[ExI] My prediction

[Ben Zaiboc]

On Saturday, 10 January 2026 at 23:02, spike at rainier66.com <spike at rainier66.com> wrote:
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: extropy-chat extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org On Behalf Of Ben
> 
> Zaiboc via extropy-chat
> ...
> 
> > ... Tell me, please, what's to prevent an American Night of the Long
> 
> Knives?
> 
> --
> Ben
> 
> ____________________________________________
> 
> 
> Knives? Ben we have the second amendment. Why would we need knives?
> 
> Thanks for that comment however, for that is the reason we have a second
> amendment.
> 
> spike


Ah yes, the famed Right to have Bare Arms.

I always wondered how that coexists with the requirement to have firearms licences. Seems contradictory.

Your women theoretically have the right to have bare breasts, as well, at least in many states. Doesn't do them much good, though when they want to sunbathe topless in the park. They still get arrested, just as someone with a gun will still get arrested if they don't have a licence for it. This is my understanding, but it may be flawed. Please correct me if so (with respect to both breasts and guns). I have to admit, it seems a bit confusing.

(Is there some issue with 'concealed arms' here? You just need a permit for concealing your bare arms? Not sure. I hope it isn't the same with breasts, though. Requiring a permit for concealed bare breasts just seems daft to me. But what do I know?)

In any case, you already said that the authoritarians in the US have far more arms than the non-authoritarians, so if it came to an arm-wrestling match, or a civil war, the authoritarians would probably win.

If it came to a coup, I'd expect the same logic to apply. After the initial slaughter (when surprise, not armament, is always be the decisive factor), and the relevant people in government are all dead or equivalent, it would be force of arms that keep the people in general from staging a counter-coup. Authoritarians win. Dictatorship ensues. The 'Free the Nipple' movement is outlawed, and everybody loses.

I'm beginning to think you guys are taking the inspiration of ancient Rome a bit TOO seriously. Much as I hate to compare Trump to Caesar, it seems the Rubicon is very close. Let's hope The Constitution (or something, like, maybe a miracle) can keep it from being crossed.

---
Ben