Here's a thread about one of the questions I'm getting that, because of the answer's complexity, isn't reflecting as well as I would like in some of the journalistic write-ups, so I'm going to address it some here:

Why is Michigan such a militia hotspot?

In my view, there are several likely factors for this, and I'll try to put the Twitter version of them here

1. Michigan has tended to be one of the most racially segregated states in the US, such that both race and racial threat are very present and noticeable ingredients in many places. Perceptions of Detroit as "crime ridden," with all the racial stereotypes wrapped up there

also play a role in a lot of white folks' perception of racial issues in that whole state.

This might mean some white men in particular are more likely to join militias because of what they see as a real and ever-present threat--crime *or* race here.

2. Although I am loathe toward economic reductionism, I do think the economy of the state is a variable we can't ignore. Even prior to the 2008 recession, Michigan's economy struggled relative to other places, in part as a result of a declining auto industry

This means that both real and perceived economic struggles are relevant for many workers, but especially for men, and even more for white men specifically, who believe in traditional roles where men are the breadwinner, providers, and protectors of household.

If they are unable to accomplish those things despite their best individual efforts, this can lead to wanting some sort of activism to feel like they are gaining control again, independent of race factors, once again being a possible push to militia membership.

Notably, and the period from 2000 to 2010, which was the time frame most relevant for my original fieldwork, Michigan was the only state to experience negative population change and was the state with the highest unemployment rate for most of that period.

It's also worth noting that, at the time, Michigan ranked as the 9th lowest state for women's earnings as a percent of men's earnings, likely providing further support for a prevalence of the "men as breadwinners" outlook

3. Although this seems to be changing for younger generations, most Americans have traditionally believed in their personal ability to attain the American Dream: that as long as they work hard enough, there's no limit to their possible success

If reality regularly smacks you in the face about this real impossibility regardless of how hard you work, this might further inflame feelings about nationalism that some people have, threatening one's long-term understanding of America as a unique and special nation.

All these factors are inter-tangled, and it's likely that white men of lower socioeconomic statuses would respond most personally to threats to nationalism like this, too.

Militias are overtly nationalist. For the constitutionalist ones, their overt aim is to stand up for a literal interpretation of the Constitution, to carry forward the mission, as they see it, of the founding fathers, and maintain the US's "special" status.

4. Some other authors have speculated about the role of veterans, but I found that Michigan does not have a particularly high number of veterans overall, either an absolute terms or when controlling for population size.

5. Other people have additionally speculated about the general decline of the farming industry in the United States, but I found out evidence for that being a driving factor whatsoever, to the extent that many of my interviewees actually guffawed when I asked related questions.

I believe that some quantitative artifacts of farming variables that some of those authors found from data sets largely relying on watch group data were likely instead picking up on some sort of variable broadly related to what we might call "rural culture."

Many places in Michigan are not rural, but a perhaps-surprising chunk of the state was settled by both Black and White folks from the South, and many of the stereotypical values of independence and "rebellion" are easy to find.

You only have to step over the line into Ypsilanti from Ann Arbor to hear some people talking with a genuine and heavy southern accent even still today.

When I looked at the number of people who applied for hunting and fishing licenses, Michigan stood out in objective numbers, but not when controlling for state population size, bearing in mind that many people don't necessarily follow the legal steps for those hobbies.

Regardless of those numbers, it certainly true that the vast majority of militia members I spoke with idealize open land and private property ownership. Many of them dreamed of moving to the UP or otherwise open territory to "be left alone" and largely self-sufficient

Part of most militia's general focus is self-sufficiency, not only through firearms but also through some degree of general preparedness regarding food and outdoor navigation, so this too is a natural point of attraction for folks with that general "rural" kind of outlook

6. Quantitative analysis wasn't the focus of my work, but from interviews and other conversations I had, I also believe that perceived levels of state corruption play an important role. Militia members are attentive to news stories, especially about the government

and stories of corruption at every level of government were indeed common on news cycles there. At the time I was writing my dissertation, the center for public integrity ranked Michigan the 44th "best" state for integrity and gave them an overall F grade.

Being surrounded by such stories amplifies some of these men's felt need to monitor the government and its actors and to do something about that level of corruption, to join a militia and be prepared, but also to be a visible symbol of what the Constitution is "supposed to be"

7. Michigan was one of the first two states to formally have an organized, modern militia. The longevity alone means that there is likely to be a forward continuance, that there are role models--near mythical heroes in some cases--for newer folks to try to follow.

8. Michigan's militia also had early in public controversy, when they were connected to the Oklahoma City bombing. Eventually, the FBI decided that Timothy McVeigh had never actually been a militia member (and that's what I was told by members who were active back then, too)

But there were some shared ideological principles related to general skepticism of the government or even being completely anti-government depending on which groups we're talking about.

Michigan's militias more than others had to deal with that connection and with the bombing itself as well as the congressional hearings that followed more than militias in other states.

One of the things this meant was that some of the long-timers decided to take a more public

approach. This doesn't mean they had big PR campaigns, but rather that they were more open about their identity in their local communities. More people, including local law enforcement, came to know about them and often came to normalize them as I've talked about in other threads

This means that men generally feeling some of these anxieties had the militia as a model, knew they were out there, and they became a natural place to approach as those feelings bubble to the surface

One more thing, not quite a side note: I do focus on men in this thread. Women comprise about 10% maximum in most groups, though most of those groups genuinely want more women involved.

It isn't that women can't experience these things, too, but

masculinity is itself an important variable in this process for how it connects to socioeconomic status and nationalism and ideas of protectionism.

Women I did meet in these groups generally shared these concerns, but did feel them less deeply and personally.

They supported their husbands and boyfriends and men involved in these groups, but mostly viewed it as an expensive hobby rather than a reflection of a real or urgent threat

Also, I highly recommend reading @kate_manne's work, both Down Girl and Entitled, to understand some of the ideas of masculinity and manhood that are critical here, especially in regards to the alleged plot against Gov. Whitmer.