5 Hilarious Failures in the History of American Revolutions
Independence Day affords every American the opportunity to honor their forefathers; those ordinary men who rallied together in a unified stand against tyranny, injustice and the oppressing forces of that mother ship that blew up the White House.
Independence Day affords every American the opportunity to grill, reflect on the history of the nation and, state law permitting, set things on fire. Families spill out of houses to eat pie on porches or in yards while remembering the achievements of their forefathers; those ordinary men who rallied together in a unified stand against tyranny, injustice and the oppressing forces of that mother ship that blew up the White House.
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Call me a bigot but I still hate those aliens.
Despite the intergalactic triumph which made this three-day weekend possible, the United States doesn’t have an outstanding track record with revolutions. The standard procedure for unsuccessful rebellions is to sweep them under the rug of history in order to avoid humiliation. But some of these insurgencies are such colossal failures that they refuse to go away. The following are five astoundingly bad revolts of all sizes, from attempts to overthrow government to university building occupations. I’ve provided them as helpful lessons on what to avoid if you ever build your own insurgency.NYU Food Court Occupation
Lesson: Kids don’t know shit In February of 2009, a group of politically minded and painfully optimistic university students occupied the NYU food court with a list of demands
Source: Tim Pierce
“And amnesty for the incarcerated, asshole.”
The students brought cameras to the revolt in anticipation, and possibly even hope that they would be forcibly removed from the food court by police. Unfortunately, the video they captured does nothing but reveal how ill prepared, self-entitled and ridiculous they were. At one point the videographer attempts to chase down an apathetic campus safety officer while screaming, “Do not use brutality!”This video does more detriment to future protests than the invention of rubber bullets.
Margot Fonteyn’s Panama Coup
Lesson: Don’t invite celebrities to your revolution Technically this revolt happened in a U.S territory but with the recent surge in American celebrities meddling with world affairs, the lesson is valuable. In 1959, Fidel Castro and Roberto Arias, the son of a former Panamanian president, secretly plotted to overthrow the Panamanian government. The problem was that Arias brought his wife.
“Watch this, Roberto. Watch me. Watch me, Roberto. Are you watching?”
World famous ballerina, Margot Fonteyn fell in love with the romance of the insurgency and candidly told all her friends
“You see this face, Margot? You are making it sad.”
The trouble with celebrities is that they hang out with celebrities. Foreign Office minister John Profumo told UK officials about the secret plot right around the time the whole coup spontaneously collapsed. It’s not clear how much of the blame for its failure rests squarely on the shoulders of Margot Fonteyn, suffice it to say she was as useless as a goddamn ballerina in a political uprising.The Business Plot
Lesson: Run a background check on co-conspirators During 1933 as the New Deal was ostensibly pulling the U.S. out of the Great Depression, the leaders of two corporate empires decided, “Fuck that.” FDR’s plan had the power to redistribute the wealth to the American working class which threatened the livelihood of the elite. The solution? Overthrow FDR and instate a fascist regime that protected the monetary interests of the business community.
It was working so well in other parts of the world.
The Business Plot was designed to force FDR to step down as president and instate a Secretary of General Affairs in his place. They enlisted the help of decorated war hero, General Smedley Butler to rally the WWI veterans to help the regime change, but they somehow forgot to ensure that he was a supporter of their cause. Butler was an adamant backer of FDR. Butler destroyed the coup by going public but surprisingly none of the heads of any of the companies involved lost their jobs in the aftermath, despite the catastrophic possibilities that would have followed if the revolt had worked. In fact, very little changed except the CIA found a helpful trick for dealing with foreign interests.
Surely the plan for a fascist regime could work somewhere.
Hutaree Christian Militia Plan
Lesson: Ugh, don’t… don’t do what you just did Middle America is known for its wholesome values, its running game and its ability to breed militant religious fanaticism. In March of 2010 (note: no longer college football season) a Christian militia in Michigan prepared for a battle against the Antichrist by trying to kill some cops. The group known as Hutaree plotted to kill
Ice T: Fighting the Antichrist since 1992.
Second Rise of the South
Lesson: No Do-Overs Rather than just an isolated incident, the entire movement shaped by Confederate secession has been one long humiliating failure throughout the past century. Lately, the Internet has been responsible for resurgence along the rebel front. There are hundreds of sites, groups, and stores dedicated to the cause, but none of them seem to realize that America has no patience for sequels about revolutions.
Possibly as a choking hazard.
