i keep reading thoughts on 'why does michigan have such a militia problem' and they all feel so incomplete to me. they inevitably mention 1. economic stress 2. a place for working class men to find power 3. a nod to rural culture.

i myself would argue 1. detroit/flint. michigan politics revolve around the 'divide' between detroit/the rest of us. the perception has always been since i was a teeny kid that 'detroit gets everything while the rest of us get nothing.'

or: lazy welfare queens get constant generational handouts that *eye* pay for with my hard earned money.

and it literally is, white person feels like every single *dime* they pay in taxes is literally being shifted from their wallets to the newly manicured hands of a black generational welfare recipient.

in other words, the 'economic stress' is less that white people are dealing with poverty, and more that they think black people (with the help of the state/fed govt) are literally stealing money from them.

this is generational resentment. i can remember listening to these arguments over the dinner table of white family back in the early 80s. these discussions happened in school.

generational white resentment over taxes then 2. connects to generational investment in segregation and jim crow practices brought here during great migration by migrating white communities.

howell, michigan is known as the kkk capital. the kkk was a visible presence in michigan, and it's principles (segregation, jim crow, etc) have been deeply connected to and intertwined with white flight.

http://michiganhistory.leadr.msu.edu/howelladarkpast/

white flight out of the cities led to a white pipeline to suburbs and 'rural' areas. (rural here being defined as a space that is not suburb, but also not necessarily connected to farmers).

those areas are defined by segregation: clarkston, one of the cities that one of the arrested people is from, is 97.7% white. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarkston,_Michigan#Demographics

shelby township, another area that one of the arrested people is from, is 89.4% white.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelby_Charter_Township,_Michigan#Demographics

another area, Ovid, is 95.7% white. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovid,_Michigan

i think from the list i saw of where people are from, there's maybe two cities on the list (belleville and grand rapids) that have significant populations of people of color, but even then, both of those cities are 100% situated within deeply committed segregationist politics-

of the state as a whole and 3. on the west side of the state, a deep commitment to christian nationalism.

i have seen next to zero discussions on the connection between christian fundamentalism/nationalism and militias, but trust and believe, it's there. the protests that 'brought together' the different men who stand accused were originally funded at least in part by betsy devos.

(or rather, an organization that the devos family runs). now, i'm not a journalist and i haven't had time to sit and to the legwork that shows where the connection begins/ends, which is why it's been frustrating to me to see how few scholars talk abt west michigan-

as a hot bed of religious fundamentalism, so i don't want to commit to going much farther than saying we have to at least *notice* that the devos family, who are fundamentalist christians, are connected to the protests and that lee chatfield's dad, also christian fundamentalist-

is connected to protests both thru attendance and by leading several groups in a lawsuit against michigan over covid restrictions-

western michigan christian fundamentalism is the type where they see themselves as required to 'spread the good news' and get people to accept the lord jesus christ as their savior--

ACB saying that she sees being a judge as a way to bring the kingdom of jesus--that is what sort of christian fundamentalism runs rampant on that side of the state.

but what that does, is while these types of christians are committed to converting every possible person they get their hands on--they ALSO don't want to just hang out with 'sinners.'

or: they bring people into their communities based on a mutual desire that the person being brought in *is like the already existing community and remains committed literally to god to be ever more like that community.*

so they don't accept people who think differently and they don't allow people that think differently to 'change' who they are--people that 'think differently' are literally the devil tempting them with sin.

and this isn't even getting into their understanding of doctrine in terms of apocalypse and Teh Gayz and abortion and all that.

so anyway, what you have is generational white resentment situated within communities that are isolated not just geographically but ideologically through segregation and christian fundamentalism and and you get 4. a *culture* that is foundationaly set towards-

always looking for a 'threat' and constantly preparing itself for end of times destruction *in the name of justice*. (cuz oh, yeah, the apocolypse/end of times is when jesus brings their idea of justice).

so--end of times--whether understood as 'civil war' or jesus literally coming back to earth and destroying evil doers, is where 'justice' resides.