This thread is getting lofty.
Given the diverse nature of the posts here, it's worth mentioning that conditions in different countries where there have been revolutions, civil wars or radical changes in government have been a lot different from one another. The fact that there may or may not have been some form of gun control really doesn't seem to enter into the matter. For instance, conditions in Russia in 1914 were hardly the same as they were in the American colonies in 1775. The circumstances in Libya, Syria, Yugoslavia, Vietnam, etc., etc., are all different, which is not to say there are absolutely no similiarities.
Somehow or other, there seem to be ways to find enough arms to finish one revolution and start another one. Things don't always turn out very well and I wouldn't characterize any of them as clean. It took a long time for Mexico to finally settle down, for instance, and the revolution in Russia took longer than we realize today. And in the first true revolution, the one in France, every country in Europe got involved eventually.
There was a lot of street violence before Hitler got elected. Remember how popular he was, too. His first supporters in Germany were WWI vets, probably a lot like veterans in this country and just maybe a lot like members of this forum. And even he wasn't self-appointed. There's even an element of democracy in dictatorships. The only difference is who gets to vote.
Given the diverse nature of the posts here, it's worth mentioning that conditions in different countries where there have been revolutions, civil wars or radical changes in government have been a lot different from one another. The fact that there may or may not have been some form of gun control really doesn't seem to enter into the matter. For instance, conditions in Russia in 1914 were hardly the same as they were in the American colonies in 1775. The circumstances in Libya, Syria, Yugoslavia, Vietnam, etc., etc., are all different, which is not to say there are absolutely no similiarities.
Somehow or other, there seem to be ways to find enough arms to finish one revolution and start another one. Things don't always turn out very well and I wouldn't characterize any of them as clean. It took a long time for Mexico to finally settle down, for instance, and the revolution in Russia took longer than we realize today. And in the first true revolution, the one in France, every country in Europe got involved eventually.
There was a lot of street violence before Hitler got elected. Remember how popular he was, too. His first supporters in Germany were WWI vets, probably a lot like veterans in this country and just maybe a lot like members of this forum. And even he wasn't self-appointed. There's even an element of democracy in dictatorships. The only difference is who gets to vote.
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