white knight that can do no wrong. To not recognize this is foolish.
Patriotism is standing by your country always, and standing by your government if it deserves it.
Going back to our earlier discussion TNGent, where you gave the example of clear cut unlawful orders with "shoot this prisoner" as an example, to me, Mayor Nagin's order of "no one will be allowed to have guns" is just as clear cut. I'm sure there had to be at least a few NG soldiers or police officers that have heard of the 4th Amendment. Maybe the realization of kicking people's doors down without probable cause and without warrants dawned on them to be an unlawful order?
Yes, Katrina was like a "nuclear blast" in the chaos and confusion it caused, but it is still shocking to me how easily "law" and order are ignored by an incident isolated to a general area. Whether the order was intentional tyranny or not, it did show that people like Ray Nagin (nearly all mayors of every major city in the country) are not fit to hold positions of leadership if they do not have the calmness of mind and strength of character to keep it together in an emergency situation.
There are executive orders for the federal govt. to take over and the Constitution to be suspended in dire situations. If New Orleans served as a microcosmic example, it would seem that a tropical storm would be dire enough.