It's time, and past time, to form local groups for mutual assistance and security

I've said on several occasions in the past that we should get together with like-minded individuals and families, to help each other through economic and social hard times such as we're presently experiencing.  I suggest that's now become a need rather than a nice-to-have.  Things are deteriorating to the point that, as Benjamin Franklin said:

We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.

Brandon Smith tells of how he tried to expand his small group of like-minded individuals, and the reaction against his efforts from local leftists.

I feel it is time for bigger discussions with the wider community on what people plan to do if the dangerous situation does not improve. In other words, are they going to work together? Or, are they going to remain isolated from each other?

This is a vital question, because it is becoming increasingly possible that a full spectrum collapse will strike the US in the near term.

. . .

I decided to engage with the larger community by starting a local club that discusses firearms, preparedness and current events. I put the word out in as many places as I could, including tacking up fliers around town ... The initial response was overwhelmingly positive. A lot of people are ready for this kind of information, and setting up the discussions in a more public forum gives people a greater sense of involvement and shows them they are not alone in their concerns. To that end I decided to hold the discussion at a local public park.

Then, I started getting emails and friends of mine started getting angry Facebook responses when discussing the club...

Officials from the city council using the primary city government email were not happy, though they did not identify themselves by name. They claimed the club could not hold an “event” in the park unless we got permission and permits from the city council, along with insurance. If we did not, then police would be sent to kick us out of the park.

. . .

I thoroughly researched the use and legality of public parks for free assembly and found that as long as your group is not blocking access to the park for other people, blocking roads or engaged in criminal activity then the demands for permits do not usually hold up in court and removal by police is not justified. Constitutionally, you are protected.

I emailed the official or officials back and reminded them that they risk a civil court issue by trying to stop people's free speech on public property, and warned them that the city would be subject to bad press as well. I was perfectly ready to refuse removal and to be arrested if it came to that.

Another interesting discovery: The park in question was host to a bunch of BLM protesters only two weeks earlier. Did they have to get permits and insurance to hold their “event” in the park?

. . .

This was clear political bias applied to the usage of public property.

I have learned from past experience that these types of people do not like a stand-up fight; so they prefer to try to frighten you away from doing a thing through intimidation instead. They try to get you to give up voluntarily by painting a host of consequences in your mind. You start to worry about all the things that MIGHT happen; no one wants to have confrontations with cops these days, you don't have to be insane like BLM to have concerns.

. . .

Long story short, the meeting was a success. I met a lot of locals that I had not talked with before that had the same concerns I did, and we discussed primarily the issue of community security if the system completely breaks down.

There's more at the link.

There are a number of points to take away from Mr. Smith's article.

1. There are probably a great many people like us out there, needing only to be informed to come together and work towards goals and objectives we share in common.
2. We can expect opposition and interference from those on the left, particularly so-called progressives.
3. We need to understand the system of laws and regulations under which we live, so that we can use them to defend our rights and not be intimidated by their wrongful use by opponents.

I'm not sure that so overt an approach is viable in many larger towns and cities - the risk of confrontation with Antifa/BLM supporters is too great.  However, I think a discreet word-of-mouth approach to friends and colleagues whom you think are trustworthy is not a bad idea.  They, in turn, can approach others they know.  This can lead to the organization of local "cells", for want of a better term, for mutual assistance and cooperation.  These need not be anything like a "secret society" or something like that.  They're simply a tried, tested and time-honored way to organize in support of a particular goal or goals.  Nevertheless, if you live in an area dominated by hard-left-wing politics (for example, Seattle, Portland or Minneapolis, to name but a few), a more clandestine cell network might be a suitable way to keep your activities under the radar, so to speak, and avoid unnecessary confrontation.  That's not a bad idea, IMHO.

With the elections approaching, and the forces trying to destabilize our society growing bolder, we need to take our stand against them and work to shore up, support and protect what we hold dear.  We also need to help each other through the current economic hard times, which may get much worse before they get better.  We can't do any of that as scattered individuals.  We need each other.

Peter